Question 2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Introduction I firmly believe that my main product (music video) and ancillary texts (digipak/magazine advert) complement each other brilliantly to create a successful media product. I have evidence from my questionnaire to backup this belief. I have used a variety of different techniques in order to achieve a set of media products that tie in with one another.

Key Signifier When creating my digipak I firstly created a key signifying image. This image could then be used as the “face of the band” and to create a brand identiy. I made the image striking and captivating. This picture was then used on both the album cover and the advert. This type of intertextuality helps the audience to better recognise the artist and music video.

Use of colour grading and black and white theme I have used the same black and white theme/style throughout the music video and digipak. Both the poster and album cover use the same image to create a symbiotic link between one another. The colour grading and black and white theme creates a visual link between all products. This helps to create a repeatable brand that will be easy to remember for the viewer. By doing this it enables the viewer/customer to easily identify and link the products together and therefore engaging them to purchase adverts because the products are related to a band/genre they are already familiar with. Here you can see the similar colour grading that has been used. The midtones are grey, the highlights are very white and exposed, where as the shadows are very dark, with high contrast to make the main image stag out against the black background. This type of colour grading complements the overall aesthetic I am trying to achieve.

Questionnaire analysis The results from my questionnaire suggest that the digipak and music video complement one another very well with 50% of people saying that the extent at which the digipak and music video link is great/good.

How I would release these media products If I was to release the products I produced, in the same way a real media product is released I would; Firstly release the music video. My research suggests this is a common practice because it creates enigma and mystery around the media product. This will attract the audience towards the media product as a whole. This practice is much more successful than attempting to force the viewers to buy the product with adverts and digipaks which directly state how and where to buy the product. In contrast to this the music video focuses on the music itself, and the motifs it may contain. This is more likely to cause “hype” within the audience, as people become excited about new music being released. The advertising of the new album would then be done by word of mouth within the audience. Especially considering with sites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook it’s very easy for exciting upcoming information to spread rapidly. An example of this is when, Paramore released a brand new song out of nowhere. This has caused a lot of talk. No album covers or digipaks where released prior to this. This is a prime example of why releasing a music video with no surrounding products can be so successful, because now people are excited and way that appears as if it’s not any form of promotion. Regarding the advert, I would only publish it in niche specific magazines which also feature topics that would engage my target audience such as technology. This would attract a wider audience of digital natives.

Use of social meadia In my magazine advert I have chosen to include social media links and a the bands wedbiste. This below the line marketing allows fans to create and spread their own views and “hype” online. Because of the digital age we now live in, everybody can be content consumers, and producers. Therefore, if a music video becomes popular, and a digital ambassador chooses to tweet “check out this new song by daughter” many more people will become exposed to the song. These digital natives allow news, music and content to be spread rapidly and globally. By including the social media links on my poster it will allow people to stay up to date directly with artists, it also gives viewers the opportunity to directly communicate with the artists. This helps the band to be viewed as more honest and can give a greater insight into their life.

Advert promotion of Album On my advert I have hinted that an album is on its way and will be released on the 30th of January. It also stats that it will be available on Cd, vinyl and digital. This will engage the audience to be alert for the release of a new album. If just one digital ambassador views the advert and shares their opinions, then many more people can be exposed to the media products. This method merges both above the line, and below the line marketing techniques in order to try to attract as big of an audience as possible. This encourages customers to become more involved. By indicating that an album is on its way people may wish to have a tangible copy of the music in the form of a CD, or an increasingly popular record, this helps to make the music be more of an event. Many independent bands like to create events around there work, even though this style of marketing is often more expensive.

Marketing techniques By creating media products that link all the available outlets such as online presence and traditional advertising techniques I can ensure I have adopted a 360 degree marketing strategy that is sure to be viewed by many peoples. Despite Daughter being an alternative independent band, it is likely they would be able to afford this form of marketing. However, because they are an alternative indie/folk/rock band it is likely they would want to appeal to only a niche market in order to have complete creative freedom. Daughter has niche following a couple years ago, however since then they have become more well known. Daughters music has appeared on TV, and I believe films and has amassed millions of views on YouTube. Because of this, the most appropriate platform to publish the music video would be YouTube, as the band already has over 359K subscribers who would be directly notified of a release.

Improvements In the future to address the lack of connection between the 2 characters within the music video I could have shown them within my digipak. This would create more of a link between the characters so that when the music video is watched, the viewers know that its not just about the girl character, but its also about the effects its having on her lover. I should have produced a QR code for my advert and album cover. This could have easily taken the audience to daughters website. This is common convention nowadays however I didn't include it within my digipak which was a mistake! If I where to have featured one I would have placed it alongside my social media links.