Why do magazines target specialized audiences

There are also magazines entirely devoted to crafting, such as Creating Keepsakes for scrapbook enthusiasts, and for pet ownership, such as the appropriately named Pet. Fashion has provided a highly lucrative and visible interest magazine market. Founded in , the most famous fashion magazine is Vogue. The magazine has a huge following, with a circulation topping 1. For millions of women each month, Vogue is the eye of the culture, inspiring and challenging them to see things differently, in both themselves and the world.

This can be worrisome for editors charged with adding more subscriptions to make a larger profit. However, the appeal of such specific audiences generates more revenue from advertisers, who can purchase magazine space knowing that their ads are reaching a targeted audience.

This coming-of-age story highlights the work that goes into producing a magazine of such prestige. Streep was nominated for an Oscar award for her performance and, appropriately for a film about fashion, the costume designer was also nominated for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

The film, however, humanizes her, while still demonstrating her obsession with fashion and with perfection in her magazine.

The success of both films reveals a fascination with the fashion and publishing industries. The fact that these two films would be released as the magazine industry is in decline is surprising but perhaps reflects an interest in journalism from a younger audience.

The use of publishing as a topic in the film medium shows how magazines, though struggling, remain relevant and how special-interest magazines, like those in fashion, can transcend the medium and cross over into other mass media. Consider the specialized magazines discussed in this section, as well as others you are familiar with, and identify whether or not you are among the target audience for each.

Then, read a copy of a magazine targeting a specialized group or demographic you are not a part of. Then, answer the following writing prompts. Previous Section. Table of Contents. Next Section. Recognize ways that advertisers benefit from the specialization of magazines. Professional Trade Publications Nearly every trade group produces some sort of professional publication for its members. Scholarly Publications Academic journals have, in some form, been around since the early years of magazine publication.

The commentary written into each article keeps my attention. As most people, the magazines I read are about my personal interests and not just general interest. It makes me feel as though the magazine understands me, relates with me, and that I'm part of an exclusive group in society.

Why are most magazines like this? Survival is the biggest reason. Magazines are very dependent upon advertising to make a profit. In fact the first magazines published by Andrew Bradford and then Benjamin Franklin failed.

Bradford only made it three issues while Franklin made it six. They learned it was expensive to produce magazines and they had to sell them at a very high price. Advertising changed this. The more specific the audience for the content, the more specific the audience for the advertising. While print media continue to suffer at the hands of their online counterparts, new research from the University of Toronto Scarborough finds that print magazines with companion websites are able to attract more advertising dollars.

In a study of magazines in Germany, Prof. Chandra and Prof. Ulrich Kaiser of the University of Zurich found that magazines offering targeted advertising both in print and on the web can charge more from advertisers. Magazines create interest around a specific topic, which attracts readers with similar interests. The more homogeneous the magazine 's audience, the more attractive it is to advertisers looking to target a specific type of consumer.

And, it turns out, people who get their information from more than one medium - "multihomers", as Chandra and Kaiser call them - are particularly appealing to advertisers. Such people would be easier to find and to track. But it turns out that the "multihomers" are more likely to see a brand's message more than once.

Magazines with websites will have the advantage over those that don't, because they will attract a homogeneous, targeted audience that will also be getting their information through more than one format. Such magazines can therefore charge more for their advertising space. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Management Science. Explore further. Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page.

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