Disney and Propaganda Games tightly aligned on new 'TRON' film/game releases

Continuing my recent post about transmedia projects and the importance of creative alignment, at last week’s New York Comic Com the panel discussing Disney's upcoming release of the video game TRON: Evolution talked about the extraordinarily close integration among the game’s developers at Propaganda Games and filmmakers at Disney. This featurette provides an inside look at their creative collaboration and here is a post on sticthkingdom.com that gives a concise overview of the TRON franchise. 

Disney will release the TRON: Evolution game on December 7, 2010, and on December 17, it will release the 3-D film TRON: Legacy, the first sequel since TRON's film debut in 1982. 

Comic book king STAN LEE sees gold in digital/cross-media narratives

When the first comic book was published in 1934 as a compilation of newspaper comic strips, who could have imagined how white-hot comic book properties would become?   

Stan Lee, the legendary comic book writer and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, says the digital age is great for the comic book industry. In a recent interview with The Street TV, he said digital devices like iPads provide great platforms that bring static comic book stories to life. Lee added that the spate of superhero-inspired blockbusters coupled with the allure of lucrative multimedia story deals, has made some screenwriters and novelists eager to write comic books. 

So good are the prospects for comic book gold, in fact, that last year Lee, with award-winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property attorney Arthur Lieberman, Esq., founded POW! Entertainment (Pink Sheets: POWN), an advanced media and entertainment company for creating, producing and licensing original intellectual properties for the global market.  Disney, which last year acquired Marvel Entertainment, Inc., has a ‘first look’ deal with POW! and also holds a 10% stake in the company.

Lee explained his bullishness for comic books in a televised interview on CNBC's Squawk on the Street. He said, “The need for stories is a human need and whether they're comic books or they're on the internet or on the screen, everybody wants to be entertained.” Lee maintains that a quality story - one that's full of action, surprise and suspense - is still paramount. 

During last week's New York Comic Con, Pow! announced several new projects, including: 

“The Seekers” - a digital comic series in development with MTV for its new MTV Geek website that offers comics, horror, sci-fi and gaming news, as well as coverage of comic-book conventions and previews of new comic books, games and movies.

A three-book development deal with the start up comic book and graphic novel company, 1821 Comics.  The first book is said to be a futuristic retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, titled Romeo and Juliet: The War.

Collaboration with Yoshiki , Asia's most influential music artist and founder and drummer of the band X JAPAN, on a music superhero comic book and motion comic series. 

For transmedia producers the challenges of silo-busting and aligning far-flung talent

"Drawing Hands" by M.C. Escher 

Transmedia storytelling is all about delivering a rich, integrated multimedia experience. But one of the challenges transmedia creators face is aligning far-flung project teams operating in talent silos. Lance Weiler, partner in Seize the Media, a social entertainment company that specializes in transmedia storytelling, recently spoke in London about the need for open communication between a project’s central story creator and those developing spin-off story elements. He said data sharing is one way to improve team synchronization. For example, testing a transmedia treatment gauges audience reaction and sharing this feedback enables team members to better dovetail their work into the total program. 

Will multi-channel marketing converge on Google TV?

Google TV, Apple TV and Roku make it possible to converge web-based content on the family television - a development that is sure to change the way people consume media – and commercial messages. Until now multi-channel marketing campaigns reached audiences via dispersed touch points. Converging multiple media channels on a single TV screen will be a whole lot better by making commercial content more dynamic and interactive. 

It'll take some time before Google TV and the like are mainstream. But it’s not too soon for marketers to start thinking about creative and strategic possibilities. Chances are television studios are already looking at ways to make transmedia programming appealing to advertisers. 

Why well-integrated talent/teams produce well-integrated media campaigns

In pre-digital days many ad agencies operated like talent fiefdoms. Agencies where often branded “creative,” "media," or “account-driven,” depending on who was in power.

Today everyone on an account team, whether creative or analytic, has skin in the digital game, requiring agencies to do a better job aligning their talent pools.

Collaboration may be the new reality, but that doesn’t mean it’s easily achieved. As Steve Kerho, SVP, Analytics, Media and Marketing Optimization at Organic, Inc., recently posted on Fast Company's blog, seamless teamwork demands strong leadership from senior managers who foster cross-pollination by making it clear that everyone succeeds or fails together.

The fact is, no agency working in the digital space nowadays can afford the old creative vs. analytics mentality.  Technology, properly used and shared, will unify talent, make agencies stronger, and empower innovation.

AOL’s Project Devil: New Web Ad Format Cuts Clutter, Aligns Contextual Multimedia

AOL is definitely on the right track with Project Devil, its just unveiled antidote to the ad cluttered webpage. Jeff Levick, AOL’s president of global advertising and strategy, says Project Devil aims to bring about a "fundamental redesign of the Web," that will give consumers a richer, better online experience, while giving brands a more effective and engaging platform for selling.

Indeed, the Devil ad format is a step up in terms of web aesthetics and usability. Until now the industry norm has been to pack webpages full of banner ads. Devil does the opposite, giving one advertiser a webpage's entire ad space.  

No doubt this approach will foster better ad-editorial alignment. In fact, advertisers will be able to enhance the editorial environment by placing contextual ads using video, slideshows, social networking and bookmarking features, news alerts, event live-streaming, crowdsharing, wiki, geo-social maps, and more. 

Case in point: JC Penney has done a great job stacking multimedia ads alongside a full-page of fashion editorial, starting on top with a mini catalog featuring several fall ensembles. Clicking on a look takes you to a dedicated page where the merchandise is shown up close and coordinated with other items. This sales page can be bookmarked, shared via email or Facebook, and of course items can be purchased online.

Below the catalog  is a panel that clicks to a “behind the scenes” video from a fashion photo shoot. The documentary-style narrative is relevant, appealing and it effectively legitimizes JC Penney's style authority. Beneath the video there are two more ad panels, one featuring the retailer's Facebook promotion and the other offering a special 15% discount. 

No question a cleaner looking web is a win-win for everybody: Consumers get better content, web editors get better context, and brands get to converge their marketing mix - print and TV ads, direct mail, e-commerce, social networking, PR, promotion, etc. - all on one page. Potent stuff!

Transmedia guru JEFF GOMEZ to speak at NYC's New School Oct 26

Jeff Gomez's Transmedia Master Storytelling class at the New School (NYC), Tues. Oct. 26 at 7 pm. Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is the world’s foremost expert at turning entertainment properties and premium brands into highly successful transmedia franchises. 


Event details here.  List of Jeff's books.