In 2006, Henry Jenkins introduced the term “transmedia storytelling”. This means that a story is told through different media like television programmes, books, games, websites, radio shows and others. For this dissertation, the story of the television series was the macro story. Today, transmedia storytelling might be a buzz-word, but it is almost certain that it will influence the way of creating franchising products. Therefore, this dissertation focused on three objectives. The first objective was to research why television broadcasting companies do (not) implement transmedia storytelling in their marketing strategies around a television series. The second research objective was to find out which transmedia storytelling elements (like story, characters and storyworld) are the most important to make a successful franchising product related to transmedia storytelling. The last research objective was to find out if the consumption of franchising products related to transmedia storytelling has an impact on the loyalty of the television viewer towards a certain television series.

1. Transmedia storytelling as a
marketing tool for Flemish
television broadcasting
companies
By
Floris Lefever
September 2010
The work contained within this document has been submitted
by the student in partial fulfilment of the requirement of their course and award

2. Transmedia storytelling as a
marketing tool for Flemish
television broadcasting
companies
Word count: 12 920
By
Floris Lefever
September 2010
MA Marketing Management
Faculty of Business, Environment
and Society
The work contained within this document has been submitted
by the student in partial fulfilment of the requirement of their course and award

3. Declaration
The author of this dissertation, Floris Lefever, hereby declares that this work is
original, it is his own and written in his own words. Any uses made of the works of
others (e.g. citations, tables, figures ...) are referenced clearly. A full list of references
is included. The views expressed in this dissertation are those of Floris Lefever and
do in no way represent those of Coventry University. This dissertation was not
presented for examination to any other University than Coventry University.
Signed:
Date:
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4. Abstract
In 2006, Henry Jenkins introduced the term “transmedia storytelling”. This means
that a story is told through different media like television programmes, books, games,
websites, radio shows and others. For this dissertation, the story of the television
series was the macro story. Today, transmedia storytelling might be a buzz-word, but
it is almost certain that it will influence the way of creating franchising products.
Therefore, this dissertation focused on three objectives. The first objective was to
research why television broadcasting companies do (not) implement transmedia
storytelling in their marketing strategies around a television series. The second
research objective was to find out which transmedia storytelling elements (like story,
characters and storyworld) are the most important to make a successful franchising
product related to transmedia storytelling. The last research objective was to find out
if the consumption of franchising products related to transmedia storytelling has an
impact on the loyalty of the television viewer towards a certain television series.
The data on which the results are based was gathered by applying a mixed method
strategy. First of all, qualitative data was gathered by semi-structured interviews with
three Flemish experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling. The quantitative
data was obtained by using an online survey. 303 respondents older than 18 years
completed this online survey. The collected quantitative data was analysed using
SPSS. The qualitative data was analyzed in their original narrative form. The
research was limited to Flanders (Belgium). Because of this, there is no guarantee
that the results can be generalized for other countries or cultures.
The results of the research showed that transmedia storytelling is not yet much
applied in the Flemish media landscape, but when it is applied, there are different
motives to do so. Vtm, a Flemish commercial television channel, uses franchising
products with transmedia storytelling elements only after the producers saw that the
television series is successful. The creators of the television series “Thuis” (from the
public services channel “één”) saw transmedia storytelling as an important technique
for the future. This is why they applied it and they had ambitious plans, for example,
to develop a big platform around a fictional company of the series. The income from
this platform, they could use to finance the other (free) franchises like the websites.
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5. However, a lot of the transmedia storytelling franchise around “Thuis” are about to
be shut down because of savings. It is not sure what the future will bring.
This dissertation also showed that different groups of television viewers consume
different franchising products for different reasons. For most franchise products the
story has the most influence followed by the characters. But this dissertation also
showed differences in gender: men listen more to a franchise radio show because
they want to know more about the storyworld of the television series than women do.
Another aspect that was researched was the impact on the loyalty of the television
viewers towards a television series after consuming franchising products. To
categorize the television viewers, the categorization of McDowell and Sutherland
(2000) was used. This dissertation shows that the group of “loyalists” slightly grew
after the consumption of franchising products with transmedia storytelling elements.
