Transmedia Storytelling Strategy
Transmedia Storytelling Strategy How and why producers use transmedia storytelling for competitive advantage. Cameron Cliff Bachelor of Film and Screen Media, Bachelor of Creative Industries (Honours) Principal Supervisor: Dr Jon Silver Associate Supervisor: Distinguished Professor Stuart Cunningham Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy School of Media, Entertainment and Creative Arts Faculty of Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology 2017 1 Keywords Transmedia, storytelling, strategy, competitive advantage, multiplatform, Hollywood, Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice, Sofia’s Diary, Doctor Who, BBC ii Abstract Storytelling in contemporary media production exists in a landscape of rapid and continuous change. Practitioners and scholars alike have been exploring different methods for success within this landscape, fixating on multiplatform strategies that blend together novel and traditional methods of telling their stories. As a result, transmedia storytelling, the strategy of creating an immersive world through the coordination of multiple, unique narratives, has enjoyed a place of prominence within media production research for the better part of the last decade. However, the concept of transmedia storytelling has become clouded by ‘semantic chaos’ (Scolari 2009). Investigations from different disciplines and industries have formed separate silos of research that have divided transmedia and left professionals questioning the relevance of transmedia storytelling to their practice. Using strategic management theory to coordinate research from across different disciplinary silos (media and cultural studies, marketing and advertising), this thesis conducts an original, interdisciplinary study of transmedia storytelling. It develops an audience engagement framework specific to transmedia projects and a lens for assessing the competitive advantage of different transmedia strategies.
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