Oh Comely - Audience

Oh Comely magazine is a niche women’s lifestyle publication with a strong feminist perspective. It launched in 2010 and publishes six issues a year. It describes itself:

“Oh Comely is a curious, honest and playful independent magazine. It’s a place to meet strangers, hear their stories and look at life a little differently – where our readers are our writers and our models, too.

“Each issue we pick a theme and see where it takes us. We try something old, something new and something that scares us a bit. Then we present our findings in a beautiful, artbook style, putting new writing, photography and illustration talent at the heart of it.”

[Source: Oh Comely magazine website]

Oh Comely audience

Social Media Reach: 100,000
Readers Per Issue: 25,000
Average Age of reader: 27
Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets

Oh Comely offers: “Access to a difficult to reach and highly-targeted niche demographic of creative women who spend money on the things they love.”

“Oh Comely is a powerful mix of words and pictures, stylishly presented and much loved by its readers. It provides an alternative to the ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ aesthetic of mainstream magazines for young women, and this is why it has carved a loyal niche of fans. It is a breath of fresh air for a creative audience desperate to find something that speaks to them directly in an accessible, intelligent and interesting voice.”

[Source: ohcomely.co.uk/advertise]

Psychographics

Oh Comely magazine's description of itself would suggest targeting the Reformer and Explorer psychographic groups with an emphasis on creativity, self-discovery and a rejection of consumerism and commercialisation.

Audience pleasures

There are many potential audience pleasures for Oh Comely readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, three in particular would be:

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.

Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.

Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and people.

Oh Comely - Audience blog tasks

Read the Oh Comely website page on advertising and audience to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Oh Comely target audience then answer the following questions:

1) How does Oh Comely introduce itself?

Oh Comely introduces itself as a unique, niche magazine which visibly subverts traditional magazine conventions - this visible attribute links closely to the overall message of the magazine which is essentially subverting the norm.

2) How do the print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely compare to Men's Health?

The print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely is:
-Social Media Reach: 100,000
-Readers Per Issue: 25,000
-Average Age of reader: 27
Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets.

Oh Comely has lower print circulation and readership statistics compared to Men's Health because it is more of a niche magazine with a smaller group of loyal customers. Men's Health magazine has a more mainstream audience with a larger/broader target audience. 

3) How is Oh Comely distributed to the audience? 

Oh comely is distributed to the audience annually but customers can also buy individual copies off subscription. The magazine can also be purchased from small shops like WHSmith.

4) What do you think the target audience demographics for Oh Comely might be? Some details are provided by the magazine (e.g. average age 27) but make an educated guess on further demographic details.

Based on their content, In think that the target audience demographic for Oh Comely would be young, middle class women, between the age of 23-35. This is because they have stated that their average reader is 27 years of age.

5) What psychographic groups might be attracted to Oh Comely?

• Reformers - those who want to change the world and make a positive impact on society 
• Succeeders - the upper class would be able to relate to the activities shown (e.g. taking a walk in the forest/going for hikes etc)

6) What social class classification would you expect most Oh Comely readers to be? Why?

The social class classification most expected of Oh Comely readers is the AB demographic because the content of the magazine seem aimed at a more educated audience (who would be considered a part of this category) and the activities and lifestyles reflected in the magazine would typically be enjoyed by a more upper class group.

7) What level of education would you expect for most Oh Comely readers? Why?

The level of education most expected of Oh Comely readers is University/degree level and graduates because of the language used and content of the magazine is quite sophisticated and somewhat poetic which would require quite an educated person to be able to understand the concepts that are discussed.

8) What audience pleasures are offered by Oh Comely?
The audience pleasures which are offered by Oh Comely are:

• Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.
• Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.
• Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and people.

9) It has been suggested Oh Comely is a “magazine about people, their quirks and creativity rather than money and what it can buy”. How does the design and advertising content of Oh Comely support this view?

• All of the adverts shown in the magazine are directly related to the articles and are well suited to the target audience.
• The number of advertisements is also not overwhelming, suggesting that the magazine has not been produces for the monetary rewards, rather, it has been produced for the social rewards and appreciation of powerful women/people

10) Why do you think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers in the eight years since it launched? Think about audience demand, rival magazines and the overall media landscape in the digital age.

I think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers due to its unique, niche content that appeals to a small group of targeted customers. By offering content that is different compared to that of mainstream publications (such as Men's Health and Cosmopolitan) audiences would continue to purchase Oh Comely due to their alternative representations and insights on topics that affect women worldwide.