Brand Identity. A2 Media

1. A2 Media coursework

2. What is brand identity?
 Brand identity, in the context of media and the music genre, is how the
artist wants to be perceived. The components of brand identity (such as
Name, logo, Tagline, fonts, images etc.) are created by the artist and by
media institutions (in this case, record labels) to create recognition to
consumers. So that audiences immediately know who the artist is.

3. Why is Brand identity important?
 Brand identity is important when it comes to the identification of Artists and their
products. It allows audiences to easily recognise a promotional item that has been put
out by an artist and an Institution and thus consume it using the appropriate
channels. More often than not, audiences consume products from artists that they
recognize, for example – Justin Bieber And Island Records has promoted two of his
albums , Both called “My World” and “my World 2.0”; by creating a sequel to the
original “My World” record, Bieber was able to collate higher sales for the sequel, even
entering number 1 on the Billboard charts. Subsequent promotional materials
propagated by Bieber, included the “My World Acoustic” album, the “my World
Remixes” Album and the unanimously successful, “My world” Tour. The “my world”
brand became linked with Bieber, who also started to use the term in his songs (i.e.
“One Time”, “Love Me”), and audiences consumed these products in high volumes. This
would satisfy both the artist, who would garner more popularity, and the institution,
who are very likely to generate profit from the promotion of the ”My World” Brand.
So, Brand identity is very important because it is likely to Meet the goals of artists
and institutions – to make a profit.

4.  The ’My World’ Brand
An important thing to note is that Bieber’s hair and his
pose is quite similar, this could be present to help
consumers read the text better, and recognise Bieber
instantly, so they would consume the products.
The font used in Justin’s name is similar - it is an
example of Brand Identity, and so the font also helps with
recognition to consumers.

5.  Brand identity is present in the rap genre and is shown to have a similar mandate
to other genres – to help audiences consume the product better to meet the goals
of Artists and institutions. In a broad view, this is how the rap genre conveys
brand identity:
 Stage names – while the artists in the pop genre usually use their real names, rappers
often create stage names, for example – Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson), Dr Dre (Andre
Young), Eminem (Marshall Mathers III), 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson III) etc. They create
names that have become unanimously affiliated with them, as audiences now only
recognise them by their stage name. So by using the name in several promotional items,
fans would be able to consume the product and recognise it instantly.

6.  Fonts – these conventions are also used by other genres to create brand identity. Rap
artists make specific use of fonts and logos to create the sense of remembrance and
familiarity to the audience. This is exemplified in the font Eminem uses to present his
name. He uses a bold, white font, with a backward “E”. The Bold aspect of the font may
be used to connote the power of the rap genre and the effect that the songs may have on
the audience, and the explicit themes they touch upon. The backward ’E’ may be in place
for aesthetic reasons; it could stand out to audiences. Eminem has used this font on his
tour posters, his digipak and on his online presence.
 Logos – This is also paramount in creating brand identity and again, logos often tend
have catchy and memorable conventions that create a sense of familiarity – The N.W.A
has used a logo, which has been synonymous within the rap genre, and every time it is
seen, more often than not, audiences have recognised. The logo, like Eminem’s font, It
has very appealing aesthetics: it is bold, big in size and may catch the audiences eye as it
stands out and thus it becomes remembered.

8. How has Eminem created brand identity in his career?
 “Slim Shady”
Slim Shady is Eminem’s alter ego; Eminem created Slim Shady in 1996 and has used this
alter ego to convey violent raps about explicit themes, such as drugs, women abuse, sexual
assault, and homicides. Slim Shady is either dark or comedic. Eminem’s use of Shady was t
was met with controversy with the many outlets and the industry itself that Eminem
insulted. The controversy and the buzz around Shady made Eminem a controversial figure
within the industry, but received high acclaim from fans, who praised. And thus by using
Slim Shady, Eminem was able to make record breaking sales with his albums – his records
The Slim Shady LP, The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show (featuring heavy uses of
Shady) all reached number one on Billboard. His first album, Infinite, did not use the Shady
persona and did not bring Eminem into the mainstream rap. Everyone started addressing
Eminem as “Slim” or “Shady” or “Slim Shady”. Shady became a way of recognition of
Eminem and thus he was able to create a brand out of it (i.e. he created Shady records to
keep in line with his ego).

