Evaluation Question 2

HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND ANCILLARY TEXTS?


Throughout this project we have had to consider how well our main product and ancillary texts brand our band through synergy.This has to be kept consistent as it is extremely important for a debut artist to build a strong identity so as to stick in the minds of the audience.

We attempted to maintain a constant theme across all texts through a similar colour scheme. The website and album cover both contain our running theme of blue. However, so does our music video. We used a software called colour on our school computers. This software allowed us to colour correct our video; to add a blue tinge to the narrative. This made our video look moody and cold, but also related it to the rest of our texts.



You may also notice the use of our logo on the front cover of the album. This was a symbol I came up with while doodling in my English book. It combines three triangles to make one in the center, much like the three members of the band. The symbol also looks quite occult, as I took inspiration from the 'pentagram' or 'never ending star.'

This logo was used repeatedly throughout the video as well. We painted it onto the backdrop and also painted it onto my chest during the UV section of the performance.

We designed our website the way all good artists do: we designed it as the base of all our operations. It is the hub of our marketing campaign. It is as interactive as possible, with the audience able to contact the band, view the video, album, latest news and see upcoming gigs. We also made a Facebook and Twitter page for our band. Our target audience is young men, and over 90% of 16-24 olds use social networking sites. By adding our band to these sites we broaden our reach and appeal to suit their needs, integrating it all together through the website.

The idea is for it to be as user friendly and integrated as possible, the end goal being for the consumer to purchase our track and / or video.

You can see here the top banner of our website. This remains at the top of the screen constantly, allowing (no matter what the audience is looking at) the viewer to have access to purchase our new album by clicking on the link and being taken to itunes. You can also always see the bands logo constantly in the top right hand corner, which feature in the music video and on the album cover, as well as their iconic typeface, which is on the front cover of the album.

As you enter the website, our track plays automatically, and there is a tab which lets you view the finished video. There is also a link to YouTube in the bottom right of the page which takes you to our video. We also wore the same costume for our promotional shoot as we did for the video, and for the shots used on the album inside cover; some cross platform marketing, this would become the image and dress style of our band.

All three texts very clearly link together just by looking at them, and each one links to the other. The album sparks interest in the band by alluding to the fact that there's more to learn, through the silhouettes and half hidden logo. The music video is open to interpretation and has glimpses of our logo. This leads audience members to want to view more of the bands work and the website satisfies that. In short, I believe all texts work highly effectively in combination.