2. The main purpose of the
magazine article is to sell
the band‟s debut album
titled “Tourist History”. It is
an expensive marketing tool
used in the music industry;
therefore, it is vital it results
in high sales volumes and
awareness of the band and
their music.
For that reason, the album artwork
features as a dominant image on the
magazine advertisement. This allows a
potential customer to remember the
album cover and be able to identify it
on iTunes or on the shop shelves.
3. This advert is likely to feature in NME magazine
due to the indie genre of the music and I have
altered the advert‟s measurements to fit that
particular magazine. The advert would be
suitable for NME readers because they target
Explorers according to the character
categorisation theory. Explorers seek new
experiences, suiting the intended audience
because it is a debut indie album being
advertised which is unlikely to be in the
mainstream public eye. The advert may also
feature in “The Guardian” supplement called “The
Guide” attracting readers interested in culture
and new music according to psychographic
segmentation. According to demographics, my
magazine advert‟s target audience would be
similar to NME magazines‟ – 18-23 year olds
which was also the predominant age range of my
audience research questionnaire respondents.
4. A convention discovered after analysing other
magazine advertisements is critical acclaim.
It is important to attract the target audience
and consider their demographic and
psychographic segmentation; therefore, I
have chosen critical acclaim from 2 music
platforms that focus on alternative music and
attract the age of the audience I am
targeting. BBC Radio 1 was chosen because it
specialises in „current‟ music, therefore would
suit my target audience because my
questionnaire results show that my audience
like listening to new or unsigned bands. This
again, is typical behaviour of an Explorer.
Quoting positive reviews by Radio 1 and NME
may lead the audience to want to buy the
album because the media can lead to its
consumers copying actions or beliefs. This is
an example of the hypodermic syringe
theory. The typical audience member – a
listener of Radio 1 and a reader of NME will
be lead to believe the acclaim is accurate and
due to the hegemonic power of these 2
names, the album would be bought.
5. Another identified convention is the promotion
of where the album is available to buy. iTunes
has been used in this instance, because
according to the audience research results, the
majority of respondents digitally download
their music. This has also been chosen to stay
current with the technological changes in the
music industry. Promoting the album‟s sale
through iTunes reflects the band‟s values of
staying current and producing „new‟ sounds.
The iTunes logo is recognised worldwide,
therefore, is a visual code connoting that it is
available to buy online, according to Roland
Barthes study of semiotics. In the indie genre,
it is common for bands to gain their success
over the internet, therefore, iTunes is a typical
choice of purchasing and discovering new
music for indie fans, due to the option to see
„‟similar artists‟‟.
6. The magazine advertisement, according to
the uses and gratifications theory would be
used for social interaction due to the band‟s
Twitter and MySpace pages being
advertised. This allows the audience to gain
further information about the band and
discover more of their music and videos.
Social network sites let people to interact
and discuss and comment on the band‟s
uploads – another marketing tool to enable
the band to gain awareness and create a
fan base. This again, is an example of an
indie band making use of the internet and
word of mouth to create a fan base and to
become recognised for their music.
7. The main purpose of the advertisement is
to provide the audience with information
which leads them to buy the band‟s album.
By including “OUT NOW” informs the
audience of when it is available? According
to the uses and gratifications theory, the
advert is used as a method of providing
information to the audience. This can also
be done by the audience going on to the
band‟s website or record label to look in to
more products by the artist. After all, the
most lucrative part of the music industry is
the live tours and appearances.
8. The text “including the single” something
good can work” makes the audience
recognises the band due to the advertising
of a current successful song. This may
attract fans of the music and also potential
customers who may like the current single
but have not heard any other music by the
band.
9. font
choice
Dafont.com was used to find a
retro style font. It imitates a
traditional style French art deco
font, similar to that used on
Friendly Fires‟ magazine ad.
According to Barthes‟ theory it
suggests that the music is possibly
artistic and different – typical to
the indie genre. This suits my
target audience of Explorers and
the readers of NME magazine
where this would typically feature.
10. audience
feedback
After showing my video to a range of
people in my target audience I gathered
comments to see what they like and
dislike about my magazine advert.
“I like the font used, because it is
quirky and suits the listeners of
this sort of music”
“it is very clear as to what is on
sale, therefore, it is persuasive
and good marketing for the
album”
“it looks authentic”
“all the relevant information is on
the advert. It‟s not too cluttered”
