The nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise employed a common literary technique-a red herring- in their latest PSA video. The first half of the video shows an endearing high school story. It opens with a male student writing “I AM BORED” on a school library desk. When he returns there the next day, someone has written back…
Case Study: Jeep’s Collaborative Storytelling
Although I am a committed to my Toyota 4Runner, I admire the Jeep brand and its ability to attract drivers of all ages and lifestyles. Jeep users are also decidedly loyal. Driving a Jeep offers entrance into a community of drivers who wave at one another, gather at Jeep off-road events, and share a history…
The Coca-Cola Company: Integrated Marketing
My last post on Transmedia discussed the way that digital platforms should communicate the same story. This concept relates to the way that businesses ought seek to use Integrated Marketing, essentially the discipline of sending out a consistent messaging through all channels-PR, advertising, social media, direct marketing, etc.. Bloomberg notes, “Integration means communicating a consistent…
Transmedia: storytelling across all channels
Transmedia is the scholarly term for fancy, widespead storytelling. It refers to the way that many platforms can tell a single story. It involves the “convergence” of digital mediums in tandem, where producers of media meet media consumers and overlap. Producers can be tweeters (?), Instagrammers, bloggers, and Buzzfeed collaborators all the way to creatives…
Case Study: the Spirit of UGA Football
It’s next to impossible to miss a hype video released by UGA before a big game. They are posted, shared, and re-shared thousands of times by students, alumni, and faithful fans. The creator of the videos, Frank Martin (with Neil Peterson and Eric Black), is a senior student like me. He might as well be…
More than Relevant
With the overwhelming volume of content published online, what differentiates one post from another? Content marketers clamor to compete for attention online with little evidence of ROI for their efforts. For content marketing to be worth investing in, posts ought to be highly relevant to the viewer. What determines relevance, and is relevance even enough…
Case Study: Nike on Storytelling
Storytelling is in Nike’s DNA. The Nike mission statement is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete.” Bill Bowerman, Nike co-founder, clarifies, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” Nike glorifies the individual, the spirit of the rogue athlete running hard after a goal. Their ads typically profile individual athletes and their stories, but…