MAGAZINE audience research - get the advertiser profiles!

Just above this caption you'll see 'Media Pack' - this is for advertisers, detailing the readership of the magazine (Conde Nast Britain)

Most magazines take in more revenue from advertising than from the cover price (from which, don't forget, distributors and retailers get their cut!).

In a very real sense, if you go out and buy a magazine, you're not buying anything ... you're being sold to advertisers!

Giant multinational conglomerate Time Inc. UK boast to advertisers of their music mag Uncut readership's spending habits

At A-Level we look at theories such as Noam Chomsky's 'propaganda model' which argues advertisers play a highly ideological role in the media industry, acting as a 'filter' to keep out radical ideas that might threaten the rich and powerful.

Part of Dennis Publishing's blurb on 1 of their many titles

For GCSE, just be aware that they play a key role in magazine branding: every title is seeking to attract an audience that will appeal to certain advertisers. This might be niche (narrow, specific, highly selective) or mainstream (broad, general) but the bottom line is that advertisers will not risk wasting valuable resources paying for space in a magazine that doesn't fit their customer profile. They MUST know who they'll be reaching with their ads - the age range, gender and income levels at a minimum.

Part of Haymarket Media's advertiser pitch for glossy footie mag FourFourTwo

Therefore, magazine publishers are under pressure to provide detailed information, including demographic data (the % of readers within categories such as age, gender, income) to advertisers. This can often be found on the main websites of publishers, and accessing some examples should help you make your own audience analysis much more sophisticated.

Bauer, one of the leading UK publishers, provides advertisers with an interactive tool to match their needs to magazine brands!

Just a few of the many magazine brands owned by Time Inc. UK

To find these you need to know who the major magazine publishers are. In the UK, the focus for this blog, these change over time as there are mergers, closures and launches of new titles and categories too, but at the time of writing that includes (with examples of their publications):

Future (MacFormat, PC Gamer - here's a full list)

Bauer UK (Empire, Grazia, Kerrang! - audience finder; case studies)

Conde Nast Britain (Vogue, GQ - here's the GQ Media Pack)

DC Thomson (WWE Kids Magazine, Shout - Shout [girls mag] Media Pack - scroll to the bottom of main site for full list of titles)

Dennis Publishing (Cyclist, Cross Stitcher, PC Pro)

Haymarket Media Group (Autocar, FourFourTwo, Senior Living)

Hearst Magazines UK (Good Living, Hello, Cosmopolitan, Inside Soap - rate card for Elle)

Time Inc. UK (NME, Golf Monthly, Yachting World, Women's Weekly)

Find more magazines by using online shops such as this.