2. Introduction to the brief:
When we were introduced to the brief, we were told that our client was
Eighteen Promotions. They are a new music promoter formed after a
rebrand and who are looking for content such as market and promotion of
young freelance artists, bands and fresh talent at new and upcoming venues
in the Northeast. They are looking to generate interest and ticket sales to
promote new up and coming artists and musicians.
We were asked to produce a package of a mix of print and video
promotional material. This requires campaign to include a range of audio-
visual, audio and digital print outcomes. This could include:
• Music video
• Showreel
• Advertising/promotional material- posters or an album cover designs
• Website design
• Podcast with a cover design
3. Our primary target audience is 16–25-year-olds. Methods of
promotion that may appeal to this target audience is quick and
snappy pieces. This could include promotions on social media as
this generation is very involved in social media and content
creation on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Other
ideas could include posters, album covers or radio
interviews/podcasts.
My initial thoughts when I received the brief was to do an
interview whether that be as part of a podcast or a radio
interview with the band. I think this would allow the band to
share their future ideas and current music and tell their audience
a bit about themselves. Alongside that, I think I will make a
poster or collaborate with them to create an album cover designs
to put up as a promotion for them. I think this would appeal to
my target audience as it is quick to look at while also providing
all the information people would need to look further into them.
4. Methods of promoting:
Audio-Visual- Music video:
Another suggestion our client, Eighteen Productions,
gave was a music video. Having created a music video
in the past, I know an advantage is that you can
capture all sides of the band and while also including
their music to further advertise them through a music
video. A selling point is that it can promote the
band's music as it would be on the background of
the video and can promote any music if posted on
the most popular social media platforms like
Instagram, TikTok, Spotify and YouTube.
5. Audio-Visual- Showreel:
A showreel is a good promotional method as it
shows the band and their rare talent. Using a
showreel of their performance attracts the target
audience as watching concerts and performances
over video or live is a widely used way to showcase
a performance and attract attention and promote
the band while also showing clips of other
performances or behind the scenes. A selling point
of a showreel is it allows the target audience to see
their real talent.
6. Audio-Visual- Social Media Tease:
A social media tease is a good method of promotion
with the target audience as 16–21-year-olds are
very active on social media. It is good for
attracting an audience as it draws an audience in
without giving all information leaving them
wanting more. The advantaged of a social media
tease is that it attracts all ages and leaves them
wanting to find out more and can attract back their
current fans while also generating new ones. A
selling point of a social media tease is that it gives
the artist an audience that will come back to find
out more.
7. Audio- Podcast/radio interview:
A podcast was another good suggestion. I think an
advantage of an interview is it will really allow the band
to get across their music and themselves and what they
entail as a band. It allows them to promote their online
image of what they are about while also showing their
funny and personal side. I am also keen to do a podcast
because I want to develop my skills in audio including
podcasts and radio shows. In the wider promotional
campaign, it is beneficial because it can be streamed on
many social media platforms online and be promoted
around very easily with modern day social media and
technology.
8. Digital print (visual)- Album covers:
When given the brief, our client included some ideas that
we could do for print and video material. One of them
ideas was album covers for the print promotional material.
I like this idea because an album cover is typically
associated with music which is an automatic link to the
band. Advantages of creating an album cover is I can get
very creative on different designs that could become a
signature for the band. A selling point for album covers
are if they associated with a typical features of a genre, it
could attract that target audience into listening to that
album and the band's music.
9. Digital print (visual)- Poster:
I think a poster would be a good promotional
method as it is quick to look at to see if you are
interested while also being able to give all
information that is needed to look into the band
and see what their music is like. For my target
audience, it is an ideal selling point because 16- to
25-year-olds are known for short attention spans
and bright and colourful things catching their
attention therefore a poster is a good option to
consider.
10. Digital print (visual)- Flyer
A flyer can be a good promotional technique
because they can be handed out in large quantities
in large crowds, so it is good, quick and easy
promotion. Flyers can be very colorful while giving
all the information needed about any gig or new
songs or albums coming up. The selling point of
flyers compared to a poster is that it can be handed
out for people to look at straight away and always
have access to the information whereas fans
cannot take a poster with them and may forget or
loose the information to look further into it.
