An example we had of an effective preexisting synergistic campaign was that from the artist Ella Eyre, who was also a young adult, female Londoner with a similar sound to her London singing voice and also has an unclear genre of music with certain inspirations from Neo-soul and R&B present throughout her music.
As you can see from the examples above, the website ultimately acted as the hub holding all artist information. However, the other media products, i.e. the music video and the album cover, also work synergistically with the website or the synergistic aesthetic associated with the artist. There is in fact a link to the artist's website on the back of the album cover. Parts of the music video for 'Blue Lights' and certain unused shots from the shooting of that music video play in the background for the website. The graffiti aesthetic is also a prominent feature in the male narrative in the video for 'Blue Lights' as well as featuring on the artist's social networking pages, the Layla Obi website and the album cover aesthetic. The relationship, therefore, is not only about the synergy the website has with other platforms, but in reality all products work with a fluid synergistic relationship with each other in making sure information about Layla Obi and the artist's aesthetic is present throughout all platforms.
Richard Dyer's Star Theory
There were purchasing oppurtunities in which the artist can be seen as a commodity with fans able to spend money on merchandise associated with Layla Obi. As well as this, the idea that the products of the artist make her seem more attainable, there still is the distance fans will have with the artist of Layla Obi, that one will very likely never be able to obtain her or meet her, but will try getting closer to the artist by consuming merchandise associated with Layla Obi.
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| Merchandise that can be bought to get closer to the artist |
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| Graffiti in photo on social media page |
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| Graffiti on album cover |
The relatable human aspect of the character of Layla Obi is shown on the website which gives information through use of the Q and A for the artist as well as a 15 second video of the artist on the website which fans can watch as well as reading the small biography about the artist's humble beginnings and personality. However, the fierceness of Layla Obi's personality as well as her voice are aspirational qualities of the artist that fans can idolise. Layla Obi was made relatable for her audience even more through photos of her wearing streetwear brands such as Adidas and Nike rather than expensive brands such as Chanel or Givenchy.
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| A gallery photo of Layla Obi wearing an Adidas jacket |
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| The artist bio and page about her |
Connectivity through the Website
Below is a Padlet giving information about the purchasing options and the use of the website as Cross-media platform. I feel evidence was necessary to show that there was certainly connectivity on the website for Layla Obi. As well as the website being fully interactive, it offers purchasing options and cross-media platforms allowing for fans to be immersed and connect with the artist Layla Obi.
The inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee described the web as "a collaborative medium, a place where we could all meet and read and write." It is clear that the collaborative aspect of the web is certainly present through the immersive and interactive elements of the website itself. However, it is clear that our website is as Time O'Reilly would call a 'Web 2.0' website, which allows users to collaborate with each other in a virtual community where one can follow, like and comment on the social networking sites that Layla Obi is present on as well as joining the mailing list on the website.
This idea was further built on in more detail by Andrew Dubber who wrote in his book 'Toward a Sixth Media Age' about the new utility of web 2.0 music websites. I agree with his point that nowadays a music website is a place where people can connect easily with the artist as well as with each other. I feel that through use of social networking sites it is now simple people to connect with each other through being part of an online community under an artist's name, as in all being able to follow their social media pages and be able to like, comment or share the artist's content on their social media pages. One can comment on an artist's music video from YouTube that is placed on the website, one can buy merchandise, listen to the artist's music and join the mailing list for the Layla Obi website, meaning that they become part of the artist's website community where they can find more news about the artist straight from the website in which they can also interact with.
Conclusion
In our project, I feel we successfully combined our main product and ancillary texts, which worked efficiently together to promote Layla Obi as an artist. Layla Obi will appeal as a relatable London artist with certain aspirational qualities. She is a product of her time and her humble urban environment, but due to her aspirational characteristics such as her voice and the way in which her style romanticizes the urban scene of London makes her reach the status of an idol and a role model to fans. There is clearly a synergistic relationship between all media products connecting together to work harmoniously in order to make sure that information about Layla Obi and the artist's aesthetic with her image is present throughout all platforms, thus allowing her to consistently appeal to her target audience through the repetition of these factors of her image .
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