Special Edition: The Rundown, PSFK Salon Breakfast at Soho House West Hollywood
Posted on by Rebekah Iliff
Bright and early yesterday morning, Kristen and I enjoyed an intriguing PSFK Salon Breakfast at the Soho House. Innovators in the field discussed the topic of Transmedia Storytelling, with the goal of exploring how entertainers and content creators are crafting richer experiences for their audiences by weaving narratives across mediums.
As the speakers shared their own tales of online and offline adventures, we gained a better understanding of how new platforms for sharing, entertaining, and fundraising are changing the entertainment landscape… Here’s what we learned:
Kristen Olsen: Fans and Transmedia in an Information Economy
- Information economy differs from capitalist economy; In capitalist economy information is scarce
- Fans are inseparable from transmedia, fans can be found in every medium
- How to get fans to follow across mediums?
- Understand needs and wants
- High Concept = VISUAL; Easily understood/communicated
- Low Concept = TEXTUAL; Indie films, must be absorbed
- Open Concept = IMAGINATIVE; Fans plug in/step into the product/brand, this is where brands start, what can fans identify with?
- Levels of Fandom:
- Lite Fans- Minimal engagement
- Fanboys/Fangirls- Engagement, actively seeking brands to fan
- Online Mob- Slightly more engaged, but only online
- Real World Actives- Fans wearing tee-shirts with brand logo, physically representing brand
- Organizers- Fans who actively bring others into brand
- Social Drivers- Makers and observers, highly active
- Authority- Unbiased opinion, highly active and vocal about brand in public spaces
- Special category = “Relationshippers” or fans who create a mental “relationship” with brand/celeb and follow brand/celeb in news, tabloids, social media
Gunther Sonnenfeld, RAPP: The Marsden Model?
- Rich Media = Draw people in using media as a cultural/visual artifact
- Transmedia is about increasing scale and creating possibility
- Simulation à Context
- Information fractals shows dimensions of stories through media and geography
J.C. Christofilis: Transmedia Marketing Tactics
* How can Transmedia deliver ROI?
Must innovate, don’t fear innovation!
- Existing Intellectual Property versus New Intellectual Property (IP)
- Existing/Old IP = Walt Disney, Jay-Z/Bing, Star Wars
- New IP = Old Spice, Valemont
- Development versus Research and Development
- Must research and develop ways to convey brand story across multiple community platforms
- Innovation always wins out.
- Put trust in creativity.
- Key to success = Don’t fear risk, embrace innovation and stay inspired.
- Don’t look backwards to move forward.
PSFK Salon: Main Themes
- Experience, Participation
- Fans take on a role
- Is copyright enforceable online?
- Law is behind the times!
- Where do copyright and co-creation converge, diverge and intersect?
- Brands are more successful when fans are allowed to play with brand material
- Must be tolerant of fan usage of brand material
- Interesting campaigns:
- “Conspiracy for Good” with Nokia (not a brand integration project)
- “Pandemic” for Sundance Film Festival
- Madden, non-football project
- Tron
- Transmedia Activism in Palestine
- “Game of Thrones” food trucks game
- Facebook flash games in transmedia platforms
- “Art of the Hesit” with Audi
- “Disastrous” campaigns:
- Army recruitment via war experience simulation
- What’s next after social media? Transmedia storytelling.
- But what’s next after transmedia storytelling? My guess, co-creation storytelling.
Ahh, nothing better than learning THIS MUCH valuable information before 9 am! To learn more about PSKF visit: http://www.psfk.com/
Don’t forget to stay in-the-know and follow me @carmella_nicole!
No related posts.
About Rebekah Iliff
Rebekah is an organizational management, development, and communications professional who has served clients across multiple industries and across the globe for over eight years. She is a senior leader and trusted advisor to executive leadership who excels in solving challenging and complex problems. Rebekah’s valuable depth of experience launching startups, reengineering infrastructures, and developing and implementing business and marketing plans that facilitate growth, build brand equity, and increase ROI have made her one of the most trusted small to medium size business (SMB) consultants in Southern California. She is an effective communicator, team builder, and creative problem solver who has worked with over one hundred entrepreneurs, thought leaders, technology brands, healthcare companies, financial advisors, entertainment leaders, and small business owners over the past several years.Rebekah holds a B.A. in Philosophy (Cum Laude) from Loyola University Chicago, and an M.A. in Organizational Management and Applied Community Psychology from Antioch University at Los Angeles (AULA). Awards include: National Society of Collegiate Scholars for Outstanding Achievement and the President’s Award for Community Service and Outreach. Key memberships include: Organization Development Network; Economist Intelligence Unit, Opinion Leader’s Panel; Public Relations Society of America, Los Angeles Chapter; and AULA’s MAOM Community Network Career Programming Group. View all posts by Rebekah Iliff →2 Responses to Special Edition: The Rundown, PSFK Salon Breakfast at Soho House West Hollywood
Scott Walker says: April 29, 2011 at 2:00 pmFirst, thanks for the synopsis!
Second, I could not agree more about co-creative storytelling and participatory narratives (v. just interactive). I’ve been exploring those possibilities for the past few years by building frameworks to bridge fandom and canon. Value co-creation is already happening in the general business world, and I think the entertainment industry would benefit greatly by embracing the concept.
Third, I’d like to qualify the reference to “Art of the Heist” as disastrous.
I believe Ben Rock described a very specific case where there were some challenges of logistics and environmental control with the locative experience they rolled out at Coachella. Ben went on to say that the lessons they learned from that experience helped their future experiences succeed very well.
He was referring to a single event in the entire campaign – not the entire campaign itself.
Calling “Heist” a disaster is, I believe, inaccurate.
Reply
Ben Rock says: April 30, 2011 at 11:36 amI was one of the speakers at that event, and I worked on “The Art of the Heist.” I’m happy to find this summary of the event posted online, but I’d like to clarify something. “The Art of the Heist” was not a “disastrous campaign.” By anyone’s standards, it was a huge success, won awards, and is still frequently referenced today in discussions about ARG’s, innovative storytelling, and gutsy ad work.
I was making a point about my own foibles in one instance, and how a campaign such as this has to be nimble and innovative (as creators Mike Monello and Brian Cain were) to adjust the trajectory of a giant work of fiction midstream. My point was a minor bump in the road. I’m enormously proud of the work everyone did on that campaign, still show my own work from it frequently, and would never EVER call it a “disaster.” I was simply referring to the unexpected, which happens on every production.
Reply
