Posted by Jessica Lynch at Sunday, October 4, 2015 7:24:23 PM WST
Jeff Gomez, one of the pioneers of transmedia storytelling, defines the discipline as "the process of conveying messages, themes or story lines to a mass audience through the artful and well-planned use of multiple media platforms. It is both a technique and a philosophy of communications and brand extension that enriches and broadens the lifecycle of creative content."
Political campaigns are also about conveying messages and stories to a mass audience; it's just that in this case, the commodity in question is the would-be politician or political party, not a good or service. It is true that Australian politicians take a transmedia approach to communicating their messages, with Facebook and Twitter being the two main social media platforms used (and then, of course, traditional media platforms like TV, radio and print advertising are used as well). However, it's the "storytelling" aspect that is really missing from many campaigns, and this is arguably the most important.
Many political candidates are seen as out-of-touch by the Australian public. The vast majority of them are well-educated, middle-aged and from a high socio-economic background. Being well-educated and middle-aged can be an advantage- the public can see right through those who are immature and lacking between the ears- but sometimes the combination of the above can keep candidates from being relateable to the every-day Australian. There are two transmedia strategies that could be used during campaigns.
To appeal to younger voters, candidates (or their campaign staff) could make use of new platforms like Snapchat during their campaign to tell the story of the candidate themselves. While Snapchat doesn't necessarily scream "prime ministerial", it does scream "relateable", "fun" and "engaging". The time limit on Snapchat videos means that messages would have to be kept succinct, and this should help in keeping the public actively engaged. Even a snap at the start of the day containing something along the lines of "Hey Snapchatters, today we're off to XYZ shopping centre to discuss XYZ topic. I'll be there from 1pm, so come down and join me to have your say" could be a good "in" for a candidate. The campaign manager should then ensure regular snaps- at least one every day, preferably two to four- are uploaded to keep the candidate at the front of the publics mind. The candidate themselves should also have access to the account (after being briefed thoroughly about what is/is not appropriate content) and should be encouraged to upload snippets of their "every day" life- walking the dog, coffee with their spouse, funny anecdotes of what has happened in their day. These can also be saved and uploaded to Twitter or Facebook at a later date if they prove to be very popular on Snapchat- not all snaps should be put on other platforms though, as each platform should have its own individual content. It should be noted that while in Australia elections are held to elect a governing party, not an individual prime minister (unlike the USA, where the president is elected on his or her own merit, not that of the party's), many Australians still vote for a candidate first and their party second, and so this strategy will help capitalise on that.
The second strategy is to stop with the over-the-top, obviously fake campaign ads featuring fake families and workers. The public isn't stupid, and the actors in these ads never appear genuine. Real people need to be used. This is where true transmedia storytelling comes in. Pick some everyday Australians- one or two for each platform- and let them speak about how the policies the candidates opposition is spruiking would negatively affect them. These people should be appropriate to the platform- say, a young tradie and a University student for Snapchat, a middle-aged retail manager, a doctor and a stay-at-home mum for Facebook and a middle-aged professional (journalist?) on Twitter. Their stories should start off with a bit about them- who they are, what their family/financial situation is like and what they do, so the public has a chance to become interested and emotionally invested in these people- and then why the candidates policies would benefit them/why the competitors policies would negatively affect them. These stories should be drip-fed to the public; stretch the introductions over a few days, then bring up one policy every few days. The campaign should allow for some flexibility so new problems or opportunities can be addressed, but should be structured enough that it moves at a reasonable pace to keep things interesting.
Pursuing transmedia storytelling in a political context is certainly something that should be explored more comprehensively in a research context, as it has the potential to massively influence election results and the popularity of candidates.
Jeff Gomez, one of the pioneers of transmedia storytelling, defines the discipline as "the process of conveying messages, themes or story lines to a mass audience through the artful and well-planned use of multiple media platforms. It is both a technique and a philosophy of communications and brand extension that enriches and broadens the lifecycle of creative content."
Political campaigns are also about conveying messages and stories to a mass audience; it's just that in this case, the commodity in question is the would-be politician or political party, not a good or service. It is true that Australian politicians take a transmedia approach to communicating their messages, with Facebook and Twitter being the two main social media platforms used (and then, of course, traditional media platforms like TV, radio and print advertising are used as well). However, it's the "storytelling" aspect that is really missing from many campaigns, and this is arguably the most important.
Many political candidates are seen as out-of-touch by the Australian public. The vast majority of them are well-educated, middle-aged and from a high socio-economic background. Being well-educated and middle-aged can be an advantage- the public can see right through those who are immature and lacking between the ears- but sometimes the combination of the above can keep candidates from being relateable to the every-day Australian. There are two transmedia strategies that could be used during campaigns.
To appeal to younger voters, candidates (or their campaign staff) could make use of new platforms like Snapchat during their campaign to tell the story of the candidate themselves. While Snapchat doesn't necessarily scream "prime ministerial", it does scream "relateable", "fun" and "engaging". The time limit on Snapchat videos means that messages would have to be kept succinct, and this should help in keeping the public actively engaged. Even a snap at the start of the day containing something along the lines of "Hey Snapchatters, today we're off to XYZ shopping centre to discuss XYZ topic. I'll be there from 1pm, so come down and join me to have your say" could be a good "in" for a candidate. The campaign manager should then ensure regular snaps- at least one every day, preferably two to four- are uploaded to keep the candidate at the front of the publics mind. The candidate themselves should also have access to the account (after being briefed thoroughly about what is/is not appropriate content) and should be encouraged to upload snippets of their "every day" life- walking the dog, coffee with their spouse, funny anecdotes of what has happened in their day. These can also be saved and uploaded to Twitter or Facebook at a later date if they prove to be very popular on Snapchat- not all snaps should be put on other platforms though, as each platform should have its own individual content. It should be noted that while in Australia elections are held to elect a governing party, not an individual prime minister (unlike the USA, where the president is elected on his or her own merit, not that of the party's), many Australians still vote for a candidate first and their party second, and so this strategy will help capitalise on that.
The second strategy is to stop with the over-the-top, obviously fake campaign ads featuring fake families and workers. The public isn't stupid, and the actors in these ads never appear genuine. Real people need to be used. This is where true transmedia storytelling comes in. Pick some everyday Australians- one or two for each platform- and let them speak about how the policies the candidates opposition is spruiking would negatively affect them. These people should be appropriate to the platform- say, a young tradie and a University student for Snapchat, a middle-aged retail manager, a doctor and a stay-at-home mum for Facebook and a middle-aged professional (journalist?) on Twitter. Their stories should start off with a bit about them- who they are, what their family/financial situation is like and what they do, so the public has a chance to become interested and emotionally invested in these people- and then why the candidates policies would benefit them/why the competitors policies would negatively affect them. These stories should be drip-fed to the public; stretch the introductions over a few days, then bring up one policy every few days. The campaign should allow for some flexibility so new problems or opportunities can be addressed, but should be structured enough that it moves at a reasonable pace to keep things interesting.
Pursuing transmedia storytelling in a political context is certainly something that should be explored more comprehensively in a research context, as it has the potential to massively influence election results and the popularity of candidates.