Why Multi-platform storytelling changes the shape of the branded entertainment conversation and provides marketers with a highly engaging and measurable platform for connecting and conversing with audiences.

If you stop for a second and have a think about the 2010 season of shows being delivered to our television screens, there’s not much there, Season 2 of Underbelly aside, that isn’t a licensed entertainment property from either the US or the UK market. This is just one of many indicators that Australian television networks, content creators and brands, are struggling to adjust their revenue models to suit a new world order, where audiences are syndicated across multiple entertainment channels and technological devices. Audiences are in control. They always are when it comes to their entertainment. The difference is they’re not just sitting there, in semi-paralysis, waiting for the show to begin. They’re distracted by choice and technology. In this article I intend to show that taking the audience on a journey across devices and media, increases the level of involvement in the themes and the characters of the story and puts the brand/s that bring the content to the audience, front and center in terms of consideration.

Let’s get a few definitions out of the way to begin with. [Note: 1]

Multi-platform television: is "a mode of storytelling that plays itself out across multiple entertainment channels". Each medium that the story unfolds across makes a distinctive contribution. The story has multiple entry points and can be experienced in any one or all of the mediums. e.g. Big Brother, Masterchef etc.

Transmedia story telling: People often use the term Transmedia to describe Multi-platform. It is different. In a Transmedia story the plot and in some cases, the characters, are created specifically for the media in which the story unfolds. e.g. because the online medium is interactive, a more open-ended story line might be developed and resolved, driven by audience participation. Therefore in Transmedia, there is no one single source where you can gain all of the information needed to comprehend the story universe. In essence, the story is de-centralised.

For a brand to achieve its objective and build an emotional connection with the audience, they need to entertain. Whether its the emotions of fun, excitement and the joy of summer for Coca Cola, or the Robin Hood appeal of St George bank having “the strength of a big bank and the soul of a small”; brands are telling us stories about who they are and what they stand for and we absorb this and take it into our lives. But we don’t necessarily discuss brands and share our feelings in relation to the story being told and the characters portrayed in the way we do with television programs, films and interactive experiences. So for a brand to actually bring the entertainment to the audience and make their association with delivering the content transparent; they become a part of the conversation and the sharing of emotions around that content. The potential is there for the brand strategy, digital strategy and social media strategy to be all wrapped up in one highly engaging format. And who doesn’t want that!

Take for example Routes, a Transmedia format involving a Channel 4 (UK) documentary, a set of mini games and a murder mystery. Routes (routesgame.com) is bought to us in association with The Welcome Trust. The Trust is a global charity supporting research and development in the field of genetics. Routes was created in response to a brief to raise awareness of genetics and bio

ethics amongst 14-19 year olds... so a complex task! The message underlying the Routes Game is “Discover the Secrets in Your Genes” and it unfolds when a “shock” announcement is made at the launch party for the 8-part mini series.

The Professor Marcus Shoenberg, a scientist who was absent from the launch, had been found dead in his hotel room in Peru. His niece, Rachel Burren, who was attending the event with friends dramatically fled the scene in tears and the mystery to spark the game was launched. The story developed with journalist Matt Blacker blogging about his investigation and Rachel could be contacted through her website. Mini games played online provide the education with titles such as “Breeder”, “Sneeze” and “DNA Heroes”. The games were played over 25 million times (40% in target audience of teens in the UK) and www.routesgame.com had an audience of 700,000 (UV’s).

In the words of Mike Bennett, the creative director behind Routes, “Our strategy was that every touch point was a storytelling one.” So the key message is around ‘discovering the secrets’ and its cleverly wrapped-up in a murder mystery event that takes the audience on a journey from a launch party, onto TV, into Online and out into conversation and blogging. Routes is therefore a solid example of how a Transmedia event and touch point specific story telling can be used to deliver a single minded message, generating enthusiastic conversation and engagement around the underlying subject. The subject in this case, unlikely to be a daily topic for the target audience.

