For this project, I was tasked with rebranding an artist of my choice. I chose the R&B/Pop singer Tori Kelly as I have always admired her voice but felt her branding/albums did not live up to her potential. Tori is currently managed by Scooter Braun which should make her a lock for “it girl” status as a popstar. Unfortunately, she has not had much sales success beyond her debut album. This is no doubt partially influenced by her lackluster cover designs, muddled songwriting which tries to ride the line between her influences and a mainstream sound, and overall weak branding. I, then, have proposed a plan to boost her success by shifting her sound based on trends and a stronger visual aesthetic.
I, unfortunately, cannot speak for Tori’s songwriting specifically, but it would important for her next effort to feel cohesive visually and sonically. Therefore, there should be a unifying concept, whether that is a specific style/era of music or a narrative tying all pieces together. The idea is that, with a stronger and more consistent image, fans who desire active engagement with an artist like Tori will be drawn to her latest release and generate greater support for her music.
First, it is important to define what kind of aesthetic Tori should be aiming for based on her artistic preferences, inspirations, and general research on music trends. For the design, inspiration will be taken from other works within the chosen aesthetic. Everything should relate back to the story and image Tori is trying to weave with this new era in hopes of generate stronger support with an equally as strong image.
As previously stated, research will be done online about Tori’s past and music industry trends. After an aesthetic is selected, inspirational works that fit that aesthetic will be chosen which will inspire the concept of her next release and the visual design. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator will be used to generate the required visual assets for this project.
What was immediately apparent when looking at her past marketing materials is how important her curly hair is to her image. This was integral to highlight in her next era in order to maintain some sense of cohesion between her past imagery and the future.
I also knew the importance of her Christian faith to her music, especially given her previous gospel record, Hiding Place. Additionally, according to her AllMusic biography, she has cited “Jeff Buckley, Lauryn Hill, and Jill Scott” as her influences and has a personal friendship with fellow R&B singer Jojo.
Due to her inconsistent and confusing branding, Tori Kelly’s next album era should be self-titled and focused on self-discovery, indicating to her fans a stronger sense of identity in both concept and actual design. Nostalgic sounds have always been popular to a certain extent but the recent hit releases from popstars Dua Lipa and The Weeknd have ushered in a new 80s revival and there has also recently been a growing and renewed interest in pop-punk. Additionally, the resurgence of vinyl records has shown that there is a market for nostalgia-based products. It would then be a smart idea for Tori to draw from older sonic and visual aesthetics that have inspired her sound and lend themselves nicely to her shocking vocal range and abilities. This would mostly be 60s-90s retro-soul and R&B. These decades all capture a nice balance between gospel and secular sounds, two genres which Tori has worked in but has never successfully merged. The sounds from these decades also heavily prioritize vocal ability which works well as she is extremely talented and has failed to truly capitalize on this in her music thus far. Specifically, writing introspective or melancholic songs is desired by younger generations as they value vulnerability and authenticity according to a 2019 Spotify study.
Up until this point, Tori’s curly hair has been her defining feature. This should continue to be heavily promoted as it will help her fans and followers better transition from her previous branding to this new iteration while giving them some common ground. I have proposed that her face be obscured throughout all album promo and packaging to visually communicate the idea that she is trying to “find herself”.
Some of album covers that would serve as inspiration would be Curtis Mayfield’ Superfly soundtrack, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun, and Aaliyah’s One In A Million. As one can observe, many of these covers utilize a colour scheme that prioritizes neutral colours like green, brown, yellow, etc.
While Tori has produced some of her own music in the past, it would be a beneficial idea to work with other producers who have previous experience with similar sonic aesthetics to the ones proposed for this rebrand in the past. Artists like Leon Bridges, Adele, Chloe x Halle, and/or Cleo Sol have crafted album experiences like what I envision for Tori. Therefore, the inclusion of some of their producers would help to better encapsulate a retro-soul and/or R&B sound while still including contemporary elements to create a sense of new-ness. Working or collaborating with the artists that inhabit these spaces such as Chloe x Halle, Cleo Sol, and Jojo would also further immerse the audience in the desired soundscape.
As mentioned previously, Tori’s greatest strength as an artist is her vocal ability which mirrors that of heavyweights Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. There is, therefore, an opportunity for Tori to cover a song from the period discussed throughout this proposal weekly on her TikTok account and invite fans to duet with her in order to drum up more engagement on her social media platform while shifting public perception of her sound and image. Additionally, she could share her favourites on social media to further incentivize users to participate.
This album rollout would also incorporate social media outside of TikTok and, ideally, her website would also be branded in a similar manner to the above. In addition to these, promoted posts would be run across social media and on Google ads which can be tailored to fit a diverse range of prices depending on the record label’s budget for this album cycle (since her contract and sales numbers from her last album are not public).
As for ROI indicators, social media will play a major part in the rollout of this album cycle as Gen Z listeners specifically often discover their music from social media and human/algorithm recommendations (see this post from Rebecca Clements for more!). In order to demonstrate return on investment, active social interactions (shares, duets, comments, etc.) will be measured across all social media platforms. In addition to this, click throughs to Tori’s website from the aforementioned social media and Google ads will be measured. In the copy for each social post and ad, viewers will be invited to sign up to Tori’s mailing list for updates on her website. The increase in subscribers will also be measured to gauge success. Additionally, album purchases and streams will be the ultimate ROI indicator alongside a placement on a Billboard chart, preferably within the top ten. Lastly, tour ticket purchases will be another measurement used to demonstrate return on investment.
To preface this section, this project was done for a class I took while working on my Media Production (MA) degree and, therefore, there were no actual results from Tori’s team. Still, I generated several designs for Tori’s next era based on the above research and observation. They impressed my teacher but, most importantly, Tori did eventually return to music with a completely different sound and aesthetic the following year. Her 2024 album was simply titled “Tori” and she drew nostalgic inspiration, not from R&B legends, but from her favourite Y2K artists (such as Jojo). She maintained the use of her curly hair and a personal trademark, but actually dyed it dark brown to differentiate this music and era from her past while still providing a consistent through line. Although not all of my suggestions/predictions turned out to be incorporated into Tori’s next era, it is surprising how much of my strategy mirrored what her and her team actually did. However, it is important to note that even with this strategy, so far her singles have failed to reach the heights of “Nobody Love”, “Should’ve Been Us”, and “I Was Made For Loving You”. It is, therefore, important to continually use each successive release to strengthen Tori’s brand and image so that over time a more dedicated and curated following is formed, creating more active support for the artist she is/wants to be.