11. Client Research:
Red Remedy:
Red Remedy are a band in , Sunderland, who recorded and released their first 2 songs in 2023, ‘WAIT’
and ‘Catalina’. Their band consists of Maddy (vocalist), Zach (lead guitarist), Dean (guitarist), Kyle
(drummer) and Jack (bass). All members are inspired by different big artists which influences their style
of music and how they want the bands songs to sound. They have a wide span of social media presence
with streaming their music on Apple Music and Spotify, with over 1700 monthly listeners on Spotify,
while promoting on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube on their upcoming gigs and
new releases. The genre of their band is alternative/indies-rock music. This is shown in their 2 songs
released to date ‘WAIT’ released on June 30th and ‘Catalina’ on September 30th. They have played at The
Ship Isis in Sunderland most recently on the 4th of October and are next playing at Independent on the
28th of October. Previously, they’ve done marketing and advertising through articles with sites like
‘Narc’ while also getting reviewed on websites like ‘MGM’ and a podcast episode with
‘ThisIsTheMusic’. When playing live their typical audience is Young adults as they aspire most to their
genre of music alongside the relatability of similar ages.
12. Social Media Platforms:
Streaming platforms:
Spotify
Apple
music
Social
media:
Facebook
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube Music Videos:
Catalina
WAIT
13. Pretty Velvet:
Pretty Velvet is a band which was formed in Sunderland who have released 2 songs, ‘Desperado El
Dorado’ and ‘Gunmental hearts’. Their bands front woman, Lees, is a brilliant singer and songwriter
alongside the electric guitarists the PV boys. Pretty Velvet have a large social media presence having
immediate links to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok. On these platforms they post about
their new releases, performances and gigs and small clips of practices and recordings. While their
music is also streamed on Spotify and Apple Music, with nearly 200 monthly listeners on Spotify while
also uploading their songs onto YouTube too. Their genre is rock and roll as shown in their
Instagram bio and reflected in their songs ‘Desperado El Dorado’ released on the 18th of August
2023 and ‘Gunmental hearts’ released on the 14th of April 2023. They have performances book at
Independent in Sunderland on October 27th as well as many more at that venue and other gigs at The
Bunker in Sunderland, with gigs being on in December and March. For past marketing campaigns
they seem to promote their gigs and music on their social media as that is where they put links to find
all their ticket links, interviews and gigs while also participating on podcasts before too. Their typical
audience is Young Adults as they play at a lot of bars and restaurants and with being a new and
upcoming band that age group likes to listen to the music they have to offer.
14. Social Media Platforms:
Streaming platforms:
Spotify
Apple
music
Social
Media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube Music Video:
Desperado
El Dorado
15. Codes and conventions:
Audio-Visual- 'Of Monsters and Men' music
video:
The 'Of Monsters and Men' music video for their song 'Little Talks', tells the
narrative of the 4 men in the band going on adventures through life with their
guardian angel following them and destroying any threat they come across. At the
end of the video, we see a big monster looking figure, which you can assume is the
ruler of all the guardian angels, greeting the 4 men indicating they have reached the
end of their adventure (life). The cinematography of this video is brilliant with the
camera constantly following the men by using a tracking shot as they travel in the air
or on their boat. There is a lot of different shot sizes as well with a close up and a
pan across all the men's faces and a tilt upwards on the monster at the end. This
engaged the audience as it can give the impression like they are there and part of the
video as well. The editing of this video also contributes to the video as they have
made the men all black and white while making the angels and
monsters rainbow colours. This shows how there is more to their lives then
the plain black and white if you look at the bigger picture.
16. The overall, setting, costume and makeup and facial expressions give the video a
mystical theme however the men bring it back down to earth which gives the video a
mixed feeling of imagination. The video clearly suits in well with the bands
identity because video reflects the band name 'Of Monster and Men' showing both, to
associate the video to their brand. This attracts the audience back to their music if
they have listened previously as it is familiar. The bands target audience for their
reoccurring theme would probably be young ages of early to late teenagers who are
aspirers or explorers as it is heavy music with a fun sort of music video with the
mystical side of it. The repetition of the theme would also appeal audiences to come
back again to listen to their new music. The genre of 'Of Monster and Men', indie-
rock, has typical conventions including having a deep meaning behind their music
videos and using typical close-up shots and medium shots. This link to the theory of
Andrew Goodwin's theory that the video also links to the lyrics or the music of the
song which the song Little Talks links to the performance in the music video of telling
a story about life.
