How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is aimed at pop fans, who enjoy a little bit of everything, and love to just have fun. After closely studying magazines similar to my own product, such as Q, I came to the conclusion that my target audience would have an interest in musical artists with characteristics such as being fun loving and carefree. For example, music artists I found my target audience to enjoy reading about were people like Katy Perry, Jessie J, Calvin Harris and Rihanna. This is due to their upbeat party music and colourful artist images.                 I wanted to make my magazine appeal to the same audience as these magazines; because of this is chose to use a cover model that is young and attractive. Her long blonde hair conotates her innocence whilst the action of the photo, pulling on her cross-ridden necklace, shows a more rebellious and daring side to the music artist. The minimalistic make-up on my model represents many pop/indie fans - not too out there, but certainly not plain. This cover image will instantly appeal to my target audience as her little black dress is glamorous yet looks affordable.
                I used colours such as teal and purple to keep the magazine eyecatching throughout - not just on the front cover. These bright colours reflect the personalities of pop stars and their fans. I included a pull quote in my article that mention X-Factor - a very popular TV programme amongst my target audience. X-Factor is known for producing some of the biggest pop stars, especially in the industry at the moment, such as Olly Murs. The second pull quote I’ve used is: “It’s not about the fame or the money, it’s about doing what I love most - making music”. My targeted social group will instantly feel they can relate to this quote, as pop fans enjoy an artist who is down to earth, and doesn’t show off about being famous. The large photo I’ve used on my first double page spread displays how spontaneous and fun this artist is, along with the fans that follow artists of this type.The general tone of my article is gossip-like and secretive. This helps to make my target audience feel the information they are reading is exclusive and makes them feel special as if they are the first to read it. This tone will also relate to my target audience as they will enjoy hearing gossip and secrets about inspiring music artists, forming a personal identification as they will aspire to be like them.
My cover model’s facial expressions are generally cheeky, as she will slightly smile whilst deeply gazing into the camera, or pull funny faces, looking imperfect, and therefore normal. This will satisfy my targeted social group as they will appreciate this relatable side to the artist, and is effective as the reader will be drawn to look at the page. This also creates a realistic appearance for my feature artist, helping to sell the article further as the target audience will feel curious about her and want to read on. Her body language is dominant and confident, with poses such as her hand on her hip (shown on the cover) and her range of cute and fun faces (shown on the first and second double page spreads). This will also appeal to my target audience as they will be able to form a personal relationship with the character, as my target audience will also be confident and able to ‘let their hair down’.