Media Cultures - Summarizing - Question 5

To summarize the whole research blog, let's take a look at the topic once more.

Explore a variety of media used within the context of branding or transmedia storytelling. Does variety dilute the effectiveness of an advertising campaign or story.

Based on the research done so far, it seems that the use of multi-platform engagement is almost necessary for companies to expand their advertising to multiple various platforms. Now in regards to both aspects, be it for the sake of branding or transmedia storytelling, it would seem that, no, it does not truly dilute the effectiveness. While I don't mean that it absolutely does not, I mean that it would seem that it's not the fault of the media platform, but of the creator themselves.

Take for example The Matrix once more, while the movie standalone does cover enough for the audience to leave satisfied, the additional media platforms, allowed the creators to expand on the Matrix universe, where only the hardcore fans would check into. To say if this diluted the effectiveness is difficult, but my firm believe is that it should do no such thing but instead enhance or enrich the narrative.

By conclusion with this research states the opposite, that rather than diluting, it either does not affect or enhances the narrative.

Media Cultures - Case Study - The Matrix

In this post, we will talk about, The Matrix franchise, a well received and popular example of transmedia storytelling.

Quick background about the movie. It is a science fiction movie created by Andy and Larry Wachowski in 1999 about a man named Neo who, by day, is a computer programmer in reality, but by night, a malevolent hacker in a virtual world. Both sequels were then released on the same year in 2003. In that same year, an anime series, a series of comics, and a video game was released.

So how is The Matrix transmedia storytelling? For starters, the franchise in itself expanded from the big screen to comics and the like. Rather than focusing on the main character Neo, other media platforms expanded from there, taking the role of other characters and seeing the world from their perspective. As a whole  the trilogy would be enough to satisfy the audience but the additional media offers more to the story, the characters and more.

To delve into that, take for example, Enter the Matrix, the videogame released in 2003. The game takes place concurrent with the events of Matrix Reloaded, the first sequel. In the game, you take the role of Niobe or Ghost, members of the same group of rebels as Neo, the movie's protagonist. How did this game contribute to the narrative? In the movie is a character named the Oracle. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the original actor Gloria Foster has succumbed to complications related to diabetes. While she completed her work in the second film, she did not for the third and as such, another actor had replaced her, Mary Alice. The game introduces Mary Alice as the Oracle even going as far as giving a reason as to the change in appearance.

Transmedia storytelling allows the main narrative presented in the Matrix movies which was self-contained but, for the enthusiastic fan, it was complemented by information, backstory, and character development obtainable only through the different media platforms. This extension by forms other than film itself, offers extra meanings to the original story.

References:

Jenkins, H. (2010). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press. (Jenkins,

2010)

Jenkins, H. (n.d.). Coursera | Online Courses From Top Universities. Join for Free. [online] Coursera. Available at: https://www.coursera.org/learn/transmedia-storytelling/lecture/Fw9aa/henry-jenkins-the-matrix-an-example-of-a-transmedia-world [Accessed 3 Jul. 2017].

Jenkins, H. (2007). Transmedia Storytelling 101. [Blog] CONFESSIONS OF AN ACA-FAN. Available at: http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2007/03/transmedia_storytelling_101.html [Accessed 4 Jul. 2017].

Pratten, R. (2015). Getting started with transmedia storytelling. 2nd ed. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. (Pratten, 2015)

Media Cultures - Relevancy -Transmedia Branding

Let us look into one of the keywords of the question, transmedia branding. Well assuming "variety of media in the context of branding" actually means transmedia branding, then here's what it is.

The transmedia concept was coined in 1991 by Marsha Kinder. Her example of a transmedia brand was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles claiming that they are "commercial transmedia supersystems" beginning with comic books to toys,

cartoons, video games, film and other merchandise, resulting in the brand reaching

international acclaim.

