Magazines GQ: Aud and Ind

 1) How does the media kit introduction describe GQ?

To be GQ is to be forward-looking, progressive and cutting-edge.

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 

As masculinity evolves and men's fashion has moved to the centre of the global pop-culture conversation, GQ's authority has never been broader or stronger.

3) Pick out three statistics from the data on page 2 and explain what they suggest about the GQ audience.

- 1.8 million social followers: GQ has a large amount of its audience find it from its online presence. 

- 61% ABC1: GQ's audience is mostly upper middle class.

- £7.7K average annual spend on fashion: GQ's audience are highly interested in fashion, which the magazine takes into account.

4) Look at page 3 - brand highlights. What special editions do GQ run and what do these suggest about the GQ audience?

- GQ Heroes: It "brings together gamechangers, creative radicals, deep thinkers and cultural icons", suggesting how its audience will care about social issues and taking part in modern culture. 

- GQ Hype: It features "the stars who are moving culture forward", suggesting how the GQ audience has an interest in trending and innovative celebrities, artists and figures instead of focusing on traditional depictions of masculinity.

5) Still on page 3, what does the video and social series section suggest about how magazine audiences are changing? 

The video and social media series suggests that most of the audience for a magazine in our digital media landscape does not come from the actual print product but rather the promotion and content of it that has an online presence, indicating a decline in audiences' use of print. 

1) What are the elements that go into choosing a cover stars for GQ? 

In the UK, getting the cover right is paramount – at GQ especially, most sales of the magazine are retail rather than subscription, so the cover has a huge impact on sales. The mistake, though, is to simply try to get the most famous person for any given month who has a ‘hook’ and hence the reason they would do the cover in the first place – but the reality is this often doesn’t work. It needs to be the right person at the right time – that always matters more than fame.

2) How is the magazine constructed to serve the target audience? 

GQ is a men's style magazine and so GQ is always in service to that in both print and online. GQ wouldn’t consider itself just this – at its best, it’s also a brilliant forum for excellent profile writing and world-class photography and design, along with award-winning longform feature writing and sharp culture writing.

3) What does the article suggest about GQ's advertisers and sponsorships - and what in turn does this tell us about the GQ audience? 

In terms of advertisers, is brands that want to promote themselves in the sphere of male, high-end, luxury lifestyle. So, everything from top-tier tailoring to the latest sports cars. Sponsors tend to be a little more fluid. These will often be the brands who, for instance, sponsor individual categories at the Men of the Year awards, or partner with GQ’s live talks event, GQ Heroes.

4) What is GQ Hype - and how does it reflect the impact of digital media on traditional print media?

 

GQ Hype is a weekly, online-only cover, designed to get more attention both on Instagram and Twitter than other online-only stories, reflecting how magazines have had to leverage the influence of digital media in order to keep audiences' interest in their products.

5) Finally, what does the article say about additional revenue streams for print magazines like GQ?  

Extra revenue streams are vital to the magazine business these days – it’s almost impossible to survive

without them. It’s about deciding the key areas in which the brand is strong and focussing on those, rather than expanding into areas you are not associated with. So, along with the annual Men of the Year awards – using GQ’s unparalleled celebrity contacts – GQ also had an annual car awards, and a food and drink awards. All subjects covered in the magazine, but crucially, focussing on high-end and luxury, as the magazine does. GQ’s most recent innovation was the GQ Heroes event, where revenue is generated by both ticket prices and sponsorship.

1) Who was previously GQ editor for 22 years? 

The previous GQ editor had been Dylan Jones.

2) What happened to the 'lads' mag' boom magazines such as Nuts, Maxim and Loaded? 

Nuts and Maxim closed down and Loaded has gone online only. Jones has distanced himself from the “lads’ mag” boom of the 1990s, saying it “denigrated our culture”. 

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 

According to the chief executive officer Roger Lynch, the aim is a stable of magazines that stay “digital-first and globally local with everything we do”.

1) What does the article suggest about Condé Nast's recent strategy? 

The article suggests that Conde Nast's digital-first approach around its magazines has been successful enough to not only increase their online engagements but increase the amount of print orders they have received. 

2) How does chief executive Roger Lynch describe Condé Nast and why? 

Last month, chief executive Roger Lynch told the New York Times the digital-first changes meant Conde Nast was “no longer a magazine company,” saying it has “70 million people who read our magazines, but we have 300 something million that interact with our websites every month and 450 million that interact with us on social media”.

3) What does Adam Baidawi say about Condé Nast, GQ and culture? 

Baidawi told Press Gazette: “Conde Nast, as much as anything else, is in the business of shaping and reflecting culture. Culture moves, and we have to move with it. If you take GQ, for instance, I don’t think we were in a position to shape and reflect culture with 21 siloed businesses around the world centred around print products.”

1) How is Condé Nast moving away from traditional print products?

Condé Nast has announced 75 returning series and 50 new pilots across 17 brand channels for 2021-2022, capitalising on huge growth in streaming in the past year. Its brands will focus on shoppable series and reaching incremental viewers via new programmes and “supercharged” relaunches of some of its most exclusive events.

2) What examples are provided of Condé Nast's video and streaming content?

Vogue’s expansion into wellness, GQ Sports’ 2022 Super Bowl lineup, and Vanity Fair’s expansion into audio. The company also launched Condé Nast Shoppable, a new video capability that provides buyable opportunities for viewers in real time. 

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 

“Audiences want to be participants, not just passive viewers – and of course, they want content 100 per cent personalised for them,” said Chu.

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?

The website features a lot of the main images and cover lines similar to the print magazine.

2) Analyse the top menu of the GQ website (e.g. Fashion / Grooming / Culture). What do the menu items suggest about GQ's audience?

The website features a lot of the main images and cover lines similar to the print magazine.

3) What does GQ's Instagram feed suggest about the GQ brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

Their Instagram feed suggests the GQ brand is branching out from its upper-class and refined roots to appeal to a younger audience. This audience want to follow trends in society and see the newest developments in fashion and culture.

4) In your opinion, is GQ's social media content designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

GQ's social media content is designed to build a digital audience more than it is meant to sell the print magazine as it focuses on trending topics and celebrities by posting their best photoshoots.

5) Evaluate the success of the GQ brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?

1) What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?

Between 2010 and 2017 there was a fall by 42% from 23.8m to 13.9m. In 200 there was a percentage decline of 55% from 30.8m.

2) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?

Google and Facebook account for 65% of the $6.5bn (£4.7bn) UK digital display ad market. Their digital ad revenues is by taking about 90% of all new spend.

3) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

Specialist magazines, catering for more niche audiences with interests ranging from shooting to model railways and ponies, are likely to always have a print fanbase.

4) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams?

Mounting pressure on the traditional print magazine business, which still drives most revenues, is forcing consolidation as publishers seek scale to survive.

5) Now think of the work you've done on GQ. How is GQ diversifying beyond print? 

GQ has focused towards diversifying beyond print through its new digital-first approach that Conde Nast has taken with all its major magazines, bolstering its online presence as there is a higher amount of success for the magazine online than solely through print products.