Audience Feedback on Band Names

I invited members of my target audience to take a survey in order for me to decide upon an appropriate name.

Based on the responses, I have chosen The Concrete Lilies as my band name.

Stereotypical Target Audience Member

Based on my research into my target audience, I have created an image of what a stereotypical target audience member would be like.

Firstly, in terms of their clothing, they would typically wear a plain button-down shirt with skinny jeans, and either extremely casual footwear, such as plimsolls, or smarter footwear, such as loafers, brogues, or desert boots. They would typically shop in places such as Topman and American Apparel. However, they may also occasionally shop in vintage shops, to support the idea of them being an 'individual'.

They would use the typical social networking sites - such as Facebook and Twitter - however, they would also use mySpace to keep more updated with the bands' and artists' music, especially with less well-known bands and artists. They also might have a Tumblr account, as this associates them with the 'artistic' nature common among indie bands and artists.

Being a student - as most audience members for my genre are - they wouldn't have a huge amount of disposable income, falling into the socio-economic group E. Therefore, they would most likely have to download all of their music from an illegal online source. Despite this, they would still buy music whenever they could afford to from a mixture of small and large music stores, as well as iTunes. More importantly, they would have a commitment to live music.

Research into Target Audience Members

I handed out some questionnaires to members of my target audience. I asked questions on music purchasing habits, so I could advertise appropriately on my band website; social networking habits, so I could create accounts for my band on social networking websites being used frequently by my target audience; and the way in which they dressed, as in my genre, the dress sense of the audience members is very often almost identical to that of the band members or artist.

My research into my audience verified my earlier analysis of the image of different bands/artists, as it seems as though the plan, smart, and dark image is prevalent amongst my target audience. For example, 100% of the people I questioned said they wore/liked skinny jeans/trousers, a fit which can be seen to represent a slightly 'dark' image as it was worn by punks of the 60s, who, like members of the Indie target audience, rejected the worth of popular and 'mainstream' music in favour of an alternative sound. Additionally, 75% said they wore/liked plain button-down shirts. This shows that the plain, smart, and dark image is prevalent amongst the fans of bands and artists within the Indie genre, as well as the bands and artists themselves. This gives evidence to support my earlier comment regarding the "monkey see, monkey do" attitude of the fans in relation to the bands and artists within the Indie genre.

I intend to create a Facebook page for my band - to be linked to the band website - as it arguably the most common form of social networking, with 100% of people I questioned having an account on it. I also intend to put my music video on Youtube, as, although only 50% of the people I questioned had a Youtube account, most people use Youtube frequently to search for videos anyway, regardless of whether they have an account or not. As 75% of the people I questioned said they had a Twitter account, I am also going to consider creating a Twitter account for my band. Furthermore, quite a few bands within my genre - Napoleon in Rags, The Maccabees, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Bombay Bicycle Club - have Twitter accounts.