Horse & hound analysis

HORSE & HOUND ANALYSISBy Louise Wilmshurst

What is Horse and Hound?• Equestrian magazine• £2.60• Expensive? • Could be due to target audience• Layout is as if it were a newspaper

i.e. small writing in compact columns, which is often without images.

Ownership• Published by IPC media • UK’s leading consumer magazine publisher.• Responsible for over 60 iconic media brands and claim to:

“engage with 26m UK adults - almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men.”

• They predict they have 25 million viewers globally on their website each month.

Ownership• IPC categories of publication:

1) Country pursuits and equestrian

2) Fashion and beauty (e.g. Marie Claire)

3) Home interests (e.g. Ideal Home)

4) Lifestyle (e.g. Essentials)

5) Sport and Leisure (e.g. Golf Monthly)

6) Teen (e.g. Teen Now)

7) TV entertainment (TV Times)

8) Women’s weeklies (Pick Me Up)

9) Young men and Music (e.g. NME)

Ownership• IPC Media are a Time Warner company.• Time Warner- global leaders in media with businesses in

television networks, film, TV entertainment and publishing.

• They employ over 34,000 people globally.• Businesses that belong to Time Warner Inc. (either as

brands or franchises) are as follows:

Ownership• IPC’s equestrian/country division includes:

1) Horse and Hound

2) County Life

3) Eventing

4) Horse

Although IPC cover a lot of variety within media, there are some links between publications.• Most are aimed at middle classed individuals (i.e. a high

socio-economic group) except a few anomalies (e.g. Nuts and Pick Me Up)

Synergy• Horse and Hound have not achieved synergy. • Two organisations have not been co-operated that work

towards the one brand (i.e. Horse and Hound)• Possibly because:• not targeting younger people, therefore the audience do

not expect the magazine to appear in other forms e.g. iPads.

• Not necessarily a negative thing because the magazine still reaches the expectations of the audience.

The magazine- expansion• Has expanded into a global brand i.e. is now available in

more countries, from places as far away as Korea and Australia.

• Horizontal expansion- as a result of Horse and Hound’s success, Horse and Eventing magazine were introduced in 1997.

The magazine- New Media Technology

• Two different editors for both the magazine and the website.

-Results in different content.• Option to sign up to “e-news” where you are sent the

news letter digitally. • Recently added ‘iPad edition’ in subscription.• However, new media technologies such as social media

(i.e. use of Twitter) has not been

- the target market for Horse and Hound wouldn’t typically be users of these social networking sites.

The magazine-NMT• There are also ways to interact with the website, for

example polls.

Sans serif

Clean and well groomed horse-high class

Lower classes unlikely to have a ‘yard’

Technical language- not for amateurs

Simple layout-no extra images. i.e. wouldn’t attract teenagers

Uses technical language-e.g. “Flexion test.”Audience expected to know meaning-not more amateurs.

Suggests magazine is aimed at business owners as opposed to horses as a hobbie.

Quotes- audience can empathise

Magazine• I have identified the target market for Horse and Hound

as:

1) High socio economic group (i.e. well educated) (i.e. A/B group)

2) Yard/business owners using horses (as opposed to owning a horse as a hobbie)

3) Females

4) Adults (30 yrs +)

5) Of White/British origin

Magazine• Associated with the upper classes traditionally, as horses

are expensive to buy and maintain.- Therefore, this targets older individuals as they’re the

most likely to be able to afford horses. • The articles that I’ve read have targeted business

owners as opposed to amateurs as lots of technical language is used, and phrases like “whether buying or selling” suggesting it is a business.

• Targets White British women because all articles which include images are of individuals like this, so would primarily attract only them.

Magazine• This image is taken from the Horse and Hound website,

which supports the idea that the magazine is targeted towards yard/business owners.