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Photo: Street art or “graffiti” is an example of new media platform that could be utilized in transmedia storytelling.
Happy New Year!! It is my hope that 2010 will be the year of transmedia storytelling for us here at Samwell Creative, as we throw our efforts in developing and producing projects that engage audiences by utilizing multi-threaded conversations and multi-layered marketing campaigns.
Transmedia - A multi-dimensional mythology of a brand/product/service that utilizes multiple media platforms: print, web, video, audio, music, social media — to tell an engaging story.
As the internet has broadened the scope of advertisement and marketing strategy, many company’s struggle to maintain conformity while utilizing the multiple platforms available. A product or service is then diluted by the conflicting vision and mission of the product, as advertisers usually specialize in one particular field – print, web, or video.
Here at Samwell Creative, we have the capacity to tell a uniform and engaging story about your company, brand, product or service across all marketing platforms. How? We dig in, and learn about your product/brand/story in order to create a meta-narrative that becomes the foundation for telling the story via video, print, or web. After the story is crafted we bring on talented professionals in each of the specific platforms, and coordinate a marketing campaign that is multi-layered, while remaining uniform and clear in its mission. We collaborate with all involved to ensure that each medium compliments the other – rather than diluting the message – our transmedia approach reinforces the message you are trying to communicate across multiple platforms.
What ways have you seen transmedia storytelling used in the marketplace?
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Photo by Toni F.
Marketing your product/service/idea does not have to be all glitz and glam. It can be educational too. Many times marketers default to using status and jealousy as a social tool to market their products, but isn’t there a better way? Can we have integrity in marketing, in persuasion, and in advertising? Can we educate and teach while also persuading our market audience to abandon a certain behavior and adopt another one?
This is a great question as we continue to head in a direction of transparency and 24/7 access to information in this digital age. The one caveat to educational/social marketing is this: the data behind the knowledge being shared must have integrity. This “integrity of data” has become a hot topic as the Climate Research Unit (CRU) has come under fire over the last couple months due to a leak of self-incriminating emails detailing their conspiracy to massage data to point to the outcome they so desperately desired. “The CRUtape letters,” as they are being called brought attention to the fact that, especially in social/environmental matters – the data have integrity!! I reminded of a book I read in grad school – “How to Lie with Statistics,” which highlights the ease at which data can be skewed (using biased formulas) to reach the conclusion desired (with the statistics to back it up). This is important to anyone marketing non-profits services, social good products, and environmental agendas — we must be careful in our persuasion. In social/educational marketing factual integrity is just as important as fictional projection is in advertising that uses jealousy and envy as the social tool…. even though this may be a juxtaposition, it doesn’t make it any less true.
So. Having said all that, I bring to the table a marketing piece by Online Education. I believe this is a great example of persuasive social marketing that has integrity – using a great design and layout to tell their story. While also citing where the information was gathered in the bottom right hand corner, giving the consumer a place to dig deeper.
What do you think?
Friday morning I had the opportunity to join multiple bloggers/creatives/marketers/technologists at #CIB or Central Iowa Bloggers, held very informally at Panera Bread. This standing meeting, every first Friday of the month, is literally a standing affair, as I did not sit down for the entire 1.5 hours I was there. It was a pleasant surprise to find that many people genuinely interested in networking with strangers and collaborating on multiple projects with other creatives, all while holding a coffee in hand.
It again bolsters my confidence that social media/online community is a great tool for building relationships, but it cannot replace #IRL meetings. In Real Life the digital fascade is gone and the pimples can’t be airbrushed away… if business is all about relationship, than successful business is all about the hand shake.
Case in point: Yesterday, I received an email telling me in so many words that I didn’t get the job I had applied for… Today, I met an employee of that company who has influence over the hiring. During our conversation he said, “now that we have met face-to-face and I like your shirt, I’ll go back and check out the resume I skimmed over earlier this week.”
I love this! It tells me two things:
- My resume is unimpressive
- It’s always better to meet the one who is doing the hiring face-to-face
So. I guess my post for today is two-fold in purpose, I want to remind everyone that Social Media is great, but will never replace a handshake and in-person conversation over coffee. And secondly, go look at your resume, I know I’ll be spending some time this weekend making sure it has a little more pop!
- samwell
When I look at the world, I see a society of creativity… multiple artists functioning in their niche producing inspiration for this world. We all are creators and cultivators, artists and gardeners – each pursuing avenue’s and pathway’s toward our vision for this world.
My hope at Samwell Creative is to connect these artists in collaborative projects – utilizing each unique voice to produce a harmony of creativity – leading to a final product (in video, written or web form) that has the capacity to inspire. I believe through creative inspiration – we engage the world – transforming from consumers to producers.