The purpose of this dissertation was to create a document that could also be used in
practice. Nowadays, for television producers it is hard to convince their superiors and
advertisers to invest in transmedia storytelling-projects because in most cases there is
no guarantee on financial return on investment. But it is clear that transmedia
storytelling could have an impact on the loyalty of the television viewer because he
can experience the television series. And this loyalty could lead to more income for
the television broadcasting companies by selling more franchising products. In some
cases there could also be income from selling licenses. Another growing source of
income could be the extra investments of advertisers to cooperate in a transmedia
storytelling project.
But as mentioned before, transmedia storytelling is a relatively new phenomenon.
However, with the growing numbers of media and the convergence between these
media, it is possible that stories will be told in another way as we know it today.
Because of this, it could be interesting to do more research on specific television
programmes and genres and the consumption of television content on other media.
Related to this, the research on motivations (internal and external) for television
viewers to consume franchising products with transmedia storytelling elements
should be more extended.
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6. Acknowledgements
Writing a dissertation is like an adventure. You have to prepare carefully and even if
everything is prepared well, there is still Murphy’s Law to take into account.
Luckily, I was surrounded by a lot of people who supported me when I needed it the
most. Therefore, I especially want to thank my parents. Thanks to them I got the
opportunity to study at Coventry University. I owe sincere and earnest thankfulness
to Mr. Coleman, my supervisor, for his total commitment, support and expertise.
However, the person who helped me the most was my girlfriend. I would like to
show my gratitude to her because she was really my Tower of strength. She kept me
alert and focussed by giving constructive feedback every time it was necessary. And
when I needed new inspiration, she was there for another brainstorm session. I would
like to thank my friends and family for everything they have done for me. Finally, I
am much obliged to every interviewee that contributed to this dissertation.
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7. Table of Contents
Declaration .................................................................................................................... i
Abstract ........................................................................................................................ ii
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables............................................................................................................... ix
List of Figures .............................................................................................................. x
CHAPTER I: Introduction ........................................................................................ 1
CHAPTER II: Literature review ............................................................................. 3
2.1. Model............................................................................................................. 4
2.2. Transmedia storytelling ................................................................................. 5
2.3. Transmedia storytelling for television broadcasting companies ................... 7
2.4. Franchise related to transmedia storytelling .................................................. 8
2.5. Television viewers loyalty........................................................................... 12
2.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER III: Methodology ................................................................................. 16
3.1. Mixed methodology .................................................................................... 17
3.1.1. Mixed method strategy......................................................................... 17
3.1.2. Purpose ................................................................................................. 18
3.2. Qualitative data............................................................................................ 19
3.2.1. In depth-interview method ................................................................... 19
3.2.2. Respondents ......................................................................................... 19
3.2.3. Analysis ................................................................................................ 20
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8. 3.3. Quantitative data.......................................................................................... 21
3.3.1. Online survey ....................................................................................... 21
3.3.2. Target population specifications .......................................................... 22
3.3.3. Analysis ................................................................................................ 22
3.4. Validity and reliability................................................................................. 23
3.4.1. Internal validity .................................................................................... 23
3.4.2. Face validity ......................................................................................... 23
3.4.3. Content validity .................................................................................... 23
3.4.4. Criterion validity .................................................................................. 23
3.4.5. External validity ................................................................................... 24
3.4.6. Internal consistency reliability ............................................................. 24
3.4.7. Efficiency, ease of use and interpretability .......................................... 24
3.5. Extra comments ........................................................................................... 25
3.5.1. No focus groups ................................................................................... 25
3.5.2. Advantages of online research ............................................................. 25
3.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER IV: Data Collection and Analysis ....................................................... 26
4.1. Qualitative data – Research objective 1 ...................................................... 27
4.1.1. Experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling in Flanders .......... 27
4.1.2. Transmedia storytelling in Flanders ..................................................... 27
4.1.3. Financial motivations ........................................................................... 28
4.1.4. Innovative motivations ......................................................................... 29
