Question 2 - How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

The original brief for the task was to create a promotional package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with

• a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

The idea was to produce a coherent package that had a house style and worked together to attract audiences to the album; therefore this was a marketing package. 

To begin, it's important to ask the question, what actually is creativity? In order to see if I combined a good ratio of creativity in my marketing package in order to create an effective end result. 

Michael Mumford conducted a scientific experiment, suggesting: "Creativity can also be defined 'as the process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile'" 

Therefore, it's important that my end product was both 'original' and 'worthwhile' ...To find this out, I have asked my target audience what they thought about my package, in particularly asking about how coherent it was, and therefore linking this to how creative it was (original). The results to this will therefore link back to whether the overall marketing package was in fact worthwhile. 

To verify, the dictionary definition of 'coherent' - 

'Orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts'

To start, I showed my target audience (who were from my focus group in previous posts), as well as a number of different people, ranging from male and females my age and male and females who were adults to get a large range of feedback, and therefore more accurate and valid feedback, the actual music video which we created, as well as the Digipak and Advert. Both can be shown below:

Because I was looking specifically into how effective the combination of my main product (music video) and the ancillary texts (Digipak and advert) were together, instead of just asking people what they thought, I thought I would specify what I wanted to know, gaining a more reliable and valid response. Therefore, I created a questionnaire, and got various people to fill them out, a selection are shown below:


Completed by Jake Seth, Aged 19, Male, interested in chart music and top 40.

Firstly, did you enjoy the Music Video?
Yea it's so good Sam, looks really professional 
Did you think the Digipak and Advert looked interesting and original? Why?
Yea I think it looks pretty sick with the fireworky parts, actually the bits with the orange firework parts make it really interesting, especially with the way it kind of wraps around his face, makes his figure stand out quite a lot - don't think I've ever seen something like this before so nice and unique!
Did you think the style of the Digipak and Advert looked like they went together (were coherent)?
Yep they both look like you've put a lot of thought into them both with the way the fireworks theme are in both and that 
Why did you think this?
Just said, fireworks in both like, the way they're all wrapped around things, nah looks gd 
Did you think there was an overall style that made the Music Video look coherent with the Digipak and Advert?
Defo - you can defo tell the style
Why did you think this?
Well its like dark, orangey themes throughout, the bright lights, it all goes together real well 
Overall, do you think that you would look at all 3 products and put them together as a marketing package?
Defo yea 
If so, was this an effective and original marketing package?
It's really gd yea Sam, I would buy the video if I saw all that, it looks really interesting to look at, really gd 
How do you think this could have been improved to make them link more effectively?
Um I don't think I could improve it, like how it's coherent throughout, the theme is really clear, it all wraps into each other really good
Thank you for your time!

Completed by Olivia Rose (member of my focus group) Aged 17, interested in Acoustic Music 

Firstly, did you enjoy the Music Video?
Loved it!

Did you think the Digipak and Advert looked interesting and original? Why?
Really original, the sparks throughout look amazing, specially how its wrapped around the face makes it all really stand out

Did you think the style of the Digipak and Advert looked like they went together (were coherent)?
Very!! It all looks like it was designed to be a package yes 

Why did you think this?
Mainly because of the orange, dark theme throughout, I like how they both look quite busy, yet they're both quite sophisticated at the same time

Did you think there was an overall style that made the Music Video look coherent with the Digipak and Advert?
Definitely! It all fits together so well 

Why did you think this?
The sparkles, the big orange background behind the artist, such a good location, the background goes really well with the firework parts in the Digipak, especially when it's like specifically overlapping his face 

Overall, do you think that you would look at all 3 products and put them together as a marketing package?
Loved it yes, definitely think they go great together 

If so, was this an effective and original marketing package?
Really good 

How do you think this could have been improved to make them link more effectively?
They link brilliantly how it is Sam, I don't know what I could have done to improve it all

Thank you for your time!

Completed by Paul Slingsby, 60, interested in Classical

Firstly, did you enjoy the Music Video?
Yes it was enjoyable, some really good ideas throughout, I liked the blurring and things, the overlaps

Did you think the Digipak and Advert looked interesting and original? Why?
Yes, very unique, I haven't seen a album cover like it yet it was professional at the same time. Things like the orange parts were what I thought stood out, effective technique used   

Did you think the style of the Digipak and Advert looked like they went together (were coherent)?
Definitely, like I say the orange was coherent, and the night sky was also good, which added a distinctive theme throughout the too 

Did you think there was an overall style that made the Music Video look coherent with the Digipak and Advert?
The music video was very similar in the ways that you used the lighting, the colours, the images of his close up face, yes effective 

Overall, do you think that you would look at all 3 products and put them together as a marketing package?
Yes, a very good one!

If so, was this an effective and original marketing package?
I'd buy it

How do you think this could have been improved to make them link more effectively?
I think it's all pretty good, not too sure what I'd change 

Thank you for your time!

With this advice, and that of some other volunteers who offered to give feedback for the marketing package; I created a video showing how I think the 3 products link together in a coherent effective way:





I then looked more into depth about how the DigiPak and Advert were coherent, and annotated them both:

As you can see in the photographs, there are many things that are coherent throughout the 2 pieces of text:

• The costumes in both remain within the dark, emotionless colour theme, with a very 'laid back' feel in both, connoting relaxation and calm, relating to the acoustic genre conventions. 
• Throughout, the artist's facial expression is very motionless, looking deep in thought, (looking away from the camera, showing hurt) and both photographs are quite close up, and thus showing full emotion within the shots, the bland colour of his face connoting heartbreak and sorrow.
• Through both designs, there is a unique and original structure, especially with the horizontal structure on the back of the Digipack.
• The Mise-en-Scene throughout suggests calm, peaceful connotations, with light sparks, showing a hint of worry and outrage, which relates to the narrative of the music video.
• In particular, the 'Sky Theme' and the same background throughout the 2 designs is coherent, as well as the bright sparks. The bright sections of 'fireworks' are in both designs, and the reds throughout connotes love, as they are very messy on the page and out of place, this could connote the heartbreak, and how the love is spiralling out of control.
• The colours of the font are the same in both texts, as well as the ARIAL font throughout each piece, to make them both look as professional as possible with a standard font, as well as staying with the plain motionless theme.