The Gentlewoman: Audience and Industries

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. It meets some of my needs for cultural and media interaction and all it asks in return is the price of a cinema ticket and that I put up with some targeted marketing.

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. the sheer number of luxury adverts tells you that the cost to the reader is not what’s really propping up the production. The gentlewoman’s liberal use of cross- platform social media helps deepen readers’ relationship with the brand, while being a largely free resource to the company.

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 – exclusivity, being in the know, enjoying the old medium of magazines in a modern way.

The Gentlewoman Media kit:

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

Female readers …..85%

Male readers ….. 15%

ABC1 … 76%

AB …….47%

Average income …£87,255

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. These loyal subscribers attend the Club’s get-togethers in substantial numbers, notified of which via the Club’s monthly newsletter and social media platforms.

5) What are Creative Collaborations?

The Gentlewoman’s creative collaborations are an innovative way to communicate a unique brand message through the publication’s distinctive editorial voice. These bespoke partnerships offer diverse and engaging cross-platform solutions including photography, film, inserts, contract publishing and specially-curated events and digital projects.

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. From the same publishing house as the celebrated magazine Fantastic Man, The Gentlewoman continues the house's tradition for publishing innovation.

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. The editorial design continues its evolution with the introduction of new typographical and layout elements, along with the magazine's ongoing commitment to enhancing its photography by working with the leading names in the field.

3) How are the readers described?

Confident, intelligent and stylish, our readers are from a wide range of ages and professions. Characterized by their thirst for cultural entertainment, we have an intimate relationship with readers through The Club (28,000 subscribers). Members are invited to a range of events - exhibitions & walking tours/B.Y.O vinyl sessions/running club - it's a fantastic resource that strengthens the inclusive character of the brand. Bi-annual. Int. distribution (subs & newsstand). Avg. circulation 99,500

Business of Fashion website feature: 

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 much like Martin herself, who was previously a curator at the Women's Library and the National Media Museum, as well the first editor of Nick Knight's fashion website SHOW studio and chair of fashion imagery at London College of Fashion. The magazine has ascended in tandem with Céline (in fact, designer Phoebe Philo was the magazine's first ever cover star) and the title's design — by Veronica Ditting — is known for its clean layout, chic fonts (Futura, Garamond, Lyon, Avenir and Georgia) and variations of paper.

3) How are Gentlewoman Club tickets given out? 

While many magazines are extending their brands into events for which readers must often buy expensive tickets, The Gentlewoman Club is free to those who sign up on the magazine’s website and are selected for a slot. Martin, who hosts each event, hand-picks the attendees much like one might curate the guest list for a dinner party. 

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. “But what we noticed when we started increasing activities was not just who, but how people were attending: by and large, they arrived alone, with the expectation of meeting other people, so the atmosphere was really friendly and people stayed.” There are now over 28,000 club members from around the world, 15 percent of who are men. “Clearly, these bigger events are possible with the support of advertisers that appreciate that while the activities themselves may be modest in scale, [can] see the value of supporting such a blue-chip experience and communicating the personal — dare I use the word authentic — qualities of such an imaginative event,” says Martin.

5) Why are Club events valuable from a digital perspective? 

The events are also valuable as generators of digital content. "I’d love to say I planned it, but it was just sheer luck that the club began to generate online assets that the magazine can use to engage readers between its bi-annual issues." "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."

Website and social media research:

1) Visit The Gentlewoman's website. How does it promote the magazine? 

Promotes the magazine with a demo of some of the content of an already existing magazine that you can interact digitally with.

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? 

You can access quite a few of the pages from the magazine but not every sing page, and I believe that by making it free it allows people to grasp what the magazine is about without needing to fully commit which may in turn actually create a fan who will join the GW club.

3) Look at The Gentlewoman's Twitter feed. What content from the magazine or Club events can you find on there? 

https://twitter.com/thegentlewoman/status/1700101892930515424 

https://twitter.com/thegentlewoman/status/1720493709530153238

4) Go to The Gentlewoman's Instagram page. How does it encourage the audience to engage with the magazine? 

The Instagram bio has a link to the magazine and provides free samples of some of the photos that appear within the magazines.

5) What representations of fashion and gender can you find on their Instagram page? 

Through the different posts and reels, fashion is presented as being authentic and gender as being empowering.