Target Audience

A Target Audience

When an artist or record label are thinking of promoting themselves, they have to consider the following with target audience:

- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Religion


I have researched several artists and how they have used various promotion techniques throughout the media to sell their albums. Have they been successful and reached a clear target audience?

Headlines - The Saturdays

The Header of 'The Saturdays' Website

'The Saturdays' are a girl group formed in 2007 in London, England. They made their recording debut in 2008 with 'Fascination Records' and have become a roaring success releasing another album on top along with a mini-album. This mini-album was named Headlines and has been their latest release in 2010 - what is their target audience? Did they promote it well to them? What ways did they advertise this new release? These are questions that must be answered to understand their success and to be able to do this when advertising my own artist's album.

View of the 'T-Shirt Bundle'

Being a female pop group, it is clear the gender they are aimed at is female, and conforming to the stereotype of today's woman (flawless, slim and deemed 'perfect') they are an inspiration to a younger audience in particular. They did successfully target a younger audience with the 'T Shirt Album Bundle' promoted on their website where you get a discount price is you buy both at once. However, the older female generations were targeted by the album being reviewed in the females magazine OK (www.ok.co.uk/posts/view/25269/Review-The-Saturdays-Headlines-) and therefore, as it is predominantly read by women, it advertises more towards that gender.

On 'The Saturdays' MySpace

They did also target a larger audience when using pop-ups on the Internet. This could have appeared on any one's computer, anywhere, therefore not giving a clear demographic. However, it is a way of using viral marketing as you can 'Share it on Facebook' and other social networking sites, much like how 'Nizlopi' released the JCB Song. Another form of viral marketing used was 'MySpace' (www.myspace.com/thesaturdays) where the banner on the artist's page was the mini-album's logo and you can even pre-order the album via this website. As you can listen to the album on their MySpace, they are using convergence to their advantage.

They also used synergy in creating a television advertisement to promote their album (www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UQDhmYctpk) where people can see parts of the music video and hear sections of the album, therefore buying it on what they have heard. This means that between television shows, viewers of any age, race or gender was able to listen and think about buying the album or not. It is not particularly targeting a set audience.

The magazine reviews, Internet based advertisements and television promotional advertisements did sell the album reasonably well as the album peaked at number 9 in the UK album chart. I feel they could have achieved more if they made their audience more precise because it was only their true fans from social networking that had it targeted towards them - other methods were shown to everyone. Radio advertisements would have been successful, or even Spotify adverts when the audience views the artist on this programme.

Recovery - Eminem

Eminem's Opening Image to Website

Eminem is a globally known American rapper who has won both a Grammy and an Oscar. He has earned his place in the music industry by his lyrical talent as the majority of the artist's songs are written by him. His most recent album named Recovery, released August 2010, was once again written by the artist himself about his own personal development after  a drugs overdose. Who was this album aimed at and why did it make such a huge success?

Eminem has advertised his album on his website (www.eminem.com/default.aspx) as it is the opening image, and is now selling clothing on this website with the album's name and logo printed on it. As the clothes are dark and baggy, it commonly stereotypes with teenagers who listen to this type of recovery. However, the logo contains a cross which is the inverse of the Red Cross showing aid and salvation - some may buy the clothing to support him through his rehabilitation. It could also relate strongly to those who have been in a similar situation with drugs, alcohol or other addictions.

The artist has also promoted the album via viral marketing as their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/eminem) contains the latest songs from the album. This is where the artist's fans can view and listen regularly for free before they buy the album as they can ensure they like it.

Events have also been set up to advertise Eminem's new album (www.cmonwealth.com/whatsnew/recovery.jpg) where the track listing was revealed and shown. These events allow the fans to group together and provide a social gathering as well as a promotional item for the artist.

The album has reached number 2 in the UK Album Charts meaning the events, viral marketing and clothing helped boost its name. I believe clothing is very effective and events allows Eminem fans to group together. Something that could have made the ratings even higher was possibly a television advertisement as those who could not access the Internet or events had an opportunity to view the album before purchasing.

Illusion of Safety - The Hoosiers

No one had heard from the indie-rock group 'The Hoosiers' since 2007 and then a fluster of television advertisements hit the screen and they had returned with another album named Illusion of Safety. After being kept quiet for several years, who did they want to target with their new sound?

The main television advertisement (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkYTl-ylwKE) was meant to target the old fans by having their biggest hits Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr. A viewed on the advert. This would trigger the audience's memory. For a new target audience, they decided to add humour into the equation so people would remember the advert, and therefore them. Along with this advert, there were shorter 10 second clips (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja4qjkj8qNY&feature=channel) that were played randomly on the main television channels. They did not contain any music, but only the group members talking of their new album. Once again, by containing humour it made them memorable and made the audience want to listen to the album. The retro outfits in the adverts suggest they are in fashion as retro items are always viewed in shops and it also suggests something quirky and different about them - it makes the audience ask themselves the question 'what makes them stand out?'

Also, like many artist's nowadays, they have succumbed to using viral marketing where their fans on MySpace (www.myspace.com/thehoosiers) can buy and download their album or latest single, Choices. This means their fans get first choice, and therefore will gain a larger fan base as many would like the opportunity to listen to their music first.

Before entering the official homepage to their website, there is the image of the digipack cover (www.thehoosiers.com/gb/splash/) and so you get commonly associated with it - this means if the audience went into a CD shop they would recognise it and look. Also, as the typography is bright and vibrant, it suggests their music is fun and light hearted; the audience may enjoy this emotion and buy the music based on that.

Was this intense and sudden promotional material a success? Yes. 'The Hoosiers' reached the top 10 - but what could have allowed them to make number 1? Unlike Eminem, they did not do any events based around the album, and unlike both 'The Saturdays' and Eminem, there is no clothing available. This could have increased the sales, but they did have a good comeback.