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

Music Video Concept The idea for my music video was to highlight how hard life can be for a teenage in various situations and how friendship can help you to get through those tough stages of life. I have also taken an element of mystery with my music video and other products for this project that links together quite effectively. This mysteriousness used on my music video works well with the modern genre I am creating these products for and creates this magical feel to the product that I think suits the change in tempo and lyrics. The main inspiration for the different shot types I have used is from one of the popular trends as of late called Vlogging, this is when a person uses a camera to video themselves going through daily tasks or exciting periods. In my music video I have used this type of shot because it gives the viewer a sense of realism to the piece meaning that they can almost relate to what’s happening. The music video lends itself to the other products I have created by using this sense of mystery that is found as a theme throughout all three products. This is the main link between the products as well as the occasional use of one another as an image or feature on the product.

Digipak Concept The main theme for my Digipak was to use futuristic and modern themes that complement the genre in order to entice buyers in my target audience to view the product. I used a very minimalistic style for the front and back that create a mysterious feel to the Digipak before showcasing the information inside. This clever use of hierarchy and focal points means that the viewer is intrigued by the large main focal point on the front or back and then has enough interest that they open up the Digipak to see what is inside. To make the front cover more eye catching I have made the whole tile black and white except for one bright red dot in the centre that clearly stands out more than the rest of the image. Using this method of grabbing a reader’s attention and then displaying them the information means that you are more likely to reach the audience it is directed at. It also helps reduce the reader from feeling overwhelmed at the site of a wall of text that can put many readers off straight away. In this Digipak I have used the eye from one of my characters in the music video as well as an image of my advert. This helps to link the two other products to the Digipak while adding to the attractive look of the product.

Advert Concept For my advert I really wanted to keep the mysterious theme present as I felt it fit the genre and music choice very well. In order to continue this I used a silhouette as the focus for my advert rather than an image; I felt that this kept an element of interest for the reader whilst keeping the modern/futuristic theme with the use of the red lit up eye on the silhouette. Much like my Digipak this product uses a lot of hierarchy and minimalistic style in order to grab the attention of the reader and then showcase the information. With the silhouette being the first thing seen this should entice the reader if they are interested and then show them the next largest thing the text showing the band name. If the readers knows the band they will then know what the advert is about and continue. If not the reader might be enticed further by the single name or the release date, the next largest things featured. Much like my Digipak, I am using a mainly minimalistic style for this product as well as a focus on grey colours clearly showcasing a link in terms of theme and overall feel. This product also uses the element of mysteriousness that can also be seen on the other two products whilst keeping the clean look.

Conclusion I believe that the combination of both my music video and the other promotional products creates a very effective marketing strategy that would be perfect for my band of choice. The reason for this is because being an indie band that relies on a lot of social network coverage and online resources in order to sell music; this means that I can use my music video to promote the new single from the album before releasing the full album on the site the bands like to use (band camp etc.). A common way for smaller bands like these to be noticed online is for them to release a music video that teases their new album with one of the singles as the backing. This can be very effective if done right meaning millions of people can see it depending on how popular the band is to begin with and how they upload it. In this case, Approaching Nirvana has a large presence on YouTube meaning I could get lots of views on the music video to begin with meaning a lot of hype and can be created. This is a solid example of below the line marketing strategy’s that these smaller artists can benefit from due to the low cost of doing this type of marketing. All of my media products have a strong link in terms of themes, minimalistic style and use of feelings. This creates a very strong link between them that I believe is important if they are to be successful when used together. This is so that if a reader sees any of them separately they can relate the name and theme together in order to create a strong mental link between them. The use of the futuristic/robotic style in both the Digipak and advert really lend themselves to the band I have selected and to several of their current and past songs, this means that any fan of the band will be able to relate easily to the products I have related and feel right at home. The link between my advert and Digipak is much stronger than the link to my music video as I feel that they should complement each other the most, as they are likely to be seen with each other and therefore should have a clear link. This will help reinforce a readers mental link when trying to find that album especially if they have seen the advert. I felt that the link to the music video did not need to be a strong because it uses a single from the album rather meaning I can relate it more to what the song is about and then advertise the album using the date and even a picture of the products at the end of the video. Regardless of there not being much link between them, I still tried to use the themes created by the printed media in the music video so that the audience did not feel like the video was out of place. I think my products have been effective especially as they aren’t reliant on each other to be successful but link together in order to make them seem like a package rather than separate pieces. With the way the band currently has to market their music using mainly below the line techniques I think that they would work perfectly as professionally created products for the band as well.