Analysing Football Magazine Covers

Analysing football magazine covers

I am going to analyse 3 magazine covers from the sport/football genre of magazine. I will analyse the following magazine covers; FourFourTwo, Match and Match of the Day.  The purpose of analysing these magazines is to give myself an understanding of the common conventions used in the creation of these type of publication. As Bentley said in 1997, “the creative process is the rearranging of the old to create the new.” This is relevant because I am going to use these common conventions from the magazines I’m analysing to create my own product that will reach out to target audience.

FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 after a now-show by England at the World Cup in the USA; the magazine arrived on the newsstands with a fresh, insightful approach to football entering its 20^th year. FourFourTwo’s readers are knowledgeable about the game and vary in age from youngsters to senior citizens and they are all over the world. FourFourTwo magazine is now published in 15 different territories across the world.

The primary target audience for FourFourTwo magazine is men aged 16+ with a secondary target audience of any football fans, pitched at C1-E. 

The title of the magazine is FourFourTwo. This name works for this magazine because the name is directly related to the genre that it is publicizing, as it is a formation used in the game of football. Having this as a masthead works because the target audience will see the title and knows instantly that it might be something they want to read about as it relates to their genre. In terms of the size of the masthead follows common conventions as it takes around 1/8 of the page. The masthead isn’t covered the main image and is clear to see. However a box of text partially covers the bottom of the masthead. This is able to happen because the magazine is well known. When I come to creating my magazine I shall not look to cover my masthead at all as my magazine isn’t well known so I would want my masthead to be known and remembered so I want it to be visible.  The style of the masthead is good because it is a bold and plain font, which is very simple and is in a simplistic colour, red. The colour red is a suitable colour to use as it is the colour of many well known football teams around the world and is a colour that you would often see within football. The colour red also connotes passion and desire, which are strongly associated with the attitudes in football. This means that seeing such colours will have a positive effect on the target audience, as they will recognize the colour.

The layout of the magazine is fairly busy although there is only one main image. The positioning of the word kick off is placed in the middle of the magazine; this is well positioned because the kick off takes place in the centre of the pitch, where the word “kick off” is placed. The star vehicles are positioned as to where their teams would be placed in terms of ability and they have used arguably the most well known players from each team to promote the magazine so that the target audience will recognize. The magazine uses the colours red and white so that no fans feel left out as most teams use the either red or white somewhere in their kit. Also, the front of the magazine contains players of different origins, which shows that racial diversity within the magazine. This is vital in helping the magazines to become successful worldwide.

In terms of images, or image in this magazines case. There is one main image that takes up pretty much all of the front cover. The image is of six popular premier league players who will be competing and performing some of the best football in the season to come. The image also contains kits from the top teams from the premier league, which will draw in the target audience as they as well known and will be easily recognisable.  The expressions of the players in the images look as though they look ready for the game and for the season ahead.










 

Match! is a weekly British football magazine aimed at the teenage and pre-teenage market. First published in 1979, the magazine has a circulation of 57,108 as of December 2010^. The magazine includes interviews, a skills school, quizzes and a weekly round-up of results, tables and player ratings from the four main English divisions and the Scottish Premier League in MatchFacts. It mostly covers teams and players in the English Premier League, but also has a limited coverage of La Liga, Serie A and international football.
Match magazine was launched on 6 September 1979, at a cover price of 25p. The original editor was Mel Bagnall. Kevin Keegan was the first cover star of Match and supported the magazine with his column, Learn To Play The Keegan Way. The first issue came with an 80-page sticker album and included columns by Tottenham star Ossie Ardiles, Manchester United's Steve Coppell and Nottingham Forest manager, Brian Clough. Later columnists included David Platt, Mark Bright and Ryan Giggs.

