In week 3 of our magazine production we individually pitched our ideas for what we thought the The Yorkie magazine will look like and what kind of magazine it would be. After everybody had presented their ideas we then began to discuss what everyone agreed on, in terms of style, demographics and what type of articles will go in. Ultimately, we decided that the sections/content should be a different range of things such as People, Arts, current/political affairs and Fashion and culture. We established that a lot of people’s story ideas could be rounded up in to one of these 4 categories as they are quite expansive.

As a group we then focused on who we wanted to target this magazine at and then we chose these as the demographics:

Age: 18-30

ABC1: 50%

Location: City of York, surrounding towns

Words: Woke, fresh, inquisitive, busy

Gender: 50/50

In terms of aesthetics, we thought The Yorkie should have a minimalistic feel with usage of mostly black and white accompanied with a ‘pop of colour’. In addition to this, we wanted high quality photography to play a key role alongside illustrations to make our magazine appealing for the eye.

Swot analysis

A swot analysis is a strategic step that organisations and companies take to gain an understanding of something’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Magazine publishers will use a swot analysis to broaden their understanding of how successful their magazine will be. They do this by looking at the latest trends in within their demographics to ensure they are successfully meeting their readerships demands. Furthermore, they will ensure that their ‘threats’ will be eradicated before publication which will include comparing their magazine to similar ones in their category to make sure they are offering something different to their readership which will set them apart from their competition.

 

The Yorkie Swot analysis

Strength’s

• We are of similar age to our intended target audience making it easier for us to connect with them as we understand their needs from a magazine.
• As a group we have collaborated and worked as a team on different projects over the last two years, therefore we know each other’s strengths which will benefit the magazine.
• As we all live in York we are all familiar with the events and happenings which are going on making it easier for us to gather stories.

Weaknesses

• With it been a brand-new magazine we won’t be recognisable; therefore, it may be hard to gain a solid readership at first
• As this is a short-term project, there will be no room for advertising and branching out due to our lack of funding.
• We have to decide on a set design and layout for the magazine as well as our brand logo as we feel our current one is not sufficient for a magazine.
• As we only have a short amount of time and people, the magazine may become a rushed project.

Opportunities

• We have a chance to create something that represents our age group is able to speak to and for them on a higher level.
• Allow The Yorkie to eventually become a brand.
• Several locations on campus in which we could distribute the magazine first in order to spread the word around.
• Pioneer a standard of magazine production for YSJ students in the future.

Threats

• Competition from magazines who have already built a readership loyalty with our intended demographics.
• Due to funding, the number of magazines we can produce may hold us back from distributing on a larger scale.
• Having only one session a week makes it difficult to produce quickly as people may miss sessions or not do as much in their own time due to other work commitments.