Advertising Research : The 1980s an the Spending Power of Gen X

 I have been creating an advert for 1980s party for Gen X.  In this post I am going to discuss advertising and marketing to Gen X. 

'Gen X is sandwiched between baby boomers (a traditionally, well, traditional generation) and millennials (a more tech-savvy generation)? This creates an exciting opportunity for omnichannel marketing.' (Kowalewicz 2022) This means that Gen X will look at newspapers, billboards, Facebook (maybe some social media), websites and traditional magazines. 

Photobooth: Hamlet Cigars 1987

My own advert I will be marketing through hopefully the local newspaper, 80s music magazines with the right demographic such as Q or NME, after checking this assumption I discovered that Q magazine is actually closing after 34 years due to a massive drop in sales. 'The magazine's circulation had fallen to 28,000 per month from a peak of 200,000 in 2001.' (Savage, 2020).  This magazine is the music magazine I read when I was younger and appealed to my generation it is unsurprising now that it does not appeal and in physical form as younger people consume only online and due to the expense of magazines and newspapers less and less Gen X are buying them or with less frequency due to cost. 'The cost-of-living crisis will be very tricky for the magazine publishing market to navigate given magazines will likely be considered by many to be a luxury, non-essential item. As of September 2022, the cost of living crisis led 32% of magazine readers to cancel a magazine subscription.'(UK Magazines 2023)

The advert I created contains an images of Axel Rose from Guns and Roses who were at the height of their power and in 1987 'Appetite for Destruction' sold 30 million copies (2021).  Using this group also helped with the Halloween theme as the group are edgy and would be known by Gen Xers everywhere.  I went to a Gun and Roses concert recently and the audience were mostly of my own age and possibly millennials.  

The advert I have created I do think will appeal to my audience both in concept and in placement of the advert.  

References

Lewis, D. (no date) Gen X marketing + selling strategies (2022): BigCommerce, The BigCommerce Blog. Available at: https://www.bigcommerce.co.uk/blog/gen-x-marketing/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Kowalewicz, R. (2022) Council post: Three tips for marketing to Generation X, Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/12/three-tips-for-marketing-to-generation-x(Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Savage, M. (2020) Q magazine to close after 34 years, BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53477377 (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

UK magazines Market Report - Market Size, Forecast & Growth (2023) Mintel Store. Available at: https://store.mintel.com/report/uk-magazines-market-report (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Ebersole, B. (2023) 13 facts about guns N’ roses, Facts.net. Available at: https://facts.net/history/people/13-facts-about-guns-n-roses/ (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Guns N’ roses album sales (2021) BestSellingAlbums.org. Available at: https://bestsellingalbums.org/artist/5051 (Accessed: 11 October 2023). 

Final Advert: Halloween Soiree

 This is my final advert...

I really enjoyed making this advert, it is fun and I think the message is clear.  I wanted to remove the background from the logo but as I used a logo maker it would have taken ages as there were no layers and removing the background on Photoshop using quick action removed much of the text as it could not recognise the difference between the background and the writing.  with more time I would have made it from scratch on Photoshop but with time it had the right look and message and I liked the slogan 'Art to Die For!' on the brand.  The image that I created on Photofunia I thought worked well and kept to my plan of using muted and limited colour palette.  I do think the poster has impact and works and the final result within the timeframe is a good achievement. 

Creating an Advert: Final Process for 80s Halloween Event

 Now I have created my plan and the digital assets I need I will create the final advert using Pixlr as we did in practice.

I began by opening Pixlr E and clicking on Create New, I then went to 'Print' on the dialog box and then A$ as this was the size specified in the advert brief. I then added a title and a black background so I then had a canvas, I also rotated the page to landscape orientation by clicking on Page and then page rotation c/w. 

I then opened my Axel image as I felt this was the best image from my assets and it is landscape so it kept within my plan 

I then selected all by clicking on select and then selecting all from the top menu and then I went edit and the copy and then I clicked back to canvas and clicked on edit and then paste.  As there was some black edge once I had used the transform controls and placed the image I just cropped it very slightly for a clean edge. 

I then opened my logo by clicking on file open image and uploaded the logo I created.  I then went to select all, edit, copy, and then clicked back to the canvas, and went to edit, paste, and then just used the move tool to position the logo.

I then added my text layers for the information on the party - so I clicked on the text tool in the left-hand tool menu and added two text layers.  I changed the font to 'Easterica' and the top title I made this 125pts and changed the colour to a kind of zombie green to match the dark green foliage of the trees.  The address at the bottom was the same font and color at 74pts.