17. Audio- Rolling Stones Podcast:
This podcast is very ranged as the Rolling Stones senior writer, Brian Hiatt, interviews music artists
from across the ages and many different genres in every episode, ranging from Drake to Nirvana to
Robbie Robertson. The podcast is very well scripted with the questions being very interesting with
them being tailored to the fan's interests. Determining from this, I think the age range very wide
but is mostly between 25-35 because there are some old legends however pop artists from the
2000’s era. The social grade of people who listen to this podcast can also be very ranged as the
older pop artists can be listened to by the social grade E who would also fit in the demographic
resigned as older people tend to stick to their one way of doing things and rarely changing it while
younger people who are in the social grade C1 and C2 could also listen too. Younger people tend
to fit into the mainstreamer with the people who just follow the trends while you get the ones who
set the trends who are aspirers. In this podcast, there is no cinematography or mise-en-scene
during a podcast as they do not post videos of the interviews.
18. The color scheme on the gives the podcast a fun and cheerful feel with the bright colors of red and
yellow in the podcast cover. This is eye-catching and attracts an audience to watch it when looking
through the list of podcast because it stands out to them. The layout of the design is very bold with
the podcast name over the whole cover without leaving room for other information. This makes the
cover be easy and quick to look at while also knowing the podcast name to look it up further. This
postproduction work with the cover really gets the podcast out there and make it attractive and
appealing to an audience which also helps with the audience's interaction to be able to make rate the
podcast on Spotify after they have listened to an episode which as currently accumulated an average of
4.5 stars while also being able to be listened to on Apple podcasts as well as other podcast websites and
radio players. The theory of Clay Shirky backs this up because saying that when consuming media in
the past we were a passive audience consuming content however we can now be an active audience and
interact with the media we listen too.
The overall message of this podcast is to educate people about the backgrounds of different artists
behind their music. This podcast is very broad and can be for everyone as it features so many different
artists from all genres and ages.
19. Digital print (visual)- Arctic Monkeys poster:
An example of a digital print is the Arctic monkey's poster
promoting their album, ‘AM’. The target audience for this poster
would be between 25–40-year-old. The demographic for the target
audience would have a social grade of C1 or C2 and below. The
average citizen would listen to them, a typical mainstreamer, a person
who follows the trend, and an explorer as a typical explorer is a
younger person looking for new things. The band choose to not put
the band on the poster and not use cinematography or mise-en-
scene, giving the impression that the band is mysterious and to get
an impression of them you should listen to their music. The written
text has been used to communicate meaning through the logo as it is
the known Artic Monkey logo which is shown all their logo and
music which automatically distinguishes the band as the Arctic
Monkeys.
20. The layout and design of the poster is very top heavy will their information, logo and
album name all based around the top, with the soundwaves front and center making
that be the first thing you see and nothing along the bottom. You can see some digital
effects used to make the soundwaves have a shadow behind them giving a reflective
effect. This allows the poster not reveal everything at once making you stop and look at
the other information bundled at the top. The color scheme also doesn’t reveal a lot
being black and white and this could be to encourage you to listen to their music since
you don’t know much about it which can make a viewer curious. The logo placement is
also interesting as it not front and center however it is not hard to find the logo, if it
was the audience could lose interest. With the poster being so basic and not having a lot
going on it fits in with the genre of Indie Rock which is known to low budget and more
basic which fits Steve Neale's theory that genre changes over time, but some still
matches patterns or rules.
This poster gives the overall message of a mysterious new album. It makes the audience
want to listen to it and know more especially as a mainstreamer since it is so popular.
21. Audience research:
Survey:
Who are your favorite
artist/artists?
• Fleetwood Mac
• Abba
• Black Keys and Johnny Cash
• Kanye West
Why do you listen to music?
• It is calming
• Because music is positive
• Distraction and mood
changer
• Sounds good
22. Analysis of survey:
From my survey I gathered information from my target audience about types of music they listen too, how
they find it and how often they listen to music which everyone in the survey put every day because they
find it 'calming', 'positive' and a good 'distraction and mood changer'. Across rough percentages, the
majority listen to rock while also including indie, pop and alternative music which is also shown in the
survey's favorite bands e.g., Fleetwood Mac and Abba. This shows that my band would be highly attractive
to the aimed target audience. Pretty Velvet is presented on a lot of social media such as Instagram and
streamed on Spotify and YouTube which from my survey are proven to be the most popular way to find
artists and bands and the most popular platforms to listen to music on too. The survey also told me half
of the people like to listen to music at night and most like to go to watch artists live. This tells me I should
promote Pretty Velvet's nighttime gigs, the most, to my target audience as this would appeal to them the
most. Finally, I asked what would attract them to find and listen to new music. The responses I got were
audio-visually they would prefer to watch a music video over a showreel and visually no one wanted a flyer
while posters and album covers were even like audio too. These results contribute to what I will pick to
promote them.