4.1.5. Loyalty ................................................................................................. 29
4.1.6. Difficulties............................................................................................ 30
4.1.7. Future ................................................................................................... 30
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9. 4.2. Quantitative data – Overview ...................................................................... 31
4.2.1. Respondents ......................................................................................... 31
4.2.2. Viewing behaviour ............................................................................... 32
4.2.3. Margin of error ..................................................................................... 33
4.3. Quantitative data – Research objective 2 .................................................... 33
4.3.1. Books ................................................................................................... 33
4.3.2. Events ................................................................................................... 35
4.3.3. Radio .................................................................................................... 36
4.3.4. Websites fictional companies “Thuis” ................................................. 38
4.3.5. Website “Noorderzon” ......................................................................... 40
4.3.6. Blog “Ellie” .......................................................................................... 40
4.4. Quantitative data – Research objective 3 .................................................... 41
4.4.1. After ... more a favourite/I like the TV-series more............................. 42
4.4.2. After ... I watch the TV-series more/more frequent ............................. 44
4.4.3. After ... other good alternatives on TV/switch TV-channel ................. 46
4.5. Conclusions ................................................................................................. 47
CHAPTER V: Conclusions and Recommendations ............................................. 48
5.1. Theoretical Contribution of this Study ........................................................ 48
5.1.1. Theory .................................................................................................. 48
5.1.2. Measurement ........................................................................................ 49
5.1.3. Analytical Methods .............................................................................. 49
5.1.4. Methodology ........................................................................................ 50
5.2. Managerial Implication ............................................................................... 50
5.2.1. Organisations ....................................................................................... 50
5.2.2. Consumers ............................................................................................ 50
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10. 5.3. Research Limitations ................................................................................... 51
5.4. Future research ............................................................................................ 51
References .................................................................................................................. 52
Appendices ................................................................................................................. 56
Appendix A: How often did you watch “Thuis” or “Sara” .................................... 56
Appendix B: How often did you watch “Witse”.................................................... 58
Appendix C: Crosstabulation Sara, Mijn Dagboek 1 + 2 ...................................... 59
Appendix D: Information about the translator ....................................................... 60
Appendix E: Letter of Invitation for the interviews with experts .......................... 61
Appendix F: Online survey (English) .................................................................... 62
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11. List of Tables
Table 1: Referring sites .............................................................................................. 31
Table 2: Gender respondents ...................................................................................... 31
Table 3: Age categories .............................................................................................. 32
Table 4: Chi-square test of reading the first and second book of Sara ...................... 34
Table 5: Crosstab radio programmes gender/characters ............................................ 37
Table 6: Chi-square test gender/characters radio programmes .................................. 38
Table 7: Correlation and significance more favourite/like more ............................... 42
Table 8: Correlation and significance listening to Ellie/watching more frequent ..... 44
Table 9: Correlation liking/watching television series............................................... 45
Table 10: Correlation good alternatives/switch TV-channel ..................................... 46
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12. List of Figures
Figure 1: Transmedia storytelling model (Pratten 2009) ............................................. 4
Figure 2: Multiple media versus cross-media versus transmedia (Thompson 2010)... 6
Figure 3: Readers books ............................................................................................. 34
Figure 4: Visit fict. comp. out of interest in characters .............................................. 39
Figure 5: Visit fict. comp. out of interest in fict. comp.............................................. 39
Figure 6: After ... more favourite ............................................................................... 43
Figure 7: After ... like more ....................................................................................... 43
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13. CHAPTER I: Introduction
Today, television broadcasting companies all over the world, both public services
and commercial channels, usually have to work with lower budgets than previous
years. This is inter alia due to the lower income revenues from advertising and lower
income from the government.
Because of this, television broadcasters have to look for new sources of income. One
of the possibilities is franchising related to their television series. In 2006, Henry
Jenkins, Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the
University of Southern California (Jenkins n.d.), introduced the term “transmedia
storytelling” (Jenkins 2006). In short this includes all the media in which a part of a
story is told. Every piece of information gained from a different medium contributes
to a bigger whole. This way, the television viewer can obtain new elements of the
story by consuming different products and services like books, events, radio
programmes, comic books, websites, blog and games.
