Musical Brand Represenation

Building a Movement

Quinn XCII Expanding his Market Segment

Prepared For

Jesse Coren

Manager of Quinn XCII

Detroit, Michigan

Prepared by

XX Consulting

Atlanta, Georgia, 30309

October 12, 2017

Building a Movement

Quinn XCII Expanding his Market Segment

Executive Summary

To continue growth and become recognized on a national scale, Quinn XCII should work to expand his market segment to reach a wider demographic while also strengthening his brand. The aim of this report is to investigate Quinn XCII’s brand image and potential improvements to the brand, as well as his strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to national recognition. Methods used to conduct this research ranged from intense study of the artist’s lyrics to monitoring his social media platforms. The results indicate Quinn XCII is on the verge of a big break, provided minor adjustments to his brand image and platform occur. Hip-Hop and R&B surpassed rock as the most consumed genre in 2016 and 2017. As this genre flourishes, Quinn XCII can provide the music the nation is craving. The competition will be fierce; however, we believe that Quinn XCII will be poised for success because of his unique blend of Hip-Hop, R&B, Reggae, and EDM. To ensure a successful brand presence and growth in fan base, XX consulting recommends the following:

1. Quinn XCII should continue interacting with his fans:

• Continue Instagram live feeds, meet and greets, question and answer sessions via Reddit
• Respond to inquiries every now and then

1. More Collaboration with fellow Musicians:

• Release occasional tracks with friends such as Ayokay, Jeremy Zucker, and Chelsea Cutler to expand into their fan base.
• This will expose his broad genre into other niche industries

1. Market Presence and Merchandise:

• Expand a more formal market presence through merchandise, interviews, and radio.
• Maintain accessibility and band-next-door feel through interactions with interviewers.

1. Address Original Fan Base

• Communicate with long-time fans the value of their continued support.
• Develop both a survey to gauge acceptance of Quinn 2.0 sound and loyalty rewards.

1. Increased Number of Shows and Music Videos

• Create more videos, emphasizing ordinary people brand, to give fans visuals.
• Combat frustrations of limited tickets with more shows, keeping true the accessibility component. Music Videos allow for accessibility in long-run despite growth.

1. Smaller Venues

• In keeping with original brand, rather than parading around in extravagant outfits and performances, continue to perform in smaller, more intimate venues.

Introduction

To most efficiently and effectively tackle the barriers to entry into national music industry, Quinn XCII’s  (pronounced quinn ninety-two) team has contacted XX Consulting to perform an analysis as to how to proceed.  XX consulting has researched the current value and success of his brand and image, and developed a recommendation for how to improve it as well as necessary steps to achieve his goal for national recognition.

Purpose and Scope

Quinn XCII has slowly gained recognition over the past years through word of mouth, music festivals, three EP releases, and collaborations with fellow artists. This report details Quinn XCII’s current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT), with a special focus on how these elements might affect future prosperity. Furthermore, this report analyzes his online presence and lyrics, and the image of a positive, humble, determined peer that his media depicts. We will discuss both how to improve this brand and how it fits into his SWOT analysis.

Assumptions

To make the recommendations provided in this report, it is assumed that Quinn XCII’s growth strategy is to slowly, but ultimately, expand his fan base to a national level.

Methods

Our team has researched and collected information using a variety of social media sources, such as the artist’s Instagram, twitter, and interviews via YouTube. Furthermore, we also analyzed his song lyrics.

Limitations

Quinn XCII is currently on tour, and due to scheduling conflicts, we were unable to arrange a meeting with Quinn XCII prior to this report. However, when he arrives in Atlanta on October 19, 2017, we will have the opportunity to meet, and this report will be updated at that time. Furthermore, as Quinn XCII is an up and coming artist, not many articles, interviews, or other analyses exist. Thus, much of the basis and our understanding of his image exists through social media.

Definitions

There are some other names dispersed throughout this report we would like to address and explain beforehand. For convenience purposes, Quinn XCII could be referred to as Quinn, Mikael, or Mike (his real name) throughout this report.

Criteria

XX Consulting will be conducting a SWOT analysis to determine the necessary actions to gaining national recognition. For organizational purposes, the analysis will be given in the order of Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, and then Opportunities.

Analysis

Strengths Assessments

Personality

Quinn XCII successfully shows aspects of his brand through his personality, as demonstrated by his positivity, humility, and accessibility.

Positivity: “Leave ur [stuff at the door, I only want positivity.”                 - Quinn XCII Tweet

Quinn XCII exhibits his positivity through his color schemes and lyrical themes. His music videos and album covers, specifically from his album “The Story of Us,” are overwhelmingly yellow, a color inspiring optimism and clarity. His blend of hip-hop, reggae, and EDM reinforce this positivity, even when his lyrics are often bittersweet and sentimental. His song “One Day at a Time” most bluntly depicts his positivity.  

Humility: “Time of my life playing for the most supportive people”                - Quinn XCII Tweet

Quinn demonstrates humility through his tweets of gratitude for his fans base. This humility adds an ability to be more relatable and a peer to his fans. His apparel choice, usually a windbreaker, but always a baseball cap, strengthens this aspect. He insists “[he is] still the same old kid you used to know, [doing] the same old [things he] did back home.” He portrays himself as an “ordinary person,” on a video where he and his crew mess around together while on tour.