Media Case Study ProjectCaitlin Mulcahy

Example

Rap/Hip-hop

Example’s Website – Try This For Example Example’s website is set out like a blog for

people to follow. Some of his most recent posts include his performance of his new single changed the way you kissed me at Capital’s Summertime Ball. This is an effective way to target the audience as not only does it promote Example’s music it also helps the fans to learn more about Example as he posts things about himself as well as his music. By having his website as a blog this is an easy way to interact with his fans as they can ‘like’ things, comment on his posts and give their opinion on the things that he posts. Overall it represents Example quite well as it is a way to communicate with his fans as well as post things he likes. It is any easy way to post pictures or videos which is what the fans want, so by doing this they are easily pleased. The colour of the website is black and pink, the pink can come across as quite girly and would appeal more to female fans whereas the black would appeal more to male fans. The website stands out compared to others as it is set out in a more personal way, for example the fans know that it is actually Example updating it and not a member of his management as he posts personal things such as photos of shoes that he would like to buy.

PosterThis poster was uploaded via social networking to advertise Example’s tour dates as well as his new single. They targeted the audience by uploading the image to social networking sites as it is a fast and easy way of interacting with the fans. The Example logo represents the audience which makes it recognizable, wherever the fans see the ‘e’ they will know that it represents Example. The yellow font causes the main information to stand out, and is what the viewer will tend to look at first. This encourages them to buy the new single as well as buy tickets for a date nearest to them. By keeping the poster simple this also catches the viewers eyes as it is not overly busy but still contains important information, which is all the audience need. By getting straight to the point this makes the poster stand out. The sizing of the ‘e’ also makes it stand out and the viewer will instantly recognize it to be Example’s logo.

Album Artwork for the SingleThe album artwork for Example’s single is

very simple. The background is plain black with a large white ‘e’ in the middle which stands for Example. Example is then written in black within the ‘e’ as well as the title of the song. The contrast of the white on the black really stands out and effectively grabs peoples attention. The use of the large ‘e’ represents the artist well as he has been seen wearing a t-shirt with an ‘e’ on as it stands for Example which is his stage name. It stands out compared to other single covers as it has been kept very simple, if the cover was too busy and full of un-important images then it wouldn’t stand out or represent the song or artist as much. However because it is only two colours this could imply that Example likes to keep things simple. It also relates to his website as the layout of his blog is only two colours.

Music Video

The music video for Example’s single ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’ is filmed in black and white which relates to the album artwork which is also in black and white so the fans can make a connection between the two. The video has follows some rap conventions such as ‘bling’ as Example is seen wearing a chain and a bracelet, it also includes the artist lip syncing and performing. The video is performance based which represents Example well as an artist as it shows how fans react to his music and gives off a positive vibe. The video targets the audience well as fans were clearly involved with the video by being part of the crowd. In addition it was posted on social network sites such as Facebook so that fans could easily access it and this encouraged them to buy the single. It stands out compared to other rap videos as it doesn’t follow some of the rap/hip-hop conventions such as cars, money and women. It is easy for fans to relate to especially if they have seen Example live and represents him well as he is doing something he loves and sharing it with his fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLXt3yh2g0s

Social Networking Example uses social networking sites a lot to interact and communicate with his

fans and he is know for his sarcastic and humorous tweets. He used his twitter account not only to promote the single and encourage people to download the song but to also thank his fans for purchasing the song and getting it to the number one spot. Twitter is a good way for Example to interact with his fans and he often reply's to peoples questions or re-tweets fans. His twitter account really represents him well as not only can he promote his music and interact with fans he can also express who he is and what he likes. His current display picture is of the album artwork for ‘Changed The Way You Kissed Me’ which also helps to promote the single. His twitter accounts stands out as he always tweets honestly – if he doesn’t like someone he will often tweet about it to amuse his followers.