If transmedia storytelling is implemented in a sensible way, it gives broadcasting
companies the opportunity to successfully expand the product range around a certain
television programme. However, is it possible for television broadcasters to obtain
more than just financial income by selling these products? And which are the most
important factors of a transmedia storytelling franchise product for television
viewers? After consuming a franchise product with transmedia storytelling elements,
will a television viewer also be more loyal towards the parent brand which is in this
case a television series? This research aims to discover in what way transmedia
storytelling around a television programme can be interesting from a marketing
perspective. Out of practical consideration, this research will focus on the Northern
part of Belgium: Flanders.
In the literature review the focus will be on the description of the transmedia
storytelling phenomenon and on the academic literature which has already been
published about this relatively young media technique. Because transmedia
storytelling includes different media, I will also discuss how franchises around a
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14. television programme influence the consumer from a brand extensions point of view.
The chapter “Methodology” explains the methodology and how the research was
conducted. Chapter four contains the data analysis of the research. The conclusions
of the research and the recommendations can be found in chapter five. To conclude,
the three objectives of this dissertation are:
1. Identifying the main objectives of television broadcasting companies to (not)
implement transmedia storytelling.
The purpose of this objective is to find out why television broadcasting companies
implement transmedia storytelling in their audiovisual projects. Do they do it just for
the financial income it could generate, do these television broadcasting companies
also see these transmedia projects as prestige projects, or are there other motivations?
2. Discovering which factors determine why a franchise related to transmedia
storytelling is popular.
There are different factors or elements that are typical for transmedia storytelling
franchise. The franchise products contain elements which complement the story of
the television series. Because of this, I will examine what factors are decisive for the
television viewer to consume franchising related to transmedia storytelling. Do
people buy it for the story, the storyworld or the characters? Does the average
Flemish television viewer want to learn something more about those elements by
consuming transmedia storytelling products?
3. Discovering if transmedia storytelling has any (positive or negative) effect on
the viewers loyalty towards a television series.
Franchising related to transmedia storytelling is an example of brand extensions. The
brand extension can benefit from the parent brand (in this case a television series) its
image and the loyalty of the television viewers towards the television series. This
research tries to find out if this also happens the other way around: does the
consumption of franchise with transmedia storytelling elements also have an impact
on the consumers’ loyalty towards a certain television series or not.
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15. CHAPTER II: Literature review
Franchising as a brand extension of a television programme is nothing new. Today,
transmedia storytelling might be a “buzz”-word, but it is almost certain that it will
influence the way of creating franchising products. Transmedia storytelling was in
2006 described by Henry Jenkins as stories which are told across multiple media
channels (Jenkins 2006). Up till today, research has been done on franchising as a
brand extension and transmedia storytelling, but not yet on the effect that could be
obtained by combining those two elements. While a good combination between
transmedia storytelling on one hand and franchising on the other hand could create a
synergetic effect. Not only financially, but also on the brand’s image, brand
awareness and brand loyalty. Within this literature review there will be a focus on a
description of the transmedia storytelling phenomenon and the academic literature
which has already been published about this relatively young media technique.
Because transmedia storytelling includes different media, I will also discuss how
franchises around a television programme influence the consumer from a brand
extensions point of view.
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16. 2.1. Model
Because transmedia storytelling is a relatively new phenomenon, there are not yet
much academic theories or frameworks available. Because of this, the model of
Robert Pratten (2009), which covers the most important elements of transmedia
storytelling, was used.
Figure 1: Transmedia storytelling model (Pratten 2009)
This model shows the steps which should be taken to turn an existing script into a
transmedia storytelling project. Based on the input and considerations, like the
available resources, audience needs and marketing needs, the producers choose a
theme/genre. The story told within a certain genre depends on several factors like the
storyworld, the characters and the story plot. When these factors got shape, the next
step would be thinking about how those factors could be translated for other media
like games, movies and events. The output will then be a structured project with
attention for the script of the macro-story and the franchise based on the story.