To quote Marsha Kinder:

“In these expanding networks of synergy, connectivity, collectability, restructuring, new world orders (and other postmodernist buzzwords), children, corporations, and countries are learning that transmedia intertextuality is a powerful

strategy for survival.”

“What I found was a fairly consistent form of transmedia intertextuality, which positions young spectators to recognize, distinguish, and combine different popular genres and their respective iconography that cut across movies, television, comic books, commercials, video games, and toys”.

It was later when Henry Jenkins transformed the term from transmedia to transmedia storytelling. Defined as "a process in which integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story"

One of the biggest examples is the movie franchise, The Matrix, (we will get into that on another post) which began as a movie, expanding into comic books, video games, and an animated series.

So why transmedia branding?

The goal of transmedia storytelling is to to explode a narrative into chunks on different media platforms in order for the audiences to reconstruct the story, creating new stories, adding to the lore, and introducing characters that may have been mentioned.

In the case of transmedia branding on the other hand, it is to engage the audience into compelling conversations. The issue with mass media is that is incapable of catering to this type of individualized discussion.

Transmedia branding campaigns share a common set of design elements, identified as narratives, participation and brands.

Narrative

Engaging meaning and emotional stories. Be it funny, serious or even disgusting, as long as it is engaging it works.

Participation

Allowing the audience to interact with the engages them into the story, granted the right story. The activities included in participation vary, commenting, new content, and even parodies.

Brands

Commonly referred to as a consumer product or service. This can refered to in the previous post.

The next posts will look into more case studies.

References:

1. Bourdaa, M. (2017). This is not Marketing. This is HBO: Branding HBO with Transmedia Storytelling. [ebook] Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association. Available at: http://www.ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/328/160 [Accessed 2 Jul. 2017].
2. Jenkins, H. (2010). Convergence culture. New York: New York University Press.
3. Kinder, M. (1993). Playing with power in movies, television, and video games : from Muppet Babies to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Berkeley: University of California Press.
4. Tenderich, B. (2014). Transmedia Branding. [ebook] European Institute for Media Optimization, pp.15-29. Available at: http://www.eimo.org/bilder/transmedia.pdf [Accessed 2 Jul. 2017].

Media Cultures - Relevancy - Successful Branding

This post will look into a possibly relevant question. What is a successful branding?

Lightly touched upon in the previous post, the question here can bring forth a deeper understanding of the use of various media in the context of branding.

From a number of articles, a few points seem to stand across all of them. Here are those elements to a successful branding:

1. Uniqueness
   Fairly obvious but a brand needs to stick/stand out like a sore thumb, not the best choice of words but the message is clear. A brand needs be different from their competitors. "What makes them different from this other brand?". Differentiation provides needed contrast and helps people make choices. It’s what makes a successful brand unique. A quote by Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and Zag, “An over-abundance of look-alike products and me-too services is forcing customers to search for something, anything, to help them separate the winners from the clutter.”
   
2. Consistency
   Consistency can come in many ways, for example, the design of one's brand should be done by one designer. Having more than one will possibly result in too many designs making the brand unrecognizable. A perfect example of this is restaurants. Customers expect the same level of quality each time they come back for more. Consistency builds trust and solidifies the brand.
   
3. Audience
   As mentioned in the previous post, knowing your audience is a key element to successful branding. Knowing what they dislike about your competitors, knowing about what they want from the brand these are all important for a successful brand. All of this helps in standing above your competitors and holding on to the loyalty of your customers.

With many more points or elements, these few seem to stand out across all of them. With all that being said, it seems fairly clear that a successful brand needs to be unique, consistent and understand their audience. Using my previous post, did Doritos manage to do so? Yes.
Knowing their target audience, gamers, they were consistent with the expectation of their audience, making a game for a snack stereotypically recognized as a gamer's food. And the result of that? An immersive horror website that one could say was unique at its time.

