GQ - Audience & Industries blog tasks

 GQ - Audience & Industries blog tasks

Audience

Look through the GQ Media Kit and answer the following questions: 

1) How does the media kit introduction describe GQ?

 

GQ is described to be the flagship of men's fashion and style and that GQ is forward looking, progressive and cutting-edge.

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 

 

The media kit reveals that masculinity constantly evolves and that men's fashion has moved to the centre of the global pop-culture conversation thus implying its authority has never been more stronger.

3) Pick out three statistics from the data on page 2 and explain what they suggest about the GQ audience.

7.3 million reach suggesting that GQ has a large audience that regulalry tunes in to their media and ideas.

£7.7k spending on clothing reveals that GQs audience is uper class and the A tier in the social grading system.

212,000 readership revealling that although the world has moved on from physical copies of texts a lot of people still read physical magazines implying there is still a small market.

4) Look at page 3 - brand highlights. What special editions do GQ run and what do these suggest about the GQ audience?

 

GQ heros , GQ hype, men of the year, Tentpole video and social series. These highlights all reveal that GQ doesnt only focus on fashion but focuses on all other aspects of the world and media which possible consumers of media may enjoy therefore allowing GQ to target other parts of the world apart from upper class A tier rich men into fashion.

5) Still on page 3, what does the video and social series section suggest about how magazine audiences are changing? 

 

The section suggests that in 2022 more than 10 million hours of content was watched and that audiences have grown more than 30% in the last year thus revealling online content is becoming increasingly popular amongst audiences.

Media Magazine feature: GQ

Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on GQ (MM82 - page 12). Answer the following questions:

1) What are the elements that go into choosing a cover stars for GQ? 

 

GQ will pick anyone with an interesting point in their career or more importantly a "hook" in which the person is trying to bring awareness to.

2) How is the magazine constructed to serve the target audience? 

 

Rather than pitching the magazine cover so that the audience is reresented by the cover, the magazine should instead engage the audience as it makes them "read about themselves" in essence. Also as GQ magazine is targetted towards men so they try to feature mens clothing as often as they can such as best suits for men ect.

3) What does the article suggest about GQ's advertisers and sponsorships - and what in turn does this tell us about the GQ audience? 

 

The article says that GQ is often in partnership with advertisers and sponsers of rich companies which feature high-end luxurious lifestyles, this in turn reveals that the GQ audience would most likely be well established men who are willing to take their lives one step further and enjoy their lifestyle in wealth.

4) What is GQ Hype - and how does it reflect the impact of digital media on traditional print media?

 

It is a weekly cover which is only online and was set up due to the responses from many celebrities and agents wanting to be on a print magazine however not many were available on offer.

5) Finally, what does the article say about additional revenue streams for print magazines like GQ?  

 

The article says that they are vital in order to survive as without them GQ would struggle to find another form of revenue.

Industries

Condé Nast

Read this Guardian news article on editorial changes at Condé Nast and answer the following questions: 

1) Who was previously GQ editor for 22 years? 

 

Dylan Jones.

2) What happened to the 'lads' mag' boom magazines such as Nuts, Maxim and Loaded? 

 

They were closed down however Loaded went online only after the failure of circulation/distribution.

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 

 

Many editors are leaving the company due to streamline operations however an aim since 15 years is that they intend to stay digital first and globally local with everything they do.

Read this Press Gazette article on Conde Nast. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about Condé Nast's recent strategy? 

 

GQ will be able to benefit from the 25% investment as mroe audiences are shifting towards a digital platform.

 

2) How does chief executive Roger Lynch describe Condé Nast and why? 

 

Lynch states that Conde Nast is no longer recognised as a magazine company therefore it is now recieving less viewers.

3) What does Adam Baidawi say about Condé Nast, GQ and culture? 

 

He says that GQ is shaping and reflecting culture in order to adapt to their audiences preferences and what they consume.

Read this FIPP feature on Condé Nast diversifying into video and streaming content. Answer the following questions: 

1) How is Condé Nast moving away from traditional print products?

 

They shifted focus and created a new series to be on 17 brand channels in 2021 to 2022. This is due to streaming having a wide audience base.

2) What examples are provided of Condé Nast's video and streaming content?

 

One example is that the company took advantage by relaunching the Met Gala with Vogue and Vanity Fair's Oscars party.

 

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 

 

The end of the article reveals that audiences want to actually engage with the content they consume rather than being passive viewers.

GQ website, video and social media content 

Visit the GQ website, Instagram and YouTube channel. Note that some of these may be blocked in school. Once you have looked over GQ's online content, answer the following questions:

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?

 

The website and print edition both feature artistic but professional styles of men with hooks however the website features more categories and articles and features more discussions.

2) Analyse the top menu of the GQ website (e.g. Fashion / Grooming / Culture). What do the menu items suggest about GQ's audience?

 

It suggests that the audience are wealthy and are selective in things which interest them which is items or services/brands which are expensive or designer.

3) What does GQ's Instagram feed suggest about the GQ brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

 

The Instagram feed for GQ offers a range of fashion and clothing advice which is specifically done on purpose to target both online and print audiences.

4) In your opinion, is GQ's social media content designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

 

I believe that the both work hand in hand as without a digital audience there can be no revenue or attention to the print magazine and likewise for the print magazine, this brings viewers to GQ as a whole allowing for one singular audience in which GQ can extrapolate money from through their advertisers.

 
5) Evaluate the success of the GQ brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?

 

I believe that especially with older audiences or nostalgic readers print magazine will always continue to exist as a form of "breadcrumbs" which lead back to GQ allowing print viewers to become part of the digital audience. In essence this does reveal that GQ is very successful in communicating with its audience as they reach out to all types of people online or offline.

The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry

Read this Guardian feature on the struggled of the UK print magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?

 

From 2000 the numbers of readers fell from 23.8 to 13.9 million and also had a decline of 55%

2) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?

 

90% of new spend.

3) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

 

Magazines can specialise in specific genres which can be costly however properly targetting a niche audience is likely to be successful if engaged correctly.

4) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams?

 

Time Inc was sold to its rival Meredith for roughly $1.8 billion. This is due to magazine companies selling themselves out for a financial profit.

 

5) Now think of the work you've done on GQ. How is GQ diversifying beyond print? 

 

By moving to a digital audience younger people can be more specifically targetted and engaged which also allows for GQ to be able to target all sorts of people.