TransMedia + Social Media + An Entertainment Property = Audience Engagement

In the new film Source Code, there’s an interactive digital StoryWorld developed in the film’s marketing campaign.  It’s a successful technique which TV serials, webisodes, mobisodes and bonus content promotions could easily integrate.

It”s a first for Summit Entertainment.  That’s the studio producing the thriller, Source Code (Jake Gyllenhaal) which has  a social media game called Source Code Mission that can be activated by Microsoft Tag technology within the movie poster.  That bit of code, which any smartphone can read, will lead to a game that takes 10 to 20 minutes and is based on the movie’s plot.  It features Gyllenhaal returning to the scene of a bombing of a Chicago commuter train and trying to change the outcome.

The use of social media games to spur interest in entertainment properties is growing rapidly.  In January, Starz launched the series Spartacus:  Gods of the Arena with a Facebook game and an iPad app.  In that same month, the CW also publicized the new season of Gossip Girl with a Facebook game. More recently, Paramount Pictures promoted the animated Johnny Depp movie Rango with a tie-in with Zynga’s FrontierVille game.

TransMedia companies worldwide are jumping into this highly creative and profitable arena integrating TV series, webisodes, mobisodes with social media and digital interactivity.  It is a Wild West environment when brands request it. And they are …

Brand integrations into these TransMedia projects with 360 degree multiplatform distribution and syndication are the new media and the medium.

TLP Completes “Connected TV” White Paper – Latin TV Market Focus

Managed TV versus Over the top video

The impact of connected TVs on the TV industry (RequestPDF – contact button)

What You Need To Know: A Sixty Second Version

UNIVISION STATEMENT AT YOUTUBE:  You’ve probably read the headlines: “New census milestone: Hispanics reach 50 million”; “U.S. Hispanic population tops 50 million” and one of our favorites “Los USA — Latino Populations Grow Faster with Wider Spread.” The U.S. Census numbers have confirmed that the Hispanic population has reached an important milestone, the 50 million mark. We are waking up to a new reality, a new face of America. The New American Reality video speaks to the unique experience of being Latino in America today.  Univision is proud to Inform, Entertain and Empower the Hispanic community. To learn more about how we reach the Hispanic consumer. 

March 18, 2010. Cable TV Is Doomed. “The death of cable television would probably still be inevitable without the Federal Communications Commission’s national broadband plan, which aims to expand broadband Internet access to 90% of Americans and dramatically increase access speeds. …We’re already familiar with two business models for web TV: Hulu’s ad-supported programming and iTunes’ micro-payment system of about $2 per ad-free show. Both of these are preferable to cable not only because they’re more cost-effective but because they allow the viewer a greater degree of control. You only pay for what you watch, whereas with cable you pay primarily for things you’ll never watch. Americans watch on average 5 hours of TV a day, so a cable subscriber with 100 channels is only consuming 0.2% of the programming he or she is charged for. With the average cable bill swelling to $64 a month in 2009 from $47.50 a month in 2004, ditching cable for web-based TV is an increasingly attractive option.

It is well known the broadcast television industry faces an unprecedented crisis amid a global economic downturn. News and industry experts have reported a dramatic fall in TV advertising spends, in many countries up to 50%. … and earnings drops to levels of 1995. There has been a multiplication of channels, brand confusion, and an ongoing fragmentation of audiences … An increasing number of bankruptcies of networks and production companies populate the news channels. This trouble in the global broadcast industry is well known by now.

An average of 179 Million Americans watched online video each month in 2010. Engagement levels also rose, with viewers watching online videos more frequently88.6 million people watched online video on an average day in December 2010 (up 32 percent from December 2009), while viewing sessions totaled 5.8 billion for the month (up 13 percent). The average American spent more than 14 hours watching online video in December, a 12-percent increase from last year, and streamed a record 201 videos, an 8-percent increase.

