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].