Critical Analysis of a Specific UK Magazine - Case Study Example

Critical Case Study Task: Undertaking a critical (i.e. analytical not purely descriptive) case study of a Specific UK (or English Language) magazine. The case study draws on core, as well as independent, critical reading and on relevant research. The article describes a magazine in its own right and in the broader context of its particular sector and parent company. The lifestyle magazine chosen here is 'Details' with the web address http://men.style.com/details/. The magazine is one of the more popular men's lifestyle magazines available on the web. The web address is simply, 'http://www.mensjournal.com/'. The magazine has special features, blogs, videos and style manuals, privileges, and articles on fashion. It also has forums and news features. The cover price of the magazine is at $30 for annual issue. The magazine publishes up to 500,000 copies in print for its first round of circulation. The redesign and strategic changes of the magazine in its newly launched form seem to be largely due to the target readers who are upscale affluent young men in their 20s or 30s. One of the adverts for the magazine sold by another website read the magazine description as follows - "Details Magazine has been freshly redesigned and written for real men living in the real world. Each issue will satisfy the need for advice on fashion, love, women and careers. This is the new magazine for intelligent men who can process more than pretty faces and fast cars. Details offers in-depth exclusives with favorite artists, actors, and musicians, honest looks into men's fashion, and a month's worth of random facts, tidbits, and stats that will keep you in-the-know!" (magazinecity, 2008) The description of Details in certain parts of the web and in its advertising features emphasize that the magazine has undergone transformation and has become a living guide for today's intelligent man. It has projected itself as a different type of men's magazine that seem to go beyond scantily clad women and video game reviews. Details magazine focuses on bringing in depth features on relationships, fashion and careers and prides itself in being a complete men's magazine. Details has been described as an American men's monthly magazine and it is published by Conde Nast publications. 'Details' has been around as a Men's magazine since 1980 and the current format came into being only after it was transferred to Conde Nast. This was in October 2000 with a re-launch of the title after a temporary suspension of the magazine. Details has received recognition in America and worldwide for being a different kind of magazine and has received positive reviews in media circles along with several design awards. It is almost compared with Vogue, the magazine for women as being the Vogue magazine for men although a Vogue for men does exist as well (Mahood, 2002). 'Details' is pretty comprehensive in its approach with considerable focus on fashion and lifestyle and also relevant socio-political views. Thus all round discussions and features on fashion, lifestyle, social and political views and opinions are important aspects of the magazine showing that the magazine is influential in not just setting up the fashion trend among young people but also in influencing social and political decisions. GQ and Esquire magazines are some of its competitor brand magazines. The readership of Details is thus young men below 40 years who are interested in fashion and celebrity culture as also recent trends and gadgets, adventures as also want to develop social and political views. Artists, actors, musicians are regularly featured in interviews and the magazine is aimed at intlleigent men who are interested in knowing more about relationships and love and who may be having problems that they want to solve in their personal lives. Some of its policies and emphasis is featured is one of the advertisements that read as follows: (from magazine city, 2008) "Details Magazine prides itself on being a complete men's magazine, bringing their readers real information to help them lead fuller and more productive lives. Whether you are looking for the latest fashion trends or the most practical love advice, Details Magazine offers the most complete information for men. In addition, Details Magazine also profiles some of the biggest names in entertainment, sports, and politics-bringing their readers insightful information on what drives the most successful people in our little world. Whether it is the newest Hollywood celebrity or the most seasoned political veteran, Details Magazine will help you understand what drives them a little bit better. At Magazine City we understand that you don't want to pay an arm and a leg for your subscriptions to men's magazines, and that is why we are offering years worth of Details Magazine at 67% off the cover price. You can use your savings to buy some of the cool fashions, gadgets, and toys highlighted within the magazine, putting you well on the road to the sophistication that Details strives to bring to all of its readers. So order from us today and enjoy your subscription to Details magazine for months to come" (magazinecity, 2008). This advertisement shows that Details