References:

1. Conran, J. (2015). The Secret Ingredients to a Successful Branding Strategy. [online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247883 [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].
2. Davis, R. (n.d.). 7 Keys to Building a Successful Brand | BusinessCollective. [online] Businesscollective.com. Available at: https://businesscollective.com/7-keys-to-building-a-successful-brand/ [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].
3. DeMers, J. (2013). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2013/11/12/the-top-7-characteristics-of-successful-brands/#3c5c722c42f9 [Accessed 31 Jun. 2017].
4. Forbes.com. (2016). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/08/31/13-key-ways-of-building-a-successful-brand-in-todays-economy/#7afedaf51e55 [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].
5. Fredericksen, L. (2017). Elements of a Successful Brand 1: Brand Positioning | Hinge Marketing. [online] Hinge Marketing. Available at: https://hingemarketing.com/blog/story/elements-of-a-successful-brand-1-brand-positioning [Accessed 30 Jun. 2017].
6. Neumeier, M. (2005). The Brand Gap. Berkeley: New Riders.

Media Cultures - Case Study - Doritos (Hotel 626)

Hotel 626 was an immersive website launched by Doritos to bring back two retired Doritos flavours. In their attempt, they had succeeded in increasing sales with over 4 million people from 136 different countries viewing the website. All this was done without ever showing the product.

This is an example of using a variety of media to promote a brand successfully.

With the use of mobile technology webcams, microphones, and cellphones, an alternate reality world which at its time blended reality and fantasy was born.

What this campaign did right was knowing their target audience. Doritos is stereotypically assigned to gamers which as such, creating an online game caught the attention of many gamers. In order to truly catch their attention, they had begun to use various extensions of a desktop. For example, players would use their microphones to sing a lullaby ensuring that a baby (in truth was a demon) would stay asleep.

To the question at hand, this campaign would disagree and that the use of various media would not dilute its effectiveness.

References

1. Macleod, D. (2009). Doritos Hotel 626 - The Inspiration Room. [online] The Inspiration Room. Available at: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/doritos-hotel-626/ [Accessed 25 Jun. 2017].

Media Cultures - Regarding - Question (Part 2)

Deciding on question 5 as my research, here is the question once more.

Explore a variety of media used within the context of branding or transmedia storytelling. Does variety dilute the effectiveness of an advertising campaign or story?

In bold are the keywords or focus of the question.

From my understanding:

Variety of media, is essentially platforms of delivering to the masses. Advertisement, Mail, Newspaper and more. It encompasses both digital and physical forms of mass media.

A Brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers. Branding is the process of giving a meaning to specific products by creating and shaping a brand in consumers’ minds. It is a strategy to help people to quickly identify products and organization, and give them a reason to choose their products over the competition’s.

Transmedia Storytelling is to tell a story across multiple media and preferably, with the collaboration, interaction or participation of the audience.

With all this in mind, does the use of various media platforms weaken an advertising campaign or story?

My hypothesis for this would be, no, or more aptly put, it depends. Personally the use of various media platforms would likely enhance the campaign or story, in the right place.

So the plan for research would be to:

1. Research the effectiveness of media platforms
2. Locate cases of successful or failed campaigns and stories.  
3. Find solutions and theories to improve

References
 

1. Andrivet, M. (2015). What Is Branding?. [online] The Branding Journal. Available at: http://www.thebrandingjournal.com/2015/10/what-is-branding-definition/ [Accessed 20 Jun. 2017]. 
2. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2014). Marketing management. 15th ed. Minneapolis: Pearson Education, Inc.
3. Pratten, R. (2015). Getting started with transmedia storytelling. 2nd ed. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
4. Pratten, R. and Ossikine, A. (2010). Types of Transmedia – Transmedia Storyteller. [online] Tstoryteller.com. Available at: http://www.tstoryteller.com/types-of-transmedia [Accessed 20 Jun. 2017].

Media Cultures - Regarding - Questions (Part 1)

A fresh start to a new semester! Let’s start off with a breakdown of these questions!

