Treatment

Print Advertising Treatment/Proposal

Product name: Liquorice

Client:

Date:                                                                               Project completion date:

Branding Objectives

What is the genre of your magazine? What are you informing your audience about? How will it branded? What are the connotations of your branding decisions? What are the connotations of the magazine’s name?

The genre of the magazine is an alternative lifestyle magazine. This will be aimed at students aged 16-24, who are interested in different issues which affect them, such as University and the future, government spending, as well as less in depth articles, based on the area they live, and the places they can go. Therefore I will be informing that audience about University, how to get there, what to avoid, tips and so on. I will also be informing them on York, a local city, and the places they can go, as well as the budget cuts, and how they are affecting us as a youth culture in the North East, and what they mean for the future. Hopefully this will interest them, as my magazine discusses issues, which are real, and happening now, and for the majority of my readers, affecting them in their lives. This can be seen mainly through the University article, which I am including, and the Budget Cuts article, with the one on York acting as a less in-depth, more informative article, therefore giving the reader a balance of both. Therefore I feel as though I am engaging the audience, and giving them advice on ‘real’ situations. This in turn, gives the magazine a brand that revolves around students, and their life, rather than creating something that doesn’t create a link or create articles which students cannot see themselves in, and engage in. In terms of branding and colours, I will be aiming for a pastel colour palette, with the inclusion of pink, yellow, green and blue, having a pastille theme, with soft colours, rather than brash, bright ones, which can appear of putting and ‘in your face’. This hopefully will not make it completely male or female, but be gender neutral, having the stereotypical ‘yellow and pink’ as female colours, and ‘blue and green’ as male colours, therefore creating a balance between the two. This will then hopefully make the magazine appeal to both genders, with the title of the magazine on the front cover in purple, which will both stand out from the colour scheme, and also is a colour which is said to ‘inspire imagination and creativity’ which is something I would like to think my magazine would promote. This colour scheme also lends itself to the brand, which is to create a ‘handmade’ style magazine. It will not look like a ‘zine’ but with the pastel colours, and the fonts which I have chosen to be displayed on each DPS as well as the front cover: ‘Letter Gothic Standard’ and ‘Frenchy’, they create a look which connotes a handmade, less structured feel, which hopefully resonates with the reader, as they feel the magazine has been carefully put together and made for them.  The magazine will be called ‘Liquorice’, with the reason that it’s a sweet that is different, and isn’t a first choice for everyone, but is tailored to those who like the taste, it’s a bit edgy, and ‘acquired taste’, and hopefully that is what my magazine will be. Something that is different, not the norm, but has a brand and a ‘flavour’ that strays from what everyone else is doing. Therefore it creates a link to the articles on University and Budget Cuts, which aren’t what you would necessarily expect in a magazine based on the younger generation but once read, you realise they fit the genre, and you’d go back and read them again. Overall, the name connotes something that could be seen as edgy and different.

