Audience Feedback

In order to discover which aspects of the magazine pages that I produced for my media coursework portfolio were appealing and which were less well received by 'AMP' magazine's target audience of adolescents, I created a questionnaire which was then distributed to a considerable amount of my peers; I focused on encouraging those in my target audience to give feedback because their opinion is of most value; understanding their perception of 'AMP' magazine gave me the opportunity to take the information on board in order to establish a greater knowledge in the area and make further improvements in the future. 

 Participants were informed of this via e-mails, mentions on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr as well as word of mouth. The wide variety of methods used to spread the word of the survey ensured that the message would reach a large audience and enough responses would be received in order for accurate representations to be found in the answers. I have used the accessibility and popularity of the internet to my advantage in that it allowed viral marketing to have been used; individuals were able to share the survey amongst their friends, most of whom are of a similar demographic and psychographic nature to themselves, meaning more people in the target audience were informed without the time consuming or expensive processes of paid advertising. Also made possible by the existence of the internet was the opportunity to create the questionnaire on an easily made, easily shared digital format; a website called www.surveymonkey.com allowed this and was of great benefit in these ways. 

Upon analysis of responses, it was evident that many opinions were virtually unanimous. The reaction to the features included on the front cover of 'AMP' magazine, for example, were entirely positive.  Popular features included the colour scheme of red, black and white and the conventional nature of the image used. Also commented on by a number of respondents was the inclusion of a vast number of cover lines; this, they explained, increased their interest in the magazine as it raised curiosity in the content within. This is encouraging and ensures me that these choices made after thorough research into the magazine genre were worthwhile and effective. 

Above are a few examples of typical responses for the question of "Which elements of the front cover do you like?"

Also enjoyed were elements of the contents page; these included the the neat, professional appearance of layouts, images and fonts. The layout that I used holds similarities to other publications of the alternative/indie music genre that I analysed during the research stage of my coursework in many aspects and, as some answers outline, follows the principle of thirds. This layout is aesthetically pleasing and conventional. Also enjoyed was the use of the text box possessing the appearance of a torn piece of paper; this is because it offers originality in a subtle way so as to ensure that 'AMP' magazine remains conventional to its genre whilst standing out from the crowd. One answer did express a slight dislike of the yellow colour of the font used towards the bottom of the page reading "Subscribe to AMP now!", however amongst the vast number of responses which contradict this in their praise of colour choices, I believe that this response was given due to individual differences; whereas this participant may not find the yellow colour appealing, it is evident that the majority of readers felt satisfied with this design. This area is particularly small and does not hold as much importance as the rest of the page, therefore the complaint is of little concern to me and would not have been a huge hindrance to the reader who complained of it.  

Above are a few examples of responses to the contents page produced for 'AMP' magazine.

Following this evident trend are the responses to the design of the double page spread, with the majority of answers to the question "which elements of the double page spread do you like?" offering praise in the layout, which uses the effective route of the eye technique, the consistent colour choices, the attractive, conventional fonts that are easy to read, and the image used. Particular elements referenced included the use of quotes, which peaked interest and made the article seem more relatable, and again the professionalism emitted from the pages. These points reassure me that the pages appear conventional and pleasing to the eye. No outstanding complaints were made, therefore I am satisfied with the end results of of this piece of coursework. 

Above are a handful of responses to the question of "Which elements of the double page spread do you like?"

When asked about images included throughout the magazine, the response was positive across the board. Addressed were how conventional the images were, giving the reader a clear indication that 'AMP' magazine is an alternative/indie music publication through connotations associated with the body language and costume of the models and the composition, settings and colours included. Also appreciated was the high quality of the photographs used; the clarity of the images resulted in a professional finish and the colour corrections added during the editing process using Photoshop as well as the lighting created effects such as apparent 'dark' themes which left an impression upon the reader and caused more interesting, dramatic pages to be included within the magazine. When asked about whether the features within the magazine in general, in fact, were conventional, the general response was that either most of or all of the elements of the pages of 'AMP' magazine that I produced are conventional of the alternative/indie music magazine genre in various ways, resulting in a professional, attractive publication overall. The responses to questions asked are pleasing overall and offer reassurance in the quality of my coursework.