Mag ad resources collected

I've spent a few days now trawling through the 500 posts on here retro-tagging, and doing a bit of tidying up. I'm changing some of the links in the top (horizontal) links list with key posts, including the 'Mag Ad' link, which will now point here.

This post is a simple list of key points, very digestible and maybe your best starting place: here. 

The previous link was for this post which compiled a range of relevant posts.

I've provided a detailed vodcast on mag ad conventions, and the process of researching these: here.

Further pointers on research: here.

Pointers on looking beyond ads to research the audience for your ads: here.

Of course, you can also now use the tag cloud...

As well as the mag ad and magazine tags there are others to look for: Photoshop, Andy Warhol, layering, editing, Prankvertising,...

MAGAZINE AD Vodcast

This vodcast includes a top ten common conventions of music magazine ads for digipak albums, research tips, student examples, and more.

Mag Ads - Basic Research Tips

TBC
This builds on the mag ad post from the top links list, plus the links list (look down the right-hand side), + various posts added since I last updated the mag ad post.
Scroll to end for an example of publisher info on a mag's audience.

BASIC STEPS:
1: You must have a clear, specific primary (and differentiated secondary) audience in mind. This should incorporate not just age range/s, but also gender, sexuality and any other relevant demographics/lifestyle factors
2: Research what UK magazines there are. You're looking for any genre-related titles, but also any more general titles that reflect your target audience/s. Consider which would be appropriate for primary and secondary audiences separately.
3: Use publisher sites or magazine sites to find descriptions of their readership; most provide detail on this (age range, social class, gender and lifestyle descriptors) as otherwise advertisers - including YOU!!! - wouldn't have confidence in spending money on placing ads which might not match up to that readership.
4: Try a hands-on browse in a WH Smith or equivalent!
5: Blog on your findings, making it clear which titles you'll target your primary and secondary audiences in and why you feel these are the most appropriate. Such evidence is useful for the Evaluation, but 'audience' is a key part of the R+P marks. If you do a vodcast, you can re-use this in your Evaluation.

Finding publishers' guides is easy!

6: Now research ad conventions. You must look at a reasonable number of egs and sum up what you've seen. Digipak ads ideally, but general album ads are also useful. You should note the growing prominence of tour dates, merchandise links, and social media links on such ads, being specific in your notes on what logos are used, how URLs are presented (do you still see/need the 'www.' in 2014?)
7: Sum up any specific IDEAS you've taken from this research, especially if you've found examples for your artist. You could also usefully list which conventions you aim to reflect.
8. Start blogging on your ideas, including basic dummy/mock-ups of these where possible (ie, adding a block with only 'tour dates' inside, or a box with 'CD track listing', but not actual details at this point), and highlighting images taken as part of this
9. Post drafts. Number these. Its vital you include somewhere clear and specific detail on how you think this will appeal to your particular target audience/s. Audience feedback needs to accompany each draft, with a summary of your response - remember, this is the topic of 1 of the 4 Eval Qs.
10. Links lists and proofreading: add relevant links lists, and simply check that you're happy each post is tidy, clear and multimedia (and that the published dates are appropriate/helpful).


EXAMPLES OF PUBLISHER'S AUDIENCE PROFILES

You need the media kit...

Mags need to have a clearly defined audience; advertisers (YOU!) need to know what sort of reader they can reach before spending money.

Take 2 simple examples: Glamour and Now magazines. I googled 'glamour uk magazine publisher' (without the UK, I was taken to the US site) and clicked through on the UK link (see screenshot above).

I clicked through the 'download media kit' - this is what they provide for advertising agencies, breaking down precisely who reads their magazine: see screenshot, left.

Here's a snippet from that 'media kit':

I also did a quick search for Now's publisher, which turned out to be IPC Media. Their website has a dropdown list of all their titles (as most do), which provided an idea to consider Nuts for a small (quarter page) ad targeting a secondary male audience for a girl band.

