Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - Influential/Inspirational Artists/Bands

Beyoncé
In terms of marketing, Beyoncé is a good example of unconventional marketing strategies; in 2013, her visual album Beyoncé was released with no prior warning. Fans were able to buy the 14 track album from i-tunes, along with the 14 music videos for each track. This was the first time an artist had released an album without promoting it, yet over one million copies were sold.
Beyoncé herself is also marketed in an interesting way - on one hand she is marketed as a 'sexy' commodity, where she is in suggestive poses and clothing in photoshoots, such as for OUT

However, she also markets herself as a strong, powerful woman, and a feminist, who is in control of herself and her sexuality. This is slightly less common for marketing women in the music industry, as many female artists use their appearance to gain sales. An example of this is Beyoncé's 2014 VMA performance, where she stood in front of the screen, which had the word 'feminist' across it, for millions of viewers to see across the world.

Another example of Beyoncé marketing herself as powerful is the promotional photoshoot for 'The Mrs Carter Show Tour', where she is dressed as a queen, and is directly addressing the audience with an assertive expression:

Lastly, Beyoncé also markets herself as a mother and a wife, which is showing her fans, and the world, that she can be a powerful feminist in control of her sexuality, as well as a good mother. This is demonstrated through her personal life that is in the media, and how the visual album had songs dedicated to both her daughter and her husband.

Walk The Moon
I think Walk The Moon are an interesting band as they attempt to be as close to their fans as possible and like to involve the fans in as often as they can. The most recent example of this is the official lyric video for Shut Up And Dance - the band asked fans to send in videos of them dancing to the song, edited clips together and released it:

The band captioned the announcement picture on instagram as follows: "Last week, we asked you to show us how YOU #ShutUpAndDance. You didn’t let us down. In fact, y'all totally CRUSHED it. Dorm room discos to zany short films to freakin marching bands?!? Are you serious??! We are humbled by the thought, effort, love, and insansity that you all put into your video submissions. Thank you from the bottom of these four little Ohioan hearts! We are so, so proud to present this song to the world with you at our side - dancing, backflipping, pirouetting into the future. So - without further ado: The Official Lyric Video for “Shut Up and Dance.” Starring: YOU."

By doing this, the band markets themselves as more connected with the fans, and as more accessible and approachable, which encourages new and old fans alike. It's also a unique way of making a lyric video, which fits in with their indie, alternative image. An example of this is their current Facebook page profile image, which is similar to the header image of their official website: