In this post, I will be discussing and evaluating the various forms of marketing used to promote the album 'I Like it When You Sleep for You Are So Unaware of it' by The 1975. The album was released on the 26th of February 2016, and was met with critical and commercial success - as evidenced by the album reaching number 1 in the UK and USA. Leading up to the release of the album, many forms of advertisement were utilised in order to promote the album and the band themselves. Below are examples of such marketing, with which I have constructed detailed thoughts on the quality and effectiveness of each form of promotion.
Videos:
Leading up to, and following on from, the release of the album, several music videos were shared on YouTube, each featuring one of the seven singles the band released for the album. Whilst videos are now an expected feature of modern musical artists, the band were able to cleverly utilise each video to demonstrate the key aspects of the band. For example, the first video, titled 'Love Me', positions the band's frontman Matty Healy as the centre of focus for the majority of the video. Whilst this is also an expected trope of music videos, in conjunction with the other four videos, this serves to attract an audience on the basis of the singer's apparent attitude and 'crazy' actions.
*Note: I will be providing a more in depth analysis of one of these videos in a later post.
Whilst 'Love Me' serves to promote the lead singer, the video for 'The Sound' (below) focuses much more on the band as a whole. Despite the singer still being present, the viewer is given much more shots of the remaining band members through the use of wide angles and specific close ups. This may have been chosen deliberately in order to show the band's sense of collectivism, especially in the face of their 'critics' outside of the band's glass perimeter.
However, the videos for 'Somebody Else' and 'Change of Heart' both share much more tonally and visually darker elements. Unlike the previous two videos, these contain a narritive of which the audience is compelled to follow, therefore, it could be suggested that these videos were created to demonstrate the band's creativity and emotional side, both of which are attributes highly invested in by their fanbase. The videos could also be argued to reinforce the band's stature as an alternative or indie movement, rather than the much more mainstream, 'pop' style of the previous two videos.
Overall, I believe that each video works immensley well to showcase a different aspect of the band, as well as being entertaining enough to hopefully convince the viewer to purchase the album. However, I believe that in conjunction, the videos are much more effective, as each video is able to provide a cumilative depiction of the band, which would serve to inform and persuade existing or potential fans to purchase the album.
Posters:
As well as their multiple videos, posters were also used to promote the band's album. They were mostly seen on billboards and street signs and were used to quickly and efficently promote the album. The use of bright, bold pink in conjunction with the sans-serif, simplicstic lettering acts to direct the viewer's attention directly to the relevant aspects of the poster, such as the album's title and release date. Whilst being aesthetcally interesting, I do not believe such posters would be greatly successful in promoting the album, as they offer little insight into the band. Instead, I think the posters would more likely be used to inform existing fans, as well as to build excitement for the album.Social Media:
Since the release of their first album, The 1975 have become known for their highly criptic and highly coordianted image. This is evidenced by the band's frequent use of the colour pink accross their various forms of advertisement, such as in the poster to the right. This helps to create a sense of identity and uniform for the band, as well as the album itself. In fact, the album cover itself is almost entirely pink, a radical departure from the band's monochrome aesthetic of a few years earlier.
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| The band's current discography - 2013 - 2016 |
I believe that the band's use of social media was used highly effectively in order to promote the album. The use of sites/apps such as Instagram and Twitter have allowed the band to create ultimatley free promotion for themselves and their work, allowing them to reach a potentially huge audience of listeners.
Television Adverts:
Whilst only used very close to the album's release, a television advert was also released to promote the album. The advert consists mostly of the video for 'The Sound', the band's highest charting single. The advert itself only lasts 20 seconds, however it features the most relevant information needed to attract purchases, such as the title of the album, and it's release date. I believe this would be a highly effective method of advertisement as it could potentially reach a national audience. The clip would also serve to remind existing fans of the album's release, ensuring as many purchases as possible - thereby securing the album's chart success.
Note: This is the television advert, however it could not be embeded into this post - http://www.tellyads.com/play_advert/?filename=TA20019&type=recent
Summary:
Overall, I believe that from exploring these various forms of marketing, I have been able to to gain an understanding of how each piece of promotion works, as well as what it actually intends to promote. This is something I will take with me further into this blog, as I will now be able to continuously evaluate my work, ensuring it remains entertaining but ultimately promotes the track/artist.
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