September 13, 2011
I came across an excellent blog post by creative agency The Barbarian Group earlier today that visualizes what the author characterizes as “the interest graph:”
Unfortunately for brands, one of the most common trends is for the excitement about your site, content, or promotion to wane over time. Whenever I talk about this phenomenon, I describe the graph this behavior makes if you plot interest over time. The easiest way to describe the graph is like a slide at a children’s playground. At first interest climbs up and up until it reaches the top of the stairs; but then it peaks and slides down and down until it reaches the ground. This happens with every product launch, every promotion, and every new piece of content that spreads virally. The only thing that ever changes is how long the initial growth lasts, how high the overall interest grows, and how long it takes for interest to peter out to just about nothing.
As the author remarks, the fact that people get excited about things and gradually lose interest and move on is hardly a surprise. However, it does seem clear that in the age of social networking, viral memes, and thousands of hours of instantly available entertainment content, the phenomenon has been exacerbated and the average half-life of everything has been reduced. Thus, understanding and anticipating when the audience drop-off in interest will occur seems to be a critically important skill. I believe there are some repercussions for transmedia storytelling, and the entertainment and media businesses more widely.
Content Release: The Old Model
Before digital distribution, the process of releasing most content was fairly straightforward. Spend a lot of money in advertising for the initial release (e.g. a theatrical movie release) in hopes of (as the quote above states) maximizing “how high the overall interest grows.” Then repeat the process for the secondary release (home video), and possibly further re-releases down the line (special editions, DVDs, etc.).
What happened in between those peak activity periods was essentially irrelevant, and content distributors considered it a write-off. The key was those first 2-4 weeks of release. That has arguably changed for a few reasons.
Reason 1: Digital Distribution
Even in the DVD era, there was little need to sustain sales of a piece of content (or larger brand) after its initial release. “Catalog” sales were considered a bonus, not a necessity. That is gradually changing in the digital era. Digital distribution, particularly when it forms part of the new-generation cloud based services we are beginning to see, makes content available for purchase on a consistent basis. With infinite shelf space, and the ability to key into audience preferences through data analytics and recommendation engines, a piece of content can add to a company’s bottom line for years to come. This may be particularly important for an independent production seeking to recoup over a longer stretch of time, especially if self-distributed.
Reason 2: The Death of the Sequel and Birth of the Brand
If there has been one major realization within the entertainment industry over the past 10-15 years or so, it is that entertainment companies are not merely in the content creation business; they are in the brand-building business.
In the old paradigm, production of sequels was reactionary. A movie studio, for instance, would release a slate of films, gauge which were popular, and then contemplate how to follow up on that success. Of course, this meant brainstorming an entirely new story (often grafted on to an original premise not designed to be extended), and renegotiating talent deals in less favorable ways. Little thought was given to the interest graph above; the thought was that the combination of public goodwill towards the talent involved, and another huge advertising spend, would be sufficient.
By and large, we are seeing that old paradigm die – with good reason. Entertainment companies are realizing that it is better to make a slightly larger initial investment in story development and multi-picture talent deals than to be forced to scramble to react to a success that, through sheer managerial negligence, was entirely unforeseen.
Of course, that means that entertainment companies now have an incredibly strong interest in not letting the interest graph above completely bottom out – but rather, to formulate a strategy that enables several smaller peaks of interest in between major releases.
Note: The same principle applies to the practice of “rebooting” a series. Fond memories of the original incarnation may be powerful, but it seems foolish to attempt to reboot a series (either with a remake or a direct prequel) without tapping into the potential fan base through social media and digital story content.
Reason 3: Consumer Products
This is the other side to the brand-building coin. Entertainment companies today generally have dedicated consumer products divisions that can prove enormously profitable even when the core content strategy is in a rough patch. Of course, product sales may be highest around the period surrounding major releases – but the most successful companies manage to release a steady line of diverse products on an ongoing, yearly basis. This is where the interest graph above comes in – clearly, if a customer is bored by your story and brand, he’s not going to buy your products.
As this article remarks, Disney has done a remarkable job of sustaining interest in its brands (including its overarching company brand) by providing diverse experiences to audiences through its stores and parks – in perpetuity. Interest in Disney’s stories and characters has seldom hit rock bottom, although the company has strategically managed audience interest through endeavors such as the “Disney vault” (which presumably no longer functions as a broad strategy).
The important thing to understand is that the importance of consumer products has increased exponentially in the digital age. Social networking and accessible iPad apps allow brands to manage audiences on a continual basis and, if suitable, push new products to consumers. Moreover, digital technology allows the mass dissemination of “consumer products” that, unlike t-shirts and mugs, can actually further story and prove profitable in their own right. If Alcon releases a 99c “Point Break” iPad game to accompany its theatrical reboot, that app could plausibly add seven figures to the bottom line for a relatively low upfront investment. Moreover, such a game could increase and sustain audience interest in the property both prior to and after release.
