Research of institutions: Bauer Media

 A History 

“In 1875, Ludolph Bauer has just turned 23 when he sets up a printing plant in Hamburg to produce business cards.”

(https://www.bauermedia.com/en/company/history/)

Over the next 100 years, the same family held this company and started asking magazines, with the first women’s magazine coming out in 1970. A few years later, the Bauer family buys stakes in a local TV network and radio station. 

In 1981 they launched their first women’s magazine I the USA, 1987 IN Britain AND 1991 IN POLAND. Polish and British radio stations followed in 2007, and 2008, and in 2012 and 2015, Bauer expands to Australia and New Zealand .at the same time, Bauer becomes Europe's number one radio collective.   

Bauer embraced cross media convergence in the 1990s, and launched their website, and lots of their magazines also went online. 

Bauer constantly listens to their feedback and constantly makes sure they are supplying what their readers want.  

Homepage 

Bauer advertises its Cross media presence with a large slidely in the centre of the page  

The site says this on every slide of the slidely, emphasising its cross media presence. And telling the reader how influential it is on the industry. 

Included in this Slidely, is slides dedicated to smaller properties of Bauer that have a niche audience. This helps those properties as the mainstream audience of the website could also become the audience of the smaller property. (Jenkins – Audience conversion theory)  

The task bar at the top of the screen tells the reader all of the pages that Bauer can offer. When clicking on these, a menu of sub headings appears below. This helps to declutter the webpage and keep it simple for the reader. Doing this can be considered a convention for websites, and helps an older audience cope with using an unusual website. 

 

The banner, situated below the large slidely, can be seen as a ‘lead story’ it features bright and eye-catching colours which contrast with the general style of the webpage, which is white and blue. Because of this, it feels out of place, and alien. This does however fit with the context of the story, as it is a limited-time training section. By running information like this, it casts a positive view of Bauer and makes them seem helpful. Adverts and training can be seen as a convention for large media institutions. 

At the bottom of the page, Bauer has information on the institution and all associated properties. This is a convention or webpages, as it is a requirement for webpages and companies 

 

Genres and target audiences.  

Bauer truly embodies, 'Build it and they will come'. The have hundreds of magazines and radio stations for every possible audience, both mass and niche. They have a large number of women's magazines, which are a very mass audience, however the magazines can be split into sub-genres, which can refine the audience they get. They also provide specialist niche magazines such as cars and fishing, as well as smaller radio stations that focus on smaller genres of music.  

Brand representation in Coca Cola adverts

Advert 1 – 'Pool Boy' 

1. 
   
2. How is American teenage life represented in adverts? 

The 'pool boy' advert, shows an attractive man cleaning a pool then we see both a boy and a girl staring at him in awe, they then fight to get to the fridge to pull out a bottle of coca cola to give him. When they finally get to the pool boy, their mother has already given him one.  

This shows American teenagers as obsessed with attractive partners, but It breaks the conventions by showing a boy admiring another man. The aim is different to adverts of old, before they would show a man after a woman whereas now it is just people looking for a partner. The teenagers themselves are seen as having perfect skin and looks, with attractive figure ad muscles, but as the advert goes on, the teens get considerably untidier, showing teens that looks aren't what they seem. It suggests t the audience that the only constant is Coca Cola. It also shows them in a large house, with a pool, and lavish decoration. This suggests the family are rich. 

2. How might this representation be seductive or attractive to teenagers living in Britain?  

Teenagers in Britain have a lower standard of living than that of people in America, so the huge houses and pools could attract them. Also, the teens in question have a very idealistic beauty, they are pretty or handsome without makeup. This could attract teens who want to look like them, but also the audience could be in the same boat as the teens, and find the handsome pool boy attractive.  

3. Do you think that adverts like this erode cultural differences? 

This advert does erode cultural differences, as one of the biggest gimmicks of the advert is that it caters for both straight and gay people. It promotes equality of the sexes, and also of wealth, as the rich teenagers are going after the poor pool boy and there is no divide. 

Advert 2 - 'Icebreaker' 

1. The advert shows a boy who is selling coca cola at a refreshment stall. He sees a girl he admires and walks to offer her a drink. Before he gets there, her muscular handsome friends arrive so he believes he has little chance, gives the cokes to an old couple and walks away. The girl however sees this kind gesture and a little later on, the same girl goes to buy 2 coca colas from the boy, and then gives him the second, they then walk off into the sunset together. 

American teenagers are seen in 3 different ways in this advert. There is the attractive female, the muscular handsome male, and the less physically attractive kind-hearted male. It promotes being kind-hearted as that person ends up getting the girl. I convey the image that teenagers spend their lives on the beaches surfing and relaxing, which can seem idyllic to teenagers. 

2. This representation can be attractive, as the weather seems to be perfect for a holiday and the advert suggests that It is like that constantly, also people watching the advert could be attracted by the typical coca cola idea of coke helps the boy get the girl. It is however tipped on its head as the girl in fact makes a move on the boy, which is quite common in relationships today. 

3. This advert does erode cultural differences, as the girl does go after the boy at the end, however there is no difference in race or sexuality, which means that the advert follows the same sort of path as most others 

The Big Issue: A History

An Analysis of Pride Magazine : March 2011

Pride Analysis Homework 

The Magazine uses a very distinctive colour palette, of red, yellow and black. The red and yellow colours are a code that people associate with fire, and passion. Passion can be seen as a theme throughout the cover. Red can also be associated with women, which is important as pride is a women's magazine. The passion idea is continued in the bottom left with the story "How to turn your passion into £££" 

In the modern day, it is common for women to have lots of small relationships. As Curran and Seeton said, it is important for a magazine to adapt to its audience in order to stay relevant. This adaptation is shown in the bottom story, "The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Break-ups" 

This same theme can be seen in the conventional medium shot of Nicole Scherzinger. It features the Celebrity in question posing with an over-the-shoulder look. That coupled with the tagline "outgrows her dolls" has a symbolic meaning, which is leaving people behind and growing as a person. This is a popular theme in modern culture with the rise of feminism, and therefore gives the magazine a very mass audience to work with. 

Curran and Seeton's theories on representation and interpretation can be seen in another story. They say, that the meaning and understanding of the piece will vary depending on the time and background of the reader.  

The History Of The Media Industry: Scott Trust LTD

History of the media industry scott trust from adamclarvis2000