As I mentioned in my last blog post about the music project, my group and I got off to a slow start. The research took us much longer than it should have, and we only finished the music research chart the day before it was due. Nevertheless, we did it well, and the research and information we found is very specific; I felt confident using it in my media contexts essay. I focused on Columbia Records’ history, its artists, and the first case study-- The Neighborhood’s Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones. I really enjoyed this part of the project and was interested in the material.
The next step was to create the artist whose song we would market. We chose the name “Spark Plug” for the band, as “The Man” is an energizing, empowering song. Then we defined our target audience, and which marketing strategies we would utilize to have a reach into the group. Since the target audience is teenagers to young adults, we decided to focus on social media, especially TikTok and Instagram. I knew our social media presence would be essential to the campaign after having read How TikTok Is Changing the Music Industry: Marketing, Discovery and How Digital Marketing Is Transforming The Music Industry. Additionally, I examined the Google Slides presentation the entire class worked on to learn more about music marketing and brand development. Many of our ideas for the project were based on this research, which is reflected through the brainstorming document our group used.
In the middle of discussing ideas for marketing, I had the idea of a collaboration with a food company, like Taylor Swift did with Starbucks to promote Red (Taylor’s Version) and many other artists have done with McDonald’s meals (BTS and Saweetie). We decided to do a collaboration with Monster Energy, since it corresponds with the band’s indie fan base, and it also relates to the song and Spark Plug’s theme of energy. Furthermore, we decided to collaborate with Vans, as the skate shoe company ties in well with our target audience. Originally, we were going to create simple skateboard stickers inspired by the band and music video, but then decided to create shoes instead. The shoes’ design reflects energy with the lightning bolt design, and the back of them say the band’s name, which will result in more exposure. Additionally, the colors of both the shoes and the Monster can match the band’s logo.
We also decided to make merch, which we knew would be essential after we found out that alternative music fans purchase more than any other genre fanbase.
After defining all of our ideas on our doc, we began to work on our Google Slides for the presentation. We tried to divide the specific work each of us would do, but ended up exchanging the work throughout, depending on who had ideas for certain portions. I focused on providing the information for the first two bullets we needed (“overview of genre marketing/distribution trends and target audience,” and “marketing and distribution plan for your artist/group”). I wrote all of the information out on the doc, and then I summarized it in bullet points to place on the Slides presentation. I also defined the specific marketing steps, as well as helped other members with anything they needed. I think the hardest slide was the marketing and distribution trends, simply because of all the information I had to condense onto one slide.
(The slide, my script, and the references we would include on the next slides with the case study information.)
We finished the project just in time, and I was confident about the information we included. We weren’t able to practice presenting as a group, but we each individually worked on our parts and kept each other updated. We timed ourselves and made sure each of our parts made sense and flowed with the other members’ presentations. I was a little concerned about this, but it all worked out in the end.
The presentation went really well for me, all things considered. I knew all of my information and had practiced a million times over, so the only obstacle that worried me about presenting was the anxiety I’d get in the actual moment. My voice definitely shook a little and the nerves had me stuttering, but I tried to keep calm to the best of my ability.
I feel that I learned a lot from this project. It gave me necessary experience for a long term-project, meaning I feel much more prepared for the Cambridge portfolio now. Thinking of ideas for the music video as a group also helped me develop a creative brainstorming ability that I’ll be able to utilize for the portfolio. I feel much more calm going into the portfolio project after having completed this one.
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