Audience communication objectives
Who is your audience? Identify: tribe, socioeconomics, age, gender split.	My audience is male and female students aged from 16-24, with a 40/60% split between the two. This is because although I want the magazine to be generally equal in audience, from research I have done it appears more females would read the magazine, and the colour scheme may lend to them slightly more, however 40/60% split isn’t entirely uneven. The main target audience will be ABC1’s who have an interest in ‘real life’ issues and have a focus on the area they live in, as well as going out and seeing places that surround them, and exploring the North East both in terms of visiting a place, as well as exploring the issues which face the North East, which would be met in terms of my ‘budget cuts’ article. Therefore it will be aimed at students who are interested in their future, as well as the future of the North East. The inclusion of 16-24 years means that it covers from college students to University students, however the inclusion of the University article can apply to both 16 and 24 years, as there is no age limit on when you can go to University, therefore it can apply to someone in college, and someone who is 24 deciding to go to University. Therefore I don’t think the magazine will be a ‘niche’ publication, but will be different from the type of magazines which are aimed at that age group. This links to the socioeconomic group of ABC1’s, as they are a group which are more likely to be looking at their futures, and have the disposable income to afford to, as well as, stereotypically, be interested in topics which aren’t necessarily something which young people would take an interest in. The inclusion of the ‘My Cities’ article, lends itself again to the disposable income part, that they can afford to go there, and spend money on the places which my DPS would recommend, maybe more so than a C1/C2/D audience. In terms of tribe, my magazine will be aimed at a mixture of ‘Leading Edge’ and ‘Aspirant’, including creative young alts, and possibly DIYers, as they are all ‘on the pulse with new bands, art, film and technology, they drive youth culture’ and this is where I would pitch the magazine amongst these type of people. It’s about young people either at college, University, or working, but they are interested in the world around them, the place they live and are looking at the bigger picture. These types of tribes have key words: ‘resourceful, proactive, influential and experimental’ and that is something I would aspire my magazine to be.
Your unique selling point	My USP is that there is no other type of magazine on the market, aimed at young people of both genders, which has articles on topics which can relate to both their lives, and the area that they live in. There are, of course, many national magazines which could be seen as ‘similar’ but they aren’t tailored to the area in which my magazine would be distributed, and they don’t always focus in topics which are of importance and interest to young people. Hopefully the magazine relates and reflects the ideas of young people, as well as their interests, and that they find the magazine engages with them, as it is tailored for them. The magazine has topics which stereotypically, people believe younger people are not interested in, such as ‘budget cuts’, and exploring the area they live in. Many magazines provide celeb gossip and clothing, and although these are interests of young people, hopefully my magazine shows that ‘we’ don’t just have ‘superficial’ ideas about the world around us.

