Music magazine cover audience feedback

After completing the production stages of my magazine pages, I presented the completed pages to a number of people that fall into the target audience group and asked them a number of questions on the magazine cover. I thought it was important to only ask people that fall into my target audience group so that I could receive accurate feedback that would allow me to make changes that would make my magazine appeal more to my target audience and therefore be more successful. To make sure I got all the feedback I needed in order to improve my magazine and potentially make it more successful, I asked my volunteers questions about the magazine cover.

I firstly asked the three volunteers what their first impressions of the magazine front cover were. Each volunteer agreed that the cover looks professional. One volunteer, Vicky, said she thought the magazine cover would fit in with other covers yet is unique enough to stand out amongst other magazines on a shelf. Another, Harriet said she liked the magazine cover but thought that it might not appeal to the male target audience because of its girly appearance.

I then asked the volunteers what they thought of the cover layout. Becky said, The layouts quite simple and organised but I think that works well because its easy to read and it won't put people off with having too much going on. Vicky agreed and said she thought the layout was quite typical for a magazine cover which made it look more professional. Harriet said she liked the fact it was organised because it was easy to scan read the cover and see the main features. Becky said the only negative thing she thought about the layout was that the shadows behind some of the text made some bits hard to read.

After that, I asked the volunteers if they would be encouraged to but the magazine after seeing the front cover. Each of the volunteers agreed that they would be attracted to the magazine and would be encouraged to purchase the magazine after seeing the front cover.


Feedback summary

To sum up the good and bad aspects of the magazine I asked each volunteer separately to list three good points and three bad points of the magazine.

Becky

• The cover looks fresh, bright and summery because of the colours and the layout.
• Its clear and easy to read because the text is broken up by the organised layout.
• The image looks professional and typical of a magazine front cover because the model is looking straight at the camera and the background is plain.

• Some bits of the writing is hard to read, especially the white writing. 
•  The bar code, issue number and price could be together so its easy to locate.
• There could be more cover lines to attract the target audience and let the audience know what features are in the magazine before they buy it.

Vicky

• Looks really clear and bright which will be a good contrast with other magazines because their usually made up of darker colours with a lot of stuff on.
• The images and the cover lines are all linked together by their colours. With the writing colours being taken from the models clothes and jewelry.
• There is information on the magazine and whats inside but there is also information on the price and the issue number which is easy to see.

• There could be some more images to illustrate what else is in the magazine.
• Although the image looks professional, the pose is a bit random.
•  Quite plain and similar to other magazines, could of had a more unique layout.

Harriet

• The cover lines are all relevant to the target audience and the magazine genre.
• The colours all compliment each other throughout the magazine.
• The text is bold so its easy to read and eye catching.

• The magazine cover is quite feminine and might not attract the male audience as much as the female audience because of the colour scheme with the female model.
• The white text is hard to read in some places
•  the cover lines don't really say much about the magazine features, their very brief.