Task 2 Evaluation

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

 Our main product= our music video for the song Mardy Bum by the Arctic Monkeys

Ancillary texts= the website and the CD dig pack

The ancillary texts are used as a marketing campaign for the main product

 Our band consists of 4 20-25 year old males from Leeds. We have one lead singer, two guitarists and a drummer. Their music is in the Indie/rock genre and as a result we have tried to create a trendy, indie and organic star image similar to the Kooks. (click to view their website) The bands star image was an important factor to think about when we were producing our main product and ancillary texts, establish a star image is used in order to attract the target audience and sell the product.

Star image of our band

 Richard Dyer stated that: A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc. as well as films [music])and that Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings. His theory is based on 2 key paradoxes:

1) the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and open. Dyer says that this is because it is based upon two key paradoxes. 2) The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer We tried to conform to the star image of other artists of a similar genre, through styling the band using costume, set, editing and mes en scene.

Dyers theory of star image

How our star image conforms to real life media texts.

Audiences associate the genre of the music with a certain style, this is why star image is particularly important in producing our music video.

When producing our music video we took particular influence from the Arctic monkeys and the Kooks

How the website helped to market our artist

The website attracts our target audience of predominantly males aged 16-25 by containing links to many pages(such as tour dates and competitions) to inform the viewer even more about the band. As well as a feature that plays the latest single when you enter the site, this attracts a younger audience who are more competent with technology.

A moody, photo of the band in dark colors reinforces their star image as it creates an image that they are original and raw, helping to attract their star image

CD digipack : front cover

We have a created a marketing campaign through the front and back cover of a CD digipack. We have kept to the theme of a seemingly We have included the main perfect world through title of the band in large the use of a photo of the font at the top of the page, globe with an Indi design as it is eye catching and it overlaid on top. to alerts the viewer straight suggest that the world is away to help market the seen through rose tinted band. We decided to put spectacles, reinforcing the name of the band the message in our music underneath in smaller video letters, we also put the letters in transparent writing so that the image of the globe is visible from behind it. We have included a black background to the image, this is to ensure the central image and titles stand out to attract the viewer and make our font cover more noticeable The white line around the edge of the image establishes a border and makes the cover seem more professional, its rugged undefined lines

CD digipack : Back cover

We have made the words of the track list transparent so we can see the pattern behind, similar to the title in the front cover, making them work better as a pair We have included the same design in the back cover to the front cover to maintain a similar style and theme. We have edited the illustration so that it appears in white, to show variation.

We have put a dark green/red colour on the background, this is to ensure the white artwork and font stand out

We have included a bar code to fit in with the conventions of an album cover and allows the album to be purchased from shops, as well as helping to combat piracy

Close up camera shots: we have established a star image due to large amount of close up shots on our lead singer, this ensures that by the end of the video the viewer is familiar with the band members, helping to make them seem more recognizable and Increasing record sales. The use of close up shots on the instruments further emphasizes the fact that they are a raw organic and talented act who make the music themselves.
We have styled the band so that they are wearing checkered shorts, chinos and brogue boots, this is to make them look slightly quirky and indie and conforming to their Indie rock band star image, further attracting their target audience and increasing the success of the viral marketing campaign

How our music video helped to market the artist and reinforce their star image band performance

The narrative in our music video is of a couple with an on/off relationship living in a dolls house, we see them act out there every day lives resulting in arguments. We have styled the band in 1950s American suburban housewife style, similar to the style seen in the song gives you hell by all American rejects. As a result we dressed them in 1950s clothing and got them to act in an over exaggerated nature to make them seem cutesy. We went for this unconventional approach as it provides a refreshing contrast to the band performance. It also reinforces the bands star image as they are acting out the relationship issues they sing about in their song.

Narrative performance

How the campaign is marketed at an audience

Philip Kotler definition of marketing as a Human activity directed at satisfying needs and wants through exchange processes. He also defined marketing through the 4 ps, price, place product and promotion

Price: what the products cost and what the audiences are willing to pay, the single would cost 0.99 on iTunes and 7.99 for the whole album, as well as the music video for 1.99 Place: how is the product distributed and marketed to the target audience the distribution of our product is very important and as we are in the digital age we will sell our product on iTunes and market it on webpages eg YouTube and social networking sites such as face book and twitter. However it will also be available to purchase in hard copy in record shops and HMV and WHsmiths

How the campaign is marketed at an audience - continued

Product what is being branded (in this case the star image) Our star image is constructed through the genre and the style so the band is conveyed as being trendy and indie in order to attract our preferred target audience of males aged 16-40 year olds.
Promotion how is it advertised, where and publicised. To advertise our product we may pay an advertisement company to to play mardy bum as well as an independent radio channel. We would also try and get our artist to play at some alternative music festivals in order to try to attract the desired target audience.