According to Henry Jenkins, transmedia storytelling involves ‘a process in which the distribution of several elements takes place across numerous platforms’. Each platform makes its respective contribution to the unravelling of the story (Jenkins, Henry 2007). When brands have clear messages across several platforms, they create immersive experiences which engage the audience in unimaginable ways (Alton, Liz 2017). This essay aims to analyse how brands connect with their audience, and build their reputation and image.

Everyone has a story to tell, and brands are no exception. Transmedia storytelling enables brands to advertise on websites, social media platforms like Instagram, and video channels like YouTube- platforms which brands’ consumers interact with frequently (Alton, Liz 2017), which helps increase consumer engagement. According to research conducted by Jerome Bruner, if the portrayal of the brand’s message takes place in the form of a story, it enables people to remember the message twenty-two times more than if the depiction took place as a set of facts. Brands use each media platform to convey a unique aspect of a story so that every channel’s strengths contribute to a coordinated story (Harrison, Kate 2015).

A prosumer is a consumer who wants to use innovative technology, and these kinds of consumers share new ideas with the organisation and help them come up with innovative solutions. Emotional and physical-based engagement with all types of consumers is important, however. When brands create characters and give them a powerful story, the audience sympathises with these characters, develops positive emotions towards them, and as a result, develops positive emotions and feelings towards the brand (Wren, Chris, 2018).

Stories have several paths that consumers can choose, which increases their engagement with the brand. Audience feedback is always taken into consideration, helping to both increase engagement and develop positive feelings towards the brand, thereby enhancing the brand’s reputation and image. According to Henry Jenkins, participatory culture is defined as ‘one which allows free expression of artistic talent and civic engagement, sharing one's creations with others’ (EIST, n.a). This concept also comes into play here, as active audiences participate in the story, completely immerse themselves, and can sometimes play a role in determining the outcome (EIST, n.d.).

One of the best examples of transmedia storytelling used by a brand was Gilette’s ‘We Believe’ campaign, which encouraged people to disrupt the toxic masculinity embedded in society today. This campaign was very bold because it is a considerable risk for big companies to highlight culturally and socially sensitive issues since they risk offending a portion of their consumer base (Moreno, Lauren 2019). The campaign encouraged men to step up and intervene if they witness any form of toxic masculinity. A significant risk came with big success- the advertisement was viewed 33 million times, helped build an emotional bond with consumers, and create a positive attitude towards the brand. Gillete’s reputation and image grew significantly after targeting an incredibly precarious issue in such a fantastic way. Besides this, the campaign was covered by the national media in the US. Sometimes, the most commanding campaigns are the ones that focus on real-life issues.

LEGO is an incredibly familiar name, and has a loyal, large consumer base. This is primarily due to the fact that LEGO is a creative and immersive toy- children love making their own creations, and in a technology based world, parents also like the idea of fostering creativity in a non-digital form (DeMott, Rick 2015). LEGO uses several different digital and non digital platforms to engage with their audience - video games, comics and even their own movie. If ‘worlds’ created by brands are incredibly compelling, they can be used to tell different stories across different platforms, which will be consumed and interpreted by fans in different ways, and that is exactly why LEGO is so successful today (DeMott, Rick 2015).

Convergence is when new and old media collide to create something extraordinary, and transmedia storyteling does this very well by creating online and offline experiences which audiences can interact with, and develop positive affiliations towards a brand (Jenkins, Henry 2006). The combination of old and new media forms and using stories to convey messages is highly effective, and brands will continue to use this in the future, and its popularity will only increase. Brands promote content across several different platforms, which results in an increase in fandoms which would involve a large number of like minded people who love everything the brand offers and stands for.

Transmedia Storytelling is a powerful tool used by brands to connect with audiences by creating characters and experiences that build emotional bonds with consumers. Targeting social issues help brands increase engagement and build their reputation and image at the same time. Brands also use transmedia storytelling to highlight social issues, and despite a high risk, these campaigns can bring about actual change, and make people develop positive attitudes towards the brand.

The Role of Transmedia Storytelling in Digital Culture - 21st Century

Storytelling is no longer limited to a single medium; brands must constantly adapt to various situations and circumstances.

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