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17. Most elements of the model can be placed under one of the objectives of the research
that will be done. If we want to know which factors determine why a franchise
related to transmedia storytelling is popular we have to take a closer look to the
premise, world to support premise, characters and the plot within a certain television
genre. The inputs and considerations about this should be based in the audience
needs. The different franchising products can be placed under the implementation
segment (game, movie, television programme ...).
If a broadcasting company is thinking about using transmedia storytelling around one
of its television programmes it also has to be aware of the resources that are available
and the resources that are needed and what the marketing function is.
2.2. Transmedia storytelling
In the journal article “Critics, Clones and Narrative in the Franchise Blockbuster”,
Bradly Schauer calls transmedia storytelling “one of the most important shifts in
Hollywood narrative since the auteur experiments of the 1960s and 1970s” (Schauer
2007).
But what is transmedia storytelling? Transmedia storytelling was in 2006 described
by Henry Jenkins as stories which are told across multiple media channels (Jenkins
2006). Carlos Alberto Scolari continues by saying that transmedia storytelling can
also be seen as “a narrative structure that expands through both different languages
(verbal, iconic, etc.) and media (cinema, comics, television, video games, etc.)
(Scolari 2009).
It is interesting to clarify the difference between transmedia storytelling and an other,
similar concept: “cross-media”. Cross-media involves a text which is created and
published in different media channels (Dena 2004); (Bechmann Petersen 2006).
Other similar concepts are “multiple platforms” (Jeffery-Poulter 2003), “transmedial
worlds” (Klastrup & Tosca 2004) or “transmedial interactions” (Bardzell et al. 2007).
All of these concepts are related to each other in trying to create a similar experience
which Bechmann Petersen in 2006 describes as “a production and interpretation
practice based on narratives expressed through a coordinated combination of
languages and media or platforms” (Bechmann Petersen 2006, p. 95).
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18. Multiple Media Cross-Media Transmedia
Figure 2: Multiple media versus cross-media versus transmedia (Thompson 2010)
In the figure of Thompson, the circles represent the different media or franchises
used for the story. For example, the circle on top is a television programme, the left
circle is a book and the right circle is a game. The first figure shows different media
telling stories from the same universe, but one medium contributes nothing to the
other media. Multiple media are used for example when a viewer can see a short clip
of an episode from a television series on this series’ website. In case of cross-media
storytelling, the different media interact with each other in a one-way relationship. In
this case, the television programme can drive a viewer to another medium. However,
there is no two-way communication. For example, in the television programme, a
character can refer to a website related to a fictional company from the television
series. When the television viewer arrives on this website, he can find some content
from the series, but nothing or very little extra. In the case of transmedia storytelling
however, there is a complex relationship between the different media and each of the
media interacts with another.
A good example to explain what transmedia storytelling is, is “The Matrix” (Jenkins
2006). Most people know “The Matrix” as a movie directed by Andy and Lana
Wachowski. However, next to “The Matrix” movie trilogy, there is also a series of
animated shorts, video games and collections of comic book stories. All these media
can be consumed on their own even if the consumer does not have experience with
the content of the other media. Nevertheless, it will be easier for the player of the
video game to succeed in completing the different missions when he has already seen
the movies, because he knows more about the characters and has some experience
with the story world. But this works both ways. When someone plays the game, he
gains more information about the characters, which is not given in the movies. This
way, a person that wants to experience the entire story world needs to consume a
variety of different media to be able to find all the pieces of the puzzle.
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19. Within this research, television series will be used as the macro-story (Scolari 2009).
In this case the term TV-centred transmedia storytelling can also be used (Scolari
2009).
2.3. Transmedia storytelling for television broadcasting companies
Because of the innovations and introductions of new media technologies,
broadcasting companies today have more possibilities to produce television dramas
covering a wide range of media (Evans 2008).
