THE PLAGUE'S TRANSMEDIA UNIVERSE

TitleTHE PLAGUE'S TRANSMEDIA UNIVERSE
BrandMOVISTAR +
Product/ServiceTHE PLAGUE (LA PESTE)
Entrant EL CANONAZO TRANSMEDIA Madrid, SPAIN
Idea Creation EL CANONAZO TRANSMEDIA Madrid, SPAIN
Idea Creation 2 MOVISTAR+ Madrid, SPAIN
Production EL CANONAZO TRANSMEDIA Madrid, SPAIN
Production 2 MOVISTAR+ Madrid, SPAIN
Credits
Name Company Position
Roger Casas-Alatriste El Cañonazo Transmedia CEO El Cañonazo Transmedia
Luis Alcázar El Cañonazo Transmedia Creative Director
Domingo Corral Movistar+ -
David S. Vernjano Movistar+ -
Ismael Calleja Movistar+ -
Miriam Lagoa Movistar+ -
Manfredi Giannoni El Cañonazo Transmedia Head of Production
Vicky Vasán El Cañonazo Transmedia Creative & Transmedia Producer
José Ángel Esteban El Cañonazo Transmedia Content Director
Irene Rodríguez El Cañonazo Transmedia -
Marisa Simon-Moore El Cañonazo Transmedia Creative & Transmedia Producer
Guillermo Fernández de Oliveira - -
Román Vogdt - -
Pedro Álvarez - -
Atípica Films Atípica Films -
Jesús Cuesta El Cañonazo Transmedia Postproduction
Miguel Bergareche El Cañonazo Transmedia -
Javier Duch - -
Blueberry Studios Blueberry Studios -
Iñigo Guerrero - -

Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

Nowadays, the audience is scattered in different spaces of reception and participation, in different screens. It was mandatory for this project to take advantage of the various convergences, creating a transmedia universe so we could look for those dispersed viewers and make them find us in the screens and platforms they use. This idea took shape in various formats, a strategy and a way of interaction with those viewers who became users. The contents of The Plague’s Transmedia Universe are multi-platform, not redundant and have its own life while being interconnected, so all of them are part of a whole.

Background

Since its very conception, The Plague, a historical thriller set in 16th century Seville, was set to become a new way of making television in Spain. A complex and premium TV, that besides its own narrative, looked for the 21th century viewer. The viewer who now has the power of choosing. The Plague’s production team knew that stories, especially those for TV, could no longer be told in the same ways as before. It was the ideal time to integrate a transmedia team to face the most difficult question: how to tell a story set in the 16th century in the present?

Describe the creative idea

The answer was a map. A map for a journey between 16th century Seville and the Seville of today. A round trip between fiction and reality. A voyage in which the viewer could choose their level of implication and immersion. The Plague’s Transmedia Universe expands the fiction through more than 350 minutes of audiovisual content, spread throughout 8 formats that include interactive documentaries, audio fiction, collaborative websites, geolocated tours, cooking shows wit recipes from the 16th century, youtubers and making ofs. All of which can be found in a website, that “map for the journey”, designed for all devices. The Plague’s Transmedia Universe had to be based in the narrative, not only in technological resources. It had to tell stories to the users while employing the appropriate technologies and platforms, and not the other way around.

Describe the strategy

The first step to create the transmedia experience was to understand the show’s plot, characters and historical context and analyse what elements could be expanded and complemented in other formats. Then the focus turned into the kind of users needed to planned the contents and its platforms, taking into account their levels of engagement and participation. And so we developed three types of content: HELP: offers extended information about the show’s elements. HUB: adds entertainment elements. HERO: informs and entertains while creating an emotional link with the user. Each format had a different target audience: foodies, millennials, tourists in Seville, cinema and technology fans, etc. Besides, all of the different formats were connected with each other so the viewer could choose their own level of involvement. The result was more than 350 minutes of audio-visual content, spread throughout 8 formats that could be found in the same multi-device website.

Describe the execution

The Plague and its additional contents were promoted through a strategy that lasted several months, using owned and earned media and aiming to create communication landmarks. The Plague’s Transmedia Universe it’s more than a ‘campaign’, it’s ‘content’. It’s available in a website, just as The Plague is available in VOD, so its life lasts longer than a traditional campaign. The Plague’s Transmedia Universe was presented a month before the show’s release at the MIM Series Festival, where we took advantage of the sensibility and receptiveness of the especializad audience. The content was released in phases (before, at the same time or after the premiere of the show) so that each time it generated a communication landmark and the transmedia universe positioned itself again in the headlines. All the contents of each format were released simultaneously, just as the episodes of the show, to encourage binge-watching and binge-listening.

List the results

The campaign was awarded a “Sol de Plata” award for Best Transmedia Content at El Sol Festival and short-listed for Best Integrated Cross-Channel Cross Media in The Drum Awards. Also, some of its formats were selected at several film and TV show festivals. It has gotten more than 110.000 views on YouTube, more than 95.000 interactions, more than 2.400 plays on the podcasts, more than 780 mentions in social media, more than 560 external links to www.larutadelapeste.com and more than 3.300 mentions in the press (indexed by Google News) It has sparked academic interest, both in media studies and educational practice. It has been the main topic of several academic works as well as being used to teach history and literature to high school students.