What is Transmedia Storytelling?

Transmedia storytelling uses multiple media platforms tell a narrative across time. Each media piece—whether it’s a comic, novels, video games, mobile apps, or a film—functions as a standalone story experience—complete and satisfying. Like a giant puzzle, each piece also contributes to a larger narrative. The process is cumulative and each piece adds richness and detail to the story world, such as character backstories and secondary plotlines.

Transmedia storytelling is fully participatory. The audience becomes actively involved, elevated to social and creative collaborators. They become stakeholders in the transmedia experience alongside the brand or cause. The unfolding story design creates the motivation to engage with other participants, seek out other parts of the story, and contribute to the narrative by adding content. Transmedia stories can be simple, across a few low-tech media platforms or break down the barriers between the story and reality by bringing the narrative out into the real world, in the form of complex and exciting alternative reality games (ARGs), where participants engage with narrative elements and characters using real world locations as part of the storyworld.



Transmedia Storytelling


There are three reasons why you should be using transmedia storytelling for branding, marketing, and nonprofit campaigns:
Persuasion: Transmedia stories are the most fundamental and immersive form of communication, engaging our brains at the intuitive, sensory and executive levels
Audience Connection: Transmedia strategies create many points of entry that reach and link multiple demographics and target different user needs to effectively expand the customer base
Financial Impact: Transmedia storytelling redefines ROI, extends brand shelf-life, and creates value-added IP assets and ancillary revenue streams.


Whether we see it or not, we are living in a transmedia, globally connected world. We use multiple communications platforms for everything from chores to social interactions. These are not passive activities. We are active users of media technologies all day long. Consequently, today’s audiences and customers have a new psychological perspective. They expect to experience active engagement through interaction, participation, and collaboration.

What is Transmedia Storytelling?

Transmedia storytelling uses multiple media platforms tell a narrative across time. Each media piece—whether it’s a comic, novels, video games, mobile apps, or a film—functions as a standalone story experience—complete and satisfying. Like a giant puzzle, each piece also contributes to a larger narrative. The process is cumulative and each piece adds richness and detail to the story world, such as character backstories and secondary plotlines.


Transmedia Storytelling Starts with the Power of Story

The power of transmedia storytelling starts with understanding of the power of narrative and story. There are psychological, biological, and neurological reasons why people throughout history have been telling stories using any communications means available from cave paintings and oral traditions to blockbuster movies.

Storytelling stands the test of time because they speak to human psychological fundamentals. They connect us to each other and give us insight about ourselves. They give us a common language where we can share experience, teach, reflect and create culture. As stories are retold, they reinforce cultural traditions and norms, linking our understanding of the human condition across generations.

Transmedia storytelling is the future of communication—an organic outgrowth of new media technologies and the shifting psychologies surrounding them. A deep understanding of transmedia storytelling is a must for advocacy organizations, social entrepreneurs, corporations and entertainment entities so that they can communicate effectively in this new environment.