Carlos Alberto Scolari ascertains that the development of a same story in different
languages and media is a traditional marketing strategy (Scolari 2009). But a lot of
companies in the entertainment business are aware of the fact that transmedia
storytelling is part of the future of entertainment. These companies now have to
consider how to improve the way they manage their resources and take control of
their audiovisual product in different media. If a company does this well, it can
obtain a clearer view and influence the stages in which a consumer enters the
narrative story, certainly within a multi-channel story (Dena 2004). Jenkins affirms
this by saying that “the most successful transmedia franchises have emerged when a
single creator or creative unit maintains control over the franchise” (Jenkins 2003a).
According to Henry Jenkins, there are five different processes of “media
convergence”: technological, economic, social or organic, cultural and global
convergence (Jenkins 2001). Within this research, economic convergence can be
used to define the horizontal integration of the entertainment industry. Nowadays,
some broadcasting companies also have interests in books, events, games and web.
This creates a synergetic effect around which cultural reproduction and the
exploitation of brands in the process of transmedia have been restructured (Marinho
et al. 2008).
It is clear that transmedia storytelling is interesting from both a marketing and non-
marketing point of view for television broadcasting companies (Bolin 2010). The
money gained from transmedia storytelling is in the intense loyalty that is derived.
Consumers want more of it and they are willing to pay for it (ipTVe 2010).
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20. However, different media companies need different marketing strategies in which
they can implement transmedia storytelling. This depends on the financial climate
and their positioning in the world, the technologies they are able to work with and
their financial backings (Toschi 2009).
2.4. Franchise related to transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling and branding have in common that both processes want to
create “a symbolic universe endowed with meaning” (Scolari 2008, p. 170). This
universe can be translated as “360° content” (Dena 2007). The term refers to the fact
that a consumer can be involved in the whole story in different ways and by a wide
range of media (o'Flynn 2009). Jenkins, however, remarks that it is important that
each franchise entry is self-contained enough to enable autonomous consumption
(Jenkins 2003a). Henry Jenkins argues that transmedia storytelling can be used to
attract a wider audience by pitching different content to different media. By doing
this, a company is able to reach its target audience in an effective way, within a
cluttered media landscape. He adds that when each media brings fresh experiences, a
crossover market will expand the potential gross within any individual media
(Jenkins 2003a). He also states that “transmedia storytelling practices may expand
the potential market for a property by creating different points of entry for different
audience segments” (Jenkins 2007). Thanks to transmedia storytelling, companies
can increase their number of consumers and target different segments by doing so
(Scolari 2009). Jeff Gomez once said that a good transmedia product features a new
experience on another platform that utilises the strengths of that platform (ipTVe
2010). Scolari argues that in transmedia storytelling, the brand is expressed by
characters and topics of the fictional world which could be translated in different
languages and media (Scolari 2008).
Television series can be seen as distinct brands (Drinkwater & Uncles 2007) of
which media franchises are a brand extension. In the context of television
programmes, franchising as a brand extension is the use of the values of the
television programme to extend the brand to other related product categories
(Liebermann 1986). However, it is important for marketers to introduce extensions
that deliver extra benefit to the consumers. To clarify this, it might be useful to draw
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21. the consumer’s attention to the characteristics of the brand extension that delivers the
benefit (Bhat & Reddy 2001) and its USP (Kotler 2006). A difference has to be made
between product benefits and brand benefits. The product benefits are based on the
technical aspects of the product, while the brand benefits are more about the
emotional advantages when consuming the product. Therefore, it is important that
the product/brand delivers what it promises. Because of this, the companies have to
pay attention to all levels of the marketing mix and ask themselves the question to
whom they are selling the product, which functional and emotional advantages they
want to sell, what the appropriate sales channels to use are, how they communicate
about the product and which message they want to deliver. The entire marketing mix
needs to function as a whole (Kotler 2006).
For the television broadcasting companies however, it is very important to keep in
mind that consumers are likely to judge the brand extension on their knowledge of
the parent brand (Bhat & Reddy 2001). Consumers make mental associations with a
brand, in different classes. One of these classes is brand attitude or affect. This class
of associations is about the consumer’s overall favourable or unfavourable evaluation
of the brand. Another class of associations is based on the brand’s product and non-
product attributes. Another important factor is the similarity or perceptions of fit
between the extension and the parent brand (Keller 1993). Other factors that play
their part are the brand awareness, consists of brand recognition and brand recall, and
brand image of the parent brand (Keller 1993). The broadcasting companies have to
be aware of the fact that the consuming experience of the product within the brand
extension-range could play an important role in the relationship building. This is
really important because over time, long-lasting brand experiences could affect a
consumer’s loyalty towards a brand (Reichheld & Teal 1996).
