CCR Draft #1

1.  How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

My magazine uses conventions that I have seen in similar magazines in this genre.  The front page features a dog that grabs the audience's attention, with the title of the magazine above it and subtitles lower on the page. This is the most common layout that I have seen for most magazines.  I added a section at the top of the page that says "dog heath, care, food, and fun." I added this feature so that when the magazine sits on a stand at a grocery store, the top of the magazine is still visible and people will be able to see what my magazine is about.  Although this is not on every magazine, I still wanted to add it to mine in order to utilize the once empty space. During peer revision I have received many compliments for this feature as well.  I also decided to photo shop the title to go behind the dog's head.  I have seen many magazines do this and it looks very professional so I wanted to do it also.

My next page is the title page.  I kept this page pretty simple but I think it turned out very good and appealing.  The entire background is taken up by a high angle image of a dog, compared to the low angle the I used on the cover page.  The title "Contents" is written at the top of the page in white.  The page numbers and titles are in white and are located on the sides of the page, wrapping around the image of the dog. Most magazines have a very busy table of contents with different pictures, fonts, and colors.  However, I wanted to keep mine clean, organized, and simple.

My two-page spread looks pretty similar to other magazines, and uses the same conventions.  For example, the first letter of the article is in a larger font and in bold.  Most magazines utilize this convention to make the page look professional and makes the article stand out.  The actual text of the article is in two columns, separated by a high angle image of a dog.


My article represents issues regarding animal abuse, adopting, and sheltering.  I wanted to make this magazine about animals after I had seen how animals can be mistreated in stores, and how adopting is always the better option.  I wanted to bring awareness of these issues and if I were to write more articles in the future I would conduct more research and possibly do interviews in order to write more articles about issues such as these. 

Article Revision

For the first page of my article, I made a few changes but overall kept the layout the same. I added the author's name because that is something I initially forgot to do for my midterm draft.  Then, I changed the font of the text to make it look more realistic and clean.  I swapped out the center picture and made the edges sharp to make it look more professional. Finally, I put the first letter of the article in bold because I have seen many magazines do that and I liked how it looked, and I added page numbers.

For my second page of the article, I changed the layout.  I took my picture and moved it to the top to take up the top 1/3 of the page, and moved my text to the bottom. I have seen many magazines do this and thought it was an effective layout so I decided to do it too.  I made the same changes with the bold first letter, font change, and page number at the bottom right of the page. 

Digital Distribution Post #2

Animal Wellness Magazine also has a website that you can visit that offers more than just the magazine does.  On their website, they offer issues of their older magazines from 2006, as well as the current ones from the recent years  You are able to view a preview of these digital magazines or purchase them.
They also offer a Video Gallery that is not available on the physical magazine.  There are videos on Heath, Nutrition, Food, and Lifestyle.
Also on the website there is more room for more articles and pictures, so there are multiple pages under each tab.
There are more advertisements than in the actual magazine and by clicking on these ads, they take you to the companies website, which is a feature not possible in a magazine.

Digital Distribution Post #1

Modern Dog Magazine uses digital distribution to reach dog lovers worldwide.  Their website (moderndogmagazine.com) is available everywhere for anyone to access, while the actual Modern Dog Magazine is only available for purchase in North America.  On the website, they offer many more services than are in the physical magazine including:

• List of magazines from past months/years
• Photo contests 
• Memorials 
• More advertisements 
• Shop
• Must-see videos 
• Blogs
• Pet industry news
• Events/art/travel/etc. 

They also include a link to another branch of their magazine called Modern Cat.  At the top right of the page, there is an option for you to click saying "Love cats? Visit Modern Cat!" Pressing this link will take you to another website where you can check out that magazine and their digital option. Including a link that will directly take you somewhere is a great way to get people to visit your website.  

Distrubtion Research

Most magazines use a distribution service to get their magazine out to a large audience.  There are many different distribution companies to choose from, and the one I decided to research is called Curtis. This circulation company is the leader in the magazine distribution market, with retail sales exceeding $550 million per year.  They work with numerous big-name magazines that are displayed everywhere. This would be a good distributor to use because of the big reach they have, including US and international. I would utilize this model to distribute my product because of the many advantages they offer including:

• An experienced, progress-oriented top management team, which seeks, tests, and develops new and better ways to improve the single copy sales performance for our clients.
• The largest sales and marketing organization in the industry, whose professional staff covers all major markets every week (most daily), representing over 98% of all magazine sales.
• The industry's largest Account Executive staff.
• The best launch/transition facility in the industry.

Overall, this company is very successful and distributed magazines nationwide, which is a major reason I would use them to distribute my product. 

Target Audience Research #3

The last magazine I researched was Animal Wellness Magazine.  They have different magazine subscriptions that you can order to  deliver magazines right to your house.  One subscription option is the 1 Year Package Deal.  In this, you will receive 6 issues of Animal Wellness Magazine (Print & Digital,) Coupons, E-Books, and much more.  The 2 Year Package Deal includes much of the same items, but you will receive a total of 12 magazines.  These subscription deals help people stay connected to your magazine because they receive it on a normal basis, without having to go out an buy it.
They also have a contest section. Here, you can upload images of your animals to try to win.  Winners will be featured in the next issue of Animal Wellness Magazine and receive a special prize.  For example, right now the winner is able to receive $100 off Chewy Louise Treats, toys, accessories, food, and more. 
These are all great way to get people's attention and get a larger audience.  I think I would like to do a contest such as the one used in this magazine.  This is a good way to make people interested because they are able to get something out of it. 

Target Audience Research #2

The next magazine I researched is Bark Magazine.  This magazine also has a newsletter that you can subscribe to.  The magazine will send you an email when they have new issues available in store, or a link where you can order the magazine and have it delivered to your house.  This magazine has also been mentioned in the press multiple times.  The Oprah Magazine says Bark Magazine is "A mus-read magazine for mutt lovers."  "The New Yorker of dog magazines ..." said Time Magazine.  Other large-scale magazines such as The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and USA Weekend have also mentioned good reviews about Bark.  Lastly, this magazine holds contests to attract people to their site.  For my own magazine, I would like to be recognized in a larger magazine that reaches a bigger audience, in order to attract people to my own product.