magazine follows a marketing and pricing policy with some of its partners that help it to target the niche market with tempting offers of lower priced subscriptions and these partner sites also projects the magazine as having all in terms of sports, films/entertainment/music and politics and society. The product description for the magazine on another website (on Amazon.com, 2008) read that Details is essentially a men's magazine and it emphasizes on looking good and living well and is about all information on every topic in detail. The features and articles are on cars, music, sex, politics as also on careers and movies, on love and relationships and fashion and trends. Interviews with designers and fashion gurus as also interviews with sportsmen, artists, actors and musicians are often included. On the Amazon Review, Alison Gubser writes 'Occasionally referred to as Cosmopolitan for men, Details presents a playful, sexy side while maintaining its classy, sophisticated style, giving males a chic, refined magazine of their very own'. The magazine is on fashion trends in the New York City and appeals to people especially interested in fashion, acting, films, sports, politics and music. The magazine aims at keeping people ahead with breaking stories and latest news on fashion, celebrities, movies, music and ideas or technology, including gadgets (from Amazon.com- Product Description, accessed 2008) On its website, Conde Nast publication advertises Details with these words - 'DETAILS is the men's magazine that introduces the styles, sets the trends and breaks the stories that keep you ahead of the crowd. Plus, you get the latest in fashion, music, movies, celebrities and sex - all for less than $1 an issue'. Thus the marketing policy of the company which publishes several other recognized magazines and journals is to enter the market of younger men who need first hand information on trends and fashion, music and movies and celebrities as also want to e kept informed on social issues and politics. Thus the magazine as described on the internet is a magazine for the thinking young man presented in a contemporary manner. The foremost focus of any magazine is however on designing which has been described as part art and part craft by Frost (2003). The aim of designing according to Frost is to promote easy reading and that is what magazines seem to excel at. Conde Nast publications publishes several popular magazines such as Vogue, Men's Vogue, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Allure, Modern Bride, Gold Digest, Conde Nast Traveler, Gourmet, Wired, Vanity fair and The New Yorker. These magazines are published from New York as Conde Nast is a New York based company. Conde Nast publications provide a statement on their website that the company is committed to journalistic integrity, influential reporting and superior design. The magazines feature the best editors, writers and photographers and the core philosophy of the company is given as 'Passion' (Conde Nast, 2008). The company states its mission as 'not only to inform readers but to ignite and nourish their passion for myriad aspects of life' (Conde Nast, accessed 2008). The magazine shows that the leading minds of the time are involved in production and distribution of the magazine and the best of writers and artists are involved in what they believe as the 'Point of Passion' (Conde Nast, 2008). As reviewed on the Magazine Subscriptions site, 'Details magazine is the greatest. The cover always features the hottest stars and the interviews are witty, well written, and funny. This magazine is much better than Maxim and Stuff' (accessed 2008). Thus Details could be described in two ways - as a magazine in its own right and as a part of the broader Conde Nast publications with its host of other renowned magazines and journals on food to home to lifestyle, sports and travel (the Magazine Industry has been broadly described by McKay, 2000). Conde Nast is one of the foremost magazine publishing companies with a portfolio of very popular magazines that sell in millions all over the world. The company is however based in New York with offices across Europe and the US. The Vogue, Gourmet, Conde Nast Traveler, Wired and Vanity Fair are some of its better known publications (Conde Nast, 2008). The company focuses on the needs of all age groups and has the philosophy of coming out with lifestyle magazine and could be considered as the pioneers in lifestyle magazine industry. Although the principal area of interest seems fashion, the magazine brings out features and articles on lifestyle and food, home, culture and travel as well. Conde Nast was founded way back in 1907, almost a hundred years ago and remains as the most influential magazine publishing group in the world. The magazines by Conde Nast is available in many European and American cities and with increased globalization, the magazine is also increasingly available in Asian cities. Providing a critical analysis of the publishing company and the Details magazine it could be said that Conde Nast being a large and influential company it may be too focused on fashion and less on other more important issues of society. Although customers do write positively on the interviews published by