Magazines: The Gentlewoman - Audience and Industries

 1) Media Magazine feature: Pleasures of The Gentlewoman


Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on The Gentlewoman (MM84 - page 34). Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest is different about the Gentlewoman compared to traditional women's magazines? 
Its minimalist covers are so completely different that it’s actually shocking. The only text is the title, subtitle and name of the person in the photograph, which is taken as a portrait and framed like a painting. It’s a bold statement that says this is more than just a magazine, this is art
2) What representations are offered in the Gentlewoman?  
representation in the gentlewoman is pleasingly wide ranging. the gentlewoman does a pretty good job of presenting a spectrum of womanhood (it may not surprise anyone to hear that the vast majority of its subjects are emphatically not men). This includes playing with ideas of gender performativity and stereotypes. The women featured seem to be purposefully chosen across the age and race span.
3) List the key statistics in the article on the average reader of the magazine. 

85% women

61% 28-46 years old

47% A or B social class

£87,000 Average income of reader

4) What is The Gentlewoman Club? 
an ‘international society’ of ‘sophisticated women and men who demand quality and originality from their agenda of cultural happenings’. The club is both a real, offline way to get to know others who share similar interests, a way of deepening brand loyalty among readers, and a cynical way to covertly market products to a highly affluent and motivated targeted audience who are made to feel special.
5) What theorists does it suggest we can apply to the Gentlewoman's club?
end-of-audience theories by the likes of Clay Shirky, fandom theories by Henry Jenkins, and David Gauntlet's ideas about how we, as media consumers, use media products to help create our identity.
6) What does the writer of article suggest they are getting out of their relationship with the magazine?
It’s a physical magazine that only comes out twice a year (perfect for my information overwhelm). It’ll look great on my bookshelves. It provides me with a glimpse into the world of high fashion and celebrity and picks a few choice social trends to help me feel in the know
7) Who are the team behind the magazine?
The team behind the gentlewoman is small but clearly influential. Creators Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom
8) How does the Gentlewoman use their website and social media to promote the magazine? 
use their websites as great adverts for their products, giving away just enough content to allow potential readers to enjoy full articles and get to know the brand, while being seductively minimalist enough to encourage you to buy the physical product.
9) What are the 'creative collaborations' in the magazine? How do they 'spill over into real life'?
Also known as ‘native advertising’, brands use the gentlewoman’s own writers and photographers to market their products to the gentlewoman’s audiences.
10) How does the article sum up the audience pleasures of the Gentlewoman? 
The gentlewoman is not for everyone. But this in turn gives it a sort of cult appeal 

2) The Gentlewoman Media kit

Look through The Gentlewoman's Media Kit and answer the following questions:

1) How does the Media Kit introduce the magazine?
“A stylish read, unlike any other women’s magazine out there”
2) On the 'Digital' page, what different sections of the website are there and how do these offer opportunities for audience engagement and interaction? 
Library, Club, Magazines, Collaborations and store. All these different sections allow for further information but also investment into the brand and creates a sense of belonging as if joining a club or almost like a fandom
3) What are the audience demographics for The Gentlewoman?

Median age … 32 years

22%...…18–27 years

61% … 28–46 years

11%...… 47–55 years

6%...… 56+ years

4) What is The Gentlewoman Club and what does it offer readers?
The Gentlewoman Club is an international society of the magazine’s readers, which currently has up to 39,000 active members – sophisticated women and men who demand quality and originality from their agenda of cultural happenings.
5) What Creative Collaborations
The Gentlewoman’s creative collaborations are an innovative way to communicate a unique brand message through the publication’s distinctive editorial voice.

3) D&AD Award Winner feature


1) How is the magazine described?
The Gentlewoman celebrates modern women of style and purpose, offering an intelligent perspective on fashion through ambitious journalism and photography. Speaking to its audience as readers not consumers, the magazine showcases inspirational women through a distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth.
2) What does it say about the content and design of The Gentlewoman?
The Gentlewoman brings together in its pages modern women of great renown and distinction such as Mhairi Black, Elena Ferrante, Zadie Smith, Sofia Coppola, Erin Brockovich and Nicola Sturgeon. Such women exemplify the editorial character of the magazine.
3) How are the readers described?
Confident, intelligent and stylish

4) Business of Fashion website feature 

Read this Business of Fashion feature on The Gentlewoman - the magazine that is also a club. If you don't want to sign up to the website (free) then you can access the text of the article on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login). Answer the following questions: 

1) What events are listed as part of The Gentlewoman Club?
Club cards night, Architectural tour, Trip to dursdale farm,
2) Why does it suggest the magazine has managed to 'cut through the clutter'?
The Gentlewoman has cut through the clutter with an intelligent take on fashion and culture aimed at smart and tasteful women
3) How are Gentlewoman Club tickets given out? 
The Gentlewoman Club is free to those who sign up on the magazine’s website
4) What does the article say about The Gentlewoman's relationship with its audience? 
“We were really struck by the kinds of people that attended: designers, gallerists, collectors, switched-on students, smart businesswomen,” recalls Martin
5) Why are Club events valuable from a digital perspective? 
"It’s not daily content by any manner of means but it strikes a tone on our social media accounts that’s akin to the whole ‘arch-women’s society’ atmosphere of the magazine.

5) Website and social media research

1) Visit The Gentlewoman's website. How does it promote the magazine? 
By giving a free digital look at the contents.
2) Visit the magazine page of the website. How much of the magazine is available to view online? Is this a smart marketing technique to sell print copies or is it giving content away for free? 
A decently sized segment is availale for free used to get readers hooked and then wanting for more, therefore persuading them psychologically to buy the rest, which is a smart marketing stratedgy.
3) Look at The Gentlewoman's Twitter feed. What content from the magazine or Club events can you find on there? 
4) Go to The Gentlewoman's Instagram page. How does it encourage the audience to engage with the magazine? 
The bio has a link leading to free samples
5) What representations of fashion and gender can you find on their Instagram page? 
Gender is represented as empowering and so is the fashion.

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