M1: Evaluate different cross media advertising campaigns for consistency of message
Assessment Criteria for M1:This can be built on from evidence of P1 with learners selecting campaigns that deliver/communicate across at least two media pathways.
Choose a similar promotional campaign which delivers across at least two pathways. An example might be two different campaigns for a soft drink.
Background
Monster Energy began in 1935 as Hansen's Natural Corporation, originally not making energy drinks but rather selling juice to film studios and other retailers in Southern California, where the company was founded. Eventually expanding and deciding to produce Energy drinks, among many others.
It had many former drink products such as Soda, Drink Mixers, Juices for children, etc. But as of 2015, all non energy drink brands were sold to the Coca-Cola company. The rebrand from 'Hansen's' to Monster was only in 2012, just before the other products were sold.
Monster Energy since the rebrand very quickly identified it's target audience, reaching out to Motorsports, Action Sports, E-Gaming and Punk Rock scenes. While competitors like Goliath (aka Red Bull) already occupied these places, Monster offered a more aggressive alternative – a trait that the audience identified with. It promoted and sponsored many sports events such as UFC, BMX, Skateboarding, etc. In addition to the promotion of many punk rock bands such as Asking Alexandria and Five Finger Death Punch.
The company deliberately avoided advertising toward the mainstream, and instead targeted directly towards a specific target audience and capitalized from it.
The company's growth now means they hold about 39% of the $57 billion US energy drink market.
From 21st October 2013 to the 31st December, Monster Energy had a partnership with Activision for promoting the latest release in the Call of Duty franchise. Call of Duty: Ghosts. To do this, they released print advertising and different products of Monster which featured Call of Duty artwork on the can, aswell as a redeemable code underneath the tab for in-game prizes and rewards, such as the 'Double XP' promoted in this example ad.
The Target Audience of Call of Duty is not too dis-similar to that of Monster, while Call of Duty is an 18 rated game, Activision is in full knowledge that its main audience are mainly angsty teenagers, and so by partnering with a drink company very associated in the niche gaming scene, it allows both customers of Monster and Call of Duty to mix, gaining a massive amount of synergy from both the incentive of in-game rewards but also by being a part of that kind of community.
The advert itself uses very dark shades of black for its backgrounds, and then contrasts this with the bright green and blue of the logo. The product is also featured on the right hand side of the ad, blending in with the colour schemes of the rest of the ad, using the same black and blue colours, making the product being advertised small and almost un-noticeable, the main focus here is on the cross-promotion with 'Call of Duty: Ghosts' creating synergy between the target audiences of both Call of Duty and Monster Energy.
The overall tone of the ad is very dark and aggressive, fitting the aesthetics expected of Call of Duty and then using it to promote Monster, cross-promoting and causing the products to be associated with each other effectively and send customers of both to each other.
Another print ad for Monster Energy is this example, which features the tagline for Monster, "Unleash the Beast!" shown prominently just beneath the logo. This increases the aggressive feel of the ad, aswell as the reach to its target audience. Making the promotion intentionally dark and edgy so that it seems cooler and distinct from most other soft-drinks, reaching a more niche demographic and taking advantage of cross-promotion and synergy in order to sell and make profit.
The product is featured much more prominently in this ad, taking up the majority of the left hand side while still matching the colour scheme of a dark black background contrasted by a bright, glowing green. This is still mainly to just make the product stand out and look interesting to potential consumers, making the products identity well known enough to cross-promote and gain synergy as easily as possible.
The advert itself is just clips of McGregor training with Monster product placement and logos being placed on different pieces of equipment such as the banner on the boxing ring, the punching bag and a drink bottle. This is used to affect the public image of Monster, and have people associate it with training and athleticism so that people who wish to train and regularly exercise/go the gym feel inclined to drink Monster while doing so.
Excellent research and critical analysis
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