Overall Example’s marketing campaign has been successful in promoting his new single as he is currently number one in the charts. He also released tour dates during the release of the single which have almost sold out. By using a simple logo and bold fonts his album artwork and posters catch the viewers eye wanting them to find out more. His website keeps fans updated and by posting videos and photos this builds up suspense so that when the music is finally released the fans all rush to download the single. His twitter and Facebook page also keep the fans updated and are an easy way for Example to communicate with fans. By staying down to earth and being thankful to his fans over social networks such as twitter this also helps the fans to get to know Example as well as to feel good about downloading his music as they know that he appreciates their support.

Panic! At The Disco

Rock/Indie

P!ATD’s Website

Panic! At The Disco’s website is run by the band and their production team, they update it regularly with information on tour dates, music, what the band have been up to and merchandise. The band recently uploaded a post which told the fans how they could get involved with the bands new single and its video. They then uploaded the music video for ‘Ready To Go’ exclusively for the fans. The website is a easy way to communicate with the fans as they can like and comment on posts as well as listen to the bands music and purchase merchandise. There are also buttons for Facebook and twitter so that fans can click it and automatically post videos or pictures from the site on to their own twitter or Facebook pages. The website represents the band well as they can all indivually post things, for example the lead singer Brendon recently injured himself at a gig and was able to post a reassuring blog on the website so that the fans didn’t have to worry about him. The blog is set out in colours such as black ,brown and gold, which were the main colours in the alum artwork for there most recent album, the font used is also the same as the font on the album artwork so the fans can easily recognize this and relate to it, as now where ever they see that style font they will know it as the bands font. The website stands out from others as it is used for more than just promotion, the fans can comment on things to give feedback to the band as well as learn more about the band and their music. It is an easy way for the band to post information about what they are up to as well as information about tour dates or music release dates.

Poster The band posted this poster on their Facebook page

to advertise the release of the new music video for ‘Ready To Go’ The image is of the band, which the fans will have seen before on their Facebook or twitter page so they would easily be able to recognize the band if they saw the poster anywhere else. The song title ‘Ready To Go’ is in a bigger font compared to the rest of the text. It is also in colour whereas the rest of the text is in white. It is a simple way to interact with the fans as all they have to do is follow the simple instructions on the poster to see the video. In addition because the poster says ‘Video Premiere’ the fans know that they will be the first people to see the video so this expresses how much the band care for their fans as they have made sure that the fans see the video before anyone else and have made sure that the fans will be involved. The red/orange font grabs the audience’s attention easily and therefore gets them interested in the video making them want to watch the video and then purchase the song. The poster stands out as the band have used a well known picture that they know the fan will recognize as well as bold fonts that grab peoples attention, causing then to want to find out more about the video and the song.

Music Video

Panic! At The Disco’s music video for the single ‘Ready To Go’ is performance based as well as being quite abstract. The visuals relate to the music in an interesting way, there is no real storyline however the line ‘get me out of my mind’ relates well with the visuals as the band end up in different places such as a bar, a street and on the roof of a building with chimney sweepers which could express them ‘getting out of their mind’ by escaping reality. It can be seen as performance based as the band play their instruments in the video as well as lip sync and there is also a small orchestra. The lead singer also dances. It represents the band well as they are well known for odd and interesting videos. The fans were involved with the video so it easily targeted fans. Also they posted it on their social networking sites so the fans could easily access it and this encouraged them to purchase the song. It stands out compared to other videos as it is not just performance based and this represents the artist well and gives the fans an insight to what they are like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xDf-_8KvGM

Social Networking

The band have personal twitter accounts as well as a band account and a Facebook page so that they can easily interact with their fan base. They use social networks to inform fans about tour dates, music release dates and new merchandise. Recently they posted a picture on their Facebook page which hinted what the music video for the new single ‘Ready To Go’ would be like. The caption underneath it also informs the fans about when they will be able to see the new video which causes the fans to get excited about the single release and the video premiere. This is a good way to inform the fans as well as get them involved with the single release.

Overall Panic! At the Disco’s marketing campaign has been successful in promoting the new single as it got all the fans involved in some way or another. By posting posters on social networking sites and informing the fans of how they could get involved with the single this encouraged the fans to purchase the song as by posting sneak peaks of the video this got the audience more and more interested. By regularly updating their website with photos of tours and information on the new music video this also encouraged fans to get involved with the release of the single. In addition using social networking sites such as twitter also helped the band to promote the single as many of their fans have twitter so it is therefore an easy way to communicate with fans and to inform them of what is being released and when. It is also an easy way to thank the fans for their support so that when they purchase the song they feel like they are helping the band to live their dreams.