Here's a snippet of what they tell us:

Prankvertising

A neologism for you all: PRANKVERTISING:

With brands finding it increasingly difficult to advertise effectively via traditional channels, publicity-whoring techniques such as prankvertising are gaining traction. Earlier this year, Thinkmodo, the ad agency behind the 'sNice stunt, promoted the crime thriller Dead Man Down by staging a (fake) murder in an elevator and filming people's reactions as the doors opened.
[Arwa Mahdawi, Prankvertising – a marketing heart-attacktic too far?, Guardian, 9.10.13, accessed online 15.10.13]

This group used a viral approach - see bot. left

Why blog on this under the guise of music video? Because advertising agencies, and music acts, were trailblazers in the use of viral-style videos, a trend now so mainstream that the X Factor ad break has been the source of one of the more successful virals, the rural rap selling dairy products.
Prankvertising - which raises serious ethical (and legal/health and safety) issues you'd need to address if considering this specific form - is just one form this has taken.
The main point for you here is that a spin-off, complementary or secondary, video project would be of benefit. Can you come up with an idea which fans could replicate and submit their own versions of, for use in a follow-up vid, a remake, a website-only version etc? Gillmor (2004), one of many influential web 2.0 theorists, has announced the "end of audience", denoting the smashing of the former divide between audience and producer.

DPAK/MAG AD formats Warp ad eg

A useful piece of evidence that vinyl and other formats are increasingly used, especially by Indie companies, to give their releases a PR boost and help get them talked about/reviewed. There have even been a few releases recently on cassette!

DIGIPAK/MAG AD: layering is key

A point I keep making: key to picking up the marks is shwing image editing/ICT skills, and the key means of doing this is through careful, creative layering, where you crop one layer to add to part of another and reduce its opacity.

Here's an example George was looking at from Mumford and Sons...

Its actually a little bit ... rubbish! But it illustrates what I'm referring to: you can multiple layers in use, and the opacity of one of these (which has been carefully cropped to remove the people from the original background) reduced to around 30-40% using Photoshop.

The overall concept (a rustic, old-fashioned photo album) works for a folk band, its just that the framming within the 4 photos of the added layers is very basic and wholly lacking in creativity.

What you should be thinking of (not the only way to approach it, but a useful way to start generating ideas) is a single main image you can add layers within; band faces on top of objects within the main image (or even manipulate a pic of a mantlepiece or shelving unit to insert framed photos; a notice board to add ... notices! (could work well for some digipak text), even a rack of LPs... there are infinite possibilities, but central is the multilayering.

Don'y forget, you could create a starker, plainer text as well - you may well prefer the look of this; just make sure you include a version which showcases your image editing/use of ICT.

MAG AD: research + audience

HayeFattie flagged up the difficulty of finding examples from their genre (girl band pop: Girls Aloud), so I had a quick look online; a couple of quick tips for you all, regardless of genre, from this:

• there are plentiful completed student blogs out there with jpgs embedded...
• what you need to think about is what terms to use within google...
• keywords: obviously magazine and ad, but use mag*, ad* so you get hits from every variation of the words
• ocr, g324, a2 media coursework ... all may help
• After finding 'girl bands' didn't bring useful results, I tried 'girls aloud mag* ad*' (and then added 'cd') + same for sugababes (as sugabab* because the filter blocks 'babes'!)
• results (look at image and web) included a good many magazine covers, in this case Sugar, OK!, Cosmopolitan, Attitude (gay men's magazine), FHM and many others, including newspaper mags such as the NoTW's Fabulous (2nd eg). The first two would help to indicate likely mags to target the primary target audience in, the latter two the secondary audience (gay men: pink pound, + heterosexual young men [15-34]: male gaze)

ITS WORTH STRESSING THIS: IF THEY APPEAR ON A MAG COVER, THAT EVIDENCES THE APPEAL TO THAT MAG'S READERSHIP + THUS THEY ARE LIKELY TO CONSIDER ADVERTISING IN IT!!!

