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4th August 2015
Magazines would be nothing without readers. And we are always keen to find out what our customers think about the titles we sell.
Last month we assembled a focus group of 50 magazine fans to review and assess one of our popular women’s lifestyle magazines, Psychologies, to find out more.
Our reviewers weren’t all female, though. We put Psychologies to both men and women of all ages, each with different tastes and interests to gain a rounded consumer insight.
If you aren’t familiar with Psychologies already, here’s a little bit more information
Published by Kelsey Media, Psychologies magazine is the women’s lifestyle magazine with a difference. Pitched as being “grown up, intelligent and intimate” it covers self, relationships, family, work, beauty, wellbeing, culture, travel and food from the angle of the life curious woman.
Our Findings
We asked our focus group members a number of questions to get their view on aspects of Psychologies such as price, ratio of adverts, quality of interviews and standard of features.
Of our respondents 72{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} were women and 28{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} were men, allowing us to get the view of both the target audience and those who would not usually be considered to be from the magazine’s core demographic.
As a monthly publication, Psychologies ticked the box for a large number of our readers – a huge 92{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} of reviewers enjoy reading monthlies.
Of our respondents 72{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} were women and 28{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} were men, allowing us to get the view of both the target audience and those who would not usually be considered to be from the magazine’s core demographic.
As a monthly publication, Psychologies ticked the box for a large number of our readers – a huge 92{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} of reviewers enjoy reading monthlies.
Interestingly, a sizeable 80{6c082c8494c21a03d17f10d863ee8b06d7dc461388e432433da70d4d6afda271} of our focus group said that prior to reading Psychologies, they considered it to be a magazine they would not usually buy. Having been given the opportunity to review the publication, however, nearly three quarters said that their opinion had been changed.
The Best Bits
Much of the praise heaped on Psychologies magazine came from focus group members who identified the point of difference from other lifestyle magazines. With a focus on improving oneself, the title was perceived to occupy a gap in the market.
One reviewer said, “There were many articles that covered all aspects of life – not just ‘mental health’. Some of these articles were really useful – like Natural Reaction and The Mind Experiment.”
Other comments described the features as “varied and interesting” while another said that they felt there was “something for everyone”.
The interviews with the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Adlington also came in for praise, with the general consensus that the more mature tone and feel made the magazine particularly compelling.
Reviews
Here are just a few of the testimonials offered by our focus group members.
“I think Psychologies fills a bit of a gap in the market. It is a more mainstream magazine than I would have thought. However, this makes it suitable for the 30-50 female reader, I should think.”
“It was more interesting than I expected”
“I think Psychologies fills a bit of a gap in the market. It is a more mainstream magazine than I would have thought. However, this makes it suitable for the 30-50 female reader, I should think.”
“It was more interesting than I expected”
“It has a surprising range of in-depth content. However, it is for a more mature woman.”
“Much more mainstream than I had anticipated”
“Good to read a magazine with a slightly different focus – more about the self.”
“I normally read a magazine over a few days but I read this in a day. It’s very good and would be great to take on holiday and read leisurely.”
“It was good to read a new magazine. It had enough fashion/beauty to interest me plus some interesting interviews and articles that were a bit different to the ones I would normally read. I would happily buy it.”
“Not my cup of tea but I feel it does a good job of speaking to a more mature audience.”
“Good to read a magazine with a slightly different focus – more about the self.”
“I normally read a magazine over a few days but I read this in a day. It’s very good and would be great to take on holiday and read leisurely.”
“It was good to read a new magazine. It had enough fashion/beauty to interest me plus some interesting interviews and articles that were a bit different to the ones I would normally read. I would happily buy it.”
“Not my cup of tea but I feel it does a good job of speaking to a more mature audience.”
