Evaluation: Institutions

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

I would want my magazine to be as successful as possible, and to make this a reality I would have to take risks. I would try to get Bauer to publish my magazine, as they publish some of the largest and best-known music magazines that fit into my target audience (Kerrang!, Q and MOJO), alongside many other types of magazines that fit into other categories (health, films, celebrities, lifestyle, vehicles).

Bauer publish 107 different brands and more than 570 magazines, over 300 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations. More than 600 titles worldwide reach out to all the key target groups, especially women. 56% of women read a magazine from Bauer, selling approximately 433 million issues each year, of which 96% are retail sales and subscriptions. 25 of their magazines are among the 100 highest selling in retail sales. They are also market leaders in consumer magazines in weeklies, premiums, youth, people and lifestyle, children, listings guides and more. With such a wide audience purchasing magazines published by Bauer, I may be able to stand a fair chance with a dominantly rock music based magazine, as rock is a very large genre of music and one of the most commonly played in radio stations. I could even have my own radio station later down the line if the magazine is successful enough to justify it - expanding my audience even further.

Two magazines published by Bauer - a celebrity-based magazine and a magazine about motorcycles.

In order to make the deal work, I would have to make sure the advertising pull is fair and justified in my magazine to keep it relevant. For example, it would make sense to feature some of Bauer's other published magazines rather than an advert for a car, as they would benefit more from it. I could spare a few full pages for Bauer's advertisements knowing that my audience would be far larger, rather than self-publishing or using another method. However, this does mean I have less space to display actual content, of which would be available with a smaller publisher.