After last weeks lecture, who researched some possible career

options, and areas of expertise they think they could promote about
themselves to gain work?

Did anybody research how their admired practitioner or respected

musician got to where they did, and how etc?

2. The importance of market research. Will the consumer

like the look of this? Image and branding.

1. An introduction to, and analysis of brand: image, logo and

angle.
1a. Practical, industry examples.
2. Semiotics = the study of meaning.
2a. Your brand.
3. Basic concepts of taking good photographs based on real life
examples.
4. Pricing structures.
5. Market awareness and research.

I find branding and cognitive image perceptions fascinating,

because by nature, humans are quite superficial: pretty much at all
times, we will unintentionally and subconsciously make judgments
and shape opinions purely on a visual basis, without taking into
account other factors. Faces: brand? Genes and attributes? Shape of
face, positioning of features, skin tone, hair, nails, eye brightness,
body language. Communicate a sense of our lineage and heritage
which defines us as a person and as a human being.

An introduction to, and analysis of brand: image, logo and

angle.

What is a brand? Why is it important? Why dont we just live our

lives with no brands and unbranded products?

Visual identifier
Advertising
Socio-economic attributes
Beliefs, morals, ways of life, methods by which to improve
Qualities and expectations
Buy into a clique or clan of similar people and mindsets
Identity
How would you describe the Sex Pistols brand identity?
Punk rock
Artistic socio-political and socio-economic contexts = 1970s
Nu romantics: reaction to this?

What makes a successful brand?

A successful brand is an identifiable product, source,
person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or
user perceives relevant, unique added values which match
their needs most closely

(Slide)
Im now going to present 6 slides filled with brands competing within
the same market, or brands grouped from a related branch of
product awareness. Id like us all, as a group, to react to each slide
and, whilst looking at each logo/brand and comparing, just share
and contribute some thoughts. Id like these thoughts to be centred
on what your perceptions are, what you associate with each brand,
how they successfully/unsuccessfully achieve and manipulate your
sensitivities, and some general opinions: perhaps use of typography,
colours, composition, visuals, or anything you find striking etc.

Supermarkets
Use of colours and typography.
Asda vs. Waitrose = have Waitrose done opposite due to how Asda
is perceived?
Use of tagline vs. no tagline.

Airlines
Budget airlines vs. luxury.
Note Lufthansa (bottom right) and Ryanair have same colour
schemes, but richness of colour communicates difference.
Ryanair and easyjets use of typography contrasts sharply to BA.
Disagree/agree: you can tell which airlines are the budget airlines
just by their logos? Thats regardless of your previous product
awareness which can occur spontaneously across all of these slides.

Football badges
Ive selected some logos which not everybody will necessarily be
aware of to try and demonstrate how effective logos can be at
subtly communicating brand awareness, even if certain consumers
have no interest or desire to learn about them. Obviously in this
context, the logos are meant to serve as emblems for history,
morals and foundations etc.

Football team logos: Manchesters is red; Leeds is white =

corresponding roses.
Real Madrid has a crown: Spanish imperial capital.
Barcelona (top middle) no crown, ignores/rejects the Castilian
heritage and opts for their own, introspective symbols (patriot saint,
regional flag)
Everton beacon: part of grounds
LFC: use of datestamps?

Railway transportation
Transport: London Underground mimics tube.
Southern rail connects to many London underground stations: link?
East Coast operates largely mainline services, trans-UK
Northern is branch line orientated. Connections and mid-point, cross
county.
Merseyrail logo is the same colour as merseyrail trains (distinctive
yellow).

Pizza restaurants
Pizza express, ornate, quite upmarket restaurant. Express as in
ready-to-go, convenient NOT as in fast food? (Interesting).
Chicago Town pizzas arent even produced in Chicago, just trying to
align with American-Italian immigrant community.
Dominos: Domino mimics a telephone, ie the context in which
most of Ds pizzas are ordered?
Pizza hut: bright, fun looking. child friendly, especially compared
to pizza express.

Finally: boot companies

Ive purposefully included this, because I dont know much about
boot brands. Does anybody here want to admit theyre an expert?
Ok, together, lets work through these brands:
Original muck: Mature? Horse riders? Clean. White border provides
definition? Use of original?
Wolverine: quite harsh, blood-red, highly contrasting and evocative.
Lathe: cowboy boots? Leather? Quite cheap.
Camel: classic, non-intrusive, fashionable. Camel not buffalo?
Typography evokes Eastern influences? Ornate.
Whites boots: all leather legend? Different to wolverine and lathe?
Collar evokes Texas?

Im not sure if our reflections are correct, but I will look it up and let
you know.