Of course, things get really interesting when consumer products actually spike audience interest levels through valuable narrative substance – something that enhances the story, mythos, or scope of the brand. Coupled with the exponential “ripple” effect that a strategic, well-managed social media strategy can bring, such content can potentially prevent the interest graph for a property from ever flatlining.
Transmedia Storytelling
Which brings us to the importance of transmedia storytelling techniques. As you will recall, the quote at the top of this article spoke about three distinct elements of audience interest:
The only thing that ever changes is how long the initial growth lasts, how high the overall interest grows, and how long it takes for interest to peter out to just about nothing.
Transmedia storytelling techniques are invaluable on all three counts. They can increase the longevity of that initial “big bang” period – your tentpole movie release, network premiere, novel release, or indie film festival debut. They can certainly increase how long mass interest around a release lasts, as fans dig deeper, revisit the original content for a deeper understanding, and pull their friends into the discussion. And, perhaps most significantly, they can prevent interest from petering out to nothing by keeping audiences engaged and aware of the brand as long as is preferable.
The key to accomplishing this is to (a) ensure that your story has a sufficiently deep narrative and surrounding mythology, (b) preemptively define a strategic methodology for release of narrative (and non-narrative) content, (c) retain flexibility by building an infrastructure that permits responsiveness to audience, and (d) maintain a policy of listening to audiences, though both traditional dialog (e.g. social media chatter) and data driven (see, e.g., the Zynga approach) methodologies.
The Indie Line
While much of the above may seem to speak only to big-budget brands and huge commercial releases, I think the same principles apply to independent creators as well. However, the focus with indie creators is not necessarily to attempt to maintain focus on a singular “brand” or story, but rather to use digital distribution and transmedia storytelling to maintain the audience’s interest in you, and your career. Few instant stars are made at film festivals today (especially directors and producers), and it’s in your best interest to build your creative brand with a steady flow of quality work. Jon Reiss’s Think Outside the Box Office is an excellent guide to these principles.
Consider also work-for-hire contributions to other transmedia brands. I firmly believe that, for an aspiring action director, for instance, a well-made fan film is far more useful for your career today than a hit festival film (which requires jumping through a lot of hoops and may not be widely seen).
Thanks to Stuart Foster for tweeting the original post by Noah King.
Simon,
thanks for this post, a good read. I’d add to the sentiments above that the same goes for transmedia project not based on films, of course. In television, HBO for instance are very good at keeping their fangbangers happy over at True Blood, even in between series. As someone said, telling a good story over a long time is about keeping those coals hot and glowing, adding wood at suitable intervals and making sure you cook something while you have that fire.
Yes, absolutely. It’s sometimes easier for me to default to motion pictures, but television is also a great example. It seems likely we’ll see all sorts of transmedia and second screen stories to build and maintain interest before a new show airs, between seasons, and even between individual episodes.
It’s also possible we’ll see production companies and/or secondary distributors build transmedia content for shows to support their digital “runs” on platforms like Netflix and iTunes.
Lots of opportunities for brand and/or advertising integration in the TV field as well.
In a sort of revsree twist, what I’m now seeing are certain creative enterprises launching their story (or IP) as an app or other lower-cost digital content before the production of the anchor property, almost as a proof of concept to attract the level of finance needed to mount a major production. What all of these approaches (studio, TV, indie, pre-sell) have in common is a sudden awareness that the new digital ecosystem lets you find and keep fans, and especially superFans of your story world over time. Smooths out that “interest graph,” as you so eloquently write.
Fantastic article Simon thanks!
Nice work, Simon, and I think we can easily extrapolate much of what you’re saying to the push for transmedial development in so many parts of the (book) publishing industry today, as will be represented by the first StoryWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco at the end of October and top of November. (http://www.storyworldconference.com/ehome/20801/29548/?& and @StoryWorldConf ) As standard concepts of “the book” break down and morph, a lot of our best minds are casting about for interest-building and -extending evocations that properly contribute and contextualize a literary work, rather than simply overlaying it with a glossy app or two. Lots to think about there, thanks. And I’d like just to name the author of the piece you reference from the Barbarian Group, since posts don’t write themselves — quite a good one, I agree; that’s the work of Barbarian’s Noah King in Boston (@digitalnoah). Thanks again.
Absolutely. I would certainly recommend that anybody in the SF area try to make it to Storyworld. Alison has done a fantastic job assembling a very diverse group of speakers.
In a sort of reverse twist, what I’m now seeing are certain creative enterprises launching their story (or IP) as an app or other lower-cost digital content before the production of the anchor property, almost as a proof of concept to attract the level of finance needed to mount a major production. What all of these approaches (studio, TV, indie, pre-sell) have in common is a sudden awareness that the new digital ecosystem lets you find and keep fans, and especially superFans of your story world over time. Smooths out that “interest graph,” as you so eloquently write.