Overview
Description of front cover and contents page Content. Imagery to be deployed: metaphorical, ideal, window to the future self	Front Cover: The front cover of my magazine will use the pastel colour scheme that I have selected to use throughout the magazine, which therefore carries on with the idea of creating a brand and identity for the magazine. It will contain a central image, which will be of a student, in casual clothing, and a bag, suggesting they are going to college, and also represent the reader, therefore not necessarily promoting a window to the future self, but promoting a window to a person which is relatable, and one which the reader can associate themselves with. This is because my magazine is centred on young people, and more so, students, therefore they need to be a focus on the front cover, to create a connection to the reader and the magazine. The image will therefore be studio based, shot with a butterfly effect, as it complements the model and is lighting which also appears bright, and will be a mid-body shot, from the waist upward. This guarantees that the model will be the main focus of the front cover, with the main headline, and sell lines placed around, in order the engage the reader. The main headline will be placed in the lower third of the page, ‘Uni Blues’: placed over the bottom half of the image, therefore creating a direct link between the image of the student and the ‘Uni Blues’ article. The other sell lines will be placed around the image, ‘The Cuts Crisis’ and ‘My Cities…’ to engage the reader, with the University article holding the main focus. In terms of font, and visual aspects, aside from the imagery, I will be using purple as the title colour, with blue and pink also included on the front, again, as mentioned, keeping with the pastel theme. These colours therefore, are not brash and bold, but mix well together, and create coherence with the magazine and its brand. The font uses for the title and the main headline will be ‘Big Noodle Titling’: Liquorice / Uni Blues The font used for the sell lines will be ‘Letter Gothic Standard’ and ‘Frenchy’: ‘We explore the cities you should be checking out’. Which is also used throughout the magazine, therefore keeping with the idea of a brand, and identity. The fonts are also a mix of serif and sans serif, with the main title sans serif in order to attract the reader, whilst the serif font to provide a balance between the two. This is the type of front cover I am aiming for. Contents: The contents page will come after an advert which will be placed on the inside front cover page. It will include an overview of the content as well as the main sell lines featured on the front cover, explored in more detail. It will also feature a competition, mentioned on the front cover, with all the information on how to win, and where to apply. This therefore gives the contents page an added extra, and also draws the reader in, as they have something other than page numbers featured on it. In terms of imagery, it will included images used in the DPS’s to create a link to each article, therefore being literal, using the same fonts as the front cover, again keeping with the idea of a brand. The text to image ratio will be around 60:40, as the contents page needs to include slightly more text than imagery, although the images will be just as prominent on the page, in order to keep the readers interest, which should also be helped by the inclusion of the competition, placed in the left lower third of the page.
Double Page 1 Title, content and article type	This article will be called: Uni Blues. The article will focus on University and the different aspects about applying, writing the personal statement, choosing courses and Universities, and in general deciding what to do in the future, as well as helpful tips. The article is therefore informative and, in some aspects inspirational, as it provides the reader with goals and ideas that they could achieve. I think that this type of article is vitally important for young people, as although there are websites and tutors who can help with University, sometimes it’s easier to read about it from the angle of a student, and read up on tips, without having to trawl through endless sites. It’s an informative article for the target audience, and is something I hope they would find helpful. The language use will therefore be light and objective, but keep an air of seriousness, as I don’t want the language to appear heavy and like instructions, but keep the tone chatty and informative, as I think the audience is likely to respond to this better. Therefore I will be using a mixture of 2nd and 3rd person pronouns in order for the audience to relate to, and also feel as though the article has been tailored for them. In terms of length, it will be long, as there is lots of information to put into the article, with the intro style either a quote or an anecdote, which again, the audience can relate to. Per page there will be two columns, with the paragraph lengths around 80-100 words, split up into sections, which will be headed by titles, such as ‘A Degree For Life (Not Just For Christmas)’ which will then follow with content that relates to that title. This breaks the article into chunks, which then becomes easier to read, and the sections means the reader can refer back to different parts of the text, rather than having to read the entire thing again to get to a tip they found useful. In terms of font, the headline font, ‘Uni Blues’ will be ‘Frenchy’ which is also used on the front cover and contents page, keeping a theme and brand throughout the article, with each letter of the title placed into a separate circle, which will be coloured in either pink, blue, green or yellow, as seen below:   This colour use again keeps the brand throughout, with the kicker in Letter Gothic, the same font used on the front cover and contents. Therefore brand is evident here. The headline, as seen above, will also have small cartoon/drawings surrounding them, with the pencil and speech bubble to add humour and more dynamics to the DPS. The font for the actual body of text will be a plain, easy to read font, such as Arial, or Calibri, therefore making it easier to read on the page, and clear to the audience. The text to image ratio will be hopefully 50:50, with the inclusion of a breakout box on the second page to split up the text, and incorporate images into them, therefore the text doesn’t become off putting to the reader, as it doesn’t appear to have masses of it. The imagery will be studio based with a white background, using light imagery, with a female model. The imagery will also be passive, with the main focus of the images of the female model, who will be a student, surrounded by books, stationary and university prospectuses, therefore creating literal images, that are hopefully relatable and real to the audience. There is no real obvious makeup and styling, as she is to appear as an everyday college student, again creating a link to the reader. The placement of the images will create links to the text, through the use of eye lines, directing the reader to the text, and eye lines again used to direct the reader to the breakout box, therefore the images have a purpose on the page, rather than just been placed to look good. The header will be at the top of the left hand page, with two columns underneath, as well as two images and a quote. The right hand page will contain two columns, with a breakout box and images placed between them.