Calvin Harris

Dance

Calvin’s Website The website is set out

similarly to Examples website. Fans can ‘follow’ the blog as well as comment on or like posts. It is an easy way for the artist to communicate with his fans as he can post about upcoming music, merchandise or tour dates easily. Colour has been used well to also represent the artist as the bright colours are similar to disco lights which relate to some of his songs such as ‘I created disco’ as well as the places his songs are played at. There are links on the blog which re connected to social networking so fans can easily find his facebook or twitter page to find out more about the artist and his music.

The text on the page is mainly in white which goes well with the background which is black. This keeps the site simple so that the audience can easily find things and read them without getting too distracted. The colour along the top however really attracts the audience and draws them in wanting to find out more. The colour represents the artist and his music well so just by looking at the website they can get a feel of what his music will be like. The blog format is an easy way for the artist to communicate with his fans as he can post pictures, videos and text so this easily pleases the fans.

Poster This is a poster which has been used on the

internet to advertise the new single. It has a picture of the artist who is wearing a pair of glasses which he is well known for. So the audience and fans will recognize the glasses right away. Some of his face has been blurred out so that the audience focus on the text which says the artist and the name of the song in a black font. The song title is slightly bigger than the artist names so that it stands out more. The poster reaches out to the fan base as it advertises the song and gets them excited about its release. The glasses make the image stand out as the fans will recognize them from previous album and single artworks by Calvin Harris. By using plain colours this also keeps the poster simple and doesn’t give away too much information so the audience want to find out more about the single. It represents the artist well as it is a picture of him wearing his famous glasses.

Album Artwork

The album artwork for Calvin Harris’ new single ‘Bounce has a blurred background so the viewers mainly focus on the text, which is in a simple white font. The background is a hand holding a plain white ball which relates to the title of the song as a ball bounces. The artwork stands out because the blurry background makes it easier to focus on the song title and the artist. In addition it doesn’t give anything away about the song so the audience will be come more and more interested in the song. By keeping the cover quite simple this doesn’t distract the audiences attention so they will therefore be able to focus on the song. The audience can also relate this to the music video as this is a still from the beginning of the video.

Music Video

The music video for Calvin Harris’ single ‘Bounce’ can be seen as narrative based as it focuses on a boy rather than the two artists who only have a small cameo. The lyrics relate to the visuals as you see a ball being bounced a lot throughout the video and the name of the song is’ Bounce’. It follows the main convention of a nightclub setting as towards the end of the video the boy is seen at a house party and then a nightclub where Calvin Harris is seen DJing. It represents the artist well as he is shown performing to a crowd and this could also represent the fans who seem to be having a good time listening to his music. The video was posted on social networking sites so the fans were easily targeted. It stands out compared to other dance videos as it has more of a storyline which the fans and audience can relate to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooZwmeUfuXg

Social Networking Social networking is an easy way for

artists to interact with their fans. Calvin Harris uses his twitter to inform fans about music release as well as what's going on in his personal life or where he is touring. He recently tweeted about the release of his single ‘Bounce’ and thanked his fans for positive comments about the song. This is a personal way for the artist to communicate with fans as the fans know it is being run by the artist and not their management. It gives the fans an insight to what goes on in the artist lives and encourages them to support them by purchasing their music. The twitter account represents the artist well as they can tweet about anything so it’s a simple way to promote their music.

Overall Calvin Harris’ marketing campaign has been successful in promoting his latest single ‘Bounce’ as he is currently number 3 on the iTunes chart. By using simple fonts and blurred out photographs this interested fans as it didn’t give anything away about the song. In addition by updating his website and social networking sites regularly he was able to communicate with the fans informing them of the release date of the single so that they knew it would be released soon. Also buy thanking fans for their support via twitter this also encouraged fans to buy the single as they know he appreciates their support.