The Gentlewoman: Audience and Industries blog tasks

 The Gentlewoman: Audience and Industries blog tasks

There are five reasonably short tasks for The Gentlewoman - Audience and Industries plus some optional extension work for those aiming for the very top grades. Create a blog post called 'The Gentlewoman: Audience and Industries' and work through the following:

1) Media Magazine feature: Pleasures of The Gentlewoman

Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on The Gentlewoman (MM84 - page 34). Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest is different about the Gentlewoman compared to traditional women's magazines? 

Gentlewomen subverts all magazine stereotypical conventions as there is  only text is the title, subtitle and name of the person in the photograph, which is taken as a portrait and framed like a painting. It’s a bold statement that says this is more than just a magazine,

this is art. In case it wasn’t different enough, the masthead is in lower case!

2) What representations are offered in the Gentlewoman?  The representation in the

gentlewoman is pleasingly wide ranging. the gentlewoman does a pretty good job of presenting a spectrum of womanhood (it may not surprise anyone to hear that the vast majority of

its subjects are emphatically not men). 

3) List the key statistics in the article on the average reader of the magazine. 

The women featured seem to be purposefully chosen across the age

and race span. In the latest issue (no. 26), 19-year-old Isadora Barney graces

the cover, but there are four features about women aged between 50 and 70.

4) What is The Gentlewoman Club? The Gentlewoman club – an

‘international society’ of ‘sophisticated women and men who demand quality and originality from their agenda of cultural happenings’ (text taken from the website and Media Kit). The club is both a real, offline way to get to know others who share similar interests, a

way of deepening brand loyalty among readers, and a cynical way to covertly

market products to a highly affluent and motivated targeted

5) What theorists does it suggest we can apply to the Gentlewoman's club?

end-of-audience theories by the likes of Clay Shirkey, fandom

theories by Henry Jenkins, and David Gauntlett’s ideas about how we, as

media consumers, use media products to help create our identity. It could

definitely be argued that by creating a club, the gentlewoman is able to tailor

and construct a superglamorous and ultra-modern ‘reality’ for its readers – a simulation that would make Baudrillard perk up.

6) What does the writer of article suggest they are getting out of their relationship with the magazine?

It provides me with a glimpse into the world of high fashion and celebrity and picks a few choice social trends to help me feel in the know. It meets some of my needs for cultural and media interaction and all it asks in return is the price of a cinema ticket and that I put up with some targeted marketing. Yeah, duh, it’s 2023. As an avid media consumer, I can deal with and filter that.

7) Who are the team behind the magazine?

The team behind the gentlewoman is small but clearly influential. Creators Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom have come up with a number of subversive and unconventional publications.

8) How does the Gentlewoman use their website and social media to promote the magazine? 

The gentlewoman’s liberal use of cross- platform social media helps deepen readers’ relationship with the brand, while being a largely free resource to the company.

9) What are the 'creative collaborations' in the magazine? How do they 'spill over into real life'?

Also known as ‘native advertising’, brands use the gentlewoman’s own writers and photographers to market their products to the gentlewoman’s audiences. the collaborations spill over into real life with special events for club members. All these strategies help to make the gentlewoman feel modern and relevant to those the magazine is targeting.

10) How does the article sum up the audience pleasures of the Gentlewoman? 

Of course, what pleases me may not please you; the gentlewoman is not for everyone. But this in turn gives it a sort of cult appeal – exclusivity, being in the know, enjoying the old medium of magazines in a modern way. Sign me up.

2) The Gentlewoman Media kit

Look through The Gentlewoman's Media Kit and answer the following questions:

How does the Media Kit introduce the magazine?

“A stylish read, unlike any other women’s magazine out there”

On the 'Digital' page, what different sections of the website are there and how do these offer opportunities for audience engagement and interaction? 

Magazine

A précis of each edition of The Gentlewoman with editorial excerpts.

Collaborations

A portfolio of The Gentlewoman’s creative brand partnerships.

