Partizandovey's Blog

Enter is Bournemouth’s main Drum and Bass night, and happens once a month. It has been running just over a year and has featured some of Drum and Bass’s biggest names and always has a really good vibe, one of the most important things for a night. They focus their promotion on flyers, posters and social networking. I know the main promoter Whitey and he acknowledges social network sites can be such a useful, free way of promoting your event. Creating a strong brand image is a priority too, as it can become a symbol that’s recognisable wherever it’s used.

Looking at their logo, it’s an easily recognisable, clear logo that say’s exactly what it needs too. It can be used with pretty much any design and any colour scheme as its only black and white. The 3D effect looks good too, as it’s makes the logo jump out of the page. These are both things I shall think about when designing my logo.

One of the thing’s I find best about Enters flyers is the consistency. Every flyer, although different, follows the same patterns. Colour schemes change from event to event, but the layout, font and pattern remains the same. This way the audience can always tell it’s an Enter night. The design is never too busy which adds character, it utilises its space and has plenty of balance. When flyers are too busy it can distract the eye from the information the flyers trying too put across, and can lead to the potential audience not wanting to look at the flyer at all. Many a time I’ve not bothered with an event if the flyer looks budget or I can’t understand it.

Posters for Enter are based on the same designs as the flyers and always state the routine essential informational like date, location, price and time.

Enters MySpace profile is not brilliant I have to admit, although MySpace for some reason don’t seem to have many good layouts. The majority are too busy with bits all over the place and over the top of one another, thus not making it very easy on the eye. Maybe this is one reason they have chose not too have a particular layout and leave it blank, either way it’s not too appealing. But then they’ve already built up a following and so don’t need to have fancy attractive graphics for people to look at their page.

Facebook layouts are hugely different on the other hand, as they are always set to a structure that has become user friendly to the vast number of people who use it, making it a perfect tool for promotion. Networking is easy using Facebook and can quickly get your brand spread out there without cost. Friends can be added, interaction with the audience can be easily achieved and all forms of promotional material from imagery to video and audio can be uploaded in one place, making it accessible to everyone and anyone. You can also buy advertising space, which can be tailored to target specific areas and audiences at a competitive price. This can be useful as so many people use Facebook and generally use it more than once a day.

Facebook can be used in a variety of ways. Events are an obvious way to invite people to come along to your night, and with the right networking you can invite a wide range of people. At the end of the day, even if they don’t come, they may know someone who will. Groups can also be set up as a place to communicate with your members as well as promote your events. Promotional material can be uploaded here, as well as other promotional material such as video and mixes from featured DJ’s. Members are also able to promote their own events on these pages, which can be seen on many of the group pages, by adding links to other pages. The networking really does spread far and wide and is a great tool to utilise.

Other than the usual means of promotion, Enter doesn’t really need to do much more to expand itself. It’s a well established night that fills the club every time already, the artists it gets are well known enough to attract the clients so as long as the posters, flyers and social networking are done properly it can pretty much rely on word of mouth. This can only be done once a following has already been established. One thing Enter do occasionally do is a DJ comp to find new talent, which helps keep it friendly with the regular clients as it gives them a chance to play at one of the main nights.

Beat redemption is a relatively new night that’s been going about a year and is mainly aimed at students. It is located in a bigger club that is run by the students union. As it’s aimed mostly at students promotion is done mostly through flyers and posters around campus as well as through social networking sites, mainly Facebook as many students have an account.

Beat redemptions logo is hugely different from Enters. In ways they have 2 logos, the dog and the name. The dog acts like a character, something with personality that the audience can relate to. This can be used in a variety of ways and helps give the event a ‘face’. The name can then be used wherever applicable. This is something I should consider when creating my logo.

As for the posters, using two different designs can sometimes be dangerous as it can confuse people. The two posters could quite easily be confused for two different events, but for the use of the same title font. Promotional material should always have consistency across a range, making it memorable to the intended audience. I have to admit; I’m not amazingly keen on the design for these posters. They look a bit too lackadaisical, for me posters with the information as a focal point need to have a font that looks exciting and contemporary and keeps the reader interested. It just looks a bit half arsed. Using black and white is a good idea as it creates a lot of contrast, but in this case it just highlights the poor design. There’s also quite a lot of information crammed into the main body, which makes a poster that’s supposed to be simple a bit busy.