9.  Eminem and The Marshall Mathers LP Albums
In 2000, Eminem released the album The Marshall Mathers LP, this is when he had blonde hair. In
2009, Eminem coloured his hair to black. However, in 2013, Eminem released to The Marshall Mathers
LP 2 in 2013 (a sequel to the 2000 album) and coloured his hair blonde again to promote the album. The
album cover of the 2013 album also shared resemblance to the 2000 album with the same black and
white colouring and the shed. The songs also have a connection. The MMLP 1 album had a single called
Stan in it, and the MMLP 2 has a son called Bad Guy (a sequel to Stan). These promotional connections
between the the two albums creates brand identity, as Eminem and the institution is were more likely to
gain higher profits by making a sequel to a highly acclaimed album. The MMLP 2 reached number one
on Billboard. But what made it successful is that Eminem almost ‘turned back the clocks’ by the MMLP
2 album in the same way that he did with the album’s predecessor.
The MMLP The MMLP 2

10. How has Kanye West created brand identity in his career?
 “Yeezy”, “Yeezus” and the Adidas YEEZY
Kanye West has created brand identity through his nickname – “Yeezy”. And since he has done so,
his nickname has stuck and audiences recognise the West as Yeezy. In 2013, Kanye released the
album, Yeezus (2013) – a play on words for Jesus – and it was debuted at number one on
Billboard. This may have been because his nickname Yeezy was well known at the time. Yeezus
only furthered Kanye’s image and it brought further awareness to his nickname, Yeezy. To help
promote his nickname further, Kanye West released the Adidas YEEZY shoes or “YEEZIES” as
they are commonly referred to and has affiliations with the sport of basketball and American
football. The further helped build the Yeezy brand and by audiences knowing Kanye as Yeezy and
due to his popularity, the YEEZY shoes had become high in demand and have even cemented a
place in popular culture. The entire Yeezy brand has helped Kanye further his image and
recognition as an artist and helped Institutions with making profits.

11. What is convergence media?
 Media convergence is the merging of mass communication outlets – print,
television, radio, the Internet along with portable and interactive technologies
through various digital media platforms.

12.  Social Media – One of the most popular ways that most artists denote brand identity is
through integrating social media platforms into various promotional items. The idea is
to build up ‘followers’ on social medias, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more
recently, Snapchat. This allows artists and institutions to communicate messages and
codes to the audience regarding tour dates and promotional items releases, and a
further chance for artists to connect with audiences, which creates a better image for
the artists and links to the goals of institutions – to generate more profit that would be
garnered by extra promotion of products (done on social media). The way in which
artists create awareness of their social media pages is by linking them in the music
videos they release, on their online website presence and on their world tour posters,
to try to create further awareness for the audience. Artists are often noted for having a
powerful presence on social media.
 Selena Gomez is an example of creating brand identity through her social media platforms,
specifically Instagram, where she is the most followed person on the site with 100 million followers.
She promotes her Instagram page on her website and other platforms, but more important than
that, she creates brand identity from her Instagram page, as she is commonly known by audiences
to be the most followed person on the site. It is more often than not, affiliated with her.

13.  Appearance and Artist styling – The appearance and styling of an artist has often been used in regards
to creating brand identity through convergence media. Artists usually creates a look that is promoted
along with the products that they release for consumption by audiences. Institutions and the artist
usually incorporate this to strengthen the artist’s image and make them more recognizable to
audiences. Often what the artists wears in the digipak (if they are featured) is often worn by them in
their tours to further create recognition and is shown in their online presence. And sometimes, these
artists adopt this clothing to wear throughout their career, becoming a look affiliated with them, which
creates a artist iconography (as exemplified in the Dancing in the Distraction Factory theory).
 An example of an artist who wears clothing in promotional items and displays it in different tours is Michael
Jackson. His The Way You Make Me Feel clothing, first seen in the music video from the eponymous song (from
the Bad album), has been one of Jackson’s most recognising attires and has often been linked to him and the song
– as he has worn it on several tours and performances when he performed Billie Jean.
“The Way You Make Me Feel”
costume in the late-80s
“The Way You Make Me
Feel” costume in 2001

14.  A modern day example of an artist, who styles and dresses up to affiliate herself with
promotional items and tours is Ariana Grande. For her album My Everything (2014), Ariana
changed her hair style to have a small volume of hair tied in a ponytail, moving away from the
long, curly hair look she had in her previous album Yours Truly (2013). Furthermore, Ariana
changed her look to promote My Everything incorporating suggested sexual representation. She
began to wear shorter skirts, crop tops, black thigh-high boots and, occasionally, heels. She has
seen wearing this look when performing, in promotional products, and in music videos.
“Focus” music video costume.
Costumes from subsequent
tours and performances