I then checked the image for quality and made sure I was happy with the layout and then I exported the image as a png and saved it as jpg as well so I had two good quality copies to add to my blog as my  final poster!

Creating an Advert: Ideas, Planning & Digital Assets

As Halloween is coming up I thought I might create an advert for something that is Halloween-related so here are a few ideas: 

• A Halloween Art Exhibition
• A Halloween Movie Night
• A Costume Party for Gen X (The 80s live!) 

I looked at some other adverts just to get some further ideas...

Beav Arts, Brighton (2023)

The above advert I like the monster image and the font used for Beavarts - the poster works quite well but looks a little like it may be for children and so the target market here is not quite what I am after.

Godmachine: Flood Gallery (2019)

The Godmachine is perhaps more what I was thinking of with my own ideas - this is definitely for adults and actually looks like a great event for Halloween time. 

Halloween Movie Poster original

This is just an original movie poster for Halloween and I actually like this advert the most as I really do think the black and white looks great, the use of rule of thirds is very well done here and the image is really simple and striking.

Halloween Movie Night 

The above poster works but I actually think it is too silly and too colourful so although its message is clear I really don't like this!

Halloween Costume Party

I like the muted and limited colour palette - like the black and white this appeals and the image is striking with a clear message.  

After looking at these posters I think I definitely want a limited colour palette or black and white.  I will do the Gen X (1965-1980) costume party, as I understand this market as this is my own age group, I want it to appeal to both men and women. I need a good name and tagline and a brand/logo so who is holding the party with the party information.  

I will now do a quick sketch of my initial design and upload this so I can think about the layout and plan my outcome clearly. One of my favourite things to do is to visit the graves of my favourite dead artistsso I will call this 'The Dead Artists' Collective'  

I want three faces coming out of the gloom 80s but decayed and ghostly, limited colour palette, possibly using that pinky/purple of the poster above and black and white.and a small logo with a skeleton and easel for the dead artists collective brand.  I think I want it to be landscape orientation.  I will have a play with this though.

I then began thinking about my favourite 80s pop stat and so I started with Adam Ant, I found this image and then used Photofunia to halloweenise!

I quite liked this look so I think I may create a few more of these of 80s pop stars for my concept advertisement for the 80s event!

I have used here Annie Lennox and Axel Rose!

I then created my logo on the Free Logo design Maker we used in practice

The name of my brand is The Dead Artists Collective and I liked the slogan 'Art to Die For!'

I now have created all my digital assets, in my next post I will create the final advert.

Creating an Advert: Class Practice

 Today we discussed adverts in class and looked at different types of adverts and how they were laid out out, who the target market was and how they used logos and branding.  This was to help us think about how we could make our own advert.  

So we had a practice and we made a animal sanctuary advert - I looked at some other advert - here is an example below.

Example Donkey Sanctuary Advert 

For my own advert I followed this process.  I began by choosing a donkey image that I felt had impact from Unsplash

This was the image I choose. 

I then opened Pixlr E and clicked on Create New

I then created a canvas by clicking on 'print' and then A4 in the dialog box and I choose a white background

I then need to open the image I downloaded from unsplash of my donkey's so I clicked on 'File' then 'open' and then the image opens in a new window on Pixlr.

I then used the top menu went to Select and the Select all, then I went copy and then I clicked on the tab for my canvas and clicked paste, so my image appear in the canvas, I then used used the transform controls to adjust the size.

I went to the free logo maker freelogodesign.com

I then added the name of my brand/company and the logomaker gave me lots of options to customise which I did very quickly on the free maker.  I then downloaded as png so that I could add to my advert.

I then opened the logo on Pixlr by going to file, open and logo - again I selected all and then copied and pasted onto my canvas. 

I then moved logo into place using transform controls I placed it in the left hand corner and I adjusted the size to make it slightly bigger.

Lastly I added Text as I needed a tagline and where people could donate to my charity. I clicked on Text in tools menu, I created new text layer I used Adolfini font for the tagline and Veranda for the website so that it stood more for donation.  

Once I was happy with the text and the placement I then went to file, export as png 

My final advert looks like this!

Reflection: I enjoyed making this advert, I believe it is simple and effective and I liked the donkey image as I did think it had impact.  The logo I would have played with this for longer if I had more time and would have made the background transparent.  I would also improve my tagline and fonts if I was creating this again. 