Shop

The outlet for The Gentlewoman’s product collaborations, magazine subscriptions and back issues.

What are the audience demographics for The Gentlewoman?

Median age 32 years

22%-18–27 years

61%-28–46 years

11%-47–55 years

6%-56+ years

Female readers-85%

Male readers  15%

ABC-176%

AB -47%

Average income -£87,255

Distribution

UK - 51%

Europe - 23%

USA - 18%

Rest of the World -  8%

What is The Gentlewoman Club and what does it offer readers?

The Gentlewoman Club is an international society of the magazine’s readers, which currently has up to 39,000 active members – sophisticated women and men who demand quality and originality from their agenda of cultural happenings. These loyal subscribers attend the Club’s get-togethers in substantial numbers, notified of which via the Club’s monthly newsletter and social media platforms.

What Creative Collaborations

The Gentlewoman’s creative collaborations are an innovative way to communicate a unique brand message through the publication’s distinctive editorial voice. These bespoke partnerships offer diverse and engaging cross-platform solutions including photography, film, inserts, contract publishing and specially-curated events and digital projects.

3) D&AD Award Winner feature

Read this short D&AD advertising agency award feature on The Gentlewoman. Answer the following questions:

How is the magazine described?

The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose, providing an intellectual take on fashion. The magazine celebrates inspirational women with a particular blend of elegance, charisma, and kindness, speaking to its readership as readers rather than consumers. The Gentlewoman, from the same publishing business as the acclaimed magazine Fantastic Man, continues the house's heritage of publishing innovation.

What does it say about the content and design of The Gentlewoman?

Mhairi Black, Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, Sofia Coppola, Erin Brockovich, and Nicola Sturgeon are among the contemporary women featured in The Gentlewoman. 

How are the readers described?

Confident, intelligent and stylish, our readers are from a broad range of ages and professions. Characterized by their thirst for cultural entertainment, we have an intimate relationship with readers through The Club.

4) Business of Fashion website feature 

Read this Business of Fashion feature on The Gentlewoman - the magazine that is also a club. If you don't want to sign up to the website (free) then you can access the text of the article on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login). Answer the following questions: 

What events are listed as part of The Gentlewoman Club?

A Gentlewoman Club cards night at Savile Club with Browns Fashion.

The Gentlewoman Club's architectural tour in Los Angeles.

The Gentlewoman Club's day trip to Durslade Farm with Paul Smith.

Why does it suggest the magazine has managed to 'cut through the clutter'?

The gentlewoman has cut through the clutter with an intelligent take on fashion and culture

How are Gentlewoman Club tickets given out? 

Martin, who hosts each event, hand-picks the attendees much like one might curate the guest list for a dinner party.

What does the article say about The Gentlewoman's relationship with its audience? 

"The Gentlewoman has an extremely engaged readership that sees design as a

lifestyle, just as we do,”. "They passionately want to educate their readership and it is always a pleasure to be able to share the Cos inspirations with others."

Why are Club events valuable from a digital perspective? 

The events are also valuable as generators of digital content. "I’d love to say I planned it, but it was just sheer luck that the club began to generate online assets that the magazine can use to engage readers between its bi-annual issues."

5) Website and social media research

Visit The Gentlewoman's website. How does it promote the magazine? 

They collaborate with other companies like Nike and Giorgio Armani

Visit the magazine page of the website. How much of the magazine is available to view online? Is this a smart marketing technique to sell print copies or is it giving content away for free? 

I believe that displaying so many magazine pages is a poor marketing strategy since it reveals a lot of the important themes discussed in the magazine.

Look at The Gentlewoman's Twitter feed. What content from the magazine or Club events can you find on there? 

They show BTS and pictures of models.

Go to The Gentlewoman's Instagram page. How does it encourage the audience to engage with the magazine? 

The audience engages with the comment section and liking the post.

What representations of fashion and gender can you find on their Instagram page? 

Models wearing high end brand  fast fashion clothes.