For my Unit 4 production, I decided on a marketing campaign surrounding the fictional band The Heretics.
The aim of the campaign was to both promote the band and convince the target audience, as well as a wider audience, of the band's new musical direction.
I decided that the best way to go about this was to use a different colour palette, using brighter, more primary colours, rather than the previously used dark blues and blacks.
I thought that this would make the campaign stand out from others of a similar ilk because most bands, upon deciding on cover art and a colour palette, usually produce other, similarly-themed works for their other albums, instead of taking a completely different approach.
Despite having a new colour scheme, i wanted to keep something of the older iconography.
I went about this by using ballroom masks for the album iconography, as well as that of the campaign in general.
This way, the newer, brighter iconography still had a link to the band's older motif, the Plague Doctor.
The presentation i made to a group of peers provided some interesting feedback.
Several members of the panel observed that, whilst the ideas for the campaign were original, they lacked a clear aim, and others claimed that certain aims were not carried out throughout the campaign, making it seem half-hearted.
Others commented that the campaign could possibly be seen the reinforce the Emo tag that the campaign was aiming to erase.
The panel commented on the new colour palette, claiming that it added a "pure" tone to the iconography.
Also approved of was my use of QR codes, linking the ads and posters to the website, although also stated was the proposal that some of the ads were a little too revealing, possibly even obvious.
Whilst the campaign revolved around important calendar dates, it never really corresponded with them.
The panel felt that this was a missed opportunity.
Overall, the panel felt that, whilst the campaign would excite pre-existing fans of the band, it would do nothing to gather a larger audience.
To improve the campaign, several steps could be made.
The first would be to make the ads a little more vague, perhaps even excluding dates or the album's name until a little later in the campaign, rather than having all the details there from the start.
Another could be to align the campaign to key dates, instead of having it revolve around them.
Dates such as Christmas and Boxing Day were mentioned, but never elaborated on.
Another idea may be to release a public survey before the start of the campaign, to find out what people would actually want to see in the band taking a new direction.
A final issue was the merchandise, which the panel thought looked like clothing found in JD sports.
A step to rectify this could be to detail several T-shirt designs, and presenting them to a panel before deciding on a final design.
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
Friday, 30 November 2012
Thursday, 29 November 2012
AOB 4: Production diary - Client
September 5th - Today I met with the client, Mr. H, to discuss the campaign and the end product. The client was very specific about what he wanted, giving us a clear, precise view on how he wanted the campaign to play out.
After extensive discussion, we agreed with the client upon an under-the-line marketing campaign, in keeping with the band's previous campaign methods and the estimated campaign budget.
September 8th - Having met with the client three days previously, i have begun work on organizing the campaign. The band have been informed of the campaign, and are doing their part to meet their specified deadlines.
A media artist has been hired to help design campaign posters, advertisements and other methods of advertising for the campaign, and a marketing plan has been drawn up.
September 16th - Several new layouts for the band's website have been drawn up and presented to the group.
Several different concepts for campaign posters and covers have also been presented to the design group, though a final decision has not been made.
A campaign motif has been decided upon; the team has decided that ballroom masks will be used alongside the band's new, more primary colours.
The ballroom masks are more colourful and bright than the band's past iconography, which included a Plague Doctor, but still keep with the band's historical theme.
September 20th - The necessary design changes have been made to the band's website to keep it in continuity with the newer, more primary colours.
Although the website's new layout and colour scheme haven't been officially formatted and released yet, their completion ahead of schedule has reassured the team that the campaign will live up to expectations.
October 1st - Several proposed methods of advertising have been brought to the table, including billboards, magazine adverts, digital products and teasers.
Some advertisement methods have been binned because they do not fit with the under-the-line approach the team are taking with the product.
Magazine ads, teasers and digital products are all being widely considered, and rough sketches and possible storyboards are being drawn up.
October 16th - The production team have come up with several possible album cover designs.
Nothing has been decided upon yet, but a few designs have caught the team's eye and are being produced in a less rough format.
