Message from Michael - Transmedia and Charlie Sheen - March 9, 2011

Message From Michael                                 

                                                                                                                        March 9, 2011                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

      THE SWEET TRANSMEDIA FROM TRANSYLVANIA

      A BORDER FENCE THAT IS BEING TORN DOWN

      APT APPS

      I WONDER AND I PONDER

      CHARLIE SHEEN

 

 

      THE SWEET TRANSMEDIA FROM TRANSYLVANIA.  In our never-ending quest to keep readers of the Message up to date on media trends, let me introduce you to the term ‘transmedia’, although many of you may already be familiar with it.  Its ancestors were Annette Funicello, Boba Fett, Gundam and Pokemon.  They gave birth to The Beast, The Matrix, and The Dark Knight, and their grand children are the Old Spice Man, Jay-Z and the re-united Ken and Barbie.   All of these are (old terminology) cross-media campaigns.  And all of these represent steps in the evolution of ‘transmedia’, according to a report by marketing communications group JWT Intelligence.  Heck, the only ones missing are Rocky and Dr. Frankenfurter, and their androgynous appeal may be a more fitting metaphor for transmedia.  According to the report, transmedia is an evolution of the integrated marketing model, with “narrative threads tailored for different channels” and in which “borderless story worlds are arcing over various platforms in innovative ways, providing consumers with multiple entry points that encourage deep engagement.”   How’s that for some verbiage?  Okay, put aside all the Manhattan Avenue speak, and here’s what you get.  The transmedia concept simply recognizes the fact that we live in a multi-platform media world that practically requires multi-tasking to cope with the multiple messages.  Underlying it all though is the content, but content conveyed through good story telling.  The challenge is to make sure that the story is appealing and applicable to newspapers and magazines, offline and online media, mobile and mobile apps, games and gaming, toys and puzzles, gadgets and widgets, social media and social networking, virtual worlds and augmented reality.  When you list all the media forms, it becomes almost overwhelming, doesn’t it?  All right, maybe not you, but it does to me.

The report says 2011 will be the year of the ‘transmedia toy’ and it cites Moshi Monsters as an example of transmedia marketing and story telling in action.   It is built around social online gaming, but adds in TV and Online Video, along with apps, books, magazines, and video games, trading cards and toys.  The report says half of all British kids between the ages of 6 and 12 and one in five U.S. kids have adopted a Moshi Monster with one Million virtual items sold daily.  Transmedia may be the big buzz word for 2011, but the report makes clear that it is not just a fad, but the new reality.  Further proof, the sometimes staid Producers Guild of America has approved ‘transmedia producer’ as one of its credits.  It describes a ‘ transmedia producer’ as someone who maintains ‘narrative continuity across multiple platforms… creates new storylines for additional platforms and spearheads interactive elements.’  As always, my one paragraph summary doesn’t do justice to the report.  You can find it by searching for TrendMediaRising and JWTIntelligence.

      A BORDER FENCE THAT IS BEING TORN DOWN.  The border between the ‘online world’ and the ‘physical world’ is getting “fuzzier,” and that represents an opportunity for marketers to increase consumer engagement, say the folks at JWT.  In a recently released PowerPoint spelling out a checklist for social media use, the group says there are four things to watch in social media.  One is where the online world is driving real life actions.  Example:  The recent Grammy Awards which used a geolocation-based app called MusicMaker which allowed music fans to attach stories about how a song influenced their lives.  Similar but slightly different -- Another thing to watch is “gamification” in which game mechanics are added to social media campaigns.  Example: Jack in the Box’s virtual coin jar in which people added a nickel when they ‘liked’ Jack.  A randomly selected fan eventually won $11,000.  The concept of “hyper-personalization” which acknowledges the fact that people expect their social media to be personalized.  Example:  The Old Spice Man campaign which culminated in a series of personalized YouTube vignettes.  And, lastly, but not lastly, the concept of F-Commerce which is basically the continuing development of selling through Facebook.  As long as I am making note of JWT reports, the group also produced a “100 Things to Watch in 2011” report.  I touched on it briefly at the end of last year, and I intend to re-visit it, but if you have the time, it’s worth the read.  Note to Readers and the Federal Trade Commission – I am not being paid to hype JWT.  Promise.  They just happen to have produced some very good reports.

      APT APPS.  How’s that for a simple headline?  And it’s very apropos.  Sorry, I just had to do that.  I love alliterations.  Publisher MediaPost has created The Appy Awards which is the first ever ceremony recognizing the growth of social, mobile and web-based applications as the hot thing in new media.  The winner of best in show was Flipboard which is self-described, and accurately, as a “personalized social magazine” allowing you to share your friends and your friends’ stuff on Facebook and Twitter.  There were multiple winners in a wide variety of categories.  For books, the winner was Teddy’s Day which brings your kids an interactive story.  In the education category, the winner was Rock Prodigy which teaches you how to play the guitar.  In news, the winner was one of my favorites, Newsy which brings you a multiple source, multiple view of the leading news stories. In music, the winner was Mog.  Talk show host Oprah won the lifestyle category with the app for her magazine.  Healthcare provider Humana won in the medical category.  And the travel category winner was Urbanspoon which provides you the restaurant menus of cities you may be visiting.  I had never heard of it, and that’s kind of the point of visiting the Appy Awards site.  So, go visit.

      I WONDER AND I PONDER.  And when I do that, I attend (at least, online) the TED conference.  The conference which just ended in Southern California brings together an eclectic mix of speakers like Bill Gates and artists like Parisian JR.  They deal with topics as diverse as the social revolution in the MidEast to how to break boards with your hands.  All reflecting the title theme of Technology, Entertainment and Design.  The lead presentation was from Artist JR who talked about how he puts the faces of various people on massive canvasses around the world, in places as diverse as Palestine and the slums of Rio de Janiero.  He, along with TED, are launching a global art project to do the same with contributions from people around the world.  One of my favorite TED activities was a tribute to Johnny Cash, created through multiple images provided by a variety of people.  Anyway, just a heads up for my savvy Message readers who might want to see what the innovators and idea creators of the world are doing.

      MORE BATTLE LINES BEING DRAWN.  This time between Facebook and YouTube.  The two groups threw announcement hand grenades at each other.  Facebook will soon begin distributing movies from Warner Brothers Entertainment, starting with The Dark Knight.  YouTube has acquired Next New Networks, which used to produce original content but which now primarily builds ads around Web shows produced by its ‘network’ of video-producing affiliates.  Interestingly, in the story in AdAge Digital, YouTube stresses that the move does not mean they are becoming a ‘media company’ while the headline on the story about the Facebook move reads “meet your new media company.”  In other words, they are becoming media companies.

      COCKTAIL CHATTER:  Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has become the first major media company to become carbon neutral across its global operations.  In a memo to his staff, Murdoch said the effort, launched in 2007, will save the company Millions of dollars while also contributing to environmental sustainability.            

      CHARLIE SHEEN.  No, I have absolutely nothing to say about the star of Two and a Half Men.  I just didn’t want to be the only media outlet not doing a story about him.  Besides, I don’t want to miss out on some of the huge ratings some programs are getting or the massive online views others are getting from his… get this… 2.3 Million Twitter followers.             

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