The title of the magazine is Match. This name works for this magazine because the name is directly related to the genre that it is publicising, as you play a 'match' of football. This as a masthead works because the target audience will see the word 'Match' and know instantly that it might be something they want to read about as it relates to their genre, football. In terms of the size of the masthead follows common conventions as it takes around 1/8 of the page. The masthead is partially covered by the main image, however due to the masthead being a known and relateable word,"Match.". Also, this is able to happen because the magazine is well known. When I come to creating my magazine I shall not look to cover my masthead at all as my magazine isn’t well known so I would want my masthead to become known and remembered so I want it to be visible.  The style of the masthead is good because it is a bold and plain font, which is very simple and is in a simplistic colour, red. The colour red is a suitable colour to use as it is the colour of many well known football teams around the world and is a colour that you would often see within football. The colour white also connotes wholeness and purity, which are strongly associated with the attitudes in football. This means that seeing such colours will have a positive effect on the target audience, as they will recognize the colour.

The layout of the magazine is fairly busy although there is only one main image. The positioning of the word "match!" is placed in the middle of the magazine; this is well positioned because it is the first thing that you look at when you see the magazine. The star vehicles are positioned as to where their teams would be placed in terms of ability and they have used arguably the most well known players from each team to promote the magazine so that the target audience will recognize. The magazine uses the colours red and white so that no fans feel left out as most teams use the either red or white somewhere in their kit. Also, the front of the magazine contains players of different origins, which shows that racial diversity within the magazine. This is vital in helping the magazines to become successful worldwide.

In terms of images, or image in this magazines case. There isn't one main image that takes up all of the front cover.The main image consists of well known players that are the subject of transfer news, as that it what the main feature of this addition of the magazine is, so the image gives an inclination into who and what the news might be. Other than this, there are lots of smaller images that are linked with other stories and competitions within the magazine.These images once more promote the contents of the magazine and what readers can look forward too.

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The title of this magazine is 'Match of the Day' which works for this genre because Match of the Day is a very well known and popular BBC football highlights show and this magazine is a product under the same brand. This means that seeing this title on a magazine fans of the TV show will recognise a will known show, that they like, and pick up the magazine. The masthead follows common conventions in the sense that is 1/8th of the page. The masthead is almost 100% visible, but its partially covered by the main star vehicle. This is acceptable for this magazine as it is well known, however, I will not look to do this with my magazine as it won't be well known.The masthead works well for this genre because it is a simple and bold font which has a football in place of the 'O' in 'of'. This masthead is a recognised masthead across many media platforms including, magazines, the internet and the  TV. This masthead is well known and has proved its effectiveness with the audience that it is targeting. The colours used in the masthead, black writing on a yellow background works well for this genre because the colours used and used and associated with football and in a way that kits and club merchandise is sold in these different colours for the teams that use them.

The layout of this magazine is busy although there is only one main image that fills most of the page. This seems to be a common convention of most football magazines.The main story is about the new season kicking off and the middle of the page this is advertised with the words, "Kick Off" this positioning of this title is important because it is in the middle of the page, where the kick off in a match of football takes place. The star vehicles in the image are positioned around the title showing that they are all involved with the kick off of the new season. The players used in the images are all top footballers and will be easily recognised by football fans, the target audience of this magazine. There are players in the image of multiple ethnic origins and this will help the magazine to appeal to a wider audience of people as it shows racial diversity and will enable the magazine to become more of a success worldwide.. In terms of colours the magazine follows common conventions as it contains a main colour scheme of yellow, black and red. These colours are associated with football and connote things that are associated with football. Black connotes the unknown and this is good for the main story is the start of the new season which is unknown. Yellow connotes happiness which is often associated with football as it brings entertainment and happiness to people who enjoy it and this feeling can be reached while playing football.

Initial thoughts on genre

“Attempts to structure some order into the wider range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for both the convenience of both producers and consumers.” John Friske

After researching the regional magazines from around Cornwall I noticed that there are no magazines that are specific for looking at football, aimed specially at males with an age of 14-26. The majority of magazines that I found in Cornwall were directed at an older audience with a subtle focus toward tourists. Therefore I believe that there is a gap in the market that my product will fill perfectly. Whilst researching regional magazines I came across no sporting magazines that were aimed at the ages 14-26. My product would be a sports magazine, particularly football. This magazine would consists of stories from football all over Cornwall, with insights into local matches, league, players and a look at how the respective county football sides are doing, young players achieving things and general football news, diet plans and reviews on sporting goods. Considering that there is nothing of this kind around the region at the moment, there is a real opportunity for my product to be a success.

