Research and Planning - Advert - Drafts of Adverts

During these few lessons, as a group we have been designing adverts for a potential final adverts. We done this to ensure that we gained positive and negative feedback from our teacher to eventually create a successful final advert.

Draft 1: 

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium close up shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including reds and blacks have been used on the advert to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which differs and contrasts with the dark colours as it is white promoting the artists innocence and vulnerability. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top left corner, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, parental advisory lyrics label and the barcode. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion from the audience.
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoise', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

Draft  2 

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and  unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including black and purple have been used on the advert with a blurry effect overpowering it, to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which is  in black font. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top right corner under the main title, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, and download availabilities. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion. 
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony through the information, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoisie', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language. 

Audience feedback- Gemma: 21 

• What do you like about it?

- Includes most the relevant information 
- Like the typography 
- Like the colour scheme 

• What did you not like about it? 

- The artist looks lost in the image
- The The filter used on the artist distorts star status

• How can it be improved?

- Clearer image of the artist 
- Name of the artist should be clearer 
- The layout  should be organised better







Draft 2:

Analyse your use of conventions using PEER

• I have included an image of the main artist who is not facing the camera, instead she is looking away wearing all black which is captured through a medium shot. This is conventional as it makes the artist look mysterious and  unknown to the audience. 
• Low key lighting and dark colours including black and purple have been used on the advert with a blurry effect overpowering it, to reflect the dark and mysterious atmosphere and mood. This is conventional as it encourages the audience to want to find our more, making them want to buy the album. 
• The mysterious nature is further reinforced through the typography which is  in black font. This is also conventional as it is expected for the typography to reflect the mood and the artists persona through the colours and shapes. 
• The overall layout is neat and consistent as the information is spaced out revolving the main image. This is conventional as it draws in the audience to the advert. The layout is also simple as it only includes simple information. 
• The information I have included on the advert includes the name of the artist in the top right corner under the main title, key singles, the album name, the release date, the artist name, and download availabilities. I have included little information to ensure I do not confuse the audience, and to promote the most important information to them. 
• The language I have used is simple and lacks formality as I want the audience to be  able to relate to the album and artist and be able to understand that it is aimed at them which is conventional as the information should reflect the audience and their social class. 
• There are no sub images added to avoid confusion. 
• Adorno and popular culture- The advert follows hegemony through the information, as the advert generally follows conventions to appeal to a mass audience, however, the image of the artist resits conventions as the female artist is dresses as a character and does not look relatable to the target audience or like a role model. According to Adorno's popular culture theory, the advert is targeted at 'The masses' as the genres within the album include alternative R&B, hip hop and electronic which is not appealing to the 'bourgeoisie', also, the advert reflects this through its modern and urban look. 
• Through this advert, NYX is promoting her differing ideologies and values as she is dressed against conventions which is supported by her body language.

Audience feedback- James: 20

Strengths:

- Image is photo shopped well
- All the key information has been included and clearly laid out 
- Looks consistent with the digipak 

Weaknesses:

- Add (") around the key singles

- The typography other than the title and artist name needs work 

- The background should have more effects. 


Draft 3:

Strengths:

- Image is photo shopped well
- All the key information has been included
- The layout is neat and works well 
- Looks consistent with the digipak 

Weaknesses:

- The typography other than the title and artist name needs more work 

- The background should be darker. 

Conclusion: 

Overall, the drafting process has been extremely beneficial for my group and I as we have managed to create our final advert as a result of the feedback we have received along the way. This feedback has motivated us to make the key changes needed in order to make our final advert conventional to the genre and in a state where it matches our music video and digipak. Some of the main changes we made were changing the main image in order to make it as effective as possible and promote the star image of the artist in an efficient way. Without drafting it would have put us at a disadvantage as we would not have any feedback to work from, resulting in us creating an advert that could potentially lack reflecting it's genre and potential target audience.  

Research and Planning - Advert - Generic Conventions and Analysing Existing Adverts

Generic conventions and analysing adverts

As a group, we each discussed and analysed an advert from our own research to analyse star motifs, main artist, lighting and colour, costume hair and makeup, typography, language, adorno and popular culture, information, overall layout and sub images.

Purpose 

• Includes key information such as release dates for the audience to be aware of
• Promotes the album for the artist
• A form of synergy to promote the artist and album
• Reminds the audience of the artists existence and the album, especially if they are an artist who is not regularly in the public eye, for example, Michael Buble, who only creates an album every christmas, therefore the advert is a reminder for the audience. 

What are the generic conventions? 

• Album title 
• Artist name 
• Release date
• Key singles
• Where you can buy and stream 
• artist image 
• parental advisory logo if required. 

Analyse three examples that are similar to your genre/artist

How has this research given your group ideas on what to include in your advert? 

This reseach has been beneficial because we are now clear on how an advert should be portrayed to and audience and what is included within an advert to ensure the artists newest album receives ultimate success. As a result, it is important to make an advert stand out to a mass audience to ensure they are intrugued and they await impatiently for the album. We have decided that we are going to follow generic conventions to ensure our advert meets the audiences needs and make it suitable to our target audience through the way in which we portray the information, the colours we use and the layout of the advert. Like the existing adverts we analysed, we will also use dark colours revolving our main image as it is more effective and creates tension and suspense which is what we want our audience to experience when they read the advert. 

Research and Planning - Advert - Advert Information

Advert information

Me and my group discussed what information needs to be on the advert. An advert must have certain information provided on the display so then the audience are aware of content in the album, in the artist and music videos. This can attract the right audiences.

What information will you include in your advert? 

Album name: Reaction: We have decided to call our album name reaction as we believe the name is short and snappy and can relate to the album as we believe that the songs within the album will evoke a reaction from the audience. Therefore, we decided to go with 'Reaction'. 