October 24th - The music magazine NME have been contacted about the possibility of putting an advert in the December edition of the magazine.
The publication has confirmed.
The design for the said advert has been confirmed, and will feature the album's title, the band's name, and the release date of the album.
The team has also purposed a survey to see what fans of the previous album want to see in the new album. Several examples are being drawn up.
November 2nd - Another idea for an advert has been drawn up, this one including a QR code.
The go-ahead has been given for the advert to be made.
The questions for the survey have been decided on, and the survey itself will be posted on Facebook in December, along with a sample of the new single, Alpha.
The team have suggested promoting the album by releasing a single featuring footage from a popular video game.
The production team have contacted Bethesda studios on the matter, in the hopes of using the game Dishonoured along with one of the singles.
November 18th - A new production schedule has been drawn up, with deadlines for each individual section of the campaign.
Bethesda studios have replied, and discussions about using the single Lady Grey in a music video for Dishonoured will take place shortly.
November 23rd - Finalizations are being made for the campaign.
The new album was formally announced on the band's website on the 26th of October, and speculation is running high amongst fans.
The campaign will be kick-started with the facebook survey and the sample of Alpha.
We have had to leave some loose ends hanging to account for audience feedback, and how that will affect the campaign as it progresses.
After extensive discussion, we agreed with the client upon an under-the-line marketing campaign, in keeping with the band's previous campaign methods and the estimated campaign budget.
September 8th - Having met with the client three days previously, i have begun work on organizing the campaign. The band have been informed of the campaign, and are doing their part to meet their specified deadlines.
A media artist has been hired to help design campaign posters, advertisements and other methods of advertising for the campaign, and a marketing plan has been drawn up.
September 16th - Several new layouts for the band's website have been drawn up and presented to the group.
Several different concepts for campaign posters and covers have also been presented to the design group, though a final decision has not been made.
A campaign motif has been decided upon; the team has decided that ballroom masks will be used alongside the band's new, more primary colours.
The ballroom masks are more colourful and bright than the band's past iconography, which included a Plague Doctor, but still keep with the band's historical theme.
September 20th - The necessary design changes have been made to the band's website to keep it in continuity with the newer, more primary colours.
Although the website's new layout and colour scheme haven't been officially formatted and released yet, their completion ahead of schedule has reassured the team that the campaign will live up to expectations.
October 1st - Several proposed methods of advertising have been brought to the table, including billboards, magazine adverts, digital products and teasers.
Some advertisement methods have been binned because they do not fit with the under-the-line approach the team are taking with the product.
Magazine ads, teasers and digital products are all being widely considered, and rough sketches and possible storyboards are being drawn up.
October 16th - The production team have come up with several possible album cover designs.
Nothing has been decided upon yet, but a few designs have caught the team's eye and are being produced in a less rough format.
October 24th - The music magazine NME have been contacted about the possibility of putting an advert in the December edition of the magazine.
The publication has confirmed.
The design for the said advert has been confirmed, and will feature the album's title, the band's name, and the release date of the album.
The team has also purposed a survey to see what fans of the previous album want to see in the new album. Several examples are being drawn up.
November 2nd - Another idea for an advert has been drawn up, this one including a QR code.
The go-ahead has been given for the advert to be made.
The questions for the survey have been decided on, and the survey itself will be posted on Facebook in December, along with a sample of the new single, Alpha.
The team have suggested promoting the album by releasing a single featuring footage from a popular video game.
The production team have contacted Bethesda studios on the matter, in the hopes of using the game Dishonoured along with one of the singles.
November 18th - A new production schedule has been drawn up, with deadlines for each individual section of the campaign.
Bethesda studios have replied, and discussions about using the single Lady Grey in a music video for Dishonoured will take place shortly.
November 23rd - Finalizations are being made for the campaign.
The new album was formally announced on the band's website on the 26th of October, and speculation is running high amongst fans.
