Digital Pac and Magazine Advert Questionaire

Below is our questionnaire which we carried out in order to find out our audiences opinion on our possible digi pac and magazine advert choices. We thought this would help in clarifying decisions, and considering things that may have been left out before.




Question 1: Do you expect a pop-rock/alternative bands magazine advert to be black & white OR colour?

The purpose of this question was to identify the colours that should be used when advertising and also to see whether it should match with Lost In Colour’s, ‘Searching For The Sun In The Dark’s’ music video and incorporating intertextual references. I found that that 2/3 of the public expected a pop-rock bands magazine to be in black and white, likely to be due to the stereotypical representation of this genre. However, 8 people of the 25 members of the public I asked chose ‘colour.’ This suggests to me that I must look into more detail regarding secondary research to identify what colours I should use during promotion. It also suggests to me that perhaps the majority of the advert should be black and white, with a hint of colour. Much like what is seen in the music video, this would considerably make a positive link between the two cross media forms incorporating a form of vertical intertextuality.  

Question 2: Do you expect a pop-rock/alternative bands magazine advert to be animated or photographic?

This was a significantly important question to ask; therefore it was necessary for me to ensure the public really thought about their answer. The overall reaction I got was that 2/3rds of the public felt that photographic pictures are more likely to be expected. This, therefore tells me that in order to appeal to the audience I should incorporate photographic aspects even though there is the suggestion from secondary research that this is not the common thing. Lost In Colour will be taking an original and unique approach to their new, first promotional campaign.

Question 3: What do you expect to see on a new albums magazine advert? (Tick all that apply)

The options that the public I asked had were: the album, pictures, pictures of the band, lyrics and information. Immediately I was made aware that all 25 members of the public expected to find information on the magazine advert, therefore I will definitely be including this. However, during my secondary research I will also look at the information they included to see what Lost In Colour’s album advert should have on. 0 out of 25 of the public felt that lyrics should NOT be include, therefore I will obviously not include this. Although 7 members of the public selected that they expected to see pictures of the band on the magazine advert I am not going to include this due to the majority of the public (16 out of 25) saying that they would just expect to see random pictures, a feature which I expect to find during secondary research. Just below half of the public also said that they expected to see the album on the magazine advert, therefore this suggests to me that I should perhaps use the same images for the front cover of the digi-pack and the magazine advert.

Question 4: What typography would you expect to see associate with a pop-rock/alternative band magazine?

From asking this question I found that I did not get a clear answer, therefore finding out what sort of typography should be used during secondary research is a very important aspect. I will find the answer to this question through looking at similar genre bands to Lost In Colour in music magazines intended for promoting bands new albums.

Question 5: What is more effective a single page spread or a double page spread for a magazine advert?

This was an important question to ask as it would be 50 % of the overall decision of what the size of the magazine advert would be. I found that 17 out of 25 people thought that the most effective size would be a single page spread. Therefore, I will only be covering one size of a magazine, however as of yet it is uncertain what ratio of the one page spread will take up. This will depend on secondary research and what Rachel and I will find in other music magazines.

Question 6: What appeals most to you when looking at a magazine advert for a new album?

For this question I gave the option answers of: colour, picture, title and information. I found that just over half of the public I asked said that a picture would appeal most when they looked at a magazine advert for a new album. A few also said that the colour appeals to them most and stands out catching their eye. The options; title and information were only chosen by a couple of the public suggesting that they should be included, however are not to be used as the immediate thing to draw potential customer's attention.

Question 7: Do you expect a pop-rock/alternative bands digi-pack to be black & white OR colour?

The answer to this was very mixed and almost half chose each option. This suggests that the public are unsure with which would be the correct answer, although there isn’t one. This tells me that there is so much variety in the current music market that each individual singer or band try and take an original approach to a promotional campaign. Always expect the unexpected. Therefore I will look into this in more detail during secondary research.

Question 8: Do you expect a pop-rock/alternative bands digi-pack to be animated or photographic?

Much like the magazine advert in question 5 I found a similar answer. 8 people expected to see an animated pack, whereas the remainder thought that a photographic digi-pack would be more common. This, therefore tells me that in order to appeal to the audience I should incorporate photographic aspects even though there is the suggestion from secondary research that this is not the common thing. Lost In Colour will be taking an original and unique approach to their new, first promotional campaign.

Question 9: What is more effective a CD size digi-pack or a DVD size digi-pack?

Quite simply, the majority of the people I asked (22) said that they think a CD size digi-pack would be more effective in the case of an album. The reason being that this size is more convenient and also that you do not have to pay excessive amounts for the packaging.

Question 10: What do you expect to see inside a digi-pack? (Tick all that apply)

Straight away by looking at the answers to this question I can tell that the very popular choices of answer are: pictures of the band, lyrics and information about the band/ band members. Therefore, we will most definitely incorporate these aspects in Lost In Colours digi-pack, front, back and middle. The likely reason for these being chosen is due to these being the common aspects that consumers find alongside an album they have purchased. 9 people also chose that they expected to see pictures in the digi-pack, however this can correlate with pictures of the band.

Question 11: What typography would you expect to see associated with a pop-rock/alternative band digi-pack?

Much like question 7 I found that asking this question I did not get a clear answer, therefore finding out what sort of typography should be used during secondary research is a very important aspect. I will find the answer to this question through looking at similar genre bands to Lost In Colour in music magazines intended for promoting bands new albums.

Question 12: What magazine would you expect to find a pop-rock/alternative bands album advertised in?

This was possibly the most important question to ask in reference to advertising the album in a magazine. The was also the worry that the public would not know of the music magazines I had given them as an option, therefore I showed them a picture of the magazines to let them know. I found that the most popular of answers was the NME magazine, a very popular magazine for larger bands. However, there is the possibility that this maybe too financially expensive for the institution that Lost In Colour are signed to. Nobody chose Rock Sound, most likely due to its unpopularity with the general public, instead "rock" fans. Whereas a few people each chose the magazines: The Fly, which is slightly less common but know in schools and colleges with teenagers. Rolling Stones, which is intended for a slightly older audience and older bands and Q magazine which is slightly less well know. Therefore, it is likely that Lost In Colours new album will be promoted and advertised in NME for a considerable financial investment.