According to Daniel Sheinin, an important reason for companies to use brand
extensions is because it creates excitement for a mature brand. Furthermore, brand
extensions represent both new and relevant information relating to the parent brand
which is in this case a television programme (Sheinin 2000). He continues by saying
that a strong, good experience with a brand extension could also have a positive
impact on the consumer’s relationship with the television programme itself. This is
because the consumer can expand his brand knowledge or in terms of transmedia
storytelling: expand his knowledge of the narrative world (Aaker & Keller 1990).
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22. Therefore, it is important that the brand identity of the television programme is used
consistently through multiple platforms (Chan-Olmsted & Kim 2001). Consumers
will hold strong and unique brand associations in memory which they will reflect on
the other products within the brand range. In chapter “3.5. Television viewers’
loyalty” this relationship building is elaborated further.
Henry Jenkins says the following about franchising: “Transmedia storytelling is
trying to take an economic imperative (the need to build up franchises in an era of
media conglomeration) and trying to turn it into a creative opportunity. There
remains uneasiness about what is ruling this process—art or commerce.” (Jenkins
2003b). But Christy Dena simply says that transmedia storytelling is franchising
(Dena 2004).
Van Selm and Peeters divide the range of franchise products into three segments.
First, there are the franchising products that are an exact copy of the television
programme like DVDs with only the television series on it. Second, there are the
image products that are decorated with pictures of the programme or the characters.
Third, there are products that extend the television programme; they are related to its
content (Van Selm & Peeters 2007). This last range of products is the one that
franchise related to transmedia storytelling is all about.
Franchise can appear in a story or a storyworld role. In the first kind of role, the
franchise product can be used as a primary source of information about characters,
settings and plots and it is designed to be an entry-point to the entire multi-channel
world. A storyworld role on the other hand has lesser impact on the story
comprehension and provides further information about characters and plots (Dena
2004). Within this research, the television series plays a story role and television
itself is a story channel. The other related franchise products can be situated in the
storyworld role or can be seen as storyworld channels. In addition to these channels
there are also commodity channels which have a rather low-level of relevance to the
story world. These are for example action figures or clothes.
Media franchises can be part of the transmedia storytelling, for example games, print
and traditional media, live events, audio and video content, but also franchises like
DVDs, comic books, novels and games (Schauer 2007). Kushner even predicts that
when network television will immigrate to the Internet, transmedia storytelling and
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23. interaction will be applied more and more (Kushner 2008). In addition to this media,
transmedia storytellers also use mobile websites and portals to tell their story by
publishing mini-episodes for mobile phones, “mobisodes”, and special ring tones
(Perryman 2008) .
Another example of transmedia storytelling is the BBC series Dr. Who. After the
first series, BBC introduced a first novel about the series in corporation with a book
publisher. This book was written based on content the fans created. In addition to this
book, an audio CD with extra episodes was launched successfully. BBC also
introduced a lot of web-based material like video-clips, podcasts, audio-files and
pictures (Perryman 2008). Perryman concludes that the media company had
succeeded in establishing a very successful and entertaining world for a diverse
audience, in which every member of the audience could choose for his own which
level of participation and interaction he felt comfortable with (Toschi 2009).
Summary
The use of franchise gives a broadcasting company the opportunity to involve a
consumer in a story in different ways, by using a wide range of media and creating
360° content. Each franchise product features a new experience from the transmedial
storyworld on another platform that utilises the strengths of that platform.
Franchise related to transmedia storytelling makes use of the values of the macro
story which is in this case the television programme. Not only can the story of the
television series continue on other media, but brand extensions can also create
excitement for a mature brand if the correct marketing mix is applied. Therefore, the
broadcasting company should be well aware of the wishes of its target audience to
create a strong product and to deliver the right emotional benefits assigned to the
brand. Also the brand identity of the television programme should be used
consistently through the multiple platforms. This way a strong relationship with a
brand extension could also have a positive impact on the television programme itself
and have its impact on the loyalty of the customer towards the television programme.