Sequential Images: Self Study - Stiller Schmerz (Silent Pain)

 To complete this week I am creating another set of sequential images using the skills that we have learned this week in class and looking further at an artist we discussed in class. I wanted to use Jurgen Klauke again as his formalising boredom images are my inspiration for my own piece. 

Jurgen Klauke, Formalisierung der Langeweile, 1980, Photographic work, 3 parts

Klauke is a photographer and performance artist and his work here, I believe, reflects the boredom and self-destructive nature of living in a modern world where more and more people look inward rather than outside themselves as the world itself is overwhelming.  Annuly Juda states that within Klauke's work; 'The self is walled in within its paranoid condition and, at times, entangled with itself.' (Juda, 2023).

In my own work, I would like to express my own pain, not because I do not want to look outside, but because my own pain is generally a private affair that no one else would know existed upon seeing me.  I will be calling this piece, Stiller Schmerz (Silent Pain).  This piece will be four images and I am hoping to create this just in the studio with myself, a chair, and a glass jar. 

I photographed in the studio and I created these once with a Canon 700D, ISO 400, 1/4, F4.5.  This was a very slow shutter speed and I was using a tripod and self-timer mode. I also used my Samsung A71 phone and created a second set using black & white settings (I will add these later...I have added them below!) The second set were again on a tripod 1/15, F2, ISO 1000

I created a contact sheet using the contact sheet generator and then I went onto Pixlr.  I created a canvas in Black by clicking on 'create new' and then choosing A4 and a black background.  I then went to 'page' in the top menu and page rotation to adjust to orientation to Landscape.  I then went to the file and open to open each image I wanted to use I selected these and then copied and pasted onto the canvas.  I then used the transform controls to adjust the size and laid them out using the gridline.  I added text using the text tool and changed the font to Georgia 60pts and changed the colour to white.

Reflecting on this set of images I felt I created the look I wanted to create and the concept was as I had imagined in this case.  The images worked work and as they needed no adjustments and the framing and studio background worked to make this simple and effective.  With more time I would have created more images and when I add my phone version I may make another set just to compare as I had some different poses that I think worked well.  

My favourite image from both shoots was the one below, I like the over-exposure, the grasping at the jar the singularity of the image. Stiller Schmerz indeed.

1/15, F2. ISO 1600

References

Juda, A. (2023) Jürgen Klauke - Overview, Annely Juda Fine Art. Available at: https://www.annelyjudafineart.co.uk/artists/83-jurgen-klauke/overview/ (Accessed: 06 October 2023). 

Sequential Images: Elliot Erwitt Research

 Elliot Erwitt was a French-American photographer (Born 1928).  Erwitt was self-taught but honed his photographic skills through film school and in the army. Erwitt has a 50-year career and is now still alive and kicking at 95 years old.  I am looking at his work here as we have been creating sequential images in class and Erwitt has wonderful examples of this kind of visual narrative.

Elliot Erwitt: From Sequentially Yours (2011)

The above image is a funny take on childbirth, this short sequence is all that is needed to tell this story in a playful manner. There are some critics of Erwitt; 'that his work is "light-weight", "flippant", even "inconsequential".' (O'Mahony, 2003) but Erwitt has published 19 books and John Szarkowski, director emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art's photography department, states; "He's not only talented but extremely intelligent,"'(O'Mahony, 2003)

Elliott Erwitt The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York City, USA. 1988. © Elliott Erwitt | Magnum Photos

In the above image, the sequence is in one image and the four statues lead your eye to the small girl who copies the statue's stature. Erwitt's images of people looking at art are revelatory and Erwitt states; '“I am a dedicated people watcher who loves to see art and art watchers watching,” Erwitt writes in his book, Museum Watching. “For a photographer, rather than fly casting, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”'  (Magnum Photos, n.d)) Erwitt has many examples over his 50-year career of this kind of image and all the images make me smile. 

Elliott Erwitt Greece. 1963. © Elliott Erwitt | Magnum Photos

Each of these images tells a story and we imagine being in the frame, this is not just about sequence but the art of photography itself, the frame creates the window to the story and here we are privileged to enjoy the windows that Erwitt has gifted, to us, the viewer. 

References 

Magnum Photos, The art of looking at art • elliott erwitt •  (no date) Magnum Photos. Available at: https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/elliott-erwitt-the-art-of-looking-at-art/ (Accessed: 05 October 2023). 

O’Mahony, J. (2003) Profile: Elliott Erwitt, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/dec/27/photography (Accessed: 05 October 2023).