Media evaluation question 2

1. HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE
COMBINATION OF YOUR
MAIN PRODUCT AND
ANCILLARY TEXTS?
Alice Culham

2. Branding
◦ A brand is a product /range of products that has a set of values associated with it that are easily
recognised by the consumer. Branding is the process of creating a unique name and image for a product
(band/artist) in the consumers' mind. It is mainly achieved through advertising campaigns with a consistent
theme and it aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains
loyal fans / customers.
◦ The brand image of an artist is important for their success especially if it is present in their music videos.
An example could be Lady Gaga’s wacky sense of style; her uniqueness is now widely recognised and could
attract some people to her music. Some bands/artists have particular motifs or logos which they use
throughout their promotion such as on album covers, posters, websites, merchandise etc. which appear on
every form so that they become identified with the band. An example of this is The Rolling Stones tongue
logo which is now widely recognised associated with the band due to being repeated constantly. Promoting
the brand image of a band or artist is important to build a fan base through promotional campaigns such as
album releases and merchandise.
◦ When looking at ‘Peace of Lions’ as a consumer or audience of their music products we would associate the
band with a laid back yet passionate style who love creating music. The band members are placed in
natural environments and the band member’s friendship will be emphasised to show that they have not
been constructed but actually enjoy working together. I feel I have demonstrated this sense of passion for
music and artistic value across the three products by focusing on visuals linked to an urban theme rather
than constantly reinforcing the band’s personal image through money shots.

3. Brand Image
◦ For our media A2 coursework we were asked to create a music video as well as produce two ancillary products – a digipak
and magazine advert for our constructed band. When combined with the finished video these two products would
demonstrate a marketing campaign for the band ‘Peace of Lions’ new album ‘This is the Life’.
◦ When creating multiple media products, brand identity is very important in order to create a consistent campaign where
audiences/consumers can recognise the links between the products. This has been evidenced by many artists and bands:
For example indie pop band ‘Bastille’ have
showed links between their products for the
album ‘Bad Blood’ by using similar imagery
throughout e.g. car lights at night time and a
sepia/vintage colour tone. This idea has then
been carried through into their music videos
of that album for instance ‘Pompeii’ which
was the first song to be released features a
similar dark setting while using shadows and
lights to focus on the main singer of the band,
which would engage the audience because
although there is clear links between each of
these products they are not so identical that
consumers become uninterested and bored.

4. Brand ImageWhen constructing Peace of Lion’s brand image I took inspiration from Two Door Cinema Club’s
promotional images and their overall image which they have created and portrayed to their target audience.
Considering their music genre is indie pop I feel that they have followed a quirky style for example the top
image uses bright colours and the band members are not wearing mainstream clothing – they are dressed in
jeans and suit jackets. What they are wearing is not necessarily demonstrating a sense of fashion or that they
keep up with the latest trends, again this reflects the indie focus of their music rather than their personal
image. However it does differ from aspects of research that I analysed where indie bands such as Bastille and
The 1975 were represented as cool and rebellious individuals through wearing items like leather jackets and
ripped jeans, which showed an alternate yet fashionable style which could attract certain audiences. This casual
style of clothing would enable audiences to dress like them, this links to Dyer’s theoretical point “A star may
initiate a fashion trend, with fans copying their hairstyle and clothing”. On the other hand, the second
image of TDCC (third image down) does express an element of rebellion due to the band standing in front of a
graffiti wall, wearing hoodies and having fairly stern facial expressions. The manipulation of the image making it
black and white also instantly adds and element of moodiness and contrasts massively from the top image. This
shows that indie pop bands are not set to a strict set of conventions and their styles and image can change
throughout their albums, the bands are free to express whatever they feel. For instance the top image connotes
elements of calm and happiness due to the bright colours, therefore the album being promoted may contain
mainly upbeat songs.
For my band I used two males and a female, the female band member has not been sexualised as I wanted to
portray the band as equal and from my representation post which I completed for research into indie pop. I
found that compared to other music genres, sexualisation of females is not commonly used. The band members
are looking wistfully into the camera and this direct mode of address is very effective in catching and
maintaining audience attention. The expression also lends the band to appearing as enigmatic and aloof leaving
the audience intrigued.

5. Brand Image
◦ Compared to these two images of TDCC for the construction of my own band I wanted
to go somewhere in the middle in order for them to look cool and alternate to attract my
target audience aged 16-24, but also approachable rather than rebellious/dangerous. I
did this by having the band members wearing casual yet fashionable clothing e.g. ripped
jeans, trainers and shirts. This would appeal to my target audience because they are likely to
be a similar age to the band members and therefore they can relate to them and may look
at them as fashion icons. I think that the costumes they are wearing represents them as
laid back individuals and again reinforces common indie values that the music that they
are promoting is much more important than their own personal image. This relates to
Dyer’s ‘Star image’ theory which states that stars are constructed to represent ‘real
people’ experiencing real emotions because as they are not wearing luxurious items of
clothing it represents them as normal people and allows the fans to dress like them as well.
Furthermore, the lighting is high key which is similar to the first TDCC club image but
differs from the second which is a lot darker. The band only feature in the digipak as I
wanted to enhance the idea of focusing on the music rather than the bands image as I felt
this was the most important thing within the genre I chose. Furthermore, from looking at
other bands digipaks and magazine adverts e.g. Imagine Dragons, Bastille, Foster the
People and Two Door Cinema Club I found that it is fairly unconventional to feature the
band on these materials and instead using artistic imagery which would engage and
interest the audience is much more common. This is why I chose to use the hand drawn
image of a lion for both my magazine advert and front panel of the digipak. Not only
does this create consistency between the products but it also follows typical conventions
of the genre by using abstract imagery rather than an image of the band.

