Evaluation Question Three

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

Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany that manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world. The portfolio extends to include print shops, postal, distribution and marketing services. 

I would choose Bauer Media Group to distribute my magazine due to it being a large European based company with already founded success within the media and magazine industry. It is one of the largest distributors of magazines in the world and I feel it will be the best distributor for my magazine due to it operating all over the world. This means I can spread the name of my magazine and sell it internationally. Using Bauer Media Group as my distributor would be beneficial to me as they are a well-known company with great publicity and marketing which would allow me to expand out and target new customers. They also have a gap in the market for this genre of magazine as I have not seen many like mine distributed by this company.

 

 media product might be distributed in music shops such as HMV as it appeals to the same type of audience as would use that shop. Equally, this is a shop that is dedicated to selling existing music products such as CD’s and vinyl’s, o the type of customer who would use this shop could be a potential consumer of my product and so it would be more accessible and convenient for them if my product was distributed there. Furthermore, while they may not be a potential consumer of my product, while they are in a music shop such as HMV, they might be tempted to make additional purchases they had not planned to, impulse buys, and so my product would maybe sell more successfully there as the customers using that facility are already consumers of music and have commuted to that specific location to make music purchases and will be more easily persuaded to make additional purchases.

It might also sell in super markets as there is a variety of people who use that facility and an R&B product such as my magazine might appeal to a selection of the users in a supermarket. I would distribute my magazine in well known, big brand shops such as Tesco, Sainsburys and WHSmiths. I would sell my magazine in these shops as they are very popular and as they are supermarkets, they are guaranteed a high number of customers doing their food shop which are likely to come across the magazines and take a look, and perhaps make an impulse buy, they had not originally planned to increasing the number of sales for my product. This is also where many other media products such as CD’s and DVD’s are distributed along with other existing music and media related magazines so my products target audience may already be using the stores as a way to purchase existing R&B products.

I would also sell my magazine in newsagents and music shops as my target audience of 12-25 year olds that are interested in R&B music are more likely to go in these shops.

However, another successful way to distribute my magazine I believe is online. This will suit my target audience of 12-25 year olds the best out of all the options as technology is getting used more and more everyday and plays a big part of the young generations lives. Due to digitalization, more and more people are consuming music online, which poses a threat to major labels as they are losing profit. This however is a new way to distribute music magazines to the consumer without the costs and time of printing, shipping, and distributing a physical copy of the magazine, so would same money during production of the product. Because of this, by selling my music magazine to consumers online, I would be saving time and money and the consumer would also have a more convenient and easy way to read the product. This also means my product would cost less for the consumer to use as there so much money being saved in materials.

By placing my magazine online, anyone around the world can access it and it is an instant and easy way of viewing the magazine. I would also be able to advertise my product on social media and media platforms, so by offering my product straight to the consumer over the internet this would make the advertisement more affective and make it more convenient for the consumer. This also means my target audience are able to access my magazine via their phones and from wherever they are, rather than having to make a special trip to a shop to actually buy it, making my product more portable and environmentally friendly as there would be not waste product or recycling materials. Furthermore, by having an digital product, there is no possible way of damaging the product and my audience would not have to make additional purchases if their copy has been damaged, meaning the duration of the product is not limited. This would also decrease the amount of sharing of copies which would increase sales as each consumer would have to buy their own copy and couldn’t pass it on as easily as they could with a paper copy, meaning the profit of the product increases. This means lower circulation of the product, which is good for the institution.

Another strength to distributing my product online means there will be less damage to the environment as there is no ned for ink and paper and production in a factory, so less trees are destroyed, less CO2 emissions and less litter and waste products as a result. It also means there is no requirement for lorries and cargo to distribute my product around the country so less greenhouse gasses making it a more environmentally friendly product which would make it more appealing to the audience as there is little if no damage during production and distribution.