LO1 (P1:U21, M1:U21) - Generating ideas

LO1 (U21) - Be able to generate ideas for an original media product based on a client brief

I have been asked to create a North London based magazine that is either genre or location based. Below is the picture of the brief I have been given to complete. I have interpreted the client brief and understand what it has asked me. Here are the requirements that I will have to follow:

Initial thoughts

My first thoughts on this brief is that it is going to take me a long time to travel to different locations. The logistics of my idea may not work due to having to go to the rock gigs/concerts and then having to pay every single time to enter. This could cause problems in the long term, as it will become very repetitive and extremely time consuming. If this magazine is going to be weekly, it will need visits to concerts daily, or every other day. There may not be enough staff to do this, and It may be impractical, therefore I have to reassess the logistics of my idea to make it more viable as a magazine plan.

Personnel required - what jobs are there to complete?

• Photographer
• Graphic designer
• Editor (Editor-in-chief, Managing editor)
• Writer
• Proofreader
• Researcher
• Sales manager
• Production manager

Resources required - what resources need to be available for the production?

• Digital camera
• SD card
• Camera lens
• Camera case/holder
• Tripod
• Laptop
• Photoshop software
• Outfits
• Props (musical instruments)

Requirements

Implicit:
It has to be an online and print based magazines. This is implicit as they tell me exactly what format to create the magazine in, and the word 'and' suggests they need both to be done.
To create sample versions of a front cover and double page spread for the magazine. This specifically outlays exactly what parts of the magazine I have to produce a sample of, therefore it is an implicit requirement.


Explicit:
I have to plan and deliver my pitch. They have not explained what format or way I should be presenting it, therefore I have a full choice as to how I want to lay it out and what to cover. Asking for a pitch is very vague, and therefore an explicit requirement.


Open to interpretations:
It has to be North London based. This is a reasonably specific area, however there are thousands of locations within it. This means I can go to many places within North London to find the artist/band and the location. Therefore, it is open to interpretation exactly where to find out these objectives.

Idea 1:

My main and first idea would be to do a rock magazine, due to the excess of rock bands performing in gigs at venues in North London. Another reason I will be doing this genre is because I perform in annual concerts with rock bands, as I play guitar. I am close with the people in them, therefore I can interview and write articles on the two bands I know. They are both official bands and perform in many venues across North London, therefore they are the perfect bands to do my magazine on. Rock music is popular and fascinating, and with the current gap in the market for a local North London rock magazine, it would be too hard to pass up on. 

Strength(s):

1) I know many rock artists that are part of bands and that perform in North London regularly, in a plethora of venues too. This allows me to easily get photographs of real and upcoming rock artists in order to complete the final production of the front cover and double page spread of the magazine to a very high standard. By having an actual band member to model, it gives a real and local feel to the magazine, and enables me to include an interview which showcases how someone can become popular in a specific area, and what they have done to pursue this career.

2) Another strength is there are numerous rock venues scattered around North London, which are being used every night for rock artists and bands to perform their self composed music to people that have never heard of them before. This gives me information which I can report on for an article inside of the magazine, or names of venues and artists that I can use on the front cover to gain attention. 

Weakness(es):

1) One weakness would be that competitors are strong in this market. There are other rock magazines that are sold in North London such as ‘Classic Rock’ which would be strong competitors. Customers would more likely want to buy that magazine as it is known well and has reliable information in it. In addition, people may be loyal to that magazine, so they would not buy this one instead. 

Furthermore, I would be reporting on when and where specific rock artists or bands would be playing in concert. There is another London magazine called ‘Time Out’ which already reports on this type of information. This suggests that if someone wants to know where an artist or band is playing and wants to see them live, they will buy a ‘Time Out’ magazine to discover this information.

2) Another weakness is that the target audience is not 100% known for this genre. This is because there are younger people who are able to go out and buy a magazine and enjoy to read them on the way to school or work. I have chosen 18-25 as my target audience for these reasons.

However, the weakness is that older people such as 40-50 year olds very much enjoy rock music, and they would be inclined to buy a magazine more than the younger ages, as they grew up reading them and they have more disposable income, due to their earning of money. This suggests if I aim it at younger people, I will lose many potential older customers.

Idea 2:

My second idea would be to do a jazz based genre magazine. It would inform all readers of the latest jazz artists and venues which they would be able to visit, along with interesting information about the genre as a whole. I have chosen this as an idea because I have done lots of research on the North London music scene, and have found out that there are an excess of jazz music venues, for example, 606 club, Roundhouse and Under the Bridge. It is a unique genre, and there is a gap in the market for a local jazz magazine, as it is not regularly reported on.

Strength(s): 

1) The biggest strength to this idea for my North London magazine is that there are many new and current jazz venues in North London, as listed above. This means there would be plenty of information to report on, as I would be able to visit each venue and give them reviews, let the audience know who is playing at the venues and inform them of dates and times the specific artist they want to see is live in concert. This would aid the magazines weekly content if this was the path in which it would take, or alternately have an excess of information to put into a monthly magazine. This enables flexibility for the magazine as it could be weekly or monthly.

Weakness(es): 

1) A main weakness to this idea is that this genre is very specific, and it doesn't have a massive target audience, especially in a urban area such as North London. There is only a small sector in the music magazine market that would even consider buying this magazine, therefore it would be difficult to retain enough sales and therefore profit to make it a sustainable magazine. If it was to be a weekly magazine, from my research it would not gain a substantial enough number of customers who would be loyal and buy it week in week out. Monthly would be more ideal, as people may sporadically read this magazine, however it would still struggle to find a strong target audience.

Idea 3:

My third and final idea would be to produce a venue based magazine, which would notify all readers on the coolest and hottest music venues to visit. The target audience could be people who are visiting North London and want to have a fun night out, or just for people who have a strong interest in music, therefore may want to go. The aim is to help readers understand where and when to go to these venues, and why each of them are so cool and unique. In addition, It would contain information about individual artists performing at the locations, therefore people may want to buy it to see where and when their favourite artist is playing music live.

Strength(s):

1) The most important strength to identify is that there are absolutely hundreds of music venues in North London, as it is a very densely populated city with loads of nightlife. This means there would be endless venues to report on and compare to one another. This would lead to an enormous amount of content, meaning it would always fill the magazine weekly or monthly. This links to the plethora of artists of all genres that are in North London. This gives me even more content to include in my magazine. As it is based on letting the reader know what artists are performing at what times at which venues, having a wide range of artists to report on enables me to make it a successful magazine.

Weakness(es): 

1) A weakness to this idea is that there is a very strong competitor in the market. ‘Time Out’ report on all venues and artists and when each of them are performing. This is a very well known magazine, which has also always known to be reliable. This suggests if anyone wants to know about artists performing in venues, and how to book tickets etc, then they will buy the well known magazine. This could lead to this magazine struggling to gain a sufficient number of sales, as the gap in the market has already been filled.

In conclusion, the most appropriate idea would be to pick idea 1, due to the accessibility of bands and individuals that would be able to complete useful interviews and take photos of them in concert. I will meet the brief because I will successfully be able to get photographs of a North London rock artist and therefore will be able to complete a front cover and double page spread of the magazine. In addition, I have a good knowledge of rock music in North London, therefore I will confidently be able to plan and deliver a pitch explaining why I am choosing this idea for my magazine, and how I am going to go about producing it.