In February 2008 the average Hispanic-American over the age of 11 spent more time online than watching television, according to the Terra Networks-sponsored “Hispanic Syndicated Study,” conducted by comScore Media Metrix. In general, online Hispanics—independent of their language preferences and acculturation levels—are heavily engaged in technology,” wrote the report’s authors.  Every day, more than half (56%) of Hispanic-Americans surveyed said they spent at least an hour online, which was slightly more than the 50% who spent an hour or more watching TV. On a weekly basis, Terra reported that more Hispanic-American Internet users spent 13 or more hours online (30%) than watched TV for the same amount of time (23%).

Telemundo Internacional chooses TVU for live Internet broadcasts for its blockbuster Telenovela series “Decisiones” Mountain View - August 15, 2008 – Telemundo Internacional, an NBC Universal division deemed the preeminent leader in Latin American television worldwide, and TVU Networks, a global live Internet TV service with a user base of 18 million viewers in 200 countries, jointly announced today the addition of a Telemundo channel dedicated to its chart-topping series “Decisiones” that will be available worldwide excluding Mexico and the US.

October 14, 2010 Article:  TV revenue growth in Latin America set to explode “TV revenue in Latin America will be worth $18.5 billion in 2015 – up more than 50% on the 2009 total, according to a new research report from Informa Telecoms & Media. Latin American economies are showing signs of long-term strength, signalling big growth for television services in the next five years. “Greater economic resilience is now allowing the Latin TV sector to enjoy stable growth – putting it in its best position for decades,” said analyst Adam Thomas. In other words, with more disposable income floating around, subscribers are more likely to pour it into living-room entertainment. The growth will be so significant as to reduce the North American market’s dominance in pay-TV uptake over the next five years: Informa is forecasting that pay TV subscription numbers are anticipated to reach 57.3 million by the end of 2015 in the CALA region, up 57% from 36.6 million in 2009. In contrast, the U.S. in 2009 had 96 million digital households – almost 80% of the pan-continental total. By 2015 its statistical dominance will decline to accounting for 63% of the Americas total. Informa is expecting consistent growth in digital TV too, with the Latin region forecast to almost quadruple in size from 15.9 million digital TV households at the end of 2009 to 57.1 million by 2015. Brazil and Mexico combined to account for 51% of digital subscribers at the end of last year, their combined regional share will edge up to 54% during the forecast period.

The Love Kitchen – TransMedia 4 Screen Syndication Strategy

TLP is assisting TheLoveKitchen with TransMedia, 4 Screen Packaging of the reality show which is now in development.  Synopsis from Show Website.  “The Love KitchenTM is a new seductive dating and upscale cooking show combing sex appeal and food.  TLK unmasks the true personalities of the contestants by turning up the temperature on their first date.  Forget the bedroom. Ever wonder what your date is like…in the kitchen?  Our show uniquely pairs couples together in the kitchen, to see if they can stand the heat – and one another.  “True personalities come out the first date,” says Hang Holyda, the Executive Producer.   She should know.  With a Masters in Psychology, she’’s been studying this a long time – and now she’’s created a show that puts it all into practice.   You can learn a lot about a person during stressful situations.  The kitchen is the perfect place to learn the truth about your potential love interest.  “When stressed, it’s really difficult to contain one’s personality.  Cooking can be stressful, or it can be sensual. The best experience involves a little of both. “  TLK is a cross between ‘The Iron Chef’ and ‘The Dating Game.”  Cross-platformed Webisodes and Episodes offer delicious recipes to help viewers brush up on their culinary skills in a fun and competitive social setting.  Each show involves two contestants competing to win over the main date with their culinary skills and charm by cooking one at a time in front of the date.  In the end, the date chooses the winner as their future dating partner.”

And sometimes the kitchen experience is a total failure where the winning male or female would rather just go home.

Its light and full of surprises mixing secret ingredients, exotic dishes, challenging recipes and impossible situations to determine who makes the grade.”

The proposed Show Hosts are Maikka Weston and Scott Rose.  The show is owned by Success Productions: