Magazines

When I think about magazines I only ever think about my middle school and early high school years. Back then, I was always picking up the most recent People, J-14 an Seventeen magazines whenever I made it to Safeway. I lived by these magazines. A childhood friend and I would always try to get the latest editions before the weekend came so we could get together for sleep overs and discuss which celebrities we thought were the hottest and go over the fun quizzes. Our favorite part of the magazines were hands down the free posters we got that we completely had our rooms and school lockers covered with. 

10 years later and I still sometimes catch myself glancing at the latest People magazine at doctors offices and at check out lines. Mainly because I'm a tiny little sucker for Kardashian drama. When I see a title featuring one of my favorite actors or actresses from a current show I'm following, I also tend to check those out. I know they're such silly articles now that I'm an adult and don't really care to follow celebrity drama near as much as I used to, but when the article is right there in front of my face, I still manage to indulge in the juicy drama. 

I believe the way magazines manage to still grab our attention is by placement of the magazines themselves. Doctors offices, check out lines, waiting rooms, bathrooms, these are all places I'm going to look around for something to pass the time. Not only the particular placement of the magazine but the front page and headlines are what really convince somebody to pick that one magazine among the others. If I like gardening or more home based articles, I'm probably going to pick up Better Homes and Garden magazine. If I like staying up to date on all the hot tea the media has to offer, I'm going to pick up People magazine. If I'm just trying to get some food for thought, I may flip through a few pages of Reader's Digest. Regardless of what we all as consumers prefer, I think I can speak for myself and others when I say the front page really draws that first impression. 

As far as products and services go, from what I've seen these typically fit hand and hand with the magazine head liners, stories, and photographs. If I'm reading a celebrity magazine, I'm expecting to see more perfume, makeup, hair care, and beauty product ads. If I pick up a Reader's Digest I expect to see more ads and services based towards health care, the latest car releases, and banking or investment ads. Home and cleaning advertisements for Better Home and Gardens magazine. For the most part brands try to relate their advertisements to the primary consumers of the magazine line. When I think of what a magazine is today, I see it as one big advertisement. Brands know their audience and they know what they need to do to grab their attention to buy, buy buy. Instead of fun surveys and quirky little stories like I would expect to read in a magazine, I am bombarded with constant advertisements. We are completely a consumer nation. Everything reflects it, even our magazines do.