The Big Issue

Facts/statistics

  • a niche magazine that targets a specific niche audience and is not for mass appeal
  • The Big Issue isn't confined by genre and is fairly unique compared to other magazines like Vogue which are far more conventional
  • it is a not-for-profit business as a large portion of its revenue goes to the homeless who act as vendors and sell the magazine
  • holds anyone in power accountable and therefore has no political leaning
  • The Big Issue's slogan "A hand up, not a hand out"
  • costs £4
  • cost increases at Christmas to £4.50 - £5
  • bought for £2 and sold for £4
  • centrist and anti-power
  • mostly ABC1 audience as it tackles big political issues and due to the larger price
  • 71% of Big Issue readers are ABC1 and 43% are AB and are reformers explorers in psychographics
  • a generous use of intertextual references to appeal to the ABC1 audiences that will understand it to deepen the meaning of the covers as well as making the audience feel intelligent and nostalgic
  • re-branded in 2012 to have one big national issue instead of regional ones
  • COVID=briefly sold in shops
  • more than 105,000 vendors have earned over £144 million
  • over 200 million copies of The Big Issue have been sold
  • 2017 were at an all time high with 83,000 circulation down to 49,000 after COVID
  • inflation has hit The Big Issue too from the £2.50 into £5 for the 2024 Christmas edition
  • The Times had to step in to help the The Big Issue because of COVID impact
  •  In November 2021 had another re-brand to increase the size of the Big Issue masthead to reflect the bigger issues after COVID, this also added a bar code so Big Issue copies could be bought in stores as well as from vendors
  • when covering celebrities and current TV shows a political agenda is behind it to champion the underdog and undermine power

Big Issue house style

  • usually have the image over the masthead to emphasise importance of message over brand
  • doesn't have lots of sell lines
  • willing to experiment
  • the new style has bar codes after COVID as it was sold in stores
  • mostly celebrities with a sprinkling of political issues but the celebrities will still have a political message behind them
  • after 2021 they're less willing to experiment but still will even if they are less experimental
  • big masthead at top and bottom
  • minimalist focus
  • easy to read from a distance and noticed from 50 feet away with its huge masthead and bright colours
  • tries to turn readers into change makers
  • meant to look like a protest placard (protest sign) to encourage change
  • active and campaigning
  • high use of photography
  • world is changing which lead to COVID and online shopping leading to empty high streets so The Big Issue is adapting
  • redesign website - political focus


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