Seven Myths About Transmedia Storytelling Debunked

Over the past few years, transmedia storytelling has become a hot buzzword in Hollywood and Madison Avenue alike--"the next big thing" or "the last big thing" depending on whom you ask. Last year, the Producer's Guild announced a new job title, Transmedia Producer, a decision that has more or less established the term as an industry standard. More and more companies are laying claim to expertise in producing transmedia content. But many using the term don't really understand what they are saying. So let's look at what people are getting wrong about transmedia. Myth 1: Transmedia Storytelling refers to any strategy involving more than one media platform. The entertainment industry has long developed licensed products, reproducing the same stories across multiple channels (for example, novelizations). Myth 2: Transmedia is basically a new promotional strategy. Yes, many early transmedia experiments were funded through marketing budgets. Myth 3: Transmedia means games. Related: Maestria

Christy's Corner of the Universe: cross-platform, creative practice, strategy, research, marketing, life... Ocean Marketing: How to self-destruct your company with just a few measly emails [update] Update: A representative for the Avenger Controller (a new one, obviously) has released an official statement regarding Ocean Marketing’s involvement with their product and the actions of Paul Christoforo. Original story: Strap yourself in, you’re about to witness the most outlandlish PR blunder in video gaming history. And trust me, there have been many… From VentureBeat Customers don’t just get irritated when you screw up cross-channel personalization. Starting earlier this morning with a post on Penny Arcade, co-founder Mike “Gabe” Krahulik brought to light a series of emails between Dave, a customer politely inquiring about the status of his Avenger PlayStation 3 controller order, and Paul Christoforo of Ocean Marketing, the PR lead for the product. I’m going to repost the emails in their entirety, then we’ll continue much, much further down the rabbit hole afterward. From: Ocean Marketing To: Dave Dec 16, 2011 2:45 PMDec 17– Paul Christoforo

Transmedia Storytelling is Bullshit... I love a good provocative statement but the particular one that leads off this post is one i feel somewhat justified and qualified to make. Such proclamations are usually reserved for the traditionalists from old media that ‘just don t get it’. I am certainly no such person having spent a good proportion of my professional career writing producing and developing in new media spheres. And indeed a great deal of my current research, teaching and project development is in transmedia forms. And yet despite this, I find myself lately saying loudly and in frustration - Transmedia is Bullshit..! But perhaps my hostility is misdirected; my problem with Transmedia really stems not from the media and process itself but the people who champion and espouse it. I was at a recent conference that held a panel on Transmedia and it was this that raised my latest bout of ire. Empty, vacuous, ignorant, presumptive, absurd and fascicle weasel-word statements that do the cause of Transmedia no good.

Henry Jenkins ClickBrain - Marketing is Dead. Long live the relationship! What is the difference between crossmedia and transmedia? Jeff Gomez on Transmedia Producing - Producers Guild of America Jeff Gomez, Member-At-Large of the PGA East Executive Board and CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, has been creating engrossing interactive environments since he was a teenager. In his recent presentation at the TEDx Transmedia event in Geneva, Switzerland, Gomez talks about how he was able to leverage his creativity and experience to become one of the most important producers specializing in transmedia storytelling. Whether he’s expanding the story of a pre-existing universe like he did with the transmedia campaign for James Cameron’s Avatar or creating enthralling worlds for Acclaim Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company, Gomez has not only embraced the opportunities of cross-platform storytelling but also continues to define the methods that transmedia producers will use for many years to come. We had a chance to connect with Gomez after the conference and ask him a few questions about the challenges facing transmedia producers.

A VC: Marketing You asked for it Arnold and 84 others (so far). So I'm gonna talk about marketing. I believe that marketing is what you do when your product or service sucks or when you make so much profit on every marginal customer that it would be crazy to not spend a bit of that profit acquiring more of them (coke, zynga, bud, viagra). A very experienced and successful entrepreneur came into our office a week ago to pitch his latest company. So a few days later, I called him. Zynga has spent millions on customer acquisition and continues to do so. In my talk at Harvard Business School, I said "Early in a startup, product decisions should be hunch driven. Early in a startup you need to acquire your customers for free. So if you need to acquire customers for free early in a startup, how do you do that? For the consumer/free part of the web, there are some obvious things you will want to do: 1) Twitter – so many entrepreneurs have asked me "how did you start a company before Twitter?"

What are the rules of transmedia screenwriting?