Trans-Media enters the 21st Century

Trans-Media enters the 21st Century
By PGA NMC member Jeff Gomez

The age of true, premeditated trans-media storytelling was arguably kicked off in October of 2005, when Bob Iger took command at Disney. A spry Boomer to Michael Eisner’s stately Greatest Generation, Iger knows from worlds and he also understands technology. He has a firm grip on how we as consumers use the web as a colossal hub for pursuing our interests and connecting with one another over things we enjoy. By extending the worlds created by The Walt Disney Company (everything from High School Musical to Fairies and Pirates of the Caribbean) onto the Internet, he isn’t simply advertising them — he’s growing them at an exponential rate.

This way original movies will premiere with built-in fan bases, fans will get text messages from fictional characters, you’ll be able to start exploring the massive worlds of tent pole pictures in 3D environments before they hit theaters, and each novel, toy and webisode will live up to the standard of quality and consistency that makes the film memorable. It stands to reason that other companies, large and small, are following suit right now.


Jeff Gomez (jeff@starlightrunner.com), is the CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, Inc., a developer and producer of highly successful trans-media projects whose clients include The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, the Coca-Cola Company, Mattel and Hasbro. Over the next few weeks he’ll be sharing his expertise on the white hot trans-media industry – exploring its fascinating history and expanding upon the 8 Defining Principles of Trans-Media Production



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