Jenny Forrest
Front page analysis #1
KERRANG MAGAZINE
'Kerrang!' magazine is produced by Bauer Media and addresses a target audience of young adults, within the age range of 13-25 year olds. A target audience of this age is also addressed through other platforms, including its television channel and radio station, as well as an annual awards ceremony, recognising present and popular music, and tour.
The magazine is sold weekly at a cost of £2.20.
The masthead of the magazine is the title, 'Kerrang!', which itself connotates the genre of rock. This is effective as it is the genre of music most focused on by the magazine. The font of the title is bold and vibrant, with a cracked and shattered effect, relating to the rebellious nature of rock music. The colour of the title is black, which upon the white background allows it stand out further. This makes the front page more eye-catching to its audience, ensuring their interest to know its content, therefore increasing the chances of them purchasing the magazine. The colours of the masthead match with the band's clothing in the image on the front page, which is mostly black and white. Some of the band member's heads slightly cover the wording of the title of the magazine, giving them priority. Despite this, the size and font keeps the title catches the eye upon the page.
The strapline of the magazine is broken into four statements, made to stand out by the colour switch. The first is 'free stickers!', written in black upon a yellow background. This is emphasised the most as it is the only statement on a different coloured background, drawing the attention towards the free gift, adding appeal to the magazine. The term 'free' gives a greater incentive to the magazine's audience to make the purchase, as it makes the magazine appear as more value for money. By giving away free stickers and posters of artists, the magazine is allowing the artists to distribute themselves to a further audience. The three other statements are on a black background and advertise other articles/topics to be found in the magazine. 'Enter Shikari' and '30 Seconds to Mars' are in white text, whilst 'Nine Rich Nails' is in red. These alternating and contrasting colours are also eye-catching to the audience of the magazine.
This label shows the reader more about the 'free stickers!', as seen in the strapline of the magazine. To show that the two are related, the same bold text (reading the same message) on a yellow background. However, the text in the strapline is black, whilst here it is white because these fit in with the colours surrounding the text. The two images behind the label give examples as to which stickers accompany the magazine as the free gift. The stacked effect of images gives the impression to the audience that there are many, making it far more attractive.
The main image of this magazine is a medium shot of the band, Foo Fighters. Dave Grohl, the lead singer of the band, is positioned at the front, with the other members appearing behind him. The faces of the band members are serious yet intriguing, making the reader want to know more about their story and what they have told the magazine exclusively. The text “Foo Fighters: Is it all over?” is positioned across Dave’s chest to make it clear that the main image corresponds with the main article featuring inside the magazine. All members are dressed in black and white, to coincide with the colour scheme of the magazine.
The label ‘free! K! awards 2007 poster special!’ is in red, and is the only thing on the front page of this magazine with a background of this colour, showing its importance. We can assume that the ‘poster special’ makes this issue of this magazine unique compared it's other issues, which would appeal to the target audience far greater. This is also a form of advertisement for Kerrang!'s other platforms, which are also popular amongst it's growing audience.
The footer/bottom banner of the magazine show many more topics and articles addressed inside, giving the reader a greater idea as to its content. The background of the text is yellow, the same as a part of the strapline and ‘free stickers!’ label, which brings the magazine together and keeps with the colour scheme. The stories are separated by an orange line showing the reader that there is multiple stories, instead of just one. The label ‘plus!’ is on a different coloured background, but in the same coloured text. This makes it stand out more, as the eye is drawn to it and so the reader would want to know what other stories are inside the magazine. The exclamation mark used in ‘plus!’ shouts out to the reader, making them more interested as they want to know more.
The barcode box gives generic information including issue number, bar code, date, price and a website for the magazine. This information is displayed on the front page for easy access when the magazine is being bought, but does not affect the information regarding the magazine’s contents.