Sheet Music Plus Case Study

SHEETMUSICPLUS BRANDBOOK

2 Sheet Music Plus Campaign Purpose 3 Company Background 4 Target Market 6 SWOT analysis 8 User Personas 10 Mood Board 12 Color Palette 14 Typography 16 Logo 18 Mockups 28 References 30 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CAMPAIGN PURPOSE

For nearly three decades, Sheet Music Plus has been providing musicians with convenient access to an extensive collection of highquality sheet music at affordable prices. After significant growth, Sheet Music Plus now offers over 2 million titles, many of which are hard to find elsewhere. The primary purpose of this Multimedia Campaign is to communicate the exceptional quality and unparalleled value Sheet Music Plus offers to musicians and to the broader music community.

Sheet Music Plus is already very competitive in its market. I believe combining the platform’s unique value propositions with a strengthened brand identity would place it in front of a wider demographic and help it emerge from the competition to be the premiere choice for digital sheet music.

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COMPANY BACKGROUND

HISTORY

The 1990s saw the dawn of ecommerce. Stanford School of Business graduate Nicholas Babchuk knew that the internet was an exciting new frontier he wanted to be a part of. Babchuk, an entrepreneur, and a musician, combined his two passions into one idea and set out on that frontier. In 1995, he launched MusicianStore.com, a website selling musical accessories as well as sheet music.

MusicianStore.com and their office warehouse operated out of San Francisco, California, with the ability to carry a much wider stock of music selections than brick-and-mortar music stores with just a section dedicated to sheet music. Musicians were craving a larger variety than their hometown stores could offer, and the demand for sheet music soon became apparent.

With that in mind, Babchuk shifted his company’s focus, rebranding in 1997, and Sheet Music Plus was officially born. The company continued to grow, and in 2011, Sheet Music Plus launched an even more convenient way for customers to shop for sheet music from home when they expanded into digital sheet music. The initial collection included 89,186 titles that could be accessed instantly from anywhere in the world with internet access.

In 2017, Sheet Music Plus was acquired by musical publishing company Hal Leonard. Although now owned by a parent company, Sheet Music Plus has retained the ability to operate as an independent company, with the new advantage of being part of an even more extensive network.

With the goal of “making the world’s music more playable,” the company has evolved over the years. Now operating out of a 170,000 square foot warehouse, Sheet Music Plus offers the world’s largest selection of sheet music, with over 2 million titles, nearly 1.5 million of which are available for instant download.

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VALUES

MUSICAL DIVERSITY

We celebrate the diversity of all musicians and strive to offer sheet music that spans various genres, styles, and difficulty levels.

MUSICAL EDUCATION

We aim to empower music educators through the transformative power of music.

MUSICAL ACCESSIBILITY

We strive to offer quality sheet music at affordable prices, because we want making music to be accessible to everyone.

MUSICAL COMMUNITY

We are committed to fostering a sense of community among musicians.

MUSICAL CURIOSITY

We want to foster the curiosity that lives inside of all musicians so they can continuously explore the vast world of music.

TAGLINE

“MAKING THE WORLD’S MUSIC MORE PLAYABLE”

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TARGET MARKET

The primary target market for Sheet Music Plus is musicians and music enthusiasts of varying ages, ethnicities, incomes, skill levels, and musical interests. Independent and professional musicians form a large segment of the target audience. In addition, music students at various stages of their education, music educators at all levels, musical/worship directors of religious institutions, and community band and orchestra groups represent a crucial demographic. The target market places value on accessibility, variety, and affordability in sheet music. By understanding the unique needs and preferences of musicians and music educators across different segments, Sheet Music Plus positions itself to cater to the varied requirements of the entire musical community.

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STRENGTHS

The world’s largest selection of sheet music with more than 2 million titles

Multi-format options: both digital and physical versions available

Hard-to-find and exclusive titles that cannot be found anywhere else

Relationships with publishers worldwide, creating the ability to sell/ship their editions throughout the world

Solid reputation in the musical community, often considered the premier source for sheet music

OPPORTUNITIES

Provide an app with interactive features like transposing the key, and ability to notate within the app

Enact a subscription-based model which would allow paying subscribers unlimited access to catalog or special perks

Leverage status of world’s largest selection of sheet music and collaborate with musicians and composers to provide exclusive content

Creating partnerships with educational programs and music schools would boost SMP’s image in the musical community

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WE AKNESSES

Website can be unintuitive and challenging to navigate

Website search options don’t support browsing by category ,making it challenging to browse

The online sheet music industry is competitive and there are other similar companies

Worldwide shipping depends on relationships with publishers that could change and shipping capabilities

THREATS

Shift in consumer behavior toward subscription models and easy access via apps

Other sheet music stores that have subscription-based and app

Other more user-friendly sheet music websites that offer more ways to browse and provide a better user experience

Continual adaption necessary to keep up with ongoing advances in technology

Piracy can affect sales due to the digital nature of the product

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USER PERSONAS

Rachel Jackson

Age

Occupation

Income Status

Location Education

29

Middle School Band Director

$47,000 Single Peoria, Illinois

Bachelor of Music, Music Education

Northwestern University

Music has always been a part of Rachel’s life. Her mom is a classically trained vocalist who once sang on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. She started teaching Rachel piano at the age of three and had her playing Beethoven at five. Her dad was a jazz musician. He played several different instruments and was a long-time member of a local jazz band. Rachel started learning the clarinet when she was nine, and when she got good enough, her dad would occasionally bring her along to his gigs and let her jump in on a song or two.