Double Page 2 Title, content and article type	This article will be called: My Cities…. The article will focus on the city of York, and each month would act as a regular feature, with different places in the North East. The article will discuss different places in York to go and ‘check out’ such as restaurants, music venues, bookshops, clothes shops, and so on, therefore giving an insight into York, making sure I write about more unique and obscure places, which are different from the norm, and a big more creative, much like the magazine, and the ethos it has. The article will therefore be an informative and round up style article, with a heavy focus on ‘hidden gems’ where people may not have been before. This is a less in depth article for the reader and allows them to explore the area they live in, and act as a break from the University and college stresses.   The language use will therefore be light and informative, generally being helpful to the reader, almost chatting to them as you would with friends. This would hopefully keep them interested in the article, and feel relaxed as well as engaged when reading. I also think the audience are more likely to respond to a tone that is friendly and chatty rather than ‘telling’ them where they should be going in York. Therefore I will be using a mixture of 2nd and 3rd person pronouns in order for the audience to relate to, and also feel as though the article has been tailored for them. In terms of article length, it will be broken up into paragraphs per header. Therefore there will be an introduction, then headers before each piece of text such as ‘Where to grab a bite!’ and ‘How to get well read’, which are then followed by around 80-100 words with tips and information of the particular place/area. This makes the article easier to read, and refer back to, if the reader wants to visit the place, they don’t have to read through masses of prose but can simply refer back to a chunk in the article. This is similar to that of the Uni article, but this won’t be written in continuous prose, instead broken up into different sections. In terms of font, it will follow the same themes used throughout the magazine, with the headline font in ‘Frenchy’ and the kicker font in Letter Gothic Standard, which again keeps the brand running throughout. The ‘My’ part of the headline ‘My Cities’ will be placed into a circle, again keeping that theme running throughout, with the kicker in a yellow box, having the pastel theme present. This colour use keeps the brand running throughout, with the headline again having a small cartoon of a taxi to its top right, much like the pen and speech bubble used in the Uni DPS. This again adds more dynamics to the article. The font for the actual body of text will be a plain, easy to read font, such as Calibri.   The text to image ratio will be around 40:60, as each section of text will be mirrored with an image that links to the text content and header. This makes it easier to read, and provides links from the images to the text which the reader can pick up on, and memorise, if they decide to go there. For example, ‘Where to grab a bite!’ would be followed by text, and an image of the restaurant. The layout I am aiming for can be seen below:   The imagery will not be studio based, instead will be shot on location in and around York. The images will be literal, having photos which relate to the article, and show York, instead of being metaphorical. I think this is key that the images are on location, as the article is about a city, so the images should reflect that, and also act as a guide to readers, on where to spot these places if they go to York. In essence, the main focus of the images has to be the city. As mentioned, the images will be placed alongside the corresponding piece of text, as seen in the rough example above. This will be the layout of the images for the second and third DPS pages, with the first page containing one image only, as I will need to have an introduction to the article.  In terms of overall layout, the header will be in the top third of the first page, with text beneath and an image. The second page will contain three images, with three separate pieces of text, and the third page will be only half a page, with an advert cutting in two. The third page will have another image and piece of text, as well as a breakout box which relates to the text on the page.
Double page  3 Title, content and article type	This article will be called: The Cuts Crisis. The article will focus on the budget cuts made by the government, and how they are affecting young people; aged 16-24 (target audience) in the local area, focusing mainly on the North East and the areas the Northern Echo is published to. It will have a main interest on the cuts to education, as well as possibly social care, youth groups/clubs, and young people as individuals. The reason for this is that I feel there is a lack in explanation in what the younger generation are losing out on, and I think it’s important that we understand what goes on in the local area, and try to engage young people into it. The article is therefore an expose as well as been informative, giving the reader insights into political decisions as the knock on effects, and what it could mean for the future. The language use will therefore be less light than the previous two articles, going more in-depth into the article content, more serious, but not overly elevated, as I don’t want to put the reader off, instead engage them into the article through the use of interrogatives, to keep the article moving, and get them involved in asking important questions about the cuts. I think the audience would respond to this better than an overly serious, less inclusive article and language tone. Therefore there will be a mix of 2nd person pronouns to engage the audience, and address them, as well as 3rd person, to become inclusive. In terms of length, it will be fairly extensive, written in continuous prose, as this is the heaviest article I am going to write, and there is a lot of information to get in. The intro style will lead more towards an anecdote, for which the audience can then relate to, and engage them into reading on. In terms of columns, there will be 2 on the first page, split up by either a breakout box or quote, with the second page containing 3 columns, to allow for the extended article. Each paragraph will be around 80-100 words, and may contain headers above different sections to split the reading up more, and make the continuous prose style seem less daunting to read. In terms of font, just like my other two articles, the headline will be in ‘Frenchy’, kicker in ‘Letter Gothic’, and main body of text in a simple font, either Arial or Calibri. This keeps the branding and theme running throughout, and gives the entire magazine coherence. Therefore the colour scheme, of pastel tones, will also be present, with the ‘Crisis’ part of the headline placed into various pastel style colours, in circles, much like the first DPS title, to keep the theme running throughout the magazine. Again, there will be a mini cartoon/graphic placed in the top right hand corner of the title, keeping the branding running throughout, and adding something extra to the page, which hopefully the readers will enjoy. The graphic will most likely be scissors, to act as a link to the ‘Cuts’ section of the headline. It will hopefully look something like this example from my flat plans:   The text to image ratio will be around 70:30 or 60:40 depending on the article length, because this is the most in depth article, therefore it will require more text to images, and unlike the cities article, where the images are vital to the article, here, the text is more prominent and important than the images. Hopefully this will not put the reader off. In terms of the images themselves, there will be some, which will be studio based, literal, placed with a white background. The model will have a ‘protest’ sign, which will either have slogans already painted on, or will contain no letter and I will place them in on Photoshop. Therefore the focus of the images will be the signs themselves rather than the model; however the model will be styled like a college student, creating a link to the reader, and relate-ability. The images will be placed on the second page, underneath the 3 columns, with the model creating eye lines to the text and the slogans placed onto the signs, therefore the images will have a purpose on the page, but the text, for this article, will take more prominence. Therefore, in terms of layout, the header will be at the top of the left hand page, central to the page, with 2 columns placed underneath, and a breakout box. The right hand page will contain 3 columns in the top two thirds of the page, with the images placed in into the bottom two thirds.

