Evaluation - Institutions

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I would want my magazine to be published through a large publishing company, such as Conde Nast. My magazine, although it is a music magazine (and music magazines are normally the less conventional/classy magazines), is still full of culture and elegance and thus would sit comfortably within Conde Nast's stable of classy publications. This way, my magazine would get credibility by association and synergy via being advertised in Conde Nast's other brands such as Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Although Conde Nast does already publish a few fashion magazines (Vogue, Glamour, Teen Vogue, etc), my magazine would be different because it also focuses on the music industry as well as throwing in a bit of culture and it would therefore target a slightly different audience. And Conde Nast don't yet have a magazine that mixes both fashion and music, so it would then expand their market as they would be appealing to a new audience.

Having a large company such as Conde Nast publishing Circus would ensure greater distribution and therefore sales. Conde Nast has distribution agreements with outlets in the UK and internationally - for example, you can pick up a copy of Vogue everywhere from WHSmiths to Tesco. And, the more places there are selling my magazine, the more likelihood of sales. Also, being sold in shops like WHSmiths adds to the credibility of the magazine and is where my audience would typically shop.

However, although Conde Nast may be able publish and distribute my magazine, there is obviously a price to pay for this. I would probably lose a lot of the editorial control of the magazine and also the profit, if there was any. Magazines make money form the cover price and advertising and Conde Nast would find it easier to secure advertising for Circus than I would because of their position in the publishing world. A lot of advertisers would be attracted to my magazine and I imagine in would be full of fashion/music ad's that would target my audience. Designers create really interesting advertisements in an attempt to sell as many products as possible, so if anything it would create added interest to my magazine and make it a little more unique (Just like the Louis Vutitton advertisement shown here... this is something I would actually quite like to appear in my magazine, because its so creative and artistic and its added interest to my magazine that 'Circus' wouldn't of had to work on.. but Louis Vuitton would have, all my magazine would do is print it).

Also, I chose Conde Nast because it produces its magazines over different media platforms which is known as convergence and synergy. I know, that when reading Vogue it talks about it's iPad app which appeals to a modern audience. So, (on my contents page), I mention that there is also an iPhone app of my magazine and this is another reason why I need a publishing company that can make this work. I chose to do this as I thought it would give me more readers and expand to a larger audience because it makes my magazine almost ALWAYS accessible, whether its the app or the magazine itself. Also, in order to create an iPhone app, my magazine would have to work with Apple, and iTunes, which increases awareness of the brand.