She loves her job as a Middle School Band Director. She knows that music is life-giving for her, and she’s passionate about sharing that gift with younger generations. Rachel is tech-savvy, and she embraces digital tools to enhance her teaching. She values the convenience of downloading sheet music right to her iPad and then having it all on one device instead of shuffling paper copies of the countless scores she needs to access throughout her day.

She recently started volunteering at the local community center, where she gives music lessons to under-resourced students in the area. She loves to see them get excited about a particular piece of music that speaks to them. The fees for lessons at the community center are income-based, and she knows that the families of many of her students cannot always afford to buy a new piece of music when they need it. She and a few anonymous donors in her music circle have no problem paying for the download when there is a need. The community center lets Rachel use their printer to print a copy from her iPad for the student right away.

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Alex Romano

Age

Occupation

Income Status

Location

Education

45

Physical Therapist

$82,000

Married with two children

Denver, Colorado

Doctor of Physical Therapy

University of Colorado

Alex has been playing the guitar since middle school, when he and a few friends started a band. Their first gig was at the 8th Grade Spring Formal, and the band broke up by the start of freshman year. Alex has continued to make music, picking up several other instruments along the way.

In college, he and a few friends formed a band called “Eight Stories,” playing a mix of modern and classic rock. It was during one of their shows at a local bar that he met his wife, Jackie. Most of the band members have families now, but they still play together occasionally.

Alex joined his church’s contemporary worship band a few years ago. The band rotates each week, but Alex can play guitar, keyboard, or bass, so he plays almost every week. His involvement in the band allows him to stay connected to his musical roots and contribute to the church community through his musical talents.

Alex has accumulated an extensive collection of sheet music over the years. He used to store all the paper copies in binders but found it challenging to remember to return them to the binder after each use. He liked using his iPad to access music digitally, but it was hard to turn pages while he was playing. Jackie got him a Bluetooth PageFlip pedal for his birthday about five years ago, revolutionizing his sheet music management. Now, he can enjoy the convenience of digital sheet music and rely on the PageFlip pedal for seamless page-turning during performances.

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A DYNAMIC MOOD BOARD FOR THIS CASE STUDY IS LOCATED AT HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=Q4V7DVRS4TQ MOOD BOARD

COLOR PALETTE

Sheet Music Plus’s colors have been orange and a variation of blue for over twenty years. They are highly recognized as one of the top online sheet music retailers, and I wanted to carry those colors over into the new color palette to preserve brand recognition. The colors I chose have a modern, updated feel while maintaining continuity.

The primary brand colors are dark teal, turquoise, and tangerine, with cool neutrals. The bold and dynamic colors suggest a vibrant, energetic brand. Turquoise and tangerine are associated with creativity and innovation. Teal and gray convey the brand’s stability and suggest that the brand is reliable, trustworthy, and well-established. Overall, the brand color palette communicates a message of creativity, reliability, and accessibility.

Primary Brand Colors

RGB 12/61/69

CMYK 92/60/56/46

RGB 74/143/153

CMYK 72/30/36/2

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HEX 4A8F99 HEX 0C3D45

VIBRANCY & ENERGY

INNOVATION & CREATIVITY

TRUSTWORTHINESS

STABILITY &

RGB 246/142/95

CMYK

Brand Neutrals

Additional Neutral Tints

RGB

CMYK

RGB

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HEX F5F2F0 RGB 245/242/240 CMYK 3/3/3/0 HEX 6C6B6A 108/107/106 CMYK 58/50/50/18 HEX 232221 35/34/33 71/65/66/73 HEX F68ESF 0/54/66/0

TYPOGRAPHY

Arboria Typeface Family

Aboria’s clean lines and simplicity give a sense of straightforward reliability. It communicates a clear message and conveys simplicity and clarity. The contemporary appearance of the font suggests that Sheet Music Plus is a forward-thinking company, up to date with modern trends. The versatility of Arboria’s design allows it to adapt well to various mediums and applications, from digital platforms to print materials. This versatility suggests the brand is adaptable and presents Sheet Music Plus as a company that will continue to thrive for many years to come.

ARBORIA BLACK is primarily used as a headline font. For headlines, Arboria Black should be used in all caps. It can be used with a solid fill as an outline.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789 ,.:+-_@&%#

ARBORIA BLACK

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789 ,.:+-_@&%#

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789 ,.:+-_@&%#

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789 ,.:+-_@&%#

ARBORIA BLACK ITALIC

ARBORIA THIN

ARBORIA THIN ITALIC

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ARBORIA BOLD and ARBORIA MEDIUM can be used for subheadings. Subheadings do not need to be all caps, but should be a larger font size than the body text.

ARBORIA BOOK, ARBORIA LIGHT, and ARBORIA THIN can be used as body text font.