Our main product was our music video, which was supported by our chosen ancillary texts, a website and an album cover as we felt this was the best way to achieve and create a high level consist brand through a synergistic campaign. As we were creating products for a debut artist, we had to think carefully about presenting our artist in a consistent way. Although we took a risk by not having Absynth feature in our video as this goes against the conventions of marketing a debut artist, I think the mystery created by the video is enough to get the audience online to find out more and in challenging this convention, we created a positive twist. However, I feel the main source of synergy between the products comes from our decision to put the focus on music and its significance, rather than putting the focus directly on Absynth.
The headphones on the front cover signify the DJ genre, and add an extra element to the front cover taking it away from being just another pop genre album cover. The headphones were a theme carried through onto the website, where there are purchasing opportunities to buy T-Shirts with headphones on, and many of the photo's in the gallery had Absynth wearing headphones, or using DJ sets which also feature on the inside of the album cover. The boombox also has connotations of music which also is on both the album cover and website gallery. The gallery is one of the strong connections between the album cover and website.
These are some of the gallery photo's:
Although our video doesn't have any clear link to the artist, once the audience goes onto the website they can see the link between all three texts. By creating a synergy between our artist and WWF, we created the synergy needed for the audience to understand the connections. By Absynth working with WWF we also add to her personality, showing she is a caring and kinda person, which fits in with the humourous and feel-good video. However, it is the enigma created which is the appeal we were going for, as we didn't want to there to be an immediate synergy between the video and the artist, and although this is risky for a 'Debut Artist' we wanted to take the risk and try a unique and viral marketing campaign.
The WWF news story appears on the Home page in the 'Featured News' section which is one of the first things the audience will see, allowing them to immediately make the connection. Although we don't have any pictures of the panda on the album cover; to link the music video and website further, we included photo's of Absynth with the Panda used in our music video on a separate news page on the website. However, we could have had Absynth have a cameo in the video to increase the branding of the artist throughout
The Album Cover and Website both have a strong similar colour scheme of black, purple and pink. We chose these colours to reflect a confident, but stylish young artist; Absynth. The theme is modern and typical of other dance genre artist's websites, as although the colour is predominently black, we wanted flashes of colour to make it unique, and to give it a more feminine feel without being too stereotypical. Also the felt the black was reminscent of the club scene which will be popular amongst our target audience. The link between these two platforms is clear, and an audience member should be able to clearly see a cohesiveness between the mediums.
We also carried on this colour scheme on our customised Twitter and Tumblr pages to keep a cohesiveness throughout, which means if a fan stumbled upon any of the social networking sites, they would immediately know it is the artist Absynth. As well as this colour scheme link, we used the same photoshoot on the Album Cover, Website and Social Networking sites and this is important for a debut artist, as the imagery and identity of Absynth will be similar throughout. We also included links to the Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr sites on each corresponding website which increases interactivity, a key feature of our Absynth website.
We also have a consistency of font throughout the Album Cover and Website (even though one has a slightly different effect on it to the other), and it is simple and clear, again not distracting or taking away effect from the music itself. This is a technique used by many artists, in particular Nero who we took a lot of inspiration from throughout the project. This logo will be the key signifier for Absynth, and it appears all over the website (merchandise, titles etc.) and we don't have any other logo because we thought the name of the artist was strong enough in itself to carry the brand.
Another link between website and video is that the single, 'One More Time' plays immediately once you click the enter button on the site. As well as signifying the synergy between the two texts, it is also a great way to sell the music to our audience. The home page also has a link to be able to buy the album; also promoting the music. This marketing technique works with the video in order to sell the music (not just the artist).
The store on our website is also another place where we have managed to create synergy between all three products. The store allows the audience to buy many different items, ranging from the single and album (both creating a synergy to the music video and album cover), to T-Shirts with a cartoon panda on. By having a range of products available, we have managed to create links between what merchandise is online, and the product it represents. The different sections are clearly laid out, letting the visitor know what is available, and it also reiterates Absynth's love of pandas, almost adding the panda to her brand.
We promote each of the products using the products themselves, e.g. we have links to buy the album on the website, we have the website address on the back of the album cover, and the video will feature the artists name at the beginning or end, meaning the audience can go and search for our artist online (leading them to the website hopefully!). There is also the institutional information on the back of the album cover which also features on the website, showing institutional synergy as well as artist synergy.
I feel that although we have taken a risk by not featuring the artist in our video, which consequently makes marketing the artist consistently more difficult, we achieved our goal of putting emphasis on the music, rather than Absynth as a person, and by making her fun and likeable through the use of the panda we created a fun and unique person with a passion for music, translated through the continual references to her music throughout all three products. I feel it is the website which really forms the synergy connecting all three products, acting as a hub for the audience to find out everything they want to know.
No comments:
Post a Comment