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.