Ciarán O'Brien
The project seeks to answer the research question, “How Can Practical Demonstrations Enhance a Product’s Commercial Appeal?”. To determine this, two sample packs were created. One was marketed via traditional sample pack promotional methods, such as a YouTube video containing snippets of each sample from the pack. This sample pack, titled Harmonic Echoes, served as a control for the project. The other sample pack was promoted via a hip-hop cypher, which involved Irish hip-hop artists rapping over instrumentals produced using samples from the pack. This sample pack was called Winter Soulstice. Over three weeks, sales analytics and social media engagement were studied to compare the effectiveness of both promotional methods.
As discussed, this project seeks to answer the research question, “How can practical demonstrations enhance a product’s commercial appeal?” with a particular focus on the use of a sample pack within a hip-hop cypher, as the cypher will demonstrate its potential in real time, lending itself to the practical aspect of the research question.
As a communal space for hip-hop artists to freestyle and collaborate, the cypher created a unique opportunity to explore how the practical demonstration of a product can attract consumer interest, encourage engagement, and ultimately drive sales. A second sample pack was utilised without such a contextual showcase, serving as a control. The study aimed to determine whether product demonstrations in real-world, culturally relevant settings enhance consumer interest by analysing the influence of seeing a product in use through social media engagement, sales data, and user feedback.
The goal of the project was to see whether a hip-hop cypher (practical demonstration) would work well as a form of promotion for one of my sample packs. The control sample pack, Harmonic Echoes, was promoted through traditional methods (short Instagram snippets and a short promotional video), and received the highest level of engagement. Over three weeks (February 26th to March 19th), the pack received 159 views, with 49 instances of the product being downloaded, indicating a view-to-download conversion rate of 31%. This suggests that a straightforward marketing approach can lead to stronger immediate conversion. The pack was viewed from many different parts of the world, including the United States (72 views), Chile (1 view), Canada (7 views), Spain (1 view), India (1 view), France (9 views), Italy (4 views), Germany (11 views), Argentina (3 views), South Africa (2 views), the United Kingdom (11 views), and Ireland (30 views). In contrast, the second sample pack, Winter Soulstice, which was promoted via the hip-hop cypher, received 72 views, with 40 instances of the product being downloaded, indicating a view-to-download conversion rate of 56%. The pack was viewed from many different parts of the world, including the United States (39 views), Russia (1 view), Canada (1 view), Spain (1 view), Argentina (1 view), France (1 views), Germany (7 views), Argentina (3 views), Australia (3 views), the United Kingdom (3 views), and Ireland (13 views).
My name is Ciarán O'Brien and I am a 22 year old music producer from Dublin. I specialise in creating soulful and jazzy sample packs for producers and artists who want to elevate their sound. Drawing inspiration from the timeless vibes of J. Cole and the soulful energy of Isaiah Rashad, I design loops that blend emotion with creativity, perfect for hip-hop, R&B, and chill vibes.
My loops are all about capturing the warmth of live instrumentation and the depth of soul and jazz music. Think lush Rhodes keys, smooth guitar riffs, vintage horns, and chord progressions that tell a story. Whether you're after something mellow or looking to add complexity to your beats, I’ve got you covered.