• a lot of cd covers were thrown up too
• there was also news (from 2008) of an album being leaked online: a limited edition live album...
• ...not to mention the fake eyelashes ad!
• Over on girlsaloud.com someone is selling their collection (Jan 2012)...



whosdatedwho.com/tpx_62290/girls-aloud/ has 100s of such pics

• I didn't go too far into the googe results but there were few mag ads in the results - not really signifying that they don't exist in great numbers, but that they haven't been scanned in + uploaded in great numbers. Having said that, if after looking through a good sample of mags you're not seeing such ads, part of your Evaluation should be the argument that such advertising is fast migrating from print media to online and social media (though even here you should find banner-style ads amidst the interactive and video marketing content?! Look here and you'll see a typical revolving banner style at the top; also a good eg of the multimedia nature of promo campaigns: a 1min preview of a single is offered, plus a link to their official website: 'head over to the Sugababes’ official website to enter the contest for a free Nokia N8 Pink')

USE THE ONLINE FORUMS/FANSITES/FACEBOOK PAGES

A simple enough point: try posting in relevant forums etc with a request for any scans or other useful resources/info. Screenshot such requests and make sure you blog on this even if you don't get a response.

Q is comparatively gender-neutral, tho' note the Tatu strapline

The magazine industry is heavily gendered in its structure, not least the music press.

• while there are girls mags (Sugar, Bliss et al) there aren't direct equivalent for boys (and its worth noting that the readership of girls mags is generally younger than the publishers care to admit: as the uses and gratifications theory suggests, one key reason for selecting the media we do is because it reflects the aspirational aims we hold, not least, as tweenagers especially, to be seen and treated as older; we need the surveillance such mags provide (images of makeup, fashion etc) to help with that
• boys are served with subject-specific mags such as Shoot (football), plus comics
• the music press is largely skewed towards a supposed male readership - look at the prevalence of sex hotline ads at the back, and frequency of generally sexist shots of scantily clad popettes (clearly not targetted at heterosexual female readers!)
• many female readers get their pop news not from NME, Kerrang and the likes, but the celebrity gossip + women's magazines, from OK!/Now/Heat etc to Vogue/Cosmo etc
• although it does use sexualised images of female acts, Q is as close as it gets to a mainstream gender-neutral music mag, albeit for a sophisticated aud, and mostly older than the <15-24 of Indie bible NME. The sample cover above lists Sugababes at the bottom
• 

  Official website, with banner ad for exclusive CD + DVD: check out your act's site for such ads

  
  

  

  Think carefully about representations + how this reflects the audience...

PROBLEMS WITH QUALITY/QUANTITY OF RESEARCH

There are various posts below on both Mag Ads + digipaks (eg http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/mag-ads-fundamentals.html + http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/digipaks-all-previous-posts-gathered.html), plus links lists

But too few of you have really covered the process behind these as you should

You must:

1. set out an initial idea of what the format is
2. scrutinise 5+ general examples of the format, providing jpgs and detailed denotation
3. summarise the media language of the format [should be as vodcast]
4. scrutinise 5+ genre-specific examples of the format, providing jpgs and detailed denotation
5. summarise the media language seen in genre examples [should be as vodcast]
6. outline your ideas (sep posts as you change/think of new ideas)
7. be clear on how your ideas reflect, develop or challenge conventions
8. be clear on how the package of 3 texts fit together AND reflects your target audience
9. evidence + detail (discuss why you did certain things) drafts; think about compiling several before-and-after jpgs you can use in a vodcast
10. evidence audience feedback and your response as you go - this can be fun as well as formal: video a focus group, perhaps of genre fans; create a brief questionnaire etc
11. as you go, post on aspects of Photoshop or other digital technologies used - generating screenshots now will make your Evaluation videos (+exam prep) much easier
12. final cut + summary of role played by aud feedback

MAG ADS: the fundamentals

We explored this in today's lesson, a few key points follow

First though: use the Links List I've provided on this blog (I've temporarily re-positioned to the top), and this post which gathers together links to some strong examples of past work on mag ads.

