Transmedia What?

How I built a Transmedia Campaign Plan for the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network 2013 Conference in Istanbul.

If I have succeeded in properly teasing this post, you have two burning questions which if unanswered will result in an intense session of google searching.

1) What is transmedia?

2) What is the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network (DWEN)?

Let’s start with the easiest and most self-explanatory — the second one.

DWEN is a global community of women entrepreneurs. For the past 3 years, they have held an invite only conference of 150 talented business women from around the world in Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi. This year’s conference takes place in Istanbul, Turkey.

Now lets answer the first question which requires a bit more detail.

Transmedia branding is a process where integral elements of a story are dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels to create a unified and coordinated brand experience with each medium making its own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.

When creating a transmedia campaign,there are four concepts that woven into the narrative, strategy, and tactics:

1. Explore the world.

2. Extend the timeline.

3. Expand secondary characters.

4. Encourage participation.

At this point you’re probably saying, this transmedia stuff seems cool but why should I care? Make me care Jerried!

Okay. Calm down. Sheesh…

Everyone hates ads. Unless, of course, your name is Don Draper. Today, ads can no longer interrupt entertainment; they have to be the entertainment. Every business is competing for the same eyeballs in an extremely saturated and convoluted environment

Transmedia branding takes branded content to the next level by creating standalone content properties that can be consumed and remixed individually. However, each property fits within an overarching narrative which if experienced gives a consumer and richer, deeper brand experience.

For DWEN’s conference in Istanbul, our goal was to grow the online community and increase brand awareness. Our research showed community and sharing to be the key pillars of our target audience. We built a narrative congruent with DWEN’s brand and created a campaign that incorporated the four concepts of transmedia.

And they’re you have it. A transmedia campaign plan.

So… what did I learn from building the transmedia campaign plan?

I learned that transmedia can be just as effective outside of the entertainment and gaming industry, as it is within. All industries with varying budgets can find a way to compete in today’s convoluted business environment and transmedia, in my opinion, is one of the best solutions.