Transmedia Branding is Next-Generation Storytelling

Many people describe brands as a promise the seller makes to a buyer. In the 20th Century, that would have been the final word on branding. Today, brands are composites of stories that people live everyday with the products and experiences they buy. Those stories become part of the buyer’s stories. Consequently, the brands are “their brands.”  As brand owners, we have to embrace the reality that our audience is a principle contributor to our brand stories. In fact, we need new transmedia brand strategies to begin the next generation of storytelling.

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Transmedia Storytelling

Traditional stories follow a linear arc. However, transmedia brand stories don’t necessarily follow an arc at all. Transmedia storytelling is a narrative extended across multiple platforms and experiences to create meaningful engagement. It requires a grander vision of your buyer’s persona. It means you need to know how, where, when, and what experience does she prefer to engage your brand content. A unidirectional, unilateral brand story is passé.

Immortal Branding S.1 Episode 003: Next-Generation Brand Storytelling

In this Immortal Branding episode, I use the Showtime series, Homeland as a template for Transmedia Storytelling.  In the first seasons of Homeland, the program aired with a second screen experience, called SHO Sync for iOS. The SHO Sync app was synchronized with the first airing of the broadcast. From a branding standpoint, this encourages viewers to watch the show the first airing for the maximum experience. The app would provide interactive polls and insights about the show that would keep the audience engaged on two fronts. This style of narrative development is an early example of transmedia storytelling. In essence, a single narrative has multiple viewpoints that are optimized for the medium that they audience is experiencing the core story. While each experience is different, it draws the audience back to the main story. In this case, the Homeland narrative.

What Are the Implications of Transmedia Branding

Our true fans will follow us on every platform that we publish content. However, our audience is splintered across the Internet. For example, there are people who like to post content on Facebook, but use Instagram for messaging. Similarly, a different audience follows content on Pinterest but engages higher quality content on IGTV. The multitude of platforms, audiences, and experiences are expanding our brand story options. Even more, they are expanding channels for audience engagement. Smart brands recognize this shift. Moreover, they are developing their brand story content to create a smart tapestry for engagement across multiple experiences.

Next Generation Personal Brand Stories

You don’t have to be a media empire to take advantage of transmedia branding. As a small or medium-size business, start crafting your brand story for engagement on multiple fronts. It’s easy to understand the value of transmedia branding. However, the planning and execution of transmedia storytelling requires new skills and practice. This is where our Immortal Branding capabilities will serve you well. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook Watch and start building your Immortal Brand stories.

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