Evaluation Question 2HOW EFFECTIVE IS COMBINATION OF YOUR MAIN PRODUCT AND THE 2 ANCILLARY TEXTS?

How have I used visual & design features to symbiotically link the 3 parts of my promotional package?

We used synergy with all 3 products of the promotional package to an extent but it was very apparent between our promotional poster and digipak. We used the same original design for our poster as our digipak because in a real situation in the industry it is important to keep a theme and something that people will recognise every time they see the design. This is quite an important thing to include because it will increase publicity and keep the theme very focussed.

Our video also links to this theme as it follows the black, white and red colour schemes. We wanted to keep a constant throughout the video so we used a black and white filter and occasionally used the Pleasantville effect to bring out the red, which are all the colours used on our digipak and promotional poster. This is an example of where we used cross media convergence to link all of our products together which makes for an effective selling method.

How effectively have we used Logos in our promotional package?

The band name logo for our product was quite an important decision to make as it would be the thing that people recognise the name of. For this reason we wanted something that stounded out well and was easy to read and large enough to catch people’s eyes. We took inspiration from the original royal blood logo when choosing ours and decided to go for a font that would resemble the original but be a bit clearer. We ended up going with a font called “Castellar” which stands out (I think mainly due to the fact that it is all capitalised) but the main thing being that it is pretty thick due to empty space in the letters which makes it more prominent and has a distinct, professional style. It is also reasonably unique and so the band would be defined by this logo.

How effectively have we used branding in our promotional package?

Branding is another very important aspect when it comes to creating a promotional package because like the logo it is viewed and remembered, acting as the face of the promotional package. The American Marketing Association defines a brand as something which entails “names, terms, signs, symbols or designs, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.” When creating our own sort of brand we took most of these into account. We included a logo of the band/self titled album name and an original design and colour scheme which we used across all of the parts of our package to keep a theme going. Our brand delivers a kind of message with the original artwork and design of it, as it looks quite raw and grungy which are qualities that the band possess, which also I think makes it appeal to that kind of audience. We realised from our research that branding is absolutely vital to selling a product across all of the different aspects of the package and keeping that theme present is crucial to a good marketing strategy.

Analysis of logoThe band name in white is layered in front and move slightly down and to the right of the black to give a kind of 3D effect (still using the Castellar font). The white is more prominent than the black and so stands out more, ultimately making it more eye catching.

The band/ album title logo in black is set behind the more prominent white version of the logo which could be seen as a kind of shadow to the white one, not only making it look 3D, but making it stand out more than if it was just plain white, and it is essential to make it as noticeable as possible.

What I have done here is take the logo from the front of the album cover and cut out the artwork in between so it looks like 1 flowing logo. The red matches up well still and there is still a vignette around the side so it keeps the same colour scheme and grungy feel.

The logo for the promotional poster is very similar to the album cover, but as it is a poster we made the text a brighter white to make it stand out to passers by. The words are also stacked rather than next to each other which fit the design of the poster better (but keeping the same font and theme).

Analysis of Central ImageFor the artwork that runs throughout our package, we decided on a design which would show the concept of death hence the skull of a deer. We also used the colour red to emphasise blood as it is a theme that runs in both the band name and the song and we have really tried with the design and in the video to make that theme stand out. The skull is meant to be in the same sort of style as the original artwork and looks quite grungy but it mainly follows John Fiske’s theory that themed visuals can sometimes be more effective than the meaning behind it.

We took a more minimalist approach for the back cover but still following the theme of blood. It is quite a simple design but it again follows a similar kind of design as the original album and is all symmetrical which is visually appealing. Use of logo again, drumming the logo into people’s heads.

Summary So over the course of producing our promotional package I have learnt a lot about the things that they need to include to sell well and to appeal to a certain target audience. Here are some of the key things that we considered when creating our package:

•Synergy

•Commodification

•Branding

•Themes and ideologies

I believe that all the sections of our promotional package work well together and would work effectively in a real world situation.