When you think about the path the audience is on when they’re taken on the journey across media by the writers, its possible to see that when applied to a brand, the journey can be tailored to suit the marketing objectives of the brand owners. The writers are essentially negotiating with the audience; they know that in order for the audience to make the jump to a different media environment, the story will have to be bought to some form of conclusion and then re-opened with a fresh new intrigue. Similar to an episode bridge, but in the world of Transmedia, the jump can be instantaneous and even, more likely, simultaneous. The result is the audience sitting watching the show on TV, whilst online visiting the website and/or on mobile doing the same. The point is the writers have invited the audience to participate in the story event on each device. A much better proposition for engagement than having the TV Show playing and the audience distracted by other unassociated content and functionality online and on mobile. Therefore, the audience is a captive audience, drawn into the story across multiple media and devices. When the experience is clearly bought by the brand and the association is positive, the brand can take over from the writers to negotiate active consideration. And in the world of digital, that consideration is just a click away.

Taking the notion that entertainment and clever storytelling can deliver the audience along a journey to consideration; in the crudest sense, a ‘path to purchase’, its worth looking at how Transmedia is used in the creation of prequals for films and TV series’. Prior to the release of season 2 of True Blood, HBO drip fed a back story that was designed to overlap and embed within the mythology of the show itself. The premise of the story was that vampires were able to reveal their presence to the world due to a synthetic blood product, Tru Blood, created by a mysterious Japanese company. Campfire, the creative agency debuted a comic book “True Blood: The Great Revelation” at Comic Con. A comic book shop began seeding the comic to various gothic and horror blogs and the story continued to build at www.bloodcopy.com. The outdoor component of the campaign, rather than focussing on promoting the series, was used to launch a new beverage, yep, you guessed it, a blood red liquid called Tru Blood. Ecko Unlimited, Geico, Gillette, Harley Davidson, Mini and Monster were key sponsors and HBO created vampire themed ads for them on the website which had an audience of 3mil. Season 1 of True Blood had an audience of 2mil. As a result of the prequal campaign, that number rose to 7mil for Season 2.

Branded entertainment has a reputation amongst the marketing community as being expensive and to a certain extent unmeasurable. When you consider the $160mil in product placement fees and marketing from 20 different advertisers for James Bond: Tomorrow Never Dies, its easy to see where this perspective is coming from. Consider also the bravery required by Mattel, back in the early 80’s to bring “The Masters Of The Universe” to our screens for the launch of He Man toys. The history of branded entertainment is characterised by brave moves made by brands, for the most part, with deep pockets. The success of BMW’s Z3 Roadster launched through ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ and the legendary status of He Man figures are now a matter of record, but the

cynical marketer looking for excuses not to take risks will always argue that there are no hard metrics to prove the ROI of such branded entertainment strategies.

Cut to today. Audiences are seeking authenticity in the entertainment they’re consuming. They want to see real people having a go, maximising their potential through experiences on TV shows and against all the odds, making it to the big time. These real life stories are being told through both dramatisations, such as ‘Underbelly’, as well as reality TV, with experts judging real people in competition formats such as, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘Masterchef’. The audience of all these entertainment experiences are syndicated across an array of media including websites and social networks and the viewing is often time-shifted to fit conveniently into people’s lives. The media landscape has radically changed and audience behaviour has adapted accordingly. Yet aside from a few examples like McCormick quick recipe foods having a page integrated into the Masterchef website, there is little out there to suggest that brands are being encouraged to explore how to make the most of each of the media touch-points that the television audience is now drawn to. Its not message advertising they’re after. They’re hungry for more of the story. Script writers, TV&Film directors and producers are understanding this and exploring new formats in the Transmedia area. Its time brands and their agencies start doing the same.

Brand owned Transmedia storytelling, co-sponsored Multi-platform entertainment properties, brand integration within the story, leverage of conversation around the content, owned and earned media; this is the new language of branded entertainment. Investment in entertainment no longer carries the risks and lack of accountability associated with passed case histories. The journey of the audience can be measured at every touch point, analysed and optimised to deliver the greatest ‘bang for buck’ for all parties involved. These are powerful new weapons in a brand marketers armory and its the job of creative and media agencies, the brand guardians if you like, to work closely together with long-form content creators to explore Multi-platform and Transmedia content opportunities in partnership with their clients.

Note 1: These are a combination of Wiki definitions and my own opinion, so more than happy to debate if you disagree.

Contact: Tim is currently working with production companies, media & creative agencies to develop brand sponsored Multi-platform and Transmedia entertainment properties. To find out more, or speak to Tim about working with you and your clients, contact him on Email: mbingu@me.com, or connect on Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/bingu