Transmedia Storytelling (not to be confused with your average bedtime story)

When we were kids (and by we I mean those born in the late 80's very early 90's), you heard about a new movie or TV show through a TV commercial and not much else.  In today's digital world, however, you are bombarded with new media every day.  Movies, TV shows, video games and many other things are promoted across a number of different platforms.

For example, one of my personal favorites, Dexter, kicked off its fifth season with an ARG (alternate reality gaming).  The ARG began with a hunt on mobile treasure hunt app, SCVNGR and led players to a secret "kill room" at Comic-Con for more clues, which in turn lead to a twitter account for more clues and so on and so forth.  The ARG was highly successful and contributed significantly to Dexter's following on Facebook and Twitter.  This is a wonderful way to not only promote the show, but to create a community for the fans and engage in their every day lives.

Are the days of letting the content speak for itself virtually over?  Is it possible for something to be truly successful without transmedia storytelling?  I'm not sure.  Only time will tell, but I think it's safe to say that it is certainly not something worth overlooking.
















Thanks to digitalbuzzblog for the Dexter info