#WhoWillBuyThisWhere?

Target Audience

I feel that recent Broadway musicals have grown to become more kid-friendly. This is shown through the release of Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical and the live-action adaption musical of Disney's Frozen. Ironically, not all Broadway shows are happy-go-lucky and bubbly. Some shows deal with adult themes that younger audiences should stay very clear of. One example is the show The Book of Mormon, which has INTENSE sexual innuendos, adult language, and violence. From these examples, I think I can get a decent range of ages interested in my magazine.

To find out a good general starting area for my target audience range, I posted a poll through social media. I asked people at what age did they become invested in theatre? I told all my friends and everyone I knew to vote on it and the results came as followed:
Out of 48 votes, 46% said "before middle school", 40% said "middle school", 13% said "high school", and 2% said "after high school". Using these results as a reference, my target audience ranges from kids about 10 years of age (fourth graders) to older audiences of about 80 years of age. However, my goal is create a magazine that no matter how old you are, you would still be able to enjoy whatever comes inside it.

I chose to start at the older spectrum of fourth graders because at that age, children have a decent reading level and would be able to enjoy my magazine just as much as an adult would. If a child at that age is still unable to comprehend the articles, they would at least like to look at the pictures I've included in the magazines or be able to do the fun theatre-related quizzes that are in the magazine. I ended with the seniors at 80 years old because most senior citizens love attending the theatre. My own grandparents just love going to see musicals all over the country! With that in mind, I wanted to make my magazine something people of all ages could enjoy to the fullest!

Distribution

The most common distribution method with this genre of magazine is by subscription, with the exception of Playbill. Playbills distributed by Broadway theaters and the different theaters around the nation for traveling shows, as well as through subscription to the actual Playbill company. This works for Playbills because they have a smaller size, being 5 3/8 inches by 8 1/2 inches, yet standard magazines are roughly 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches. Therefore I've decided that my magazine will be mainly through subscription. While it would gain major notice from the target audience I'm reaching out to (theater-goers), but because of it's planned "fuller-size", I believe if it was distributed at theaters, people will not feel like they can just pick it up and read it and just as easily put it away. Furthermore, I feel people would crumple it up more, or throw it away. But to gain notice to my magazine I would try to get my magazine in a local book store or library. This way, people who actually PLAN on reading my magazine, can subscribe and be able to read each monthly edition.


That's all for now! Either late today or tomorrow, I'll post my magazine layout rough draft! Until then!!!🌈




Citations: 
The Universal Playbill Binder - Archival Quality Storage for Playbills of all Sizes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2018, from https://www.playbillstore.com/the-universal-playbill-binder-archival-quality-storage-for-playbills-of-all-sizes.aspx
Staff, P. (2018, March 09). Schedule of Upcoming and Announced Broadway Shows. Retrieved March 9, 2018, from http://www.playbill.com/article/schedule-of-upcoming-and-announced-broadway-shows-com-113677
Login. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2018, from https://www.broadwayleague.com/research/research-reports/