The Do Your Own PR Guide to Men's Magazines

Ever wondered which magazine would best suit as a platform from which to market your product or service?  Just because your target audience is male, that doesn't necessarily narrow it down.  There are many men's magazine in the market today, and all are aimed at a slightly different type of man.

Men's Health (Monthly)

March 2010 Issue

Cover Price:  £3.99

Tag Line:   "100% Useful"

Cover Image: A Muscular Man

Cover Headlines: "Fight Fat and Win!"  "Gym-Free Six-Pack Cheats"  "Weight Loss Special"  "Seven Simple Ways to Double your Salary!"

Competitions: No - but free grooming products offered with monthly subscription

Emma's observations

Appearance seems to be high on the agenda for readers of this magazine, with fashion domination the advertisements placed here.  It is mostly for designer labels, with a slight smattering of high street for good measure.  Societal status and physical build come second only to labels, with cars and body-enhancing health supplement ads also scoring high.  Expensive watches are advertised here, as well as reasonably-priced gadgets, such as printers, indicative of a certain income level.

Men who read this magazine seem to put a high premium on looking the way say society dictates men should look based on media images, and Men's Health gives its readers all the tools to do just that.  Large feature sections on nutrition and a sixteen-page weight loss special tell us that this magazine's main agenda is body image, and how to achieve a good physique.  Whilst there are features on sex here, it is more in the way of the psychology of women - how to do well on dates and how to guess what she is thinking - rather than images which objectify the opposite sex.  This is suggestive of Men's Health readers being more concerned with well-being and self confidence than anything else - because, whilst the magazine's main emphasis is on outward appearance, the magazine itself in its tone and its content choices does not come across as shallow.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   18-45

Annual Income: £18,000-£35,000

Main Interests:  Physical Fitness, Appearance, Personal Image

Esquire (Monthly)

April 2010 Issue

Cover Price:  £4.25

Tag Line:   "The World's Most Upmarket Men's Magazine"

Cover Image: Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, throwing the contents of a whisky glass at the camera

Cover Headlines: "Exposed!  The Six Men who can Swing the Election"  "Could Your i-Phone turn psycho?"  "Noel Gallagher's the Most Overrated Man in History - by his brother, Liam"

Competitions: None

Emma's Observations

This magazine is a departure from all things humdrum and ordinary in life, with advertisement emphasis on luxury; twenty-seven fashion advertisements, all of which are designer labels (no high street brands) and six for expensive watches and computers are indicative of this publication's target audience being men with more disposable income than the average.  Car advertisements also have a strong presence here too, suggesting the importance of societal status and self-image to the reader.

This magazine is all about the respect you hope to command in life, based on what you know, wear and own.  There is much evidence here that this glossy is aimed at men who enjoy wealth and abundance, with features predominantly based on time off, adventure, fashion and art.  Nudity is handled tastefully, with a feature on photographer, Rankin, and a new exhibition of his work opening in London.

Men of high stature are prominent here (wealthy actors, politicos, media moguls etc) - evidence that these are the sorts of men that readers of this magazine are expected to admire and aspire to.  The tone of this magazine proposes that you must be a certain calibre of male to consider reading it.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   25-65

Annual Income:  £30,000 - £100,000

Main Interests:  Personal Image, Gaining Respect, Societal Status

FHM (monthly)

March 2010 Issue

Cover Price:  £3.90

Tag Line:   None

Cover Image: Model, Abbey Clancy, in a bikini on a beach

Cover Headlines: "Wet and Wild - Abbey Clancy's Island Adventure"  "100 Great Adventures"  "Just How Scary is Google?"  "On the trail of the Storm Chasers"

Competitions: Yes - for items featured in review sections, such as aftershave, games consoles, mobile phones, fashion and plasma televisions

Emma's Obervations:

Fashion and cars score an equally low ranking here, with more emphasis on more everyday entertainment such as home movies and travel.  This could be construed as evidence that FHM readers place a higher premium on experience than material possessions and what others think of them.  Perhaps a contradiction then, that beauty and personal hygiene advertisements feature strongest amongst the ads; body-enhancing health supplements are present too, indicative of the importance of personal image to the reader.

This is a glossy designed for men who are more comfortable in their own skin, rather than concerned with how society perceives them.  The features are largely based on travel and different culture abroad, plus a wide range of experiences the world has to offer.  The absence of politics in this magazine suggests that its readers are men who don't take life too seriously, but appreciate the opportunities it presents.  There is a noticeable absence of nudity in this publication, despite what the cover might promise.  This is a read designed for and inquisitive, intelligent, yet laid-back reader.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   25-45

Annual Income:  £15,000 - £30,000

Main Interests:  Experiences, adventures, technology

Loaded (monthly)

March 2010 Issue

Cover Price:  £3.60

Tag Line:   None

Cover Image: Kimberly from pop band, The Pussycat Dolls, in her underwear

Cover Headlines: "Frank Skinner: "I still love a good k*** joke""  "Take Me Out girls Take 'em off!"  Competitions: Yes - one, for item seen on this year's Celebrity Big Brother

Emma's Observations:

A distinct lack of advertising here - one might assume that this publication is not a preferred platform for companies from which to peddle their wares.  Fashion advertisements score the highest here, but more for high street brands than designer labels.  The other type of advert which is prominent in this magazine are those which advertise DVD's and magazine of a similar tone, again suggesting that this publication is aimed at men with a modest living budget.

