Task 4: IPC Case Study

In the 1800s, compositions played a vital part in promoting IPC's early titles, such as 'The Fledgling Magazine' which offered £1

IPC Media published 'The field' in 1853, and within a year became the largest newspaper in europe. Since then, the company has gone on to publish magazines such as Woman's Weekly in November of 1911, NME and TV Times in the 50s, Marie Claire in 1988 and LOOK in February 2007.

What types of magazine and target audiences has IPC been associated with other the years?

IPC's diverse print and digital portfolio others something for everyone, with a focus on three core audiences; men, mass market women and upmarket women. Their men's portfolio comprises a wealth of leisure brands including Country Life, Horse & Hound, Rugby World and Decanter, as well as the lifestyle brands such as Nuts, Mousebreaker and NME. Their mass market women division comprises famous women's weeklies such as Look, Now, Chat and Women; TV Entertainment such as TV & Satellite Week and What's On TV.Their upmarket women's division comprises luxury fashion brands including Marie Claire and InStyle, lifestyle brands including women&home and essentials and home interest brands including Ideal Home and housetohome.

Why might IPC be an appropriate publisher for a new music magazine?

IPC Media is the UK's leading consumer magazine publisher with a huge list of titles that include the music magazine NME. The target audience for music magazines would relate to the other magazines IPC have published so advertising wouldn't be a problem.

What sorts of genres of music/types of magazines might they be likely to publish?

I believe they are more likely to publish more popular or modern music genres such as rock to suit the target audiences. Or they may go for a different approach and publish less popular genres of music to try and attract the target audience in a different way.

Why might alternative publishers like Bauer be appropriate?

Bauer magazines may be more appealing to other audiences because of the price; it is cheaper than IPC magazines. For example NME from IPC Media is a weekly magazine at £2.30 where as on the other hand Bauer magazine's Empire costs less.