The other day, BoingBoing guestblogger Chris Arkenberg posted an interview with Behnam Karbassi of No Mimes Media. It’s a good read, highly recommended, but what jumped out at me was a breakdown of three different types of transmedia: franchise, marketing, and native. There is often much debate and confusion over what’s what in the world of transmedia and much of the confusion comes when people are talking about different types without realizing it.

So, what are they? What do they mean?

Franchise Transmedia

Franchise transmedia occurs when a story world is spread out into various media formats. It goes by names like “world building” and, essentially, means that different stories can be told within the story world (or universe) and might show up in comics and books and video games. There may also be stuff online and merchandise and “user generated content” and so on. All of these different pieces work to make the story world a richer more exciting place.

This is also what is talked about frequently today. Why? Partially because it’s something that networks & studios have been doing for years. They’re used to it and it’s a huge source of money for them.

Examples: Star Wars, Heroes, Doctor Who

Marketing Transmedia

Marketing transmedia builds a story around a brand or a specific property. Unlike franchise transmedia, this isn’t about world building as much as it is creating story told over a variety of media platforms to support or promote an existing story or, perhaps, to build a story around a brand.

Alternate reality games have been used in this manner for ages – from promoting movies (AI, The Dark Knight), tv shows (Regenesis, Fallen) or video games (Halo, Gun, Resistance) to promotional experiences around a product (Sony Aquos TV) or brand (Audi).

Television shows, in particular, have been exploring a variety of ways to create a transmedia experience around the show. From character blogs & twitter accounts to graphic novels and webisodes that reach deeper into the universe by exploring new stories or embellishing the back stories of minor (and, occasionally, major) characters.

Examples: The Beast, I Love Bees, Lost, Nurse Jackie

Native Transmedia

For many of us working in the field, but certainly not all, this is the holy grail. Native transmedia projects are transmedia projects that are created and built across platforms from the start. In native transmedia there is no separate property or existing universe that the transmedia is supporting and it’s less about creating or enhancing a story world than it is about telling a story.

Unlike the others, native transmedia tends to come from a single vision (even if that single vision is created by an entire team). In franchises and marketing transmedia, there are different teams of people in charge of the story and world building at different times. For example, the marketing department responsible for promoting a film or television show may decide to have a transmedia experience run for a few months before the release. They then hire a team to create the transmedia and they often come in with their own pitch and their own story and design. They may have access to the universe or story bible, but they are the ones writing and telling the story.

The challenge with native transmedia, however, is financing it. This is one reason why there are so much marketing transmedia. Marketing departments have budgets and are often willing to explore new ways to promote existing properties, products, and brands. Because of that, they have become the biggest patrons of the transmedia arts.

Examples: Cathy’s Book, Majestic, Eldritch Errors, Valemont, World Without Oil

So, there you have it… an explanation of three different types of transmedia. Do you see it another way? Find my descriptions lacking or flat out incorrect? Speak out in the comments.

Note: The examples that I’ve give are a combination of popular & frequently discussed projects and/or projects that I’m likely to blog about. I know that there are gazillions of other examples. If you send examples my way, I may attempt to create some sort of list or addendum.