Evaluation

                   

'How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?' 

Overall, I feel we have created a successful promotional package for our 17-24 year old demographic. We have used utilised our findings from our audience research in order to create an effective combination of a main product (music video) and ancillary texts (poster/digi-pak).  

I looked at the promotional package for the punk rock band Green Day to view how they conformed or abstained from code and conventions within this genre.  I found there was the incorporation of a political message across the promotional package for example; in the poster there is a black and white mid-shot of the couple in an embrace, the use of colour to depict these young people suggests to the audience they are social outcasts in society. This highlights the dominant ideology that all ‘teenagers are trouble’ and this ideology could be reinforced by the UK summer riots in 2011. 

 Although, this dominant ideology is highlighted the target 17-24 demographic are able to gratify their need for personal identity due to incorporation of young people. The need for personal identity is a use and gratification according to media theorist McQuail who believes audience consume media to gratify a personal need and this may be to relate to the band/artist.

Furthermore, in our main product and ancillary texts we utilised the personal identity use and gratification to send the message that all teenagers are not trouble counter typing the dominant ideology.

The age group of our band reflected our 17-24 demographic, in order for the audience to identify with the band and buy into the promotional package marketed.  The poster and digi-pak included photographs of the band members looking directly into the camera enabling the audience to view the band members’ ages clearly and recognise them from the main product. We decided to allow our chosen demographic to view the band in this way because it provided a clear link from texts. Additionally, it promoted they are similar to our demographic and should be supported because of the likeliness in the form of personal identity.  Moreover, the inclusion of photographs of the band members looking directly into the camera in the ancillary texts enabled the audience to view the band as figures of innocence because they were essentially laid bare to the world and do not perpetuate the dominant ideology of ‘trouble’.

Furthermore, the countertype of dominant ideology of ‘trouble’ regarding the 17-24 demographic is further reinforced in the main product in the music video for ‘The Social Animal’. In the introduction there is a long shot of the band playing instruments in a collective enabling the audience to view their involvement is positive. The positivity which we conveyed goes against the stereotypes of teenagers and also links back to the positive portrayal of teenagers found in our ancillary texts.

In order to discover how effective the introduction of a music video was we asked an audience member from our target 17-24 demographic, whom commented our music video ‘captures the audience straight away from the introduction’. This comment shows we have gratified the audience need for personal identity effectively because they are able to relate to the band members. I believe this to be of importance because we have created the music video with this demographic in mind and wanted the demographic to relate to our product so they are encouraged to buy into them.

Furthermore, during the research process into punk rock ancillary texts I found the main colours to feature included colours such as red, black and green. I decided to ask the target demographic ‘what colours would you expect to see on a punk rock CD cover?’ to see if their needs and expectations fit into the codes and conventions of a generic punk rock ancillary text. The response indicated that black and red were the colours that met their expectations and from this we decided to use these colours on a digi-pak and poster. The colours used on both ancillary texts provide a link for the audience because they are able to associate this theme with the band ‘The Social Animal’. Additionally, the link provided allows the audience to buy into the band because they are shown to representatives of the punk rock genre by the colour themes used.

Moreover, in response to the colours used on the digi-pak an audience member said ‘I like how the red writing contrasts with the black and white photograph because it successfully makes us notice the name of the band’. This response shows our digi-pak successfully links to the theme found in the ancillary texts. It also highlights our target demographic are become aware of the ‘name of the band’ therefore, an interest is being raised in our product.

Following on from this, the main product and ancillary texts show the band members in dark clothing which is a code and convention of the punk rock genre. In the music video the guitarist is seen performing in a black jacket and on the digi-pak there is a photograph of the main band leader in a black jacket also.  The link between the main product and an ancillary text gratify the audience needs and expectations of personal identity because they are able to relate to someone who looks like them through their costume. Additionally, I believe the link between texts through costume is important because It helps the audience to view our package is connected and aids the audience to buy into our package.