Getting Real — The future of storytelling
Imagine this: How would you feel if you could experience the world with ‘another person’s eyes?’ Imagine you are reading about Alexander Graham Bell, and by using geo-aware apps and augmented reality, you could get an insight into how Mr. Bell perceives your mobile phone.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to catch his reaction when he sees your phone and realizes how much we have accomplished since his initial voice-over-wire technology?
Today, several brands are trying to engage the audience with more ‘customizable’ experiences. However, the storytelling platform is rapidly evolving to enable more ‘participatory’ experiences where the audience can actively engage in real time with the story than simply being voyeurs.
Here is how content creators can ensure that their content creates more enriched experiences, not just focussing on 24/7 availability but also enabling audience interaction as part of the narrative.
From screen to real
Real world will soon become another platform for content placement and technologies like 3D projection mapping, virtual reality, augmented reality, etc. will become the bridge between the real/physical and digital world.
Lonely Planet in its endeavors to stay ahead of the curve is creating an app that will combine the real and digital world. In an interview with Outside Online, Matthew McCroskey, Head of mobile products, explains, “You’re in Rome, standing by the Colosseum. It’s 3 P.M. on a Thursday in summer. You open your phone, and it says, ‘Hey, glad you enjoyed the Colosseum, which was on the itinerary we helped you make. We know you love coffee. Time for a cappuccino! The best cappuccino place in Rome is two blocks away. Here are walking instructions.”
In the above case, content creators have two tasks. One is to have all the relevant information about the itinerary, the audience preferences (café or gelato), best places around, how to get there, some local facts and how to ask for it in Italian. The second task entails tying these bits of information with a single thread to provide a more unified, seamless and real experience.
According to the research study by Latitude, the ‘getting real’ of the content can lead to increased immersive, interactive, integrative and impactful content experiences and drive more engagement than ever before.
Immersive — Imagine an app that gives information about what else was going on in real world when ‘Alice in Wonderland’ was conceived. How did it draw inspiration from the world around it? What was going on in the author’s mind?
Content creators can activate the world of that time with relevant cross-information to immerse the audience into the story.
Interactive — What if the audience could influence the narrative elements of the story in some way? Or connect with other users around the story?
What if they could solve a crime with Mr. Sherlock? Help him find evidence, give him suggestions. It would be like a story playing out in real-time where they not only befriend the character but significantly participate in the storytelling by modifying it based on their interaction.
Integrative — Is a consistent and close-knit story being told across all platforms? Can it coalesce with the real world in some way?
For instance, a clothing brand like VERO MODA could change its inventory every month to support a new theme or ‘story’ (love, friendship, work, passion, etc.). Here, content creators can turn a physical space into a story and provide an enriched experience. Undoubtedly, integrating with the ‘real world’ is an interesting opportunity for retail brands.
Impactful — Does the story spark action in real life, such as spreading a message, making a purchase or contributing to a good cause?
Apps like The Walk, Sworkit, Battlesuit Runner, make routine workout sessions more fun and have reportedly led to health benefits. It is an immersive experience with a positive impact.
Content creators have the opportunity to use current events as themes for the story-world which in turn could lead to a positive impact in the actual world — for individuals or for society.
Need for Control
As the digital space becomes more interactive, immersive and real-time, the audience will seek more authority over individual content experiences, one that would allow them to create alternative or multiple storylines or even resurrect their characters from the dead.
For instance, what if the Game of Thrones or House of Cards TV show had a separate web production where the users can alter the storyline and the character journey. The audience could also interact with other character-users, influence or become the character themselves and even donate their creativity for upcoming seasons!
The character-audience relationship
Be it Sherlock, Batman or Popeye, we always identify with our favorite characters’ strengths, weaknesses and aspirations. What if the audience had the opportunity for one-on-one encounters with their favourite characters — one where he/she seeks advice, explains a complex relationship or even confides in them? This character will then become a friend with whom they share an emotional bond.
Content creators should maximize on the character-audience relationship. They can make the characters more compelling by making them more human and more relatable. Building a strong, relatable character, one with whom they have an emotional bond can have a great impact on creating brand awareness, influencing purchase decisions and encouraging positive action.
A Parallel world
As characters transform and become more real, it is only natural that they continue living whether the audience is tuned in or not. When new developments happen, they receive a notification via text alerts or email. Such narratives with a ‘real-time’ story-world will definitely motivate the audience to tune in more often to ensure they aren’t missing anything.
Conclusion
Since it doesn’t cost a dime to imagine, content creators and storytellers can never shortchange themselves when they stretch their imagination!
The future of storytelling is all about making it ‘real’ for the audience. Content will play an important role to weave these ‘real’ experiences by replacing lackluster information with compelling narratives. Technology, undoubtedly, will become a great enabler of these next-gen narratives to create enhanced content and brand experiences. How else do you imagine Mr. Bell peering at your mobile phone?