Semiotics: the study of meaning

I am happy for you to argue against me, as for instance, some of

you might be sat there thinking, Manny, its just a Tesco or Pizza hut
logo, get over it. Indeed, at a superficial level, not much is going on.
However, I hope you can hypothesis and formulate that actually,
companies invest millions of pounds to try and get their advertising
and branding spot on: at the most successful levels, it taps into their
demographic and chosen socio-economic groups appeal factors,
encourages certain people to buy into their product more than
another group, and persuades others to hold certain feelings or
perceptions about a brand. Would you agree or disagree?

Brands, indeed ALL MEANING resides within the MIND

A Brand is considered as being the sum of our experiences and
perceptions of someone + their work, their company(s) +
associations - their ethos and offerings

How important is image in branding, is it always necessary, and

what does semiotics tell us about the role of image in
communicating identity?

Humans are primarily very image based. Studies have shown time
and time again, that people will, for no apparent reason, find
attractive people more trustworthy, or simply presume that an
attractive person is more intelligent than an unattractive person. Its
crazy yes, and yes its superficial, but its how humans are
hardwired as a species and race. For instance:

A picture of a tree communicates the meaning tree to an able-

sighted person of any culture, however, the words used to signify
the meaning tree in the minds of individuals varies wildly the world
over. Some see the picture of a tree and associate it with shelter,
growth, history, new beginnings, nature, wisdom, thunder, food,
heat, warmth, creepy-crawlies, climbing, sitting.

Thus image can be seen as a more transcendent form of

communicating meaning (and therefore identity) than
words.

Semiology tells us that language works as a trigger for symbols in

the mind (signs and signifiers). Interestingly, another geek-out for
you, do we have any linguists in the room?

I speak Spanish, and in Spanish, the word for bridge is el Puente

masculine.
In German, the word bridge is actually feminine, die brucke.
Stanford psychologist Lera Boroditsky (Russian) discovered that German
speakers are more likely to describe it as beautiful, elegant, fragile, or slender.
A Spanish person is more likely to use the words towering, sturdy, dangerous,
or strong.

Thats how deep associations, meanings, identities and perceptions run in

humans: in certain languages, people use hugely differing adjectives
depending on the words gender.
Now that weve done an analysis and reflected upon commercial brands, now

.
lets do the same with musicians What do the following images tell us about
the identity of the featured individuals as creative practitioners? SLIDE

Musical style = Carnival Punk : Artist = Ebony Bones:

Colours indicate eclectic influence with bold carnival styles mixing with a
darker, more Gothic / Punk influences, thus leading viewers to the sound
before they hear it

Would a soul singer present him/herself as this? Why not? The interesting
thing is, you could easily argue that in theory, a soul singer has every right to
present and brand themselves in this manner, and it is prejudice and
superficial to disallow that. But, I argue that human nature is such that how we
align and identify with the arts relies on expected truisms or established trains
of thought. Do feel free to go against the grain and question the status quo,
but just be very, very careful, and in fact, send me an email.

Emmanuel Vass LOL humour me. Sorry if I include my own work: its easy
because I can tell you things for a fact. Movement. Deep colours. Classy.
Contemporary. Developing. Young. Approachable. Highly skilled. Fresh.
Willing to push boundaries. Try to straddle line between classic and
contemporary. SLIDE

Goldfrapp

Belle and Sebastian: colours & styling denote folk, Scotland, organic,
mature/more serious feel indicative of sound &USP

Black & White lofty, artsy, more serious musical themes from Nick Cave
Vivienne westwood invented punk style; dresses to intimidate and make
herself less approachable
Newton Faulkner polar opposite = earthy tones make him seem
approachable more everyday = more radio friendly

SLIDE

This violinist looks set on work in the mainstream due to synthetic finish -
Other session guy (middle right) here seems more authentic
Two producers (top & bottom right) top one has much more identity conveyed,
bottom one conveys professionalism as top priority
Cee lo Green invokes eccletic style and fancy dress to avoid becoming
peoples life stylist
MF Doom uses a mask to increase mystery but this seemingly backfired in the
end as intrigue led to rumour/discovery that he had other people go out and
play for him inside the mask

Images instantly communicate your stylistic associations, tastes, influences,

background, sonic perceptions etc
Images denote your playing styles and persona. Even before you hear.

PERFUME ADS. Have we all seen perfume ads or know what Im talking
about when I reference perfume ads in general? What is one of the weirdest
things about perfume ads? You cant smell the product, generally. SO adverts
ALWAYS evoke a high class image and sell you very specific connotations.
Yet you havent even smelt the product, isnt that bizarre? Think about that
next time youre watching a perfume ad.

Remember the eyes are most peoples strongest sense & people always like
to put a face to a name. SO

Key considerations within promotional styling / trademark image

development & design
Internal identity
Communication intentions
Sustainability & cohesivity of ideas
External market environment
Product positioning / differentiation
Suitability for market back to what I was saying about a soul singer
vs. ebony bones.

