Research
The thesis topic that was chosen was based on the name Mandy Madison. Although Madison is a fictional character, she is portrayed as a country singer who is debuting her first ever tour starting July 4th and ending January 1st. Her music and performances are geared towards families and folks of all ages, this makes sure that everyone is able to enjoy the music and have a good time at the concert. Light profanity is in certain songs, being geared to families and people of all ages on the contrary. Finally everything is themed towards the United States of America, freedom and patriotism. Red, White and Blue is displayed across the stage as well as on her own guitar. Madison’s background includes growing up on back country roads. Experiencing farming, growing up drinking beer in her friend's truck bed, late nights watching the stars with no city light pollution, and much more involving her family life all around. She wants to share all of this energy with her peers and supporters, understanding how she grew up and what her country music is about.
Country singers and America go hand in hand, most sing about freedom, some sing about how they love the country, some dive into personal life and others talk about love and breakups. Toby Keith literally dressed in all red, white, and blue to be symbolic of the United States. Freedom and Liberty, it all connects to certain styles of country music, and this is what Madison is going to be all about, having a more straightforward approach, Country’s Number 1 Female Artist, Staring in her Own Show. This idea was more along the lines of there are plenty of country singers, but it is known that she is debuting her first tour, and has plenty of hits and number 1 singles. However, being the first tour, she will have to compete with many other famous artists who are also on tour, Zach Bryan, Luke Combs, and many more (Kiner 2024, Par 6). Country music on the contrary has drastically changed since it had originated not really picking up until the late 1920’s, Native Americans singing and chanting, Celtic like style songs and how everything connected to home. Since then, the genre has shifted drastically, to drinking beer and having a good time, praising God and loving the greatest country in the world, the United States (Smith 2022, Par 3). ​
Madison’s brand strives for overall greatness and following country singers she has looked up too, such as Toby Keith. However Toby Keith takes a more aggressive approach versus what Madison will be doing. One of his main hits is called, Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American). The song on its own is very patriotic, but towards the end there are some vulgar verses to indicate the “Angry American” part of the song (Toby Keith, 2009). Madison’s goal is to have that euphoric feeling where the music is pumping through your body physically and emotionally. She wants to create the best experience for her fans as possible, and by doing so she looks at other artists who have accomplished said feet in creating that overall feeling. Self-Fulfillment is the need or feeling of being happy and satisfied with what is presented. However other forms of can be involved such as going to a sporting event or meeting someone after a long time, it does fall under the same meaning of being satisfied. Self-fulfillment is an active feeling, and the need of doing something that has taken some time to accomplish, or meeting someone that has not been seen (Cheung 2018, Par 3). Achieving greatness for oneself, Madison is attempting this biggest feat of her life. She wants the overall feeling of fulfillment, but Self-Work and developing more skills are needed for that. “…It involves pursuing the desires that are meaningful and satisfying on a more personal level,” (Cheung 2018, Par 5). Overall, the effect that Madison will give to the people is what they should want. Understanding that this concert/ tour will be America themed is what creates the self-satisfaction and self-fulfillment feeling for all and not only her own self.
She wants people to know how hard she has worked so their money on the tickets does not feel wasted (Kentucky Counseling Center, Par 8). That feeling of happiness for a moment can disperse and turn into sadness very quickly, self-fulfillment on the other hand has a longer lasting feeling. Doing something good for someone, completing a long project to perfection, this is what Madison wants. Her long project is the preparation of this tour and to make sure she executes it to the best of her ability.
Having a good concert that people love is one thing, but there are many other implications that can change the outlook and success rate overall. With this there are multiple kinds of artists that exist in today's age who can make a concert better. The physical to digital artistic field specifically, there are hundreds of designers. Thousands of design types all around that can be dove into as well, laser art, firework shows, drones, how much fire is used, smoke cannons, the list goes on and on for mainly concert orchestrated design culture. However for Madison, she is able to change the look and feel of a concert with one song, that is her design type with the help of stage managers as well. Harry Styles is a perfect example of this. He has a completely different genre of music, and specifically in his song Fine Line, the stage goes completely dark, creating a powerful essence for all concert goers as well as himself. Being the main performer, his fans are all around him with shining lights from their own devices. The point is the line quality changed drastically right away, going to a more heartfelt song, Harry Styles was able to change the whole entire stage and have all eyes on him. For Mandy Madison, it is similar, however her more active songs have lots of lights and fireworks versus her slower songs having the same vibe that Harry Styles has for his song (Cardenas 2019, Par 3). Cardenas also dives into depth on how general transitions from song to song can bring a fan from screaming with happiness and excitement to immediately falling into tears which are more euphoric than anything. The impact that artists can do on a stage is immense, creating this feeling of floating almost for concert goers as well as first timers. Some people can say “this is the best show to date,” or “it's impossible for (artist name) to top that concert, it was magnificent all around.” That then goes back to self fulfilling oneself as well as millions of fans in a more direct approach. Even bringing other artists on stage which Styles has done many times in the past creates a different feeling of excitement, whether this other co performer is only on for a song or two, their impact can be massive to the concert itself.
