Graphic publishing's grown up use of multimedia and social communities

Comic books aren’t just for kids. Nowadays graphic publishing has a much wider fan base driven by mature storylines, dynamic multimedia and active social communities.

A leader in the comic publishing space is Graphic.ly, a cutting-edge entertainment digital content delivery system and community platform that creates an immersive social experience and marketplace around digital comics and associated entertainment properties.

 “Our community is looking for more than just an online digital comic store,” said stated CEO Micah Baldwin. “They know comics are not just colorful stories for children, but beautiful art, with deep story lines that are best experienced socially and interactively that extend beyond the page. Imagine being able to play video or listen to music within the comic — on your iPad! 2011 is the year we bring that into existence.”

The company currently has more than 150 publisher and creator relationships, including Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, Archaia Entertainment, IDW Publishing, Top Cow and BOOM! Studios, and it was the only company to release applications for the desktop with Windows 7 and Adobe Air; mobile with iPhone, iPad, Windows 7 Phone and Android; and the web as a featured partner with the Google Chrome Web Store.

COMIC BELIEF

Everyone loves a good laugh. So it's little surprise that some "plain-vanilla" marketers are enlisting stand-up comics to stage branded “social” comedy campaigns.   For example, P&G's Downy fabric softener and Macy’s hired comedian Mike Birbiglia to live and sleep in a store window for the next seven days - to promote “Clean Sheet Week” and Ultra Downy's claim that it helps keep bedding smelling fresh longer. The stunt borrows thematically from the brand's new advertising campaign.  Mashable reports that Birbiglia will stream a “Daily Video Confessional” via Facebook – and to keep his gig going he'll answer crowdsourced questions and elaborate on anecdotes from his book Sleepwalk with Me.

Last week HP launched a live comedy show on YouTube featuring comedian Rob Riggle and members of the Upright Citizens Brigade. That program was broadcast simultaneously on the brand’s Facebook page.

It's tutorial time for tech-giddy public

      Time to tame technology

Dr. Pamela Rutledge, director of the Media Psychology Center, believes the public have reached a tech plateau and need to refocus on personalizing their digital experience. For more on this read Dr. Rutledge’s 15 techno-cultural trends for 2011, featured recently in Psychology Today. 

Will better times spark creative renaissance?

The Three Graces/Primavera (Allegory of Spring)
Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Boticelli

Stuart Elliot of The New York Times reports growing optimism along Madison Avenue on predictions that an economic rebound in 2011 will bring heftier ad/PR budgets. 

It won't be business as usual though now that the digital genie is out of the bottle.  The terrible economy actually drove growth in digital advertising, according to Geoff Ramsey, chief executive at eMarketer.  Online marketing is the new reality and to be successful brands need integrated (offline and online) communications.   

To achieve this advertising, public relations, promotion firms can no longer operate in silos. The digital frontier demands interdisciplinary teamwork - the kind that will revolutionize brand marketing with strategic and creative innovation.  

Cable cutters lead the charge toward web TV

Web television should be huge, right?  It isn’t, at least not yet. But a growing number of folks disenchanted with commercial TV are cutting the (cable) cord - opting to search the web for better (and often free) programming. I myself recently cancelled my cable service (as an experiment) and frankly I am astonished by the wealth of online video I'd happily view on my TV screen. 

There’s Hulu and iTunes for standard TV fare, but lesser known sources for news, interviews, documentaries, concerts and lectures abound. Among my favorites are TED, Link TV, Factual TV, Flora TV and PBS. Another great find is Academic Earth, which aggregates university lectures (including courses taught at Ivy League institutions). I’m now enjoying Yale’s semester course on the History of Roman Architecture and it's absolutely free. I'm also following overseas news outlets like RT Russian TV, Mosaic World News and Al Jezeera. 

Finding quality programs online is much easier thanks to Clicker.com, a search engine that combs the web for free and fee-based video. Clicker.com recently launched an integration app with Facebook that even suggests programs based on your profile and friend “likes.” 

Web-based TV is still pretty raw, of course. There are big industry hurdles to clear before platforms like Google TV can deliver programs of prime-time caliber; networks and cable operators still have a lock on big-time shows, after all. 

But who's to say that indie talent won't popularize entirely new forms of TV devised just for the web? 

Right now there's growing interest in transmedia - richly integrated entertainment delivered across multiple channels. Early executions have aired on NBC, Disney, Nat Geo Channel and MTV. Tablet computers fit neatly into this trend by making it easy to converge web streams onto one screen. 

For sure the way we watch television will dramatically change. A must-read on this subject is Jessi Hempel's story "What the hell is going on with TV?" in Fortune magazine. 

For Weight Watchers Dieting has Always Been Social

Anyone interested in narrative marketing should look at the commercial weight loss industry, a fascinating business and can-do culture that promotes talking, sharing and success story testimonials. Weight Watchers International for example has a huge asset in its network of staff and members who delight in advocating the brand - holding themselves up as proof that the program works.

It’s no surprise that Weight Watchers embraces storytelling. The company began in the early 1960’s when founder Jean Nidetch, an overweight New York housewife, hosted weekly pep talks for her dieting friends. She discovered that talking about one's weight struggles and successes was highly motivating, and today millions around the world attend weekly community-based Weight Watchers meetings where sharing is integral to the program.

Of course the web has given rise to all kinds of online diets, and many incorporate peer support via social networks. Indeed Weight Watchers does, with its own private network for members supplemented by branded channels on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  According to Mashable other dieting giants like Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, and diet-friendly food brands, effectively use social networks, too.

Each brand is anchored in its own brand story - Weight Watchers USP is its proprietary POINTS System. But the commercial story is secondary to the millions of very real, truly engaging, utterly inspiring member stories that continually encourage fellow members to succeed while (quite organically) helping promote the superbly managed brand. 

Mattel uses Transmedia to Capitvate 'Tween Market

Mattel has a hot property this holiday with Monster High, a new line of hip Twilight-esque teen dolls packaged as the children of legendary monster characters like Frankenstein and Dracula. (For example,"Frankie-Stein" is Frankenstein's daughter; "Draculaura" is Count Dracula's teenager.) 

According to trade reports M.H. dolls have been flying off store shelves since their debut in July, so much so that shortages now have fans hunting for them on eBay and Amazon.

Fashion dolls are just part of the Monster High franchise, however. Licensing already extends to electronics, novelty toys, cosmetics,costumes, fashion apparel and accessories, plush items, chapter books, pop music, and more.

Monster High is backed by a hefty transmedia marketing campaign, according to Ad Age. Traditional media – one TV spot and print ad – play a minor role compared to internet-based buzz and engagement activities that converge to give M. H. fans a vivid, multimedia experience.  

MonsterHigh.com serves as the brand's digital hub, loaded with ghoulish games, interactive activities plus an animated webisode series. Additionally, there’s an active Facebook fan page, dedicated YouTube channel, and a wiki platform where fans meet up - and where Mattel streams brand news and promotes big-budget entertainment like the recent Halloween TV special on Nickelodeon. Indeed, grand scale entertainment is integral to the company's marketing strategy. A full-length Monster High musical movie is in the works for release by Universal in 2012.