The campaign will be kick-started with the facebook survey and the sample of Alpha.
We have had to leave some loose ends hanging to account for audience feedback, and how that will affect the campaign as it progresses.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
AOB 3: Production diary
Meeting 1: Pre-Production
Date: 20/10/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: Methods of advertisement, schedule of production, dates & deadlines
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences
1.3 - The group has decided on a mainly under-the-line method of production, avoiding mainstream methods such as TV and radio advertisement.
2.0 - A vague schedule of production has been drawn up, although specific dates have not yet been decided upon.
2.5 - A deadline has been drawn up for the production, some more specific dates have also been decided on for specific items in the production schedule.
2.8 - Some dates in the schedule have been altered to be more beneficial to the group and the production as a whole.
3.0 - Meeting adjourned at 9.30 AM
Meeting 2: Mid-Production
Date: 22/11/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: meeting of deadlines, Campaign progress, audience feedback
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences.
1.2 - All team members agree that the campaign is currently on track, despite a few minor setbacks in marketing and audience feedback.
1.7 - A few dates have been altered in the production schedule due to minor setbacks.
2.1 - Nearly all deadlines have been met, despite problems in advertising and other minor occurrences.
2.5 - The group has accounted for audience feedback, and percentages and input have been noted. Future advertising methods will be changed slightly to take these into account.
2.9 - Meeting adjourned at 9.40 AM
Meeting 3: Mid-production
Date: 30/11/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: Initial feedback from Alpha music video, overall feedback, final changes to the album
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences
1.3 - Final changes to the album are being discussed, no conclusion has yet been met.
1.9 - Initial feedback from the Alpha music video has been accounted for, and all group members agree that the feedback is mostly positive, save for a few who dislike the band's new direction.
2.2 - Overall feedback from the campaign has been taken into account, and the campaign has been deemed largely successful despite setbacks at the beginning.
2.7 - A decision has been reached regarding final changes to the album, and the group has decided that no further changes are needed.
3.0 - Meeting adjourned at 9.25 AM
Date: 20/10/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: Methods of advertisement, schedule of production, dates & deadlines
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences
1.3 - The group has decided on a mainly under-the-line method of production, avoiding mainstream methods such as TV and radio advertisement.
2.0 - A vague schedule of production has been drawn up, although specific dates have not yet been decided upon.
2.5 - A deadline has been drawn up for the production, some more specific dates have also been decided on for specific items in the production schedule.
2.8 - Some dates in the schedule have been altered to be more beneficial to the group and the production as a whole.
3.0 - Meeting adjourned at 9.30 AM
Meeting 2: Mid-Production
Date: 22/11/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: meeting of deadlines, Campaign progress, audience feedback
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences.
1.2 - All team members agree that the campaign is currently on track, despite a few minor setbacks in marketing and audience feedback.
1.7 - A few dates have been altered in the production schedule due to minor setbacks.
2.1 - Nearly all deadlines have been met, despite problems in advertising and other minor occurrences.
2.5 - The group has accounted for audience feedback, and percentages and input have been noted. Future advertising methods will be changed slightly to take these into account.
2.9 - Meeting adjourned at 9.40 AM
Meeting 3: Mid-production
Date: 30/11/2012
Members in attendance: Phill Wickham, Dan Haycocks
Agenda: Initial feedback from Alpha music video, overall feedback, final changes to the album
Minutes
1.0 - All members in attendance, no absences
1.3 - Final changes to the album are being discussed, no conclusion has yet been met.
1.9 - Initial feedback from the Alpha music video has been accounted for, and all group members agree that the feedback is mostly positive, save for a few who dislike the band's new direction.
2.2 - Overall feedback from the campaign has been taken into account, and the campaign has been deemed largely successful despite setbacks at the beginning.
2.7 - A decision has been reached regarding final changes to the album, and the group has decided that no further changes are needed.
3.0 - Meeting adjourned at 9.25 AM
Friday, 16 November 2012
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
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