Branding - Spice Girls

The purpose of Pop videos is to promote the artist by marketing their image. Pop videos can help create a brand for some artist and bands as it makes it easier for the public to distinguish one group from the other. It encourages people to buy into the records and into their brand.

The Spice Girls were formed in the mid 1990's by a family management team. Bob Herbert, Chris Herbert and Lindsey Casbon set out to make a girl band that would potentially become popular in a boy band dominated scene. Heart Management placed an advertisement in The Stage trade magazine for open auditions. After the girls were selected they were noticed by Simon Fuller at a showcase. He became their manager.

Often some artists or bands are sold as a brand to inspire the audience. This is a marketing method that draws people into buying the brand. The image of the artist or band is sometimes more important than the quality of the song. After their song "Wannabe" they were branded instantly. The song went straight to number three in the charts and within a couple of days went to number one. Each member of the group were given a branding image and this made them stand out from any other band. The image of The Spice Girls was creative and it was incorporated withing each video. Victoria spice wore a slinky black jumper, Emma in bunchies, Mel B wore leopard-skin trousers, Geri wore a tight dress and Mel C wore her Liverpool top with tracksuit bottoms. 

The girl band were such a success that they were even branded on television. The image was so well known that big companies such as Pepsi and Walkers took advantage of this. They used the girl brand to promote their products because they knew they would be able to reach out to a wider audience.