Free Reign - Music Marketing Researching and Planning

 Music Marketing Researching and Planning

    Molding a band from scratch is difficult as is, but making a successful marketing campaign for a theoretical music group is a whole different story, especially when this task is placed on four teenagers with no experience. However, the crafting of "M'lady" has undergone serious improvement with the help of research and intense planning.

   

    During the research phase of creating "M'lady," our crew ran into a wall's worth of questions, including "who do we wish to appeal to?" and "how can we imitate the marketing techniques of other alternative artists?" We researched various artists for guidance, varying from popular groups such as Fall Out Boy, and underground artists like Animal Collective. From our readings, we came to a couple of conclusions: a strong social media presence drastically increases listens, and a concrete theme brings in more loyal fans. After some discussion, we decided upon a target audience: 14 to 21-year-olds, as well as an obscure theme for our brand to follow: royalty. 

    Originally, we planned on having our band be serious and centered, imitating royal leaders. But, over time, we realized that establishing an intense contrast between M'lady's theme and personality may appeal to our target audience, who are more likely to appreciate a light-hearted atmosphere. Though M'lady appears solemn on the exterior, the branding is far from it: varying from memes posted on their Twitter page, to a comedic music video centered around acting a fool in public. To fit this aesthetic, we selected the song "The Man" by the Killers, which is upbeat and jocular in nature. Lyrics like "Cause baby, I'm gifted, you see what I mean? USDA certified lean...." create the perfect joking undertone for our brand.

    After deciding on our song, theme, and personality, it was finally time to plan M'lady's social media pages, logo, and, of course... the first music video. We created various handles for the group on sites like YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, which tailor best to our target audience. For our logo, we chose a minimalist design of a lion wearing a crown, which featured a geometric artistic style and the contrast of purple and yellow hues. These colors represent royalty and wealth, which, as aforementioned, is far from M'lady's actual persona. Whoever stumbles across the band may be expecting a band who takes themselves rather seriously, only to pleasantly surprised with the reality.

    

    The music video for "The Man" is going to be the first reveal of the band's personality, so we decided on making that aspect of the group shine. In the video, the main singer, Logan, will begin by dressing himself in a royal cape and crown, rather cinematically. However, the tone will quickly shift as the protagonist begins to make a fool out of himself, walking around in his neighborhood in this attire. Hopefully, the ridiculousness of his behavior will attract fans in search of a light-hearted and fun environment.