Plan B Broadcast/Online

1) What is SBTV? Research the channel and explain how it became successful.

SBTV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV or SmokeyBarz, is a multi-faceted company run by a small team of young people who work on web-based viral content at different music-based events. The media platform has its origins and roots in urban music.  It is a privately held company, founded on the 2nd November 2006. The founder Jamal Edwards attended Acton High School. As the channel began to attract more attention, it also began offering lifestyle interviews and event coverage, and a production team of ten people was established as a result. The SBTV shows became more and more successful as there became many celebrities, such as Chipmunk, Tinchy Stryder and also Plan B himself starring in and presenting themselves in the shows. This meant that their fan bases were following up on both the channel and YouTube page, enhancing the success of the channel.

2) Identify the target audience for this interview (demographics/psychographics) and say why.

The target audience that I identified within this interview was mainly teenagers between the ages of 15-20. This is because they are more likely to follow these celebrities on social media sites, and of course are more likely to use YouTube as w way of watching the SBTV videos. In addition, the psychographic group that would be associated with this interview would be mainly mainstreamers and strugglers. Mainstreamers as they are very up to date with the latest knowledge and current situations for the youth. Strugglers would be associated as watching the show may enable them to gain security and skill.

3) What is the audience appeal for an interview like this? How does the opening of the clip emphasise this appeal?

Firstly, the opening of the clip appeals to the teenage audience through the colloquial language used. The use of the swearing means that the youth of our generation can feel like they are in a normal environment and nothing is artificial. This can allow them to build a relationship with these celebrities. Likewise, the fact that the 'Ill Manors' actor Marcel stated 'we aren't allowed here at this time' could also appeal to the audience as the teenagers like to rebel and break the rules sometimes.

4) How is Plan B (the brand) represented in this text?

Personally, I think two sides to Plan B are presented. The first side is the negative portrayal of him as a person who swears and has no respect. As an individual who has been in the music industry for a long time, you would expect him to understand how to act when there is a camera around. However, he seems to still portray himself as the thing he aims to subvert in his movie 'Ill Manors', a 'Chav'. Despite this, one could argue that his work ethic portrays him as the opposite. This is due to him being able to make a film all alone, and manage to gain a mass amount of success post production.