ANALYSING DIGIPAKS, ALBUM ADVERTS &

WEBSITES

BRANDON FORAN

WHAT IS A DIGIPAK?• A digipak is a type of packaging used to sell CD’s and DVD’s.

• It is usually made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for either 1 or 2 discs.

• The digipak has other information on it and is used to try and sell the CD to customers, not just to hold the CD itself.

• The digipak usually uses the same photo and fonts etc. as the album advert and CD.

Album name

Picture of artist (Ariana Grande)

Name of artist

Simple, dark background, clearly showing the photo and text

TYPICAL CONVENTIONS USED ON THE FRONT COVER

The front cover of Ariana Grande’s ’Yours Truly’ is really quite simplistic, with a simple dark grey background and a picture of Ariana, with white writing of her name and a pink, handwritten yours truly. The simplistic nature of the digipak is what makes it so effective, as against the dark background there is a beam of light on the artist, drawing any potential consumer’s attention to the artist on the front. The handwritten yours truly is the only thing in colour on the front of the digipak which makes it stand out and adds a personal touch that it is in a handwritten font; and of course the name of the artist which is in capital letters, not bold, but the largest writing on the cover across the top of the digipak, giving any customer all the information they need while keeping the front of the digipak simple and uncrowded.

HOW IS THIS EFFECTIVE?

TYPICAL CONVENTIONS USED ON THE BACK COVER

Barcode

Tracklist

Record company logo

Photo clearly from the same shoot as the one on the front cover

Copyright and record label information

HOW IS THIS EFFECTIVE?The back cover of Ariana Grande’s yours truly is effective due to the continuation of the colour scheme and picture with the beaming light on Ariana Grande drawing attention to the artist. The use of barcode, copyright information and record company logos ensure that the digipak follows all the typical conventions that would be expected. The colour scheme black, white and pink would be very attractive to this specific target audience, another way of ensuring that customers will purchase the album and recognise it as an Ariana Grande album. ’Ariana Grande Yours Truly’ is repeated twice on the back of the digipak down both sides, reinforcing the name of the album so as that the consumer knows exactly what they are buying and of course the tracklist on the back so as that the audience know what is included on the album.

ARIANA GRANDE DANGEROUS WOMAN WEBSITE

Ariana Grande’s newest album, ‘Dangerous Woman’s website follows the same colour scheme as the digipak ‘yours truly’ that I have just analysed, showing a constant house style throughout all of her products, showing continuity and consistency. It also has a picture of the front of the digipak on the website so as that customers know what to look for in the shops. It also has a link to listen to the album on Spotify and adverts to both apple music and to purchase the album on itunes, giving fans all the possible information they could possibly want about how to listen to the album. There is also a shop to purchase merchandise and information about her tour.

WHAT IS AN ALBUM ADVERT?An album advert is the advert for an upcoming album from an artist that will be posted in various locations such as magazines, bus stops and billboards. This is an effective way of spreading publicity about an upcoming album, as well as the fact that the album advert will follow the same colour scheme, fonts and house style as the album itself and digipak, meaning that when consumers see the advert and then see the digipak in stores, they will make the link in their head and know that they have seen it advertised before.

Album adverts are important even if the customer does not necessarily buy the album on CD because even if they purchase a digitial copy on the itunes store or stream it on a service such as spotify or apple music, the album advert will provide this information about where they can listen to the album and the release dates that they can download/stream it.

TYPICAL CONVENTIONS OF AN ALBUM ADVERT

Picture of artist

Name of artist in bold, bright colour

Name of the album

Website

Record company logos

HOW IS THIS EFFECTIVE?

This album advert is effective because it is very bright, bold and indicative of the type of music that will be on the album. It clearly states the name of the album and that “the No.1 international smash, “Price Tag”’ will be included on the album, which makes potential customers more interested in the purchase of the album because chances are they will have heard that particular song. The album advert also clearly shows that it is a Jessie J album through the use of bright gold text and a picture of Jessie J taking up most of the advert. The colour scheme of black gold and white is also very effective for the image that Jessie J portrays and the music she produces and therefore without actually saying anything, is an effective way of demonstrating the genre of music on the album.

JESSIE J OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Jessie J’s official website’s front page is an advert for her current album, an effective form of advertising and links to iTunes, google play, amazon and Spotify so as that customers have many options of where to listen to the album.There is also a tab for tour dates and store which creates more revenue for the companies associated with Jessie J.