New Look for Q Magazine
27th July 2004
Emap’s Q magazine, Britain’s biggest music monthly, is set to unveil a new look as part of a major relaunch. The all new Q will hit the shelves on 1 August and will be supported by a £600,000 marketing campaign, including Q’s first national advertising for three years.
Q’s re-design is informed by a large research study carried out last year into music taste and consumption. It sees the magazine re-focus to become the essential music guide that is in tune with how modern music fans consume their music – from the traditional purchase of CDs to more recent developments with downloads and the spectacular rise of MP3 and iPods. It is still classic Q – but with a more modern twist.
The front section of Q is now split into three clear sections: ‘News’, ‘Rising’ and ‘Rewind’. The ‘News’ section gives readers Q’s perspective on the month’s music news and includes a new feature called ‘Postcards from The Edge’ – which is, literally, a postcard every month for U2’s guitarist. The ‘Rising’ section profiles what is new and up-and-coming and the ‘Rewind’ section looks at past great moments from the world of music. All the sections are clearly signposted to ensure the magazine is easy to navigate.
The popularity of MP3s and iPods has made individual tracks increasingly important and Q has recognised this by introducing a new section called ‘Q20’ at the front of the magazine. ‘Q20’ will profile Q’s essential 20 tracks of each month – from album tracks and singles to downloads. Alongside this, every album review will now come with an essential track that points the reader towards something they might like, even if they are not tempted by the rest of the album.
A major aspect of the re-design is a new approach to the ‘Q Reviews’ section. The magazine will now focus on giving its readers more ‘lead reviews’, with the five key releases that need to be known addressed at the front of the section. There is also now more emphasis on ‘Further Listening’ by making connections between the album under review and similar albums that readers might enjoy. With this in mind, Q now also has an ‘Introducing’ section, which celebrates great artists who never get the attention they deserve.
The lead reviews section will now also be linked to a themed buyer’s guide that will point readers towards connected music of all areas. For example, the lead re-release in the 1 August issue is the anniversary edition of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’, with a buyer’s guide recommending the 10 classic singer-songwriter albums you must own.
Paul Rees, Editor of Q: “Q remains as passionate about music as it has ever been and will continue its position as the authoritative mainstream music magazine with a populist approach. We’re here to turn you on to new experiences and make sure you don’t waste your time and money and we have re-designed Q to suit the approach and taste of the modern music fan.
“Emap conducted a substantial piece of research into music consumers last year which has fed into Q’s re-design. In an age when music is everywhere, we found that Q was perfectly placed to act as the music fan’s essential music guide through a multi-channel world where release dates increasingly mean very little and immense choice can result in consumer confusion. Just as Q launched when people were transferring their vinyl collection to CDs, now we are your guide through all forms of music consumption, from albums to downloading.”
The six-month advertising campaign – created by The Designers Republic – will consist of national print advertising in The Guardian, The Observer, UK Metro, FHM and Mojo alongside complimentary TV advertising on QTV and online activity. The campaign kicks off in the first week in August.
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