AVOID FOUND IMAGES

All images bar technical/record co logos should be your own
You must prove they're yours by including the original unedited shots
Remember to keep notes/screenshots of changes made as you edit/Photoshop
If you have used a found image but transformed it (sigh...) you should still produce another version which doesn't include a found image

PURPOSE OF MAG ADS

Primarily to help flog the CD+DVD digipack.
Branding or re-branding
Wider revenue raising: touring + merchandise increasingly key for today's music performers, plus official band websites (which increasingly offer subscription packages which come with exclusive releases, prior notice of tickets etc)

INITIAL RESEARCH

As always: research/denote general examples THEN genre-specific examples, in both cases listing common conventions with specific examples for each convention

3 TEXTS AS PACKAGE

In Eval you have to account for how the 3 texts work as a package
That DOESN'T mean you MUST use shots from the vid in both print texts (tho makes sense to somewhere in digipack)
You could be more abstract, creating an image/shot conceptually linked to your vid idea
You may be including a product shot of digipack

AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE

The three As...
You've got to ensure you thoroughly research which mag/s your ad/s will appear in
Most mags (or their publisher's) websites provide very specific breakdowns of their target audience - they have to as mags rely on ad revenue at least as much as cover price in most cases
Could you design a 2nd ad for use in a mag that appeals to your secondary aud? (this might help you to ensure you've shown excellence in image editing)
Or at least write about page rates - you'd pay for a full page (or even the back page) in mag/s appropriate for primary target aud but perhaps a quarter or half page in mag/s appropriate for your secondary aud
As ever, test your ideas/get aud feedback - if doing 2 versions, do you get distinct feedback from primary/2ndary auds?

CONTENT

Main image, which might not be directly from the vid but still has to show linkage to vid/digipak
Product shot? Small-ish if so
Highlight digipak and bonus DVD
List of DVD/special edition features?
Tour dates? If your act is active research any current or upcoming gig dates and use these (for defunct girl/boy bands perhaps 1 member is touring?). You could make up 'reunion tour' dates - try to find articles about a reunion tho + reflect on the phenomenon of the reunion tour (links well to your rebranding effort)
Release date? Don't necessarily need the words 'released on', just a date - that depends on your overall design
Social media + URLs: Twitter hashtag + Facebook page URL - but not MySpace!!! You don't need http:// or www. really (look at recent examples). Official fansite. Ticketmaster.com (or other) if listing tour dates. Record co URL + logo. DVD logo to stress the bonus DVD.
Tagline or descriptive text
Review puffs? (phrases from reviews)

MAIN IMAGE

Avoid found images...
Doesn't have to be directly from your vid
...but should have a conceptual link (its the exclusive new video thats the lead selling point of digipack)
Try to avoid simply replicating a digipack shot
If you've used a plain image consider a 2nd ad ... otherwise you can't be awarded high marks for image manipulation (some layering is generally a good idea)

FONTS

Many do, but think about markscheme if you intend to stick to a single font
Consider downloading a font

MAG AD: dimensions

Conor asks: 'Sir, regarding the magazine adverts, what are the dimensions it needs to be? e.g does it have to be a full A4 page or can it be a smaller (but with the same information on it) such as the Charlie Simpson photo attached? It's just that I've taken some photos for the backdrop and put some great filters on them, but they can't be maximised much without the quality been drastically reduced.'

Answer: Ideally, dimensions to fit accurately the mag you're placing it in; and remember there are full page, 1/2 page etc ads (each carrying different prices - most mags contain details or contact details to find out, as ads, NOT cover prices, form the bulk of the publisher's income in most cases. Some groups last year produced a variety of ads, citing different page sizes for different ads. To show awareness of aud + institution you MUST be specific on which mag/s; where in them + what size; why (and price detail would be a good touch)

Look to last year's blogs for good examples 

So long as proportion/shape are accurate, at a push you can include ads that are scaled down - tho' again think about selling it as a half or 1/4 page ad. There's no need to print these off - so long as they look good embedded on screen thats the main thing

MAG ADS: past egs + posts

UPDATE: You can view a vodcast on mag ads here; and a post outlining research steps here.