Distribution objectives

Free to view, supplement, retail? Circulation: how many and why this number? Outlets and rationale: Pricing: premium, mid or free to view? Why? Print quality: Discuss print finishing, magazine size, paper quality. Number of pages. Advertising to content ratio

The chosen system of distribution I am going to use is a supplement model, as I feel this is the best distribution method for the type of magazine. This is because with a ‘free to view’ copy the quality would have to be examined, and maybe taken down, and with a retail model, it would be hard to sell copies. However, as my magazine focuses on the North East, and so does the Northern Echo, it seems right they it would go out with the newspaper, creating a sense of coherence between the two, as well as creating links to the local area. Also, the Northern Echo’s ABC1 readership both online and in publication is 49,771 people, 51% of their total readership, and my magazine is aimed at the same group, so I am hitting the target audience more so than retail and free to view model, as a readership has already been established. The supplement will go out once a month, with the Saturday edition of the Northern Echo; therefore I will be printing around 40,000 copies to match that of the Echo’s distribution. Because of the choice to use a supplement model, there will be no price on the magazine, as it will come with the Northern Echo. In terms of printing, I will be using 130 GSM coated paper, with a front cover of the same quality, as I want the magazine to look sleek, and professional, and appeal to the audience. The sizing will be A4, similar to that of Dazed and Confused magazine, with the pages set at 12 per issue, one front cover, one contents page, 3 DPS, therefore having 3 pages of advertising, as one DPS covers 3 pages. Therefore there is 9 pages to 3 adverts, incurring a loss of £-4883. This is something I need to be aware of, and when creating the magazine, I may have to either extend the pages to 16 to include more advertising, and take down the quality of printing in order to generate a profit, or find less expensive equipment and personnel hire, therefore this is something I will definitely consider.

