Another social group which is presented in the music campaign is age. This is used to reach the target audience as well as show who the band are. They very much adhere to the stereotype of their age. They are shown as very typical teenagers, in the music video for example, they are shown playing video games, drinking and messing about. The set is also something that would be associated with teens as it is very messy and has things in it associated with the age, such as magazines, cigarettes, dart board and alcohol bottles. In the social media, more of their life is shown, and therefore the audience can see more of who they are, their age is shown through the photos of the activities they are doing. An example of this is the pictures of them in the skatepark, this is a typical place for teens to ‘hang out’ and we posted the photos so that the audience can relate to them and see them as cool, therefore identifying with people their age.
In our music campaign our branding was aimed at a younger audience, mainly teenage girls. We researched what our audience like by using things like the vals and jicnars scale. We then included these in our products in order to appeal to the audience and create a brand. Things such as rebellion among the band would appeal to them, however not too much that their parents would not be happy with buying the album. We included elements of rebellion with mise-en-sene in the music video, props such as cigarettes and alcohol bottles. We also included it in the social media with pictures of them messing about behind supermarkets and sitting on roads.
The campaign was selling them as very relatable so that the audience can identify with them, for example the set that we used in the music video presented a basement, which is quite an ‘unprofessional’ set. Therefore the audience think that they can do it too and when they are shown in the bigger and more professional set when they have ‘made it’ it would be inspiring to the audience.
This is following dyers star theory, with the paradox ‘have to be both ordinary and extraordinary’. This means that the band has to be relatable and seen as normal people, while also being seen as very talented and special.
As well as the music video, the social media also follows this theory as they are shown as relatable in some of the pictures of them ‘hanging out’ and seen as being very normal teenagers. However they also post pictures of them filming a music video with crew, pictures of tour tickets and billboards showing their extraordinary status.
The digipak does not have pictures of the band members on the front, therefore it is aiming to sell the music rather than the band itself. It clearly shows the genre and connects it to the bands values through colours and fonts, for example the logo which is a very heavy and bold font with the instruments drawn into the letters. This further emphasises that the music is the important part of the band as the instruments are part of them.
The music video also links to this as while it portrayed the band members, the whole thing is about them making the music. It starts with the rehearsal of it, and then goes to shots of them recording in the studio. This is highlighting that the main quality of the band is the music that they are selling, therefore making the brand about the music that they make.
The same images and fonts that we used on the digipak we also carried forward on to the social media, for example the logo was used as the profile picture and the polaroid pictures that are used on the inside cover were also used for the countdown of the album release. This means that both of these products follow the same theme, genre and ideologies. Therefore the audience know what to expect from the band when they look at any of the products.
The overall style of the band links all of the products together, as it is a very casual 90s style which a lot of the audience may like and perhaps look up to, this casual style is shown throughout our campaign. It is shown through the camera techniques, using a handheld camera as it makes it look more casual and less professional. The editing to make the camera look like vcr also adds to this, and the set and custume.
A theory which looks at conventions, including following and breaking them is Steve Neale’s theory of genre and the use of repetition and difference. It says that the audience like products to repeat typical conventions of a genre, so that it is recognisable of the particular genre. However repeated conventions are always shown, it gets too predictable and boring. The product needs something unusual to make it unique.
We researched the conventions typical of our genre, and developed both symbolic and technical ways to follow these genre conventions. An example of this research was looking at similar band’s music videos, these were green day, fallout boy and blink-182 and studying what symbolic and technical conventions they used. Some of the ideas we took from this research and applied to our campaign were: using props such as alcohol bottles, rolling papers and electric guitars. Technical conventions we followed were: low/natural lighting, making the setting look more natural, handheld shots, making it look like it is a home video which they have shot themselves.
In the music video and the social media, we further set up the genre by using intertextual references.We did this by having posters on the walls which are mainly of bands or artists of a similar genre, who our audience would also like. In the social media we have re-tweeted tweets from bands including Blink182 and Green day. These references would appeal to our audience as if they like these bands, they would then see BuzzKill referencing them and think they may enjoy BuzzKill’s products as well. These conventions appeal to our audience as they are typical among the genre we are presenting. Therefore the audience are provided with what they expect. We are aiming our products at a teenage audience, so the idea of rebellion would appeal to them as they may want to start having more freedom but are unable to as they are still controlled by parents/education. Therefore they would look up to the band.
The ways in which we engaged the audience throughout our campaign were heavily influenced by what our target audience like and the genre of the products.
In our social media, the language used in the captions and tweets is very casual and informal, the band are talking to the audience as if they are their friends. This allows the audience to have a personal connection and to identify with the band. For example, when we ask the audience ‘What's your favourite track?’ It is quite a casual question and encouraging them to interact and engage with the band. They want the band to see and respond to their answer. Another example is the post for the guitar players birthday which says ‘Everybody say happy fu**ing birthday to
We have used a very casual set and costume, which allows the audience to identify with them and realise they are normal people and the audience are able to do what the band do. This creates a personal identity where they are able to use the products to reflect on their own lives and situations.
