Wednesday 22 March 2023

Tatler CSP case study


Introduction - Tatler Media pack

1) The editor first introduces Tatler with her own personal positive view on the magazine, describing it as "a fabulously targeted, sensationally accurate rifle shot to the very richest readers in the country". This suggests that it is an extremely luxury, regal, expensive magazine which is targeted towards the most wealthiest citizens. From this, it immediately draws the attention from the audience and interests them to perhaps purchase it in order to see for themselves whether or not it lives up to these high expectations.

2) The key demographic details of the average Tatler reader are as follows:

  • Age: 41-years-old
  • Gender: 73% female, 27% male
  • ABC1: 83%
  • Average HHI (household income): £261,572
  • London/South East: 70%
These demographic details indicate that Tatler is targeted mostly towards a wealthier audience that are within the middle-aged range. It also implies that it consists of a predominantly female audience, who are interested in fashion and glamour. The audience are also primarily a part of the middle or upper-middle classes, showing that for the most part, Tatler magazine revolves around socialites who do not have to work on a daily; who instead attend social events such as parties.

3) Tatler readers on average spend around £843 million on fashion a year. These statistics convey the fact that they enjoy shopping for clothing items and accessories, and that they do not hesitate to make large purchases. 96% of Tatler readers own designer fashion, 62% of them agree that seeing designer items advertised in magazines influences them into buying it themselves, showing that they are avid readers of Tatler due to its fashion element, one of the reasons as to why Tatler is so popular among the middle and upper-middle classes.

4) The annual special Tatler editions are:
  • January: Travel Guide
  • March: Weddings Guide
  • April: Beauty & Cosmetic Surgery Guide
  • June: Spa Guide
  • July: Watches & Jewellery Guide
  • October: Schools Guide
This suggests that the Tatler audience are all interested within advice regarding their appearance, fashion, travel and events - perhaps implying that they are wealthy as so to have such a dignified and social life. This is shown through all the different types of guides, from spa to watches and jewellery. I think that they best fit into "the aspirer" and "the succeeder" psychographic audience, as they greatly care about how they look to others and what they wear, implied by the type of guides Tatler release to their audiences. Also, they seek the best and prestigious brands, given that they most likely have the power and social status to do so.

Media Language

1) On the Tatler cover, there are two types of fonts displayed within it including serif and sans serif. The serif font perhaps suggest that the magazine is refined and expensive, targeted towards those of the upper class. It connotes to classiness, elegance and lavishness given by the way it stands out so clearly on the cover. The sans serif font shows that it is more modern and less old-fashioned, indicating that the publishers chose to do this in order to keep up with modern-day and to keep up to date with today's trends.

2) The cover lines appeal to the audience by using star power, for example the phrase "Meet Boris's Brother Max". This interests the audience as it includes the use of a famous person's name, in this case the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Another way is also through the phrase "lockdown fashion fit for a queen", perhaps drawing attention from audiences to purchase the magazine as it makes it seem that the fashion published in Tatler is luxurious and enough to make the buyer feel almost like royalty. The play-on-words phrase shown on another cover line "SEE EU LATER!" would perhaps attract upper-class subscribers to Tatler due to the fact that most of the people who chose to leave the European Union were a part of that specific demographic of people, therefore sparking an interest for them.

3) The colour scheme varies from a range of different colours, including: dark green, white, baby blue and light pink. The dark green background connotes to richness and grandeur, as it may be made to look like topiary which is something that is often linked to royalty, considering that that is what usually surrounds a castle. This contrasts with the significantly lighter shades which make up the model (Emma Weymouth)'s dress, consisting of white, blue and pink. The colour pink is a dominant shade within the whole outfit which may connote to femininity or may be thought of as ladylike.

4) The central image stands out immensely on the middle of the page, which immediately captures the reader's eye. Emma Weymouth is a famous woman, who is known for being the Marchioness of Bath, which again uses star power in order to attract the target audience. She is wearing a lot of make-up which defines her facial features even more to perhaps seem more "elegant", as that is how women are expected to be presented as throughout the media. The dress she wears seems princess-like, again linking back to the sense of luxury which is what Tatler is renowned by. She wears a diamond ring on her left ring finger, indicating that she is extremely wealthy and this may also link to marriage, which implies that may have been the publishers' intentions.

Representations

1) Some examples of famous people mentioned on the cover include Emma Weymouth herself, who is the Marchioness of Bath and Boris Johnson, ex-Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and former leader of the Conservative Party. They refer to Boris Johnson through his brother Max and they are both mentioned by first names only which may come across as informal. They perhaps decided to include them on the cover in order to show just what type of target audience the magazine is aimed at, as these are people who are a part of the same social class that most of Tatler's readers are made up of. Also, many people are aware of these people and know of them which again is another way to interest an even wider audience.

2) The cover lines suggest that the average Tatler reader is interested in politics, fashion, romance and worldly events. This is shown by the mentions of the UK leaving the EU and the name of the former Prime Minister, the focus on "lockdown fashion fit for a queen" and the advice on how to find a significant other at a time of crisis, in this case the COVID-19 pandemic.

3) The model on the cover is a mixed-race woman, who became Britain's first black marchioness, and by using her as the cover model it creates a sense of diversity on what was previously thought to be a magazine for white people. She is also a clear representation of the rich upper-class in Britain, as shown by her dignified appearance and important title which signifies that she has a high social status in society.

4) A certain stereotype that is reinforced on the Tatler cover is the sexualisation of woman in the media. This is portrayed through the way that the model is wearing quite a revealing off-the-shoulder dress and also has an excessive amount of make-up on her face, supporting the idea that that is how woman should be represented in the media. A stereotype that is subverted is the fact that Tatler are known for predominantly using white people to model on their front covers, though in this case not - which subverts the typical racial and ethnical representations of people on Tatler.

Social and cultural contexts

1) Types of people who are not featured in Tatler include the average citizen, including the middle and working class. This typically means people who don't have an extreme amount of wealth and don't lead a social and posh lifestyle like the people on Tatler do.

2) It makes life in Britain seem as though that it is all luxurious, opulent and extravagant, despite the fact that it isn't the lifestyle that most people lead in Britain. They choose to show the dominantly wealthier side and ignore the penurious side that is overrun by poverty and homelessness, both of which are unfortunately the harsh reality for many in the UK.

3) People from the lower classes may take offence or feel insulted by the Tatler cover as it is implicit of the clear distinction between the upper and working classes.

4) 



These different issues of Tatler explicitly shows that most people who are featured on the cover are famous celebrities for example actors/actresses, or a part of royalty. It all follows the same common theme that everyone who is featured on Tatler are all prosperous and have a high status within society. Some common subjects that are featured regularly include fashion, gossip, beauty, politics, weddings, events, holidays and the royal family.

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