For every night Beat Redemption do they use a different design to promote it. This can have positive and negative effects for an event. The new posters look much more appealing and catch the eye much better, but have not kept their corporate identity. They could be advertising a completely new, different night; the only thing keeping it consistent is the name, which they have used different fonts for to confuse even further. Usually a brand will keep to it’s building blocks to stay recognisable to it’s following. The only good aspect to this is they’ve reinvented themselves to look better than before.

The poster on the left has many of the downfalls the previous posters had, but still looks much better. There is more balance and the poster looks themed, the fonts used and design layout work with each other, even if there is still too much information. The text is too small, and is hardly legible. I have to admit, I’m not overly keen on this design either, but it is better and shows progression.

The newest poster (on the right) is again better, but still not what I’d class as very good promotion. Although it’s a lot clearer and easier to read, it still looks busy and the font’s used still do not fit the feel of the poster. They’ve used a simple, bold sans serif font in an attempt to make it easy to read and noticeable, which it has done. But because of the background blue and black stripe theme it still makes the poster very busy. It’s still by far their best effort. Bits of text look like they’ve been placed without any real consideration, in particular the date in the bottom right. Why not have it placed in one of the blue or black stripes like the drinks promotion above it is? The more and more you look at that section it just doesn’t look right.

One thing that works wonders for Beat Redemption is the student population, as the event is aimed at students and is promoted mainly in uni it can rely much more on word of mouth. This is one thing I shall not be able to utilise for the Partizan Project, as by the time the event goes live many of the students will have gone home for summer.

Again, Beat Redemptions typography has changed for their MySpace. This is the best font I’ve seen them use and feel they should now stick with this as their main font. The MySpace layout used here is much better than Enters. It looks fresh, clean and contemporary, is not too busy and is easy to read, making it almost perfect. It has nice borders to keep everything balanced, which also helps crop the page keeping everything centralised. The use of black helps highlight important information by adding high contrast. Although the layout is simple it is effective and looks aesthetically pleasing. These are all factors to consider when choosing a MySpace layout, clean and contemporary whilst not be busy and overcrowded.

As I’ve already stated, Facebook is a great from of free advertising as so many people use it and it follows a simple, easy to use, familiar layout that all its users are used to. By the looks of it, there is more than one way to promote using Facebook. You can set up a group which can hold all information on previous and future events as well as containing all promotional material in one place for all users to see. You can also set up a personal profile for your night, using it like you would use your own profile. This can then help with spam, as people generally prefer spam off something with a purpose rather than just some random person. When I get random messages, I generally delete them without reading, unless they are from something or someone I’m interested in. For example, if Joe Bloggs messages me about the next Beat Redemption night, I probably won’t read it, where as if Beat Redemption message me themselves I would at least open up the message and browse through it before deciding it’s relevance.

Drumfunk is another of Bournemouth’s regular Drum and Bass nights, and has been going near on 4 years, so this is a tried and tested event. Unlike Enter, Drumfunk focuses on the liquidy side of Drum and Bass, so has a completely different feel and following behind it, even though the two promoters work closely together. This reflects in the design work used for the promotional material.

As you can see, the design and layout are very similar for each flyer. It has progressed over the last four years, changing slightly every time. At first, colour schemes were the main difference from flyer to flyer, which helped keep it fresh and new each time whilst also having as much similarity as possible so people don’t even need to read the flyer, they instantly know it’s a Drumfunk night. Again, fonts are very clean and clear and easy to read, with enough space to keep things simple while having enough design to make them stand out. Possibly a little bit too much information in places, but essentially it’s very well thought out. The one thing I do notice is the time and date nee to be bigger and more noticeable. The most important thing to consider when creating promotional material is if all the most important information is easily noticeable and readable, because if not people may want to come but not know enough information to get them there.

Drumfunk used to all be held at a club called the Consortium, but is now held in Dusk till Dawn as the Consortium closed. Just before that Drumfunk reworked its promotional material, keeping it similar enough to know it’s a Drumfunk night but updating it enough to look new. I feel this has worked for them, most notably because they have kept the logo the same. This is one thing that kept letting Beat redemption down, but because they have kept enough the same you still recognise the branding. I really like the new designs, they look professional, utilise space and balance well and are eye catching enough to make you want to pick one up. For a brief period, they changed the design back to look more like the originals (as shown on the social focus vs drumfunk flyer), and for me this was a step backwards. I think they realised this too, as straight away it reverted back to the new style again. Contrast is another aspect that works well in the new flyers, and is something I will need in mine.

