Media evaluation response.

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

2.  When combining the main music promo product and the
two ancillary texts, there needed to be some sort of
consistency. From my research, I noticed that alternative
artists tend to follow the rules of synergy, through similar
colour schemes, images, costumes, backgrounds or text. I
decided to follow and develop this by using more than
just one constant, because I thought it would be most
strategic to make the promotional package as a whole.

3.  The most notable synergetic aspect of all three media pieces is the key
involvement of the artist herself, ‘Tara’. Within Santigold’s marketing for 99$,
everything was themed perfectly, being a baby pink colour, with yellow price
tags and always involving the artist herself. This marketing strategy was
hugely effective, as the artist became hugely familiarised with the viewers. I
took this research into account during my media production;

4.  Firstly, throughout the music promo the narrative revolved around ‘Tara’, with the majority of the shots
focusing on her, and of course her ‘singing’ of the lyrics. Furthermore, the digipak consists of aesthetically
pleasing images of ‘Tara’, 4 out of the 6 images involving her, and the front cover being a photograph of her
overseeing the views of London. Lastly, the poster is again, a photograph of her staring directly into the
camera to engage with the viewer, in an aesthetically pleasing format. I designed her outfit to be
recognisable among all the marketing platforms, as she wears the familiar dungarees, mustard jacket, and
white shoes. Her hair and makeup also remains the same, as does the majority of the locations the images
are shot in. The consistent presentation of ‘Tara’ and her look becomes familiar with the viewers, and
looking at the 3 media products it is therefore evident that these are all marketing the same product, being
her music. Because viewers would easily recognise the artist, it could increase the likelihood of sales as she
becomes a more prominent character, and therefore this use of synergy among the three media platforms
would likely prove successful.

5.  Furthermore, the colour scheme has been maintained among the three media texts,
much alike other alternative artists marketing strategies, including Santigold as well
as Bonobo. This being a very low contrast, grey/blue atmosphere. I shot the three
products in the same location, being around Peckham in London on the same gloomy
day to maintain the same lighting tones so it would be consistent along the three
media platforms, and edited it further to enhance the low contrast tones. Looking at
the three media texts, the colour scheme appears very consistent, and therefore this
links the three media texts together in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
London
locations –
all gloomy,
grey/blue
colour
schemes

6.  The text has also been a key feature of the two ancillary products to be synergetic. I used
‘Open Sans’ being a very simplistic font for the titles, being ‘Tara’ and ‘Haunted’, being the
album name. I intended for all of the text relating to the album to be in white, maintaining
this simplistic style, however the poster background, being white, wouldn’t have enabled
visibility, and therefore to correlate with the blue/grey tones, I used a dark blue/grey colour
for the name ‘Tara’ to be written in. This allows viewers to relate the two media products
together, and to familiarise the viewers with the artist’s name also. This font acts as a
trademark of ‘Tara’ consequently, being another synergetic quality.
Open Sans
font is
evident in the
two ancillary
media texts

7.  All the three media platforms are effectively used to market the album
‘Haunted’ by ‘Tara’. This is synergetic among the three texts in the
information they provide. Firstly, the digipak is the album itself, consisting of
9 tracks, one being ‘Paradise Circus’, in which the music promo is based,
further increasing the likelihood that the album will be recognised or known.
And then finally the poster, which would most likely be found on bill boards
and notices will further the likelihood of ‘Haunted’ gaining popularity and
therefore sales. The elements are married together with the use of synergy,
making the marketing strategy stronger. The combination of the main product
and ancillary texts is made effective by the recognisable features within,
enabling for a cohesive promotional package that appeals to both pre-existing
fans and new listeners to the music.