Who is the target audience for my chosen magazine, how does it appeal to them?
I think that the target audience for this magazine is teenage females and older. I also think people that are interested about the personal lives of celebrities will be attracted towards this magazine as it is clear to the audience that this is what the magazine is about from various aspects of the cover. I think this for many reasons; the first being the colour scheme that is used, the main colour of the background is pink. This gives off connotations of feminism and links the magazines to females. Black is also used and this makes certain parts of the cover stand out against the paler colour of the background. Another aspect of the front cover that makes the magazine appeal to woman and teenage girls is the cover line and the pull quotes. These entice the possible audience, as they want to read more about the subject that has been put on the front. The magazine companies choose the pull quotes and tag lines that they think will sell the most magazines and this generally means the most scandalous or interesting. They also do many things to appeal to the target audience that have identified to try and attract as many of them to the purchase the magazine. The front of a magazine is split into different sections by the use of boxes, colours and lines which draws the audience’s attention to different things. The model is positioned in the right third of the cover and this draws the audience’s attention towards it first then to the other features. The main image on the front cover is of Katie Price, and also the main cover line is about her, this implies that the main stories in the magazine are going to be about her. This will attract an audience that like to know about what is going on in her life. One of the smaller Pull quotes on the front cover is of a real life story that is within the magazine, this will attract an audience that like to read about other members of the public who have interesting stories to tell. Some of the readers may also be able to relate to parts of the stories therefore making the magazine feel more personal to themselves. The selling line of Closer is another thing that makes the magazine appeal to the targeted audiences. "Celebs + real life +fashion + tv." This tells the audience in simple terms what is included in the magazine so they can decide if they want to buy it or not.
To conclude I think that the target audience for Closer is Teenage and older females who are interested in everything that is included in the selling line. I think Closer have successfully made a magazine front cover that will appeal to the audience that they have targeted, by using the right conventions and techniques.
Beth Bowpitt