2a. Your brand

All text, conversation and images, your personal appearance, and indeed all
promotional items and experiences of you need to indicate your passion &
uniqueness, if you are to have any chance of success.
All effective marketing, publicity, branding, advertising, etc Basically is the
communication of passion & somehow-unique-identity
Give people a feel for your creative practice, in as many ways as
possible, before they experience it
Overall image impressions must be differentiated, consistent, many
and cohesive over time to successfully create an impression.

CONSIDER TEAM BUILDING FOR

IMAGE DEVELOPMENT: CREW NEEDED?
3. Basic concepts of taking good photographs based on real life
examples.

Last week: print ready. 3 HD photographs you submit are the absolute pillars
of your assignment, so I dont want you to get them wrong, and I dont want to
have a laugh at your expense. Real life examples.

No face!
Terrible positioning of background light so you cant focus on face. Back of
heads in the way, take up main view. Original size = too small.

SLIDE
Bad shadows, very dark and dingy. Eye contact issue: normally fine, but not
when considered alongside background and shadow etc. Notice flash and
contrast are too bright; skin tone is distorted. Choice of shirt colour hinders
this, too.
Hands look quite contrived, zebra print cannot be printed in media. Hair colour
would be fine but not with busy background. Make up is obvious.

SLIDE
Playing instrument is great, but not with all the clutter and mess in the
background. Detracts attention. No focus on face.
Looks like he has a spliff in his ear! Totally fine if hes trying to go for the gritty,
urban/garage look BUT this individual is actually an office worker for a major,
entertainment corporation!? Very mismatched in terms of image/purpose.
SLIDE
Two band photos from their website (I know, right?). Top one does candid very
badly: if you want candid, at least show all band members. Cluttered.
Bottom one looks like theyre in the middle of a jumble sale! Definitely not
useable in commercial context. Im quite surprised these are the pics they
opted for.
Photo on right uses a good angle and matched eyeline. Brightness, contrast
and aperture are suitable. *Technically* its fine, apart from the clash in wall
paper, empty white space to the right and red dress. An editor probably
wouldnt use this?

SLIDE
Before you can start collaborating or defining your own image you need a
palette of ideas to draw from
Collage images you find pleasing / interesting / self reflective
Find out who you are in terms of visual tastes and stylistics
Personal Development
Brainstorm ways you can be distinctive from your competition
Create a collage of the visual work / images of your competition
Build Market Awareness!
Note pricing strategies too and think about your budget
How does finance relate to image?

SLIDE
What is the use of researching pricing approaches?
Price & value relate to your perceived image, e.g
Thus creative practitioners must show creativity in their approach to
pricing, image and negotiation

Skoda vs. Mercedes. Mercedes in Spanish? Merecer: to deserve

SLIDE

Chopped tomatoes: PACKAGING. Exactly the same contents. Unless

tomatoes have been massaged underground and watered fresh spring water
and fertilised with royal poo, I seriously doubt theyre much different. The
packaging, the presentation, imaging and branding sets them apart.

Something I need to bring up with Elizabeth: you DO NOT need to sexualise.

But compare the two of them. Very different connotations. One is quite
unique, and the other is generic, seen plenty of it.

Prestige pricing has the ability to give companies a psychological marketing

advantage by convincing customers there is added value for the cost.
It takes advantage of the buyers assumption that one brands product is of a
higher quality than the competitors because it costs more.

Versioning
Bundling
Ladder Pricing
a ladder of propositions at overlapping price points to encourage customers
to migrate up to a higher value solution on the next rung of the ladder

Traditionally: 3 Categories of Pricing Approach

Prices are ultimately fixed by market forces not suppliers alone.

The difference between needs and wants lies only in the customers mind

Cost Based Pricing

E.g. Cost-Plus & Mark-Up Pricing
Customer Based Pricing
E.g. Second Market Discounting, psychological pricing approaches
Competitor Pricing
Penetration Pricing (intro offers)
Predatory Pricing
Price undercuts cost of production
Often illegal
Price wars are often very damaging!

5. Market awareness and research

What is your market?
Where do you (or your product) fit in?
How can you manipulate the current state of said marketplace to suit
your needs?
Why do you need opinion polls and surveys?

https://www.surveymonkey.com/
http://www.zoomerang.com
http://www.polleverywhere.com/
Essential questions?
Product
 Market
Competitive USP
Explicit inclusion of market research/polls (in appendix or
embedded within files) is paramount. Otherwise, your
assignment grade will suffer.
A sample smaller than 20 is unacceptable.
http://www.midem.com

*Forum posts and forum conversations are also acceptable

Market research: will the consumer like the look of

this? Image and branding.

What are you selling? Why is it unique?

How will your consumer(s) relate to your image, and perceive
your product?
What are your photos going to portray/communicate about
you?
Why do you need to be aware of pricing strategies?
When will you undertake market research, and
How are you going to apply it to your brand?