As you can see, this is a perfect example of a MySpace layout that’s too busy. This is the thing that annoys me about MySpace; it’s just so hard to make it look attractive but easy on the eye. I really like the idea of having your logo/branding as a background but it just makes everything else look confusing. I don’t know where to focus, and consequently don’t want to focus on anything. So many times I look on MySpace and end up getting a headache.

As usual, social networking sites have been abused as a resource for events, although Drumfunk only have a group page. These group pages are not only handy for the promoter, but they are handy for anyone else running a night with the same kind of atmosphere, as links to different pages and events can be posted and discussed. The ‘wall’ is usually a good place to do this, as people can then add comments themselves, creating an air of interactivity between promoters and audience. The only thing to be wary about when doing this is not to annoy the promoters of the event you are posting yours onto, as it can lead to complications and arguments, which can then give you and your event a bad reputation.

Dubnium is Bournemouth’s main Dubstep night, and has been running almost 2 years. It is located in the same club I am going to use and runs roughly once a month. Running an event monthly can have positive and negative effects on your image. Running a night too often loses its appeal, unless it’s innovative and has a different line up each time. Resident artists are good as people build up a relationship with the artist making them want to see them every time but can also become stale if seen to often, so it’s all about finding the balance. Events that are spaced out enough have more of a buzz about them, and once a following is formed it can become an eagerly anticipated event.

Dubstep takes many roots from reggae, which is hugely evident in their flyer design. Reggae is from the Caribbean, and thinking about this you immediately picture Bob Marley, the Jamaican flag, palm trees and bright sunshine, which is all reflected in the colour schemes. In this it is spot on the money, it transmits the vibe they want from their night perfectly, they have a very organic, natural feel, and apart from bright yellow one which is almost out of sync with the rest, they do make you want to pick one up. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and isn’t as legible or easy on the eye as any of the others. The font has changed too, which I find makes it even worse. The original font, even though boring, was bold and specific, where as the new font looks blurred and a bit patchy. The information is well set out and the most important bits are big and bold. Imagery is kept relatively simple, which creates space for the text. I have to admit, even though it’s not my kind of design, I like them. They reflect the event very well.

As usual, Dubnium have used social networking sites to their advantage. It seems evident that you cannot underestimate the importance of these in promotion. Facebook also seems the more used one, possibly because it has a lot of students and because it’s the most widely used around the world (http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites). I personally find it more easy to use, as I’m sure do many others. The best thing about these sites is the shear volume of information you can keep in one place easily and so anyone can view. Friends can be added and interacted with, making them feel a part of the experience. Links to other pages and sites can be regularly updated, and past events can be logged. Photos, audio and video can also be spread easily, keeping people up to date even if they didn’t attend.

Dubnium have used their logo as a background, like Drumfunk, although this time it looks a lot better. Because of the simple, 2 colour design with clear block colour for the text background space you can actually read what it says, even if it is a pretty awful choice of font colour. Why they’ve used that I can only imagine. Apart from that, pretty standard. The Facebook group is also much the same as the others, and includes much of the same kind of information. One thing to add with Dubnium is the small bits of extra promotion they do, including give a ways. They usually advertise that the first 10/20 people trough the door get a promotional pack containing a CD and a T-shirt, even I’ve seen the T-shirts being worn around. This is another form of ‘free’ promotion, as you are actually paying for the shirts but the people essentially become poster space.

And now for a bad example of promotion. Krisis is an internet radio station/record label based in the south of England that runs a drum and Bass night at the Empire, the same club I will use. It’s not widely known even though it’s been around a while, probably down to the abysmal promotion they do.

I mean look at them, no balance, no good use of space, no good use of typography, nothing. They almost look like they’ve been made using Microsoft word. There’s no coercion between designs, font’s, schemes, imagery, anything in fact. The main poster (Grid meets Krisis), I actually saw printed on normal desktop printer paper and posted up around the club. It just makes the night look cheap and like they can’t really be bothered to promote the whole thing. I’m not even sure they have a proper logo. Almost everything about these flyers is poor. The only thing I can credit them for is the information being big and bold, and even then it’s not catchy in the slightest. Honestly I’m surprised it’s still going.

As you can see, even the MySpace looks more budget than any of the other night’s pages; they simply haven’t even made an attempt with it. The Facebook layout is done for them so it’s easier, which I suspect is why they use it more. I have to admit I get plenty of spam from them, and it annoys me. We see they have actually got a logo on here, why not use it across all aspects of their promotional material? Inconsistency cost’s them dear, although strangely enough the consistency of bad designs does mean you can tell when you’ve got one of their flyers. I know a fair few people that go to all the nights aforementioned, but none of them go to Krisis.