World Building to Viral Marketing in Transmedia

Transmedia has not only been a staple for television due to its seriality, but also to film for much of the past decade. Take, for example, the development of the DVD, with its special features options. There are often mini-films that expand back-stories or the scope of an alternate reality, which fall into what Henry Jenkins described as the core aesthetics of transmedia. These approaches to the film expand the understanding of the climate and situations in which the characters live, while in some cases, over-developing areas of the story that should’ve been left to the viewer’s imagination. Another part of transmedia that has been incorporated into film is that of viral marketing. Viral marketing is when a company or, in this case, studio uses pre-existing social networking to create buzz for an upcoming product/film. This can be anywhere from vague banners online to much more pro-active, if not reckless techniques. A film that recently incorporated viral marketing into their ad campaign was “The Dark Knight.” This campaign saw the use in incorporating multiple media sources to create buzz, even taking it to a somewhat irresponsible level. It incorporated brilliant marketing strategy in most cases, such as the bakery example in my link, but also got the police and news agencies involved when they sent a box with a cake in it that….ticked. Needless to say, that got a good amount of attention, and ethical or not, “The Dark Knight,” viral marketing and all, ended up being one of the most successful films of the decade.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/05/the-dark-knights-viral-marketing-gets-very-real-cakes-cell-phones-and-all/