Best Practices: Entertainment Industry Brand Marketing

There is plenty that goes into creating what people see and hear in the market of entertainment. With digital platforms and subscription services taking over, the vast sea of selections can be hard to cut through to decipher what is substantially quality over quantity. Are you discovering your favorite new album or the next binge-worthy television show through a curated playlist, recommended YouTube video, or an Instagram story? This the world we live in now and how the everyday consumer digests advertisements and marketing campaigns through a strong online presence.

Gone are the days where you would pick up the latest issue of Rolling Stone at your local   newsstand, to scan for the latest album reviews or upcoming releases and movie posters.  The novelty and anticipation for appreciated art has dwindled, but surely hasn’t faded, and it’s only a new challenge for marketers to be as creative and efficient by executing a brand strategy seamlessly.

Let’s breakdown the funnel of marketing promotion in today’s digital age within the entertainment industry.

Album artwork for Marc Robillard

Los Angeles-based singer songwriter Marc Robillard partnered with the Articulation Agency to design the album artwork for his album, Left London.

INSIDE THE ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING INDUSTRY

There’s a thorough process when working with a musician and executing a marketing campaign, from artist development to promotion. To start, in order to measure the success, an initial 6-month campaign should suffice to determine the initial working period but also acts as an average release build up for a promotion of a single, album, or music video.

The same can be said for individual projects within a production company. To grab the attention of a target audience to promote a film or television show, require a specific emotional and tonal branding to persuade viewers to invest valuable leisurely time that can be extremely personal and impactful.

Entertainment Marketing Tactics

1. Market research

Before you start tackling any campaign, make sure to compare and research what’s out there. Is there a similar artist, film, tv series that’s currently hitting all the marks? Hone in on how they’re attracting their target audience and what mediums of promotion they’re using. Are you so similar that there could be a clash in promotion that might hinder the success of yours? Jot down an audit of your biggest competitors and most aspirational brands. Do they target the same audience? Are their website and social channels intuitive, user-friendly and evokes a clear message? These are the questions that will guide you to initially brainstorm and develop benchmarks for your campaign.

  2. Entertainment rebrand or overhaul

Presenting an aesthetically pleasing image is half the work. A sleek, modern look for packaging, promotional materials, website and social media posts need to be consistent and current. In order to relate and emotionally connect with your audience consistently, a 360 rebrand encompasses a strong visual identity, straight-forward and concise messaging, intuitive web design and of course a thought-out brand strategy. Good design captures a viewer’s attention, making them feel more comfortable and sometimes even imparting a sense of awe.

   3. Marketing execution and maintenance

Once a visual identity is restored, plan out an editorial calendar to cohesively be active on social media and post regular website content that can easily target notable influencers and advertising. View at Instagram, Twitter and YouTube as one promotional avenue. All different, but they need to be cohesive in the messaging and content. Traditional forms of marketing and advertising have now shifted to phone applications with very little wordage or an impactful 10 second video. Media placement along with a weekly content calendar keeps the brand fresh and engages users. By using social media, you’re cutting out the third party and offering direct access and insight into your brand. It’s a much quicker, more direct form of communication to a very targeted audience who have chosen to engage with your brand on social media in the first place. You can actually become the direct source of news by writing a blog and posting articles or media releases on your website. This can help raise your profile and increase your likability and stay current along with boosting your SEO efforts. One repost or retweet can go a long way.

IMA-award winning brand refresh for leading television production company Mike Mathis Productions

Articulation Agency was sought out by the television production company, Mike Mathis Productions, to facilitate a brand refresh.  The goal was to develop an original brand identity system including a new logo, suite of print identity materials and website, as well as social media setup and integration with the new site.

If you are interested in learning more about rebranding your production company or creating a new website for a music project, or any additional insights within the entertainment industry, Articulation Agency is here to help. Contact us here.

ABOUT ARTICULATION AGENCY

Articulation is a Los Angeles based branding and marketing agency, supporting an open and collective exchange of ideas and powerful creative solutions to best serve our clients. This process is then supported by the strategic business expertise required to deliver the results you demand.