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?
Of course, there are differences too: Elle veers slightly more into careers and travel, Vogue is fashion- focussed, while Cosmo has more sex. But, from afar, they all follow similar conventions, like using uppercase letters to GRAB YOUR ATTENTION. And they do this on purpose, to compete with each other. Yet, the gentlewoman sticks a middle finger up at these conventions. Its minimalist covers are so completely different that it’s actually shocking. The 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.
2) What representations are offered in the Gentlewoman?
The 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. Representations of Gentlewoman can be creative artistic and meaningful they care about how women are portrayed.
3) List the key statistics in the article on the average reader of the magazine.
They do, in a sense, for I fit the demographics of their average reader almost exactly. I am a woman, like 85 percent of the gentlewoman’s audience. I am 38, which falls right in the middle of its largest readership bracket: 61 percent of its readers are aged 28-46. As a teacher, I fall into one of the ‘right’ social classes to be an average reader: 47 per cent of The Gentlewoman ’s readers are in the A or B categories of the NRS social grading system that the UK press uses to gather demographics.
4) What is The Gentlewoman Club?
Enter 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 audience who are made to feel special.
5) What theorists does it suggest we can apply to the Gentlewoman's club?
A mutually beneficial blur of constructed media and real life, that could be probed using 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.
6) What does the writer of article suggest they are getting out of their relationship with the magazine?
Meanwhile the sheer number of luxury adverts tells you that the cost to the reader is not what’s really propping up the production. the gentlewoman’s liberal use of cross- platform social media helps deepen readers’ relationship with the brand.
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?
‘Come on in!’, one page on the website invites. This is for everyone, these phrases suggest. And indeed, 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). This includes playing with ideas of gender performativity and stereotypes, such as the fashion feature.
9) What are the 'creative collaborations' in the magazine? How do they 'spill over into real life'?
It is a narrative advertising brands to allow the audience to engage with the magazine.
10) How does the article sum up the audience pleasures of the Gentlewoman?
It has personal identity as it can relate to others and it isn't for the majority so it can be personal relationship as well.
2) The Gentlewoman Media kit
Look through The Gentlewoman's Media Kit and answer the following questions:
1) How does the Media Kit introduce the magazine?
“A stylish read, unlike any other women’s magazine out there”
2) On the 'Digital' page, what different sections of the website are there and how do these offer opportunities for audience engagement and interaction?
Library
A repository of the in-depth profiles of women of great renown and distinc- tion from past editions of the magazine.
Club
The online home for The Gentlewoman Club and its various activities and events. Also featuring lively chats with Club members and engaging inter- views with today’s most fascinating women of note.
• The Calling: a questionnaire for creative visionaries exploring their life’s work; subjects have included fashion designer Jil Sander, Paola Antonelli of MoMA and fabulous popstar Alison
Goldfrapp.
•The Reader: lively and chatty Q&A conversations with Club members.
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.
3) 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%
ABC1 ............................................................ 76%
AB ..................................................................47%
Average income ...........................£87,255
4) 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 together in substantial numbers, notified of which via the Club’s monthly newsletter and social media platforms.
5) 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:
1) How is the magazine described?
The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose, offering an intelligent perspective on fashion through ambitious journalism and photography. Speaking to its audience as readers not consumers, the magazine showcases inspirational women through a distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth. From the same publishing house as celebrated magazine Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman continues the house’s tradition for publishing innovation.
2) What does it say about the content and design of The Gentlewoman?
The Gentlewoman brings together in its pages modern women of great renown and distinction such as Mhairi Black, Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, Sofia Coppola, Erin Brockovich and Nicola Sturgeon. Such women exemplify the editorial character of the magazine. The editorial design continues its evolution with the introduction of new typographical and layout elements, along with the magazine’s ongoing commitment to enhancing its photography by working with the leading names in the field.
3) 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 (28,000 subscribers). Members are invited to a range of events - exhibitions & walking tours/B.Y.O vinyl sessions/running club - it’s a fantastic resource that strengthens the inclusive character of the brand. Bi-annual. Int. distribution (subs & newsstand). Avg. circulation 99,500
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:
1) What events are listed as part of The Gentlewoman Club?
A Gentlewoman Club cards night at Savile Club with Browns Fashion, A moment during The Gentlewoman Club's architectural tour in Los Angeles, The Gentlewoman Club's day trip to Durslade Farm with Paul Smith.
2) 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. Tellingly, The Gentlewoman has dispensed with traditional shopping pages; it is more concerned with the sartorial fascination with the nuances of dressing than macro fashion trends and repetitive narratives.
3) How are Gentlewoman Club tickets given out?
While many magazines are extending their brands into events for which readers must often buy expensive tickets, The Gentlewoman Club is free to those who sign up on the magazine’s website and are selected for a slot. Martin, who hosts each event, hand-picks the attendees much like one might curate the guest list for a dinner party.
4) What does the article say about The Gentlewoman's relationship with its audience?
It's very important that the readers feel part of something sincere and consistent. "The Gentlewoman has an extremely engaged readership that sees design as a lifestyle, just as we do,” says Atul Pathak, Cos' head of communications. "They passionately want to educate their readership and it is always a pleasure to be able to share the Cos inspirations with others."
5) 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
1) Visit The Gentlewoman's website. How does it promote the magazine?
They have the recent magazine promoted and it allows users to flick through them and even see the old copies of magazines Gentle women has.
2) 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?
All the magazine is free this is a smart technique as it allows users to read the magazine first and then they can buy it. It allows gentle women to be well known and grow it's brand identity.
3) Look at The Gentlewoman's Twitter feed. What content from the magazine or Club events can you find on there?
There are special events being advertised and shown across London.
4) Go to The Gentlewoman's Instagram page. How does it encourage the audience to engage with the magazine?
Theres photo shoot photos and a link to their magazine in their bio. Their page also features quotes letting people comment their own opinions.
5) What representations of fashion and gender can you find on their Instagram page?
The page has lots of women featured and no male.
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