the company, the magazines tilt largely towards fashion and entertainment related news which may not be considered as highly interesting by some young men. Details magazine is focused on an overall understanding of the likes and preferences of young men and aims to provide comprehensive information on everything that appeals to men or at least important in society such as political news, social news, articles and features on films, fashion and travel, music. The relationship factor is especially important as it aims to project men as sensitive individuals considering Benwell's distinction of Manliness and Masculinity (Benwell, 2003) and Details may simply be representing the changing roles of men. However Vogue remains as the primary fashion magazine for men and women as published by Conde Nast and the company philosophy is bringing out the fashion in upscale lifestyles. All the magazines provide details on these fashions and trends and information that pertain to increased consumerism and fashion philosophy. The criticism of Conde Nast publications in general or Details magazine in particular would thus be based on the company philosophy of fashion that in turn reflects consumerism. It has to be kept in mind that the company follows an extensive marketing strategy that emphasizes that magazines should focus on particular class or interests. Like separate magazines for home and food and different magazines for gadgets and trends. But the bottom line would be that all these magazines are focused on lifestyle and tend to influence lifestyles one way or the other and suggests how fashion could be incorporated in these upscale lifestyles of men and women. Thus women interested in trends and fashion, are given information on fashion designers and are encouraged to use and follow latest fashion trends. So from handbags to shoes, from clothes to jewelry, women follow certain trends in fashion that influence their lifestyles in a particular way and this has a lot to do with how the market is shaped. Thus market trends are fashion trends and fashion encourages consumerism. If a woman interested in fashion wants to possess all the brands of sunglasses, she will buy many similar sunglasses or similar products simply because she wants to possess articles from different brands. This obviously shows the association between fashion, the influence of magazines and the role of consumerism in the global economy. In fact Details magazine in particular and Conde Nast publications in general has focused on this association significantly suggesting why consumer oriented magazines that have strong marketing policies are not just popular among the readers but also popular among companies that use these magazines as tools to sell their products. Thus advertising by companies in the magazine remains an important revenue gaining process and may be a driving force for such lifestyle magazines. Considering the revenue that is gained from the companies that advertise their products, these lifestyle magazines would focus even more on fashion and trends that would encourage increased consumerism (also in Brands, Danesi, 2006). This shows that the focus of these lifestyle magazines and especially that of Conde Nast publications situated and thriving at the heart of consumerist first world global economy in a country like US will not change and such magazines will be driven and will in turn drive increased consumer spending and fashion consciousness with regard to all aspects of lifestyle such as travel, films, entertainment, music, and culture or social trends. Yet it may be asked that despite interviews with actors and musicians, does the Details magazine actually cater to a 'thinking young man's' all comprehensive mental or emotional needs' There are several articles on relationships and love as also on career goals in the Details magazine and these suggest that the magazine at least aims to provide comprehensive details on all areas of life as detailed interviews with writers, intellectuals, politicians are also included in the magazine and social and political viewpoints are cited extensively. There have been some criticisms on Conde Nast's policies especially marketing strategies that suggest that its cover features and stories may give away very little on what the magazine is about. As regards to its recent launch of Conde Nast Portfolio there has been similar criticisms that Conde Nast as a publication company is too complacent on projecting only its name or brand rather than the theme or material of the magazine. Details has more or less the same purpose as Maxim, to reach a wide readership and provide comprehensive information on several issues yet details would be more detailed on lifestyle related topics and would thus be less focused on sex and entertainment industry in contrast to Maxim and more on fashion and lifestyle. The readership survey gives the figures on readership of Maxim as follows.........total readership at 531,000 1.1% of the readership of magazines 484,000 2.0% being aged 15-44 years and 48,000 0.2% being above 44 years. 