Vanda Szatzker

Evaluation of Forbes magazine

            Magazines are still popular in Hungary, although there has been a decline in the number of subscribers during the last decade because of the spread of the internet. However, the periodicals with the biggest circulation are those which are addressing women, such as Cosmopolitan or Nők Lapja (Women’s magazine), and fortunately more prestigious magazines, like Forbes or BBC History, still have quite prominent number of readers. This essay provides an analysis for the March, 2015 issue of one of the most reliable business magazines, Forbes.

            The title of the magazine is a brand in itself; it can be taken as a promise for high quality. Although the title is not clearly visible on the front page, as the letter r is covered by Katinka Hosszú’s head, it is still obvious for the reader, which phenomenon can probably be explained by the popularity of the magazine. The woman mentioned above is a professional swimmer who was elected as the most valuable sportsperson in Hungary this year. She is the only person on the front page of this issue. The whole front page has a very strong emphasis, since the background colour of the page is crimson. Furthermore, the title of the leading story is emphasized by the use of vivid colours and bold typeface and it also appears on the spine of the magazine. Thus the magazine is designed to draw people’s attention to itself.

            When readers go beyond the cover of the magazine and look inside, they can find thirty-five articles on 128 pages divided into seven categories based on their subject, such as “Small and Sweet”, “Money”, “Business”, “Start” or “Opinion”. The first article, written by Márton Galambos, editor in chief, summarises the whole issue in one page. The tone of the articles is semi-professional, meaning that the articles do not address the readers directly, thus creating a professional atmosphere, but they are still understandable for those who do not have any experience in the field of business.

            Besides the articles, the magazine contains a great amount of adverts. A wide range of adverts can be found in it. First of all, there are one-page advertisements which usually promote services or products, such as cars, watches or laptops. There is another type of advert, which is on the same page as the article, taking up only a small part of the paper. Probably the most interesting way of advertising in Forbes is in the form of articles. For example, there is an article about Xerox’s policies and PR strategies which gives information about the company to the readers and advertise it at the same time. Approximately one-fourth of the whole publication is taken up by adverts which is a quite satisfying ratio nowadays when the standard is that in magazines every second page contains and advert.

            Based on the content of the articles and the advertisements, it is obvious that the target audience of Forbes magazine are men. More specifically men above thirty who are in the upper part of the social ladder, so they can afford this magazine which is quite expensive (HUF 890). Moreover it targets educated men, interested in the field of business even if they are not working in it. Unfortunately, this means that the circulation of the magazine if not very high in Hungary; in 2014 it was around fifteen-thousand per issue.

            After examining all of the aspects mentioned above, it can be stated that Forbes magazine is an excellent choice for those who are interested in the field of business, or those who are not but would like to broaden their horizons. Although it is quite expensive it is worth reading because it provides interesting articles in a high-quality setting.