I'll gather together all relevant posts/resources below, but first some egs of posts from the 2011 blogs, which generally scored very highly (several got 20/20 for R+P and/or Eval)
JONNY HUGHES' JOY DIVISION BLOG: Final Editions of Our Advertisements; Evaluation Q2 - Combination of Products [NB: ad also ref'd in all 3 Qs]; Original Photographs for Advert; CM - Where might our advertisement appear?; Basic Magazine Advertisement Research
BETH COOPER'S GORILLAZ BLOG: EG - Magazine Album Advert Research; EG - Our Magazine Advert & Audience Feedback; Evaluation Question 2
MEGAN CLAYDON'S BACKSTREET BOYS BLOG: Photographs for Digipak and Advert; Magazine advertisement; Example of adverts in Q magazine; Initial drafts of magazine adverts; Audience feedback on magazine drafts (EB AND MC); Final draft of magazine adverts; Audience feedback on final draft of magazine adver...; Final magazine adverts; Final changes to adverts; Q2) How effective is the combination of your main ...; Magazine advertisements

OTHER RESOURCES:
Use links list!!!

2012
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/02/photoshop-andy-warhol-effect.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/02/digipakmag-ad-layering-is-key.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/02/mag-ad-research-audience.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/mag-ads-fundamentals.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/mag-ad-dimensions.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2012/01/marketing-use-dates-to-create-special.html


2011
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/cdmag-ad-editionalising.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/mag-ads-past-egs-posts.html
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/audience-posthumous-releases.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/11/audience-old-boyband-touring.html

http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-looked-at-how-joydiv-group-used.html - QR code linking strands of package? HINT: easy + v useful for Q3/Q4 marks! 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/03/album-as-bonus-with-gig-ticket.html 
http://musividz.blogspot.com/2011/04/covergence-albums-via-magazine-papers.html  
 


 

INDUSTRY/AUD: X Factor

I've blogged before on this, so just a couple of links - http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/nov/18/x-factor-advertisers-seek-discounts detais the extraordinary revenues the show brings to ITV (the final alone last year took £21m in ad revenues), and the impact of falling viewing figures: the £250,000 charged for each 30sec slot in 2010 is being seen as excessive by advertisers with the 2011 figures down 8% (Saturdays) and 11% (Sundays).

Scroll to the bottom of Charlie brooker's typically caustic overview of Xmas ads to find his take on the M&S ad featuring the finalists - but not the edited-out Frankie Cocozza (article features strong language), as well as the ad itself...which I'll embed below for your viewing displeasure:

'Frankiegate' is significant not because of the tuneless, talentless irritant at the centre of the 'scandal', but as a reminder that the pop industry tends to act as a moral policeman, especially when interfaced with advertisers (just as Chomsky's propaganda model argues, ad'g being one of its five filters), or as a hegemonic force. Pop can of course push boundaries - Madonna's Like a Prayer vid remains a classic example - but only at the risk of losing out on potentially lucrative endorsement deals (as Madonna did, losing millions when Pepsi withdrew its ad campaign featuring Madonna). The pop industry is generally a conservative force.

More egs of why MusicGuardian is useful

I'll discuss these in classes today but with Psychology exam many of you will be elsewhere.
Friday is Guardian Film and Music supplement day - for your A2 work, the Music section should be looked at at least once a week for relevant articles. In today's supplement there are 3 features that stand out:

Be grateful to the Grateful Dead

The show must go on: when bands replace their dead stars

The third is the main page of advertising: a quick scan will reveal its mostly ads for bands from the 80s/90s/early 00s. The 1st looks at the trend for repackaging/special editions - precisely what you're all doing; the 2nd is self-explanatory