MBS5100 Artist Brand Analysis Kenzo K. Mizumoto Introduction This case study will be focusing on one of the biggest and most profitable acts of the 21 st century, the boy band One Direction, formed by Simon Cowell and signed by his company SyCo. The aim of this study is not to discuss who they were as artists, but rather the brand that they represented to his fans, how they would reach them and the marketing strategies used to do so. We will consider the perceived core values the group is communicating and their target audience, and discuss how these are reflected in the brand concept and marketing techniques used. A thorough examination on the different elements e.g. name, logo, photographs, colour palette, etc. will be taken in consideration. Perceived Core Values Since the beginning, One Direction was formed as an industry product to sell out concert tickets, albums and merchandise. Simon Cowell designed the group to target the female teenager audience throughout the globe, and to do so, they would have to portray an image of lovely, kind, funny, friendly good-looking boys. This image would be often reinforced through their main singles and music videos, as they were always displayed as very caring and considerate people, so girls would feel related to their songs and lyrics. In the pop music industry, an act with such impact and influence has to have its ground rules and core values, so it does not lose the loyalty of the fans. If they do not follow these established behaviours that their audience expects from them, they can easily become an eroded brand. As for these values, their public behaviour would have to be as friendly and polite as possible. Their fan base was formed of loyal teenagers who would get very emotional if they did not act coherently with their pre-established image. Had they behaved in an offensive manner right from the start, they would not have made it in the industry.
Target Audience The Beatles were the first group to have a huge fan base formed by mainly teenager girls loyal to their brand. After that, we have been having numerous boy bands with the similar fan base, such as Backstreet Boys, N Sync, Jonas Brothers and many more. Girls have always formed the target audience of boy bands. They usually are from 13-years-old to 24-years-old. The industry has always aimed these fans, as they can be very loyal to an act and spend considerable amounts of money on their products. According to Music Business Worldwide (2016), One Direction s latest tour called On The Road Again in 2015 has reached a tour gross of U$308 million. Also, in 2014 their newer album sold 3.2 million units around the globe. Most of these teenagers are going through their school and university years, and dreaming about the perfect boyfriend to keep them company. That is when One Direction comes in with personal lyrics making them feel as the boys were talking to them. They even have the option to pick their favourite one. If the girl likes bad guys, she goes for Zayn. If she prefers the blond ones, then there is Niall. And Harry would always be the favourite pick, as he was the leader of the group. Nowadays, the fans can be much more engaging with the band due to mobile technology and social media. They are always connected with the band on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter, and following every single thing they do and post. These tools are great for creating a bond between the fans and the band, and also tracking the fans to have a better understanding when creating marketing campaigns. What these girls are talking about, watching, tweeting, listening to, a number of factors that can be observed. Made In The A.M. Album Campaign To discuss their brand concept and its different elements name, logo, photographs, colour palette, font and packaging we will on this section analyse the promotional campaign for One Direction s last studio album Made In The A.M. and the marketing strategy used. After one of their members, Zayn Malik, left the group, they had to rebrand themselves and establish their image as a powerful group of four popstars. The objective was to deliver a campaign that placed the fans at the heart and show the band as truly unified. Innovation had to be at the core of the campaign, as the band and the fans got older, but the key was to keep it entertaining.
The campaign was a partnership with Google, Twitter and Apple. With Google, the marketing team built a mobile site within Streetview, which delivered 14 days of surprise interactions leading up to release of the album. It was a fictional room shot with a 360º Google Camera that fans could move around and click on exclusive content, such as videos, images and audio. With Twitter, the campaign gave the fans six customised emojis of the band. They then mobilised a 24-hour global fan competition to show how much their fans countries loved the band. The top 10 countries were rewarded with a custom emoji, however on the release date, all 140 countries included were surprised with their custom emoji (Parles, 2016). The campaign culminated in The LDNSession with Apple Music, where a secret gig for 150 fans happened and content from the gig was rolled out on Connect week of release. It also featured a Snapchat Story campaign. Figure 1 - Campaign Emojis Figure 2-360º Room View Everything related to the campaign followed the same design and colour palettes. From the website to the furniture used in the secret room, it all made sense when together and it established a solid campaign. Black, white, grey and red colours surrounded the colour palette, all reinforcing the British flag and main characteristic of the band. The photoshoots were all portraying them as grown up men, who have been Figure 3 - "Made In The A.M." Album Cover through success and were then experiencing its perks. By wearing darker colours, shirts, denim and blazers, they transmitted a more mature image to their first initial fans, since these also grew older with
the band. The casual and suave look worked really well in establishing the act as a four-piece group. Figure 4 - Album Photoshoot Figure 5 - Album Photoshoot (with Logo) The logo stayed the same since they first formed the band, especially because this campaign was all about attracting their true loyal fans, the ones who have been with them since the beginning, and to show them that the band had not changed and it was not affected by a member s departure. The font of the logo has always been used as something cool and young. Due to its simplicity and casualty, it has represented the group s image very effectively as a young boy band act. The packaging of this campaign was not the album itself, but rather the entire experience proposed to the users through social media content, 360º technology, private sessions, customised band products and much more. All of these products were there to create a buzz in the social medias and amongst the fans, so that later they could all be lead to the album sales. By putting in place a tight takedown strategy, the marketing team were able to drive fans to content available on Spotify, itunes and Vevo. Inevitably, this had a huge impact on album and ticket sales. By working with the band, Google, Twitter and Apple, they were able to deliver fans full premium and exclusive content, rewarding them through a unique experience and activating them on a global level. This marketing campaign can be safely labelled as effective and it shows how influent the major labels can be.
Bibliography Parles, C. (2016). Marketing Campaigns for Pop Acts. [PowerPoint Slides]. Presented at a MBS4400 lecture at SAE Institute London. Music Business Worldwide (2016). How One Direction s Ticket Sales Dwarfed Their Recorded Music Income In 2015. [Online]. Available at: http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/onedirection-ticket-sales-demolish-recorded-music-income-in-2015/ Bibliography - Figures Figure 1 Billboard (2015). Twitter Reveals One Direction Emojis, Launches Contest To Find World s Biggest Fan. [Online]. Available at: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/popshop/6762257/one-direction-twitter-emojis-worldwide-fancompetition (Accessed: 22 nd June 2016). Figure 2 Swirling Over Coffee (2015). One Direction Made In The A.M Microsite built using Google Streetview. [Online]. Available at: http://www.swirlingovercoffee.com/one-directionmade-in-the-a-m-microsite-built-using-google-streetview/ (Accessed: 23 rd June). Figure 3 Amazon (2015). Made In The A.M. [Online]. Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/made-m-deluxe-one- Direction/dp/B015M2WTUY. (Accessed: 22nd June 2016). Figure 4 One Direction Gallery (2015). Photoshoot by Sven Jacobsen. [Online]. Available at: http://onedirectiongallery.org/displayimage.php?pid=151622 Figure 5 One Direction Gallery (2015). Photoshoot by Sven Jacobsen. [Online]. Available at: http://onedirectiongallery.org/displayimage.php?pid=145863