23. Focus group:
Once I gathered all my information from my survey and analysed it all to get some
sort of idea about my target audience, we all went into focus groups. A focus group is
where you do a one on one or group interview with your target audience. In a group, I
interviewed four other students from college who fit into the target audience of 16-21.
I asked each one personally which products they view and consume the most whether
that be a music video or podcast, poster or viewing an album cover. Most of them had
similar answers to my survey saying they would look at music videos, showreels
(because they spend a lot of their screentime on social media platforms) and podcasts
the most. I also asked them where do they consume these products most being on
Instagram, Spotify and YouTube and the majority agreed on nighttime, but some did
say on a morning when they first wake up.
25. Vision Board:
When making my vison board I found these bits of existing
media which inspired my own ideas for my project. For my
music video the band requested to have an all-white
background with just raw footage of them playing the song
or for the showreel I thought of loads of different angles I
could do to capture the band. For the podcast I imagined us
in an audio room then me creating a podcast cover such as
the Bon Jovi one but with the band's ideas contributed too
and for the poster or album cover, I imaged either promoting
their latest song or next upcoming gig which would
differentiate what the poster or album cover would look like.
26. Client Meeting:
Preparations:
To prepare for our client meeting I made some notes in
the note's app on my phone, so they were free to access
while in the meeting. My questions entailed things that I
would need to know when I was making plans for my
products in the pre-production phase such as certain styles
they want to include, their typical music, logos to associate
them with and ideas for questions for the podcast such as
how they formed as a band. Underneath my questions I
also added my own ideas on products I wanted to create
and how I wanted to do it to tell them which was flexible
to adapt to their ideas too.
27. Evaluation:
In the meeting, the whole class sat down to listen to a bit about
both bands. Pretty Velvet's lead singer, Lees, and their lead
guitarist, Tommy, were there and told us about the band's latest
song, 'Desperado El Dorado', all their band members who could
not make it to the meeting and what they have done in the
past. Afterwards, Red Remedy told us about them and who their
band members were. After a few questions were asked by myself
and others we split up to talk to the bands in smaller groups to get
more detail about what they do. I sat with Pretty Velvet and learnt
a bit more about their past material. In the past they have done a
podcast which they really enjoyed as they enjoyed giving their fans
a glimpse of the behind the scenes of their music and them as
individuals and confirmed they would do it again. In their latest
music video, they were telling us how it was narrative based so for
their next song 'Viper Queen' they would just like a plain white
background to enhance them performing the song. They also said
that a showreel would be perfect to take small promotional clips
from to post on their socials to promote the new song. They
agreed on our idea that if we create a poster whistly also keeping
in mind an album cover as it would be perfect to promote new
music and gigs on their socials too. Throughout the group meeting
they were showing us clips of their past music, upcoming songs
and previous promotional material involving snakes whilst we gave
out ideas on how we could build on them. At the end we created a
group chat with the whole group in so we could arrange dates and
find out about gigs, etc.
28. Final Ideas:
Music video or Showreel: Podcast/podcast cover: Poster or album cover:
I haven't decided if I want to do a music
video or a showreel, but I am preferring
a showreel right now
• Do a group podcast with other
classmates or on my own
(depends on what gets arranged)
to get a range of questions from
all of us so we can interview
them from all angles
• Ask a mix of serious
questions, such as how they
formed as a band and their
upcoming music and inspiration
alongside funny questions like
funny behind the scenes
moments
• Use potential shots from the
audio-visual to include as a
background
• Inquire with the band if they
want a poster to put on their
socials to promote new music or
their latest gig (preferably new
music so it can be used long
term)
• Include their font and logo
• Make the background image a
video if I can so be promoted as
a video too for different social
medias like TikTok
Showreel:
• Include footage from their
gig, behind the scenes and
previous shot footage that they have
• Include text of their songs
in between
Music video:
• All white background
• Wide range of cameras angles
• Raw video of them playing their new
song 'Viper Queen'
