Press Release and Stories

1. Press Release from GAP:
http://www.gapinc.com/public/Media/Press_Releases/med_pr_soundofcolor021508.shtml
The press release is about GAP's new campaign, "Sound of Color", where they asked five different artists to write songs about a specific color. They have then set up a website where you can download the songs and watch music videos that were created for them. The site is only up until March 15, after which the rights to to music will be given back to the artists for their personal use.

2. Stories written from press release:

Gap Goes Viral For Color Coordinated Campaign
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003705510

This story was written for Billboard print and online magazine. Because Billboard is a magazine that is dedicate to all things music, it was fitting that this article was published here. The article's purpose is to inform the public of this new campaign and also to highlight the up-and coming musicians and video directors. The article is neutral and does a good job of informing its readers of the new music available.

Gap Draws From Varied Palette for Web Music Promotion
http://adage.com/songsforsoap/post?article_id=124807

This article acutally got its information from the Billboard story and not from the press release. It takes a more negative stance. It calls attention to the fact that the campaign is a bit transparent and is more focused on increasing sales at the GAP than it is about bringing awareness to the musicians. The article is short and doesn't go in to much detail, but sights the Billboard article.

Gap Discovers The Sound of Color
http://www.psfk.com/2008/02/gap-discovers-the-sound-of-color.html

This article was written very positively. It mentions the fact that GAP is allowing the artists to retain the rights to their songs after the month-long campaign is over. It also emphasizes the "avant garde"-ness of the musicians and directors alike.

Interestingly, each article chose to focus most of its attention on one musician, Marie Digby, who is known for her fame on You Tube.

3. I was intrigued by this press release because it seems like the GAP is always choosing to advertise and market themselves in unique ways. I am a huge fan of Indie music and have an interest in lesser-known musicians, so this campaign really intrigued me. The press release was written well and highlighted each musician as well as the music video directors.

To find articles and stories written from this press release, I used the Google search engine. I searched "Gap color music" and was able to find numerous articles that had been written. I also tried searching "sound of color", but was unable to find any articles directly related to this particular campaign.

I would deem this press release effective. It was able to generate enough interest in the topic to get many articles and stories written about it, including one in a very prominent music magazine. All of the articles were relevant to the release and took positive or neutral stance and in one, a very mildly negative stance. All of the articles provided the kind of attention that was the original intent of the press release. The creative director at GAP was quoted and was very convincing and believable. The articles used quotes from the press release and the Billboard article had gotten additional information and quotes from the director of advertising at GAP. Quotes from the musicians were not included in the release, but were used in the articles. The target audience of this press release was definitely reached.