Task 1 - Moodboards, Mockups and Audience Feedback

Moodboards for magazines that would suit each demographic

The Sun

The Sun's readership/demographic would usually draw in a lot of people interested in celebrity gossip and the latest TV drama. Headlines like "TRAGEDY STRIKES!" and "YOU'RE DEAD!" instantly would grab the eye of those interested in the soap operas and celebrity drama that goes on weekly, and would be inclined to pick up one of these papers. The language is a lot more informal and simplistic, which helps to keep it entertaining to a larger demographic.

Here is a mockup example of the sort of magazine a Sun newspaper reader may enjoy:

The bait style text is a very common theme with tabloid magazine/newspapers, as they want to bait the potential buyer into reading more in depth to the magazine. A fan of soap operas like Eastenders would take a keen interest in the dramatic news highlighted on the front cover and be inclined to pick up a copy. The cover is very simplistic, and quickly sums up the highlighted stories and offers a page number for the reader to flick to to read the whole story.


I think News UK should use this designed as while it is very simplistic, it will draw in a mass audience whom this style of news reporting appeals to. The dramatic speech bubbles coming off of each image indicate what story is being told, and a page number to view the whole story is provided, relieving effort from the viewer, as it saves them having to flick through the entire magazine to find a particular story.







The Times

The Times readership/demographic would prefer a more formal and informative approach to the news and current affairs. Headlines that cover topics they are interested in, for example reading about the progress of the US elections, or the latest news on Brexit. Here is a list of potential magazines that a Times reader may be interested in, due to their formality and detailed approach.

Here is a mockup of a magazine that you might find included free with a copy of The Times newspaper:

 This magazine shows a lot more refined and elegant look in comparison to the tabloid magazines. The headline states the title of the film that the magazine is focusing on, and states it is an exclusive preview of the film before its release, with behind the scenes shots and an interview segment from the director himself. These are the sort of premiums you would expect in a high-end magazine. 


News UK should use this style for their new magazines as I believe it suits the target audiene perfectly, which is a young adult demographic, on the ABC1 range of the NRS social demographic scale. The information on the front cover is informative enough to tell the reader exactly what they should expect to see inside the magazine, and there is no overly dramatic subheadings or headlines to bait people into reading it, it will just attract those who are interested in film.

Measuring readership

Questionnaire: According to the NRS (National Readership Survey) website, one method for obtaining data on whether or not a product is appropriate is through the use of questionnaires. Below is an example of the sort of questions that would be included in the questionnaire. They ask questions about what specific interests the reader might have and what magazines they tend to read. This allows the magazine producers to format and adapt their content to suit a wider target audience, once they have gathered a mass popular opinion.

Survey Opportunities: Another methodology that could be adopted by News UK to test the appropriateness of a new product is through multiple survey opportunites. For example, 2 of 3 NRS particpants agree that they are willing to be recontacted annually about their new reading and viewing habits and various related topics. This allows the producer to keep data current and produce content the highest standard and making sure it appeals to as wide an audience as possible


Interview: A third method that could be used is the simple interview method. The NRS website states that almost 33,300 people take part in this interview annually from ages 15 and above. The interviewees are selected at random by selecting a random address and a random resident to take part in said interview. The interview takes an average of 27 minutes to complete, so with enough data collected annually, a producer can then work to gather a mass opinion on what topics and news stories appeal to people the most and can then work to adapt their magazines to these stories.