482,000 were found to be male readers 2.0% 49,000 0.2% being read by women (NRS, 2007-2008). One of the more recent issues of details focused on the following stories - "What your Candidate says about you - Forget the issues-whether you heart Huckabee or have a crush on Obama, we've got your number. Know + Tell Classics - All the clothes, cars, music, movies, books, and grooming products we've decreed essential. The Provocateur - From biracial swinging to backdoor entry, our hub for all things controversial demands you talk-or shout-back. The ultimate Guide to Buying Cologne - Picking a new scent is a daunting task. Here's how to navigate the fragrance counter and leave smelling good" (Details, accessed 2008). The articles here suggest that the magazine has a comprehensive list of issues on which the writers seem to write about. From political candidates and why they are good or bad to buying the right kind of cologne and the essential on clothes and fashion are included within the details of the magazine which would provide it with a marketing edge on how detailed the magazine is and how relevant this would be for the young men who are keen to know what's going on around them. In the wise guy section of the magazine the magazine features interviews and viewpoints of a range of personalities from TV to films and music and politics (Details, 2008). The more interactive sections of the magazine are blogs and forums in which readers can also participate and the magazine has a user login and sign up section with online and print versions. Subscribers do get extra advantages of certain times reading full articles and sometimes videos are also uploaded in the online version. With strategic pricing deals sold by several online magazine selling websites and by sites like Amazon, Details is one of the fastest selling magazines as it appeals to all kinds of readers simultaneously. 'Details' on the one hand is a magazine with a difference with a specific approach to influence the fashion and lifestyle followed by intelligent young men yet it is also generic complying with the Conde Nast philosophy of marketing strategies and ideas focused on lifestyle and a philosophy of presenting the best in fashion in separate classes or categories of interests. Like many other popular Conde Nast magazines Details is well marketed, distributed and circulated being produced by the best writers and artists and is also focused on the young men's target group that provides it with the advantage of being in the aegis of a well known company and yet being extremely independent in its approach with a well focused philosophy of presenting details in all aspects of life. Thus it seems to be a lifestyle magazine with a difference having the requisite infrastructure as provided by Conde Nast and still remaining independent in its form and structure moving away from the primarily fashion philosophy of Conde Nast and including articles on politics, social issues, media, arts, entertainment, music, culture, relationships and technology in a manner that is interesting to its target readers - the thinking young man. In conclusion then, this article has aimed to bring out several aspects of the online magazine focusing on Men's Lifestyle magazine 'Details' which is published by Conde Nast, the reputed American publication company that has several publications and lifestyle magazines to its credit. 'Details' however aims at being different by being more comprehensive and by deviating from the Conde Nast philosophy of only focus on fashion. Details is an all rounded magazine aiming at young men but actually appealing to young and old people of all professional backgrounds who are upscale and professionally active and have a rich or varied lifestyle. 'Details' is thus an influential magazine shaping political and social thought and influencing fashion and in turn promoting products and encouraging more consumerism in this era of globalization. References: Audit Bureau of Circulation http://www.abc.org.uk ABCI- ABC interactive see link from main site National Readership Survey http://www.nrs.co.uk/ Magforum Site- Magazine industry information and resources http://www.magforum.com/ Mahood A. (2002) Fashioning Readers: The avant garde and British Vogue, 1920-9 Women: a Cultural Review, Volume 13,'Number 1, 1 March, pp. 37-47(11) David, Alison Matthews (2006) Vogue's New World: American Fashionability and the Politics of Style Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, Volume 10, Numbers 1-2, March/June, pp. 13-38(26) Danesi, M. (2006) Brands, Routledge Frost, C. (2003) Designing for Newspapers and Magazines, Routledge Gaunlett, D. (2002) Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction, Routledge Mckay, J. (2000) The Magazine Handbook, Routledge Mcloughlin, L. (2000) The Language of Magazine (intertext), Routledge Benwell, B. (ed) (2003) Masculinity and Mens Lifestyle Magazines, Blackwell www.details.com accessed 2008-01-13 http://www.magazine-agent.com/details/magazine accessed 2008-01-13 http://www.magazines.com/ncom/mag'mid=1324 accessed 2008-01-13 http://magazinecity.com/4685-10.html accessed 2008-01-13 http://www.condenast.com/ accessed 2008-01-13 http://www.amazon.com/Details-1-year-subscription/dp/B00005N7PS/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1'ie=UTF8&s=magazines&qid=1200267121&sr=1-1 accessed 2008-01-13 http://www.ccgdata.com/4685-11.html accessed 2008-01-13 Read More