Joyous Shout! Records | Chico Hamilton
SCOPE
How do you stay fresh after 85 years?
BRAND
Creating a music label is difficult enough. Launching a brand dedicated to jazz, pushes the need for awareness and market distribution to a whole new level.
POSITIONING
Jazz is about love and loyalty. Digital communication is at the core of the Joyous Shout! marketing outreach. It allows us to not only reach a broader audience, it enables us to continually engage with fans on a personal level with original one-of-a-kind content.
STRATEGY
- Brand Positioning
- Digital Marketing Strategy
- User Experience Mapping and Analysis
Design
- Video & Animations
- Logos & Visual Systems
- Album Packaging
- Video e-cards
- Posters
- Merchandise
- Photo Library
ACTIVATION
- Digital Martketing
- Advertising
Typography is the bedrock of the Joyous Shout! brand. For the main identity, we focused on the name as the key to our execution. The combined “J” and “S” not only represent the company name, they form a saxophone, which symbolizes the label’s commitment to jazz. By placing a shadow under the mark, we put a spotlight on the brand as an entertainment company.
As we mentioned above, the core elements of type and color help to hold all of the Joyous Shout! materials together. By consistently building the designs from these elements, we are able to give ourselves room for creative exploration, while maintaining a unified look and feel for all of the organization’s products.
In collaboration with Giant Step distribution, we developed highly successful online marketing tools to help drive people to purchase Joyous Shout! releases. These self-contained flash e-cards were emailed and distributed through giantstep.net and bandcamp.
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For these mobile-micro-sites we developed MP3 and video players. We even had Chico Hamilton create an original “Scat” for one of our animation sequences.
OTTO created limited edition posters for the promotion of new releases. The versions above, feature Chico’s snake-skin boots for his “6th Avenue Romp” and a label release poster for Downbeat.
In the end, we are most proud of the fact that the Joyous Shout! brand embodies the spirit of Chico’s energy and his commitment to creating opportunities for people to do great things.
Challenge
Creating a music label is difficult enough. Launching a brand dedicated to jazz pushes the need for awareness and market distribution to a whole new level.
Strategy
Marketing
Jazz is about love and loyalty. Digital communication is at the core of our marketing outreach, as it allows us to not only reach a broader audience, it enables us to continually engage with them on a personal level with original one-of-a-kind content. Content is crucial, so we knew from the beginning we would need to document and record everything. Fortunately, the label was built around one of the most memorable characters in jazz, 85-year-old, NEA Jazz Master Chico Hamilton.
For every new release, we created promotional ads that were featured in industry magazines. We also developed image campaigns to promote live performances.
Content
MP3 purchases are critical for a small label. Dance mixes and limited edition singles helped us appeal to DJs and younger audiences. Influential organizations, such as Wax Poetics, helped the label gain credibility and distribution in the soul jazz market.
In collaboration with Giant Step distribution, we developed highly successful online marketing tools to help drive people to purchase Joyous Shout! releases. These self-contained flash e-cards were emailed and distributed through giantstep.net and bandcamp. For these mobile-micro-sites, we developed embedded MP3 and video players. We even had Chico Hamilton create an original “Scat” for one of our animation sequences.
Conceiving of and art directing the photo shoots for Joyous Shout! releases was a dream come true. Not only did we have the opportunity to collaborate with the photographer Todd Boebel, we got to meet some of our musical heroes. We met Arthur Lee (founder of legendary group Love) and witnessed Fontella Bass’ last recording session. We also witnessed incredible acts of creativity by guitarist Shuggie Otis, singer Bill Henderson, Allman Brothers’ drummer Jaimoe and Chico’s amazing Euphoria band. Capturing the work on film was icing on the cake.
Design
Typography is the bedrock of the Joyous Shout! brand. For the main identity, we focused on the name as the key to our execution. The combined “J” and “S” not only represent the company name, they form a saxophone, which symbolizes the label’s commitment to jazz. By placing a shadow under the mark, we put a spotlight on the brand as an entertainment company.
The CD sleeve grew out of a very practical need, making people aware of all of the Joyous Shout! releases. Inspired by traditional record label sleeves, we were able to introduce our album buying audience to the other available releases. This approach allowed us to promote more CDs to our interested audience at a minimal cost.
Outcome
With sixteen releases under our belt, Joyous Shout! has become a respected testament to the life and creativity of Chico Hamilton. Featured in Downbeat and played on such revered stations as WBGO, the jazz critic Phil Schapp has called these releases his favorite chapter in Chico’s career. By embracing digital culture, we were able to reach the long-standing jazz fans we so desperately needed to engage with, while connecting with younger audiences through continuous outreach of videos, interviews, special MP3’s and other one-of-a-kind content.
