magazine advertisement

evaluation

The main purpose of the magazine article is to sell the band’s debut album titled “Tourist

History”. It is an expensive marketing

tool used in the music industry; therefore, it is

vital it results in high sales volumes and

awareness of the band and their music.

For that reason, the album artwork features as a dominant image on

the magazine advertisement. This allows a potential customer to

remember the album cover and be able to identify it on iTunes or on

the shop shelves.

This advert is likely to feature in NME magazine due to the indie genre of the

music and I have altered the advert’s measurements to fit that particular

magazine. The advert would be suitable for NME readers because they target Explorers

according to the character categorisation theory. Explorers seek new experiences,

suiting the intended audience because it is a debut indie album being advertised

which is unlikely to be in the mainstream public eye. The advert may also feature in

“The Guardian” supplement called “The Guide” attracting readers interested in

culture and new music according to psychographic segmentation. According to

demographics, my magazine advert’s target audience would be similar to NME magazines’ – 18-23 year olds which was

also the predominant age range of my audience research questionnaire

respondents.

A convention discovered after analysing other magazine advertisements is critical acclaim. It is important to

attract the target audience and consider their demographic and

psychographic segmentation; therefore, I have chosen critical acclaim from 2

music platforms that focus on alternative music and attract the age of the audience I am targeting. BBC Radio 1 was chosen because it specialises in

‘current’ music, therefore would suit my target audience because my

questionnaire results show that my audience like listening to new or

unsigned bands. This again, is typical behaviour of an Explorer. Quoting

positive reviews by Radio 1 and NME may lead the audience to want to buy

the album because the media can lead to its consumers copying actions or

beliefs. This is an example of the hypodermic syringe theory. The typical audience member – a listener of Radio

1 and a reader of NME will be lead to believe the acclaim is accurate and due

to the hegemonic power of these 2 names, the album would be bought.

Another identified convention is the promotion of where the album is

available to buy. iTunes has been used in this instance, because according to the audience research results, the majority of respondents digitally download their

music. This has also been chosen to stay current with the technological changes

in the music industry. Promoting the album’s sale through iTunes reflects the

band’s values of staying current and producing ‘new’ sounds. The iTunes logo

is recognised worldwide, therefore, is a visual code connoting that it is available

to buy online, according to Roland Barthes study of semiotics. In the indie

genre, it is common for bands to gain their success over the internet,

therefore, iTunes is a typical choice of purchasing and discovering new music for indie fans, due to the option to see

‘’similar artists’’.

The magazine advertisement, according to the uses and

gratifications theory would be used for social interaction due to the band’s

Twitter and MySpace pages being advertised. This allows the audience to

gain further information about the band and discover more of their music

and videos. Social network sites let people to interact and discuss and comment on the band’s uploads –

another marketing tool to enable the band to gain awareness and create a

fan base. This again, is an example of an indie band making use of the

internet and word of mouth to create a fan base and to become recognised for

their music.

The main purpose of the advertisement is to provide the

audience with information which leads them to buy the band’s album. By including “OUT NOW” informs the audience of when it is available?

According to the uses and gratifications theory, the advert is

used as a method of providing information to the audience. This can

also be done by the audience going on to the band’s website or record

label to look in to more products by the artist. After all, the most lucrative

part of the music industry is the live tours and appearances.

The text “including the single” something good can work” makes the audience recognises the band due to

the advertising of a current successful song. This may attract fans of the

music and also potential customers who may like the current single but

have not heard any other music by the band.

font choice

Dafont.com was used to find a retro style font. It imitates a

traditional style French art deco font, similar to that used

on Friendly Fires’ magazine ad. According to Barthes’

theory it suggests that the music is possibly artistic and

different – typical to the indie genre. This suits my target

audience of Explorers and the readers of NME magazine where this would typically

feature.

audience feedback

After showing my video to a range of people in my target audience I

gathered comments to see what they like and dislike about my

magazine advert.

“I like the font used, because it is quirky and suits the listeners of this sort of music”

“it is very clear as to what is on sale, therefore, it is persuasive and good marketing for the album”

“it looks authentic”

“all the relevant information is on the advert. It’s not too cluttered”