Release date: 30th January 2016 : We have chosen our release date to be the 30th January 2016 as this will come after the press campaign and TV launch which will all be important campaigns in ensuring that our album and artist are recognised, and encourage the target audience to look forward to the album release. Choosing to release the album at the end of the month allows us time to advertise it properly allowing the audience to anticipate the artists newest songs, causing them to wait in suspense. 

Available to download:  We have decided to use the well established download sites /apps including; ITunes, Spotify, Tidal and beatsMusic as these are globally recognized by a mass audience and will therefore allow our artist to become more successful, with her songs also being listened to by an international/global audience. We have also decided to make the songs available to download from various sites/apps as the mass audience use different ones, therefore, in order for our album to sell, it is vital that we can offer a variety of download options for the audience, encouraging them to download the album. 

Key singles: Papi Pacify, Endeavour, Time- Out of the nine songs we have decided that there are three key singles including 'Papi Pacify' which is the ultimate key single, considering that we created a music video to it, 'Endeavour' which is a song that appeals to a mainstream audience, and can be relatable due to the themes it includes. 'Time' is the most unique song out of her singles, as it is different in that the artist promotes niche themes which is reflected through the lyrics. 

Explicit lyrics label: Yes- We will be including an 'Explicit lyrics label' as some of the songs within the album contain mild language. However, it is important that we inform the audience, including those below 18 years old to protect them and our company avoiding us from getting punished. 

This information is vital to consider as all these factors are included in all adverts and are essential in securing the success of a music video. If this isn't included within the advert display, the audience will not be aware of whats appropriate, how they can download the album and other information they need to know for the release of the album, key singles and music video.

Research and Planning - Advert - Creative Brief

Creative brief for advert

For this task, me and my group discussed the design of the advert and created an advert to promote the artists album, key singles and music video. The artist should be promoted in a way that their star image portrays them and they should relate to the audience, forming a connection with the audience and the advert.

Who are they? 

NYX is a British songwriter and singer who began her career signing and performing three nights s week in Central London’s most prestigious and popular clubs and bars including GAY bar, ROADHOUSE and SCALA. As she become more recognized and her reputation grew, there was a higher demand from customers attending these venues for NYX to perform more frequently, therefore, she began performing six nights a week until one day her unique talent was identified by the studio director for Warner Bro’s Records, who decided to sign NYX to their record label. As a result, NYX started to perform in more well-known locations in London and outside London including the O2 Indigo arena, Barclaycard arena and Sheffield arena, as well as performing in other countries, including New Zealand, Switzerland and Spain. This increased NYX’S popularity immediately and within 2 years, she become globally identified by a mass audience, ages 18-28 from different ethnic and social background and developed a strong, international fan base. Due to this fame, there has been an increasing demand for her new album release.

The album concept

The concept of NYXs album Reaction, will be to connect her to her fans and the rest of the world,from ages 18-28, from different ethnic groups and social backgrounds, particularly those from working class and skilled working class backgrounds, who will be more likely to relate to particular ideas and the Alternative R&B genre. it will allow her to express her authentic self through the use of her music, which she also took a part in producing. The album reinforces NYXs ideas and beliefs, allowing people to get a clear picture of who she really is as a person. However we will ensure to make the album and its content appealing to the mass media, by including artist who are already in the spotlight. This album has not only just been created to increase her popularity but also to allow her to create a path for other niche artist out there like her, however we are creating the album to increase NYX’s popularity within the music industry making her more internationally and globally well known like other successful artists and boosting her star image. Moreover, this album will increase her chances of reaching top 10 in the music charts.

Why are we doing it? 

NYX's album will bring success to an international and possibly global scale and the creation of an advert will support her in doing so. The designs of the advert will mirror those of her digipak, the specific characteristics have been created to please our audience visually, the typography, font and colour scheme have been clearly thought out by our team and also NYX herself in order to represent her to the audience The themes within the album will include, love, relationships and fulfilling your desires, with the mood reflecting this. Therefore, the consumers will be able to understand the Alternative R&B genre through the album, encouraging them to listen to her music.

Comparable products 

Both these adverts can be compared to our advert as they include dark colours used to promote the darkness and suspense associated with the album, and the artist looking directly at the camera with no facial expressions highlighting their unpredictable personas. 

Audience

We want the audience to have a clear understanding about the artist and what she portrays, the audience is expected to enjoy her music and relate to her songs and messages. NYX being so out of the ordinary, we want our audience to be able to listen to NYX as form of escapism, allowing them to relax and release themselves from the stress that the everyday world can bring. overall We want positive reaction from the audience as NYX is such a niche artist we want her target audience to be able to turn to her and build a relationship with her that other artist don't have with their fans.

How will we know that it worked? 

The number of sales, and the sale figures the album receives will determine the success of the album, allowing us to decide if the album is popular and appealing to a mass audience. We will also host a focus group allowing a group of consumers that reflect our target audience (aged 18-28, different ethnic groups, working class/ skilled working class) to look at our first drafts of our advert design provide us with feedback, which will allow us to make the required changes and develop on the criticisms, making the final draft appealing and suitable to our target audience meeting their expectations and interests. Making the advert appealing to the target audience is crucial, as this factor determines the ultimate success of the album, therefore, we will ensure we are fully aware of the information revolving around our audience, including similar products they like and what they like about it, their average earnings, their hobbies/ interests etc. Understanding these factors will help us to make an album that the audience will like and will be able to afford.

Launch dates

NYX’s campaign dates:

Press campaign: 6th January 2016

TV Launch: 10th January 2016

Album Release: 30^th January 2016

In conclusion, I believe that our advert should be quite dark and mysterious for the audience as this is what is portrayed in NYX's star image, music video and album.