What it all this boils down to, and I think the evidence supports my position, is that transmedia is really effective at getting new people to notice new content. There are examples all over the place but it seems like web and television content seems to be leading the way. From Battlestar Galactica to The Guild, producers are seeing new ways to reach their audiences when they’re away from the TV while simultaneously expanding to new audiences as well.  And it works. Why do I believe it works? Because it worked on me. Which is exactly why we need to do more transmedia in our future projects, and why I think most new media producers should look into it as well.

Keep in mind that I say this about transmedia with an understanding that it’s ridiculously difficult for independent producers with limited resources to start up a transmedia effort. It’s much easier for someone making a web series to just film it and put it out on some streaming source and hope for the best. Also much cheaper.

Did I mention much less successful, too?

With so many outlets fighting for a limited number of eyes, producers need to plan for more in-depth engagement with the viewers from the beginning. It is more work. It does take time and can be really frustrating. At the same time, if you work hard at it then you will start to see results.

Gennefer Snowfield is one of my favorites in the interwebs when it comes to finding great information about transmedia or branded entertainment. Following one of her links pointed me to this post on Culture Hacker by Robert Pratton. In a nutshell, he explains his plan for creating a cross media experience for the film Vauxhall Crossed in order to build an audience. He has a great analogy for growing a fan base that relies on digging for oil. He even has a great visual aid, which I am blatantly ripping off right now.

Digging for audiences, from Robert Pratten

This analogy works really well and explains the importance and power of really taking the time to connect with the audience. The example he continues with is great because it shows an understanding of the audience he’s trying to attract. In this case, the project is for a story about spies. So he created a storefront for a Chinese restaurant that doesn’t exist. It’s a cover for the agents but the site acts just like a restaurant. Early adopters who join in get secret access to another part of the store, just like… wait for it… spies!

He did a great job in thinking about the product and how to support it by playing up concepts that fans of that content would appreciate. He connected with the desired audience. This is a really important part of the puzzle that a lot of people miss.

It’s not enough to just tweet about your show or your story. You can’t get by with simply adding a lot of random friends on Facebook hoping that someone will pay attention. You have to engage with the audience you want to attract. And that’s the really hard part. It takes time and you really have to care. Once you get there, you really have struck oil. Or gold if you prefer something less messy… but less accurate as a metaphor. ‘Cuz it doesn’t really spread out like… let’s just stick with oil.

So in this case Pratton does a great job of getting people into world he’s creating. Once they’re invested in this world, they start to tell their friends. And then we have a shampoo commercial.

What about existing properties? Can existing properties with an established fan base benefit from a transmedia approach? Absolutely.

More and more TV shows are reaching out to new audiences

Just look at your local bookstore and see all of the novels written for Star Trek. Swing by a comic book store and check out how many comics there are of TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other TV properties. When you stop and think about it, these transmedia projects aren’t just great for the originating property. They’re great for the new industry and the new market that’s being introduced to the property.

Transmedia is a gateway for people to access stories they never knew existed and I’ll argue it’s good for the entertainment industry as a whole. But that’s a big heady concept and I’ve rambled enough in this post for now. So let’s talk about that next time.