Storytelling trends: interactive and transmedia storymaking
«Content» and «storytelling» are the two terms that have become indispensable to live communication. Whether at events, trade show booths, or in the design of retail spaces and visitor centers—stories serve as the common thread. They connect information with emotion, and technology with people. Thanks to new technical possibilities, however, audiences can not only follow a story across multiple channels or media, but they can also become part of it themselves.
Opportunities for live communication
Transmedia or multichannel storytelling has long been part of everyday life for most people. When you get up, you read the news in the news app, later in the commuter paper, watch the video on YouTube, and in the evening you watch the report on TV.
This behavior has become so established that a corresponding offering in other areas is also expected. If a company manages to pick up on this need for communication across multiple channels, it seizes the opportunity for potential customers to spend more time with its brand and thus build a stronger, lasting bond.
The Zurich-based experience specialist has recognized that this cross-media storytelling is not only relevant for marketing and journalism, but also for live communication. "Today, people expect multimedia stimuli, want to be animated in different ways to engage with something," says Jürg Schwarz, CEO of Habegger. Live streams, virtual reality or interactive engagement via diverse tools and platforms make it possible.
Storytelling" becomes "storymaking
Interactive elements such as live polls and voting or virtual reality applications create a unique opportunity: They let the audience become part of the story. They are no longer passive recipients of storytelling, but actively contribute to storymaking, to the course of the story. According to Schwarz, this is a trend that still has great potential in the area of live communication.
"The technology for more extensive applications already exists, but so far it has only been used on a small scale, whether at events or in museums," says Schwarz. This is mainly due to the fact that storymaking is often neglected in the conception phase and the necessary content production is not planned for.
Habegger has recognized the possibilities of new technologies and incorporates them into the planning of a project at an early stage. The customized, individual experience moves into focus. "Only when we manage to seamlessly merge content and technology will we have arrived in the future of storymaking," Schwarz is certain.
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