Visual Aesthetics
Story control Objectives & Language Control Objectives	Uni Blues: This article will focus on University and the different aspects about applying, such as choosing courses and Universities, and in general deciding what to do in the future, as well as helpful tips on the personal statement. In terms of length it will be around 1000 words, with each paragraph 100-200 words, as they will be broken into sections, with a header above each, and also because there is a lot of information I need to get down, so there is a necessity to have longer paragraphs. Text to image ratio is around 60:40. The article will be informative, with an anecdotal intro style, to add reliability to the reader, and hopefully, overall, the article is something the reader will find interesting. The narrative voice will be 2nd and 3rd person, so I can both address the reader, as well as be inclusive, with a more colloquial lexis, rather than formal. The tone will therefore be chatty, and light, as I want to the reader to enjoy the article rather than feel they are being talked at.  My Cities: This article will focus on the city of York. The article will discuss different places in York to go and ‘check out’ such as restaurants, music venues, bookshops, clothes shops, therefore giving an insight into the city. I will have more focus on independent shops, so instead of recommending Nando’s, for example, I would choose an independent restaurant, to give more promotion to the ‘hidden gems’ in York. In terms of length, overall, it will be around 1000 words, maybe slightly more, with each paragraph around 150 words, broken up, as mentioned before, into sections that correspond with an image. Text to image ratio will be around 40:60, with the article style both informative, and round up. The language use will be light and chatty, and more colloquial, as I want the reader to feel relaxed when reading the article, and enjoy reading about York, chatting to them as you would with friends. This would hopefully keep them interested in the article. The narrative voice I will be using is a mix of 2nd and 3rd person, again to address the reader as well as act inclusive, through the use of pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘us’. The intro style will be either descriptive, or a question, to get the reader interested and engaged into the article. The Cuts Crisis: This article will focus on the budget cuts made by the government, and how they are affect young people; aged 16-24 (target audience) in the local area, focusing on the North East. It will have a main interest on the cuts to education, as well as possibly youth groups/clubs, and young people as individuals. The reason for this is that I feel there is a lack in explanation in what the younger generation are losing out on, and I think it’s important that we understand what goes on in the local area, and try to engage young people into it. The article will be expose and informative, with the intro style a question, posed to the reader, about the cuts, to engage them into the article. In terms of length it will be around 1500 words, with each paragraph around 150 words, as there is a lot of information to get into the DPS. The text to image ratio will either be 60:40, or 70:30, as the prominence of this article is the text, rather than a mixture of text and imagery. The tone will be more formal, than colloquial, and there will be a mix of 2nd person pronouns to engage the audience, and address them, as well as 3rd person, to become inclusive. I may also include some emotive language, and there will be a focus on the semantic field of politics, as I want to fully explain the cuts, but in a way that the audience will engage with.
Image content objectives	I have previously mentioned by image objectives in the front cover and DPS columns above, so it’s clear where I want to go with my imagery. Most will be shot in a studio, with a white backdrop, using butterfly lighting, with one DPS shot on location, in York, therefore having more polaroid, external imagery. Apart from the location imagery, there will be props in the shots, such as books, stationary or protest signs, to add more dynamics to the imagery, and also create literal links to the article. There will be little makeup on the models, as I want them to look like everyday college students, rather than models whose look is unattainable, and non-relatable, as this magazine isn’t focused on that type of imagery, but more on imagery which the audience can relate to. Therefore each model used will be between the ages of 16-24.
Colour control objectives	The colour in the magazine as mentioned will be pastel colours, mainly pink, blue, green and a soft yellow, with the magazine title ‘Liquorice’ in purple. This is because purple connotes creativity, which is something I want to promote, and the pastel colour scheme creates a balance between the two genders, and therefore doesn’t make my magazine (hopefully) overly male, or overly female based. Although I am not using a three colour rule, I have four select colours, which run throughout the magazine, and create a brand through the colour use, as it is continually used. In terms of the background colour of each page, this will be white, which therefore makes the images and colour scheme more prominent on the page.
Typography objectives	For the main body of text the font will either be Arial or Calibri, as this is going to be the easiest to read, and there is no need to have anything other than a simple font for the body of text. The headline font will be ‘Frenchy’, with the kicker and breakout box font, ‘Letter Gothic Standard’, and the magazine title font ‘Big Noodle Titling’. I think the use of the main three fonts creates a brand for the magazine, as well as continuity running throughout, and the types of fonts I have selected also look handwritten, and more personal than a serif font, therefore connoting the reliability the magazine has, and promoting the idea of it being tailored for the reader.
Layout objectives	In terms of columns, each page will be different. University Blues article will have 2 columns per page, My Cities article will be broken up into paragraphs that correspond with images, and the Cuts Crisis article will have 2 columns on the first page and 3 on the second. This provides variety on each page, and changing layouts will hopefully keep the reader interested, and the use of different columns and styles on each page also break the text up well, and allow the reader to engage rather than be put off my mass amounts of writing. The header will always reside at the top of the left hand page with the kicker underneath, and hopefully this variety of layout styles will make the magazine less static, and more dynamic. In terms of diagonals, the images used will create diagonals to the text, through the use of eye-lines, and placement on the page, therefore they will direct the reader to the article, and thus the images have more importance on the page than just making the page look good. In some of the articles I will have a breakout box, which will be placed with prominence on the page, either between two columns, or beside an image, to add something extra for the reader, and also give an area where I can add more information into the magazine, and article.