Getting fans involved also creates excitement all around, someone proposing to a loved one for example can get a whole stadium involved. Artists are able to do so much on a stage in front of numerous people, and that is what Madison’s goal is. Have fun and make sure everything is enjoying themselves as well, not that she can appeal to every single soul in a concert arena, she can try her hardest and give the people a show that’ll be talked about for weeks if not years later.Madison however will have her own test script, she will be performing for family friends and loved ones in small concert style to test the ideas that she has. Reviewing and going over everything with these people as well, she will have more room for feedback of all kinds. Some feedback however may be more biased being her close loved ones. This will make her take things not said, that she already had thought about, more seriously. This will result in two options, one being the test script and another being a test case. “A test case is a set of conditions or variables under which a tester will determine whether a system under test satisfies requirements or works correctly. A test script, on the other hand, is a set of instructions that will be performed on the system under test to test that the system functions as expected” (Workbox Technologies 2024, Par 4). The test script is more or less her direction for the tour itself. Where will specific concerts take people, how will it evolve over the next tour stops, will it grow or decline. These are all questions which the test script will do its best to answer. On the other hand, the test case is making sure these attributes actually happen for Madison, and if they will even work. Will the stage/ microphone/ speakers malfunction, will the whole entire concert go awry. All of these questions Madison is asking herself are slowly answered through careful testing and scripting all around. No one has ever just gone onto a stage in front of thousands of fans with no game plan, it is ultimately going to fail. This as well will go for her apparel. What t-shirts sell more at one concert versus the other, what is she able to understand from her designs thought up and created by someone else? Is she able to have better ROI from one shirt or hoodie, or have an equal amount of sales all around. This is where Madison will implicate A/B testing, “A/B testing typically measures the difference in conversion rate between two designs. The conversion rate is the percentage of users who complete a desired action. Some example actions include” (IxDF 2021, Par 4). Overall this will all end up resulting in the most success for Madison, making her tour a spectacle. She is going to test whether or not the design itself is working, if it's not how it is doing compared to other designs. A/B testing tour venues as well by doing instagram polls, where would others want to see her show versus where it was originally planned. All of these small aspects can create such an impact for her and set her up only for success in the long run.
Greatness and mastery comes from the ones who strive for it, and Madison in this case wants it more than most, being the young star that she is. However if none of the above works and she needs to redesign her logo, then that is okay, understanding the errors is only human and Madison has seemed to be very flexible throughout the whole process. So, “1.Understanding the product in its current process, with all the intricacies of flows, both successful and unsuccessful. 2.Identifying the analytics of the product, also core demographics, and specific points within the flow that are relevant for sales concretization. 3.Researching. This includes a three tier type of research: business competitors, disruptive products within this industry and best practices for interactive products that perform and concretize large volumes of online sales and bookings. 4.Creating informed decisions, structuring them based on: delineation of scenarios within the stories, contemplating personas the products are going to be serving. Scrutinize and identify requirements for further features, improvements and new products. 5.Assembling quick sketches, collaborating with different teams, starting the process of discussing interaction modules and solutions. Progressively formalize the process of delivering a solution, by creating wireframes, prototypes that can be tested with user groups. Using that feedback to inform the iterative process” (Canhenha, Par 3-7). All of these points are able to create a better success rate. As long as Madison knows she can succeed through many types of testing during, before and after shows, the revenue on each concert alone will be a larger number than initially pictured. This goes for designs as well, going back to certain designs not working versus ones that are selling more, how is it possible to get other designs more involved as well. Her A/B testing and looking at the ROI on aspects for her tour will do so. Her decisions can be altered or tested by other creators as well giving her a more positive outcome all around.
Finally, Mandy Madison’s resilience throughout this whole entire experience will be unstoppable, almost as being able to break through a brick wall (Willierd & Mistick 2016). That being said, what can make her feel this way even if everything feels like it is failing. Take time to spend with her family, go out for drinks, etc. She can do so much to make sure that her mental strength stays afloat. However nothing will stop her, she will strive for greatness even if she does fail. Nothing will bring her down, even if the world is not responding to her. Madison is strong, and throughout this whole process of testing and preparing, she has shown that as well.
Resources:
Canhenha, P. (19th, Jan 2026). The Process of an Intricate Redesign Effort.
https://productcoalition.com/the-process-of-an-intricate-redesign-effort-eb83d28712e2
Cardenas, C. (17, December 2019) The Real Harry Styles has Arrived.
https://www.papermag.com/harry-styles-fine-line-concert-review#rebelltitem16
Cheung, P. (11, February 2018). The Characteristics of Personal Fulfillment: Creating a more Fulfilling Life.
Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF. (2021, November 11). What is A/B Testing?. Interaction Design Foundation - IxDF.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/a-b-testing
Keith, T. [Toby Keith]. (2009, June 16). Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American) (Official Music Video).Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNrdmjcNTc
Kentucky Counseling Center. (05, July 2021). The Power of Self-Fulfillment.
https://kentuckycounselingcenter.com/how-can-i-feel-self-fulfilled/
Kiner, D. (17, April 2024). 25 of the Best Country Music Concert Tours in the Summer of 2024: Here’s Where to Get Tickets.
Smith, K. (18, December 2022). Back to its Roots: The Global Rise in Country Music.
https://www.queensradio.org/blog/back-to-its-roots-the-global-rise-in-country-music
Technologies, W. (22, April 2024). How to Write Effective Test Cases Tips Best Practices.
https://medium.com/@workboxtech/how-to-write-effective-test-cases-tips-best-practices-69cb968eba72
Willierd, K. Mistick, B. Granny, J. (January, 2016). Stretch: How to Future Proof Yourself for Tomorrow's Workplace (2016). John Whiley & Sons, Inc.
https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/stretch/9781119087250/