Cornwall Today is one of the main regional magazines that I discovered whilst doing my research and although it has been made well the target audience is still one of an older age. As you can see in the Cornwall Today cover, the lexis on the front and the stories that the magazine on the front connotes an age above around 30. The two prizes that you can win are a “St Maves cookery break” and “Solar panels.” These are things that would typically attract an older audience and doesn’t have any consideration for a younger audience, that may pick up the magazine, whilst my magazine will be looking to target males that are younger than 30, 14-25 to be precise. I will be looking to create something similar to FourFourTwo magazine that has stories of football and what is going on in the sport, but from a local view. I feel that this will appeal to my target audience more.

How technology has impacted print media

Peter Fraser said that, “ A broader version of conventional literacy, which enables all visual, aural and digital forms, seeking to enable people to become thoughtful producers and interpreters of media.” This quote is perfect for describing the current institutional advances within print media in order to fulfil the satisfaction of having all of the things that they acquire.

 Technology has impacted print magazine in a negative way because people aren't required to spend money on magazines to find out information, the can either find it on magazine websites or access it on the online print (webzine). This means that less people are inclined to buy the printed version of the magazines because the cost is higher and it is more inconvenient to buy the magazine than it is to view the same information online. However, print magazines still attract the audience of the older generations as they are used to buying these types of products and changing to computers may be difficult for them. As the rapid increase in technology magazines are available on phones. Some people in the poorer parts of the world can’t afford technology so still have to buy and use print magazine.

A massive contributing factor to the technology affecting print media is the rise of things like tablets and iPads. These pieces of technology are easier to come by, as they are at the end of your fingertips. Whilst researching around this topic I came across a magazine called, K composite. This initially started as a free magazine, but with the rise of this technology decided to take advantage of this and made their product digital and is now available as an app, which is free. This shows how technology is impacting print media as they did not see the necessity to produce a magazine and this is showing that this is a forward step in digital media, as many companies have begun to do this. The idea of this product being free could have an effect on companies on a larger scale, like Bauer whose well-established products that are available at a cost may struggle under the need for free digital magazines.  

The three magazines that I have analysed through out my project, FourFourTwo, Match and Match of the Day magazines are products of large companies. These companies are now beginning to catch onto the idea of these apps, to be able to convey their magazine on many different media platforms, such as in app form so they can distribute their product on tablets and iPads.  Although differently to, K composite, these larger products tend to charge for their digital products. Despite the rise of free digital products that are similar these larger companies still can make money from these forms, as they are popular magazines that people still enjoy reading and still enjoy paying a small subscription that allows them to order magazines in bulk or one as they are released. However, consumers of these products want to get a full experience of looking and images and reading and reading and enjoying the media products as well as, being able to watch and interact. This is something the magazine industry is trying hard to accommodate to ensure that the industry still exists. As Gaunlett said, “The view that the Internet and new digital media as an optional extra is replaced with the recognition that they have fundamentally changed the ways we engage with all media.”

The three magazines that I have analysed through out my project, FourFourTwo, Match and Match of the Day magazines are products of large companies. These companies are now beginning to catch onto the idea of these apps, to be able to convey their magazine on many different media platforms, such as in app form so they can distribute their product on tablets and iPads.  Although differently to, K composite, these larger products tend to charge for their digital products. Despite the rise of free digital products that are similar these larger companies still can make money from these forms, as they are popular magazines that people still enjoy reading and still enjoy paying a small subscription that allows them to order magazines in bulk or one as they are released. However, consumers of these products want to get a full experience of looking and images and reading and reading and enjoying the media products as well as, being able to watch and interact. This is something the magazine industry is trying hard to accommodate to ensure that the industry still exists. As Gaunlett said, “The view that the Internet and new digital media as an optional extra is replaced with the recognition that they have fundamentally changed the ways we engage with all media.”

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/apr/15/magazine-print-lovers-printout-stack

This is a link to an article that I feel highlights the advancements in technology and how they affect print media, which ass extra information and more of an insight into how things are changing.