Commercial production is easily one of the most misunderstood services in advertising. What return on investment does a minute-long video masterpiece have to offer? Better yet, in what ways can a brand maximize the potential of its marketing materials? An easy answer to all of the above starts with exploring a little-known term—transmedia storytelling.
"The opportunities created by web technologies, and the effective power of social media bring storytelling and technology together; and, many new opportunities emerge with the development of mobile screens, which was not the case in past." - Emet Gürel
According to The Journal of Media Critiques transmedia is "a narrative technique based on telling a story across different communication platforms." Functionally, this looks like taking one central idea and using multiple digital mediums to tell the same or similar story. Doing this (creating more storytelling opportunities) invites participants and audiences to interact with a concept in a continual and unique way, reaching the intended audience where they are.
This methodology was one of the many conceptual offspring of late-'90s internet culture. Transmedia, as a term, came from the "culture of convergence" found in these early online communities and the very identifiable behaviors associated with interacting with multiple technologies. These behaviors are still the most concrete ways in which individuals interact with digital products. You can see how all these digital platforms converge by meeting each other at different points of user experience, and by meeting each other in these interesting ways, a collective experience is born. This will ultimately bring users to want to engage in these experiences and later down the line, their successors.
The impact of these behaviors became notable enough that creatives all over the board started adapting transmedia storytelling to fit their audiences. And in all honesty, who wouldn't want to get a better bang for their creative buck?
Transmedia & Lure: Why it works
The biggest perk about utilizing transmedia storytelling is that (despite its hard conceptual outer shell) it is the easiest way to expand a brand impact. Who knew that comprehensive marketing came down to figuring out how to deliver multiple products and experiences by using only one piece of media? One shoot, multiple deliverables. Two to three pieces of content are meant to be experienced iteratively, one platform experience building upon the other.
Pictured above, we dive into Openpath's Video Reader Pro campaign and how one of our shoots evolved into a dozen or more consumer interactions and experiences.
At Lure Digital, this could look like producing a 60-second promotional video for your website that seamlessly conveys your brand’s story. Next, we piece together a 10-second Instagram story that announces your latest product to your social media network. When you're shooting and editing with a transmedia end in mind, this is just the first step of content dissemination.
Commercial material doesn't JUST mean commercial advertising, it can also look like a very well-polished website and social media spread.
From your video, we pull 3-5 strong, high-quality, stills that can be formatted into different posting sizes to fit your Twitter banner, Instagram feed, and even work as an announcement on your LinkedIn profile. At this point, one day of shooting has provided us with 5+ brand interaction events.
We know how great a company-wide win feels. Whether getting acquired by a Fortune 500 company or announcing a local business award—if you've maximized your content you'll be able to tell everyone the good news.
But it doesn’t stop there, we can bolster your network saturation by scheduling a dedicated hour or two during our shoot day for headshots to fill out your "Meet the Team" page and a small product photography session to have seamless product alignment for your shop. Those product shots also go much farther than anticipated when you realize you can do product highlights in a range of ways. Ideally, we get you scheduled with our social media team who will write copy (consumer-facing writing that goes anywhere you may view text) for said product announcements. By coordinating your visual and written content you unite your product line and create a "story world."
The cherry on top? Personalized GIFs of your team members to stunt on all your public platforms.
This occurs when all the appendages of your brand's marketing start to infer upon each other leading your consumer from one story point to the next, ultimately creating a thoroughly planned brand experience. This is the goal. Well-rounded, original content, that leaves consumers fully aware of your mission even as they traverse all your different digital/social media platforms.
The Planned Outcome
At Lure, our workflow has been crafted over the years to not only incorporate transmedia as an option but go so far as to embed the theory in our everyday practice. So that when we shoot—shooting works in our favor. A five bird, one stone ordeal.
Want to wrap your head around transmedia a bit more? We got a couple of pointers that might help. Give us a call at 323.596.0606 or email us at sales@lure-digital.com.