6. The same font and
colours have been used
across these two
products. E.g. the font
‘Georgina’ which I
analysed in my font
analysis post has been
used for the band’s name,
album title and the track
listing. There is also a
consistency in colours
as ‘Peace of Lions’ has
been written in white
throughout, while the
album title is in red.
For the additional pieces of text such as the quote and institutional
information a different font has been used – Agency FB in order to
differentiate between the band’s branding and make the products
more interesting by using a variety of fonts rather than sticking to one
across each product.
Continuity has been created across the products by using a similar style and set of colours – due to the
video being filmed on the road I wanted to give the digipak a urban theme and keep to the road and brick
style rather than changing the location to a studio or field. Therefore I have used images to suit this style – the
band standing in front of a brick wall, sat on outdoor stairs and lastly an aesthetically image of a long empty
road with the sun shining brightly. The colours of these pictures also match well together due to the use of
yellows, oranges and a small proportion of greenery.
The urban theme to the
ancillary texts links well
with the overall
representation of the
band and their image due
to the simple yet effective
images which look cool
and unique. For instance
the cd tray is an image of
car lights but has been
manipulated so that they
appear blurry and out of
focus. This also links to
the music video because
there is a shot of car
lights in the bridge scene.

7. As these screenshots show, across the products I have tried to
create links in order to have a clear and consistent
promotional campaign which works to promote the new
album. For example the lion image which reinforces the
bands name has been used again on the back panel so that
when looking at the digipak on the front you have the lions face
and on the back is its back. This makes the digipak flow and the
panels link together, while keeping the artistic and indie
visual style. Furthermore, when looking at the digipak and the
music video I have also used similar imagery to make the
different aspects link together. For instance, the bottom left
panel is a long empty road and this can be evidenced again in
the video when we used external footage to break up the lip
synching parts. Although they are different settings the images
are very similar and hopefully audiences should be able to
recognise these similarities between the products. This is the
same case for the cd tray where I took inspiration from the
bridge scene of the video which featured five different cars and
their lights flashing in synchronisation. I thought that this
image would be perfect for the cd as the bright colours
against the black background stand out and look effective.

8. How will the promotional package appeal to the target
market?
◦ As I have mentioned previously, due to the band appearing fairly ‘normal’ and not just being constructed into an image like a lot of pop
stars, this makes it easier for the band’s fans to relate to them on a personal level rather than constantly looking up to them. The age of
the band also helps to attract the suggested target audience of males and females aged 16-24 because the band members themselves fall
within this category. This means that the target audience can again connect to the group because they will be at the same times of their lives
and may be interested in the same things such as clothing styles and hobbies. On the back panel of the digipak and magazine advert the
website for ‘Peace of Lions’ is also listed, this gives fans a chance to find out more about the band including personal information, tour
dates, merchandise etc. From researching into my target audience I found that as my target audience are likely to be music lovers, the
most suitable use of the gratifications theory would be entertainment. Audiences are likely to gain pleasure from watching the video and
from the ancillary texts due to keeping up with the latest music releases. Furthermore, the song itself is upbeat and happy, while the music
video is conceptual with elements comedy within it due to being unusual, this therefore could have a positive impact on consumers moods.
Goodwin recognised that most artists/bands have a trend of repeating certain actions within music videos in order to make their style
recognisable and create a consistent marketing campaign across each of their album or track releases. This theory can also be applied to
genre and in terms of ‘Peace of Lion’s’ promotional package the use of an urban location is used to suggest the indie style and has been
used by many other artists/bands of the same genre. Due to these locations being used frequently throughout the genre it suggests that it is
a common convention and therefore would appeal to the target audience.
Urban locations –
The 1975 and our
music video.

9. (Continued)
◦ On the magazine advert I decided to include a quote from ‘Q Magazine’ which is a popular music magazine in the UK. Due to
the quote being very positive ‘Prepare to be amazed’ this is likely to speak to the target audience who would be interested in the
magazines opinion due to being reputable in the music industry. Again referring back to my research I found that my target market
fitted into Channel 4’s tribes website in the ‘Young Alt’s’ section. These tribe members are passionate about music,
motivated by a need to be themselves and are creative and unique. I believe that my three products adhere to these qualities
in various ways, for instance the conceptual theme of the video e.g. the narrative is fairly loose and random, this is likely to
appeal to a more alternate audience who are seeking something a bit different compared to a more mainstream group who may
prefer a strong narrative which is easy to follow and makes complete sense. Furthermore, by using the lion image for the main
feature of both the magazine advert and digipak it expresses the bands passion for music rather than promoting themselves. This is
likely to attract the target audience who love music and creative art which the hand drawn lion would fit into. In the digipak, by
placing the band in an urban environment it helps to establish the band as authentic and they are instantly more relatable to the
audience due to being in this location which would be common to many people rather than a constructed studio. I think that the
representation constructed within the promotional package is fairly conventional due to each of the ancillary texts featuring the
common conventions such as record label information, a key image, the band’s name, album title etc. I think that the
music video could be seen as quirky due to its conceptual themes and slightly unconventional due to not featuring the band
themselves, as often within indie pop performance is a key part due to the emphasis on musical ability. However we considered this
when constructing our music video and we felt that by using characters rather than the band this would keep the audience engaged
and the video would differ from mainstream styles, which in turn would attract an audience looking for something unique.
◦ Overall, I feel there is a clear link between my three products through various elements such as consistent typography, imagery and
the emphasis on artistic/conceptual visuals rather than promoting the band members personal image which is not usually
conventional of the indie pop genre. Despite the music video being not directly linked to the ancillary texts because this is just one
single from the album, I have still tried to create loose links between the main product and ancillary texts by keeping to an urban
and outside location and using the idea of cars to form the basis for images, e.g. car lights and an empty road.