Loaded's main concern is with female nudity, and the various provocative poses it can ask of it models.   These images are not always presented in the best of taste, either, serving only to cheapen any additional content the magazine has to offer.  Features on footballers and celebrities such as Vinnie Jones enforce the magazine's "lad culture" agenda - that is, the overtly masculine and almost thuggish tones which run through this glossy.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   18-30

Annual Income:  £7,000 - £25,000

Main Interests:  Sex, Celebrities, Football

Attitude (monthly)

March 2010 Issue

Cover Price:  £3.99

Tag Line:   None

Cover Image: Leader of The Conservative Party, David Cameron

Cover Headlines: "Dave, 43, Westminster - looking for Gay Love"  

Competitions: Yes - for music, grooming products and DVD's

Emma's Observations:

There are no car advertisements here; this suggests more emphasis on the meaning of experience over status and self-image through material wealth.  This is further enforced by the dominance of holiday ads and concert announcements throughout this magazine.  Of the four fashion adverts, three were for underwear lines, indicative of a need to impress a potential suitor, which is backed up by the body/genital enhancement ads also featured in the magazine.

Travel, music and politics are the order of the day when it comes to the readers of Attitude.  Aimed at a gay readership, the differences between this and publications designed for a straight male audience are subtle, and yet distinct.  With ten full pages dedicated to Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, this is a mature, slick and impressive publication; informative and lively without being over the top. Whilst there are sexual connotations throughout this publication, unlike Loaded, this is sex without the sleaze - all handled tastefully, without any graphic vulgarity.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   18-35

Annual Income:  £12,000 - £35,000

Main Interests:  Travel, Experience, Fashion

Nuts and Zoo (weeklies)

5-11 March 2010 Issues

Cover Price:  £1.70

Tag Line:   Nuts: "Britain's Biggest-Selling Men's Weekly!"

Zoo:  None

Cover Image: Both magazines feature topless glamour models

Cover Headlines: Nuts:  "I found Jesus in my frying pan!" "Big Brother's Sophie naked!"

Zoo: "Is your boss a bas****?"  "Sammy Braddy - World's Best Boobs!"

Competitions: Nuts:  Yes - text in a photo to win cash, and a subscription to Nuts comes with free stereo headphones, Zoo: Competition offering £5000 to an aspiring cover star

Emma's Observations:

With fashion and car advertisements noticeably absent from both magazines, we can deduce that these publications are not aimed at a particularly upmarket audience.  That, however, doesn't mean that they don't have their uses in terms of promotion.  Nuts takes particular interest in grooming products - hair styling products, etc - whilst Zoo readers are more interested in the latest DVD releases and new food products.

These magazines are specifically designed to provide topics of conversation amongst adult males when they congregate in one place, i.e. the local pub.  Yes, they will discuss the nudity of the celebrities and the stories about strange occurrences, but they might also remember a well-place product or special offer whilst on the subject.  Word-of-mouth advertising is still extremely effective, and, whilst these weeklies are not especially high-class, they are highly accessible to a young male audience.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   18-35

Annual Income:  £7,000 - £25,000

Main Interests:  Sex, Sport, Unexplained Phenomena

GQ (monthly)

April issue

Cover Price:  £3.95

Tag Line:   "News, Style, Adventure, Luxury, Comment, Women."

Cover Image: Actress, Gemma Arterton in underwear

Cover Headlines: "Hooked Up: The true story of Tiger's girls"  "Future Shock: What will life REALLY be like under the Tories?"  

Competitions: None

Emma's Observations:

An incredible amount of fashion advertisements are present in this publication (Mainly designer labels, with one or two high street names), telling us that fashion and outward appearances are of the utmost importance to the target audience of this magazine.  Car ads are also particularly strong, showing a keen sense of status and a desire to gain respect.  A high number of ads toward the back of the magazine for high-profile living locations reinforce this.  Readers with more disposable income will find this an appealing read, with advertisements for expensive watches, jewellery and quality alcohol appearing.  There are also advertisements for holiday homes, indicating a calibre of man who enjoys the finer things in life.

Politics, men of high stature, current affairs, food and interior design are all prominent in this publication.  This is, in fact, the only men's glossy to feature interior design and property so highly - handy to know if the product you want to promote is related to this.  This is upmarket without the snobbery; it's FHM for the slightly richer man.  The tone of the magazine is not intimidating.  It is accessible and interesting.  With this in mind, this would most likely reach the widest range of readers.

Predicted Target Audience:

Age:   18-45

Annual Income:  £15,000 - £100,000

Main Interests:  Travel, Experience, Fashion

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