1.Critically review a local art/ design exhibition in-depth. Discuss it in terms of its curatorial goals and exhibition design with related research.

Looking at this question, let's begin by understanding what are a curator’s goals. In America, the Curators Committee had developed a document called the A Code of Ethics for Curators. It describes the fundamental principles, core beliefs and critical responsibilities and provides guidelines for ethical conduct. In this document it mentions that their curatorial work should serve the public good, the institution and the museum profession. From here it would be say to say that the curatorial goals of an exhibition is to contribute to and promote learning, inquiry, and dialogue, and by making the depth and breadth of human knowledge available to the public.  

Now let's, look at the objectives of the National Museum:

• Conduct museum activities such as research, collect, record and publish all the heritage of the country's history
• Exhibit and enhance the country's historical heritage artifacts for the purposes of public education towards national identity and nation-building and;
• Ensure the museum as one of the country's tourism product.

As we can see above, it seems to be similar to those of the goals in the document.

While I have yet to begin looking into local art exhibitions, here are some that I am will be looking into if I were to so choose this question as my topic of research:

• Petronas Art Gallery
• Valette Gallery
• Artemis Art Gallery

2.Compare and contrast the relationship of celebrities with their fans in two different creative communities. Which one is relatively more healthy in their connections?

Regarding this question, well first and foremost, what is a healthy connection? Is it based on how often they meet with their fans? Or maybe it's by how one's fans are towards the general public? I suppose in some sense, we would have to take all of that into account as we further delve into this topic.

Next is, what are creative communities? Sarah Stanton from the Conscious Magazine believes that a creative community is “when your ideas, thoughts, opinions and passions are shared, received and reciprocated in a positive way”

This question seems fairly vague as the scale of a creative community by definition, is rather massive. Are we limited to actors, artists and songwriters? Does a youtuber like Pewdiepie count as such a celebrity? I am rather on the fence with this question as I have not the slightest idea on how to really go about this question.

3.  Examine the issue of cultural appropriation within a domain of beauty, fashion or music industry. Why are some communities cautious of, or against this practice?

Regarding this question, earlier today, there was an issue regarding a Watson Ad which has a prince haunted in his dreams by a sweet and alluring voice. To find that voice he holds an audition to find said voice. Many “pretty” faces come and try but none can really sing till a veiled woman who has the same voice as the prince’s dream appears only to unveil to find the woman with pitch black skin, later in the video she washes her face to show her beauty.

To say the least, the ad received a vicious backlash from the community for the use of blackface which implied that black is ugly. The ad was then taken down hours later.

Cultural appropriation is defined as the adoption or use of the elements of one culture by members of another culture and blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-black performers to represent a black person.

So about this question, my initial impression, especially with the recent ad, as to why some communities would be cautious of this practice, is that it is rather difficult to represent one’s culture in a proper manner without stepping on anyone's toes.

4. What are some issues and best practices for design in multilingual communities? Write from the perspective of either a graphic designer or interactive designer.

Well as someone who can only speak one language, I can see a number of issues. For example, the obvious language barrier. That in itself causes more issues than one, miscommunication, less job opportunities and more.

As I think about this question now, one of the best practices for designing for a multilingual community would be the consideration of culture and language.

Right, a multilingual community is one where the community speaks many languages, for example Malaysia, the four most used languages are, Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil.

I would need more time to think and research about this one to fully write up a proper report so this will stop here for now.

5. Explore a variety of media used within the context of branding or transmedia storytelling.   Does variety dilute the effectiveness of an advertising campaign or story.

If I understand this correctly, the question is about if the use of various platforms to promote a campaign or story weakens its effectiveness.

This question is still rather vague to me so Ill leave this alone for now.

Well with that said and done. My current choices for deeper exploration are questions 1,2,4 and 5.

1 would be interesting to explore.

2 would be something fun to discuss.

4 would hit home for me.

and 5 feels familiar but is currently far too vague to consider.