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24. 2.5. Television viewers loyalty
It is important to know what kind of audience is watching the television programmes
and participating in the different media. The loyalty of the audience towards a
television programme is important for a television broadcasting company because in
a lot of cases, their advertisement income also depends on the number of viewers.
When talking about a viewer’s loyalty towards a television programme, brand equity
is also an important factor. Brand equity attracts not only new customers; it also
reinforces consumer loyalty (McDowell & Sutherland 2000). This brand equity is
conceptualised by Keller (1993) according to two kinds of overall brand knowledge:
brand awareness and brand image. Brand awareness refers to the familiarity with the
brand name while brand image addresses the different meanings associated with a
brand name.
Barwise (1986) found out that high-rated prime time series generate greater repeated
viewing than lower rated series (Barwise 1986). Based on this research, Barwise and
Ehrenbergh did an effort to understand the relationship of liking and viewing
television series. Their research has shown that how much an individual likes a
particular series correlates with how often the viewer watches the series. The
research also revealed the fact that less popular series were not only viewed by fewer
people, but they were also viewed less frequently than popular series (Barwise &
Ehrenberg 1987). In their journal article McDowell and Sutherland (2000) propose
five different audience member categories: (1) Loyalists: Viewers who hold a strong
consumer-based program brand equity; (2) Passives: Viewers who do not hold any
strong consumer-based program brand equity towards any direct competitor; (3)
Converts: Viewers who hold strong consumer-based program equity but when they
watch a competing channel, they are motivated to switch channels; (4) Tune-ins:
“Appointment” viewers who hold very strong consumer-based program brand equity;
(5) Defectors: Viewers who are about to abandon a program to watch a more suitable
or preferred program. Watching a television series is also a way of experiencing a
brand and the direct effect of experience on loyalty is high (McDowell & Sutherland
2000). When consuming television series, hedonic dimensions such as feelings,
fantasies and fun are also included (Holbrook & Hirschmann 1982).
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25. However, there is a difference between loyalty towards a specific genre and loyalty
towards a specific programme. Related to this, the loyalty of specific programs is
likely to depend upon the range of alternatives within a certain program genre
(Jeffres 1978). In their article Brosius et al. define viewer loyalty along four
dimensions. The first dimension is the one of “general loyalty to watch television”.
The second is named “channel or network loyalty”. The third is “type of program
loyalty” and the fourth is the “specific program loyalty”. For this research, this last
kind of loyalty is the most important. In the study, soap operas and adventure/action
programmes were chosen as a research object because they appeared the most
frequently. Their study showed that soap operas like “Home and Away” and
“Neighbours” have a very loyal audience. Certainly for soap operas which were
broadcasted on daily basis. However, for adventure/action programmes the loyalty
was lower. This was the case because those programmes were just broadcasted once
a week (Brosius, Wober & Weimann 1992).
Within the format of television fiction, there also have to be elements that attract a
potential spectator to watch the programme. One of the most important aspects
within a television format is the characters (Porter et al. 2002). When a person
watches a television series, his or her experience comes from a realism that is
situated on the emotional level. What is recognised is a structure of feeling and not
knowledge of the real world (Ang 1985). This is because of the tendency of a
television spectator to empathize with the fictional character (Smith 1995). When
producing transmedia texts for television drama, it is important to keep in mind that
the ‘delicious otherness’ of the different characters remains (Murray 2000).
Characters could be used to create long term relationships by serialization of sitcoms
and other television genres. The storylines change, but the character itself remains
the same. This can have an impact on the profitability of the series, but also on the
viewer-constructed meanings. Within this context one needs to distinguish between
attitude and attachment towards a character. Attitude refers to the viewers feeling
positive or negative towards a character. Attachment on the other hand refers to the
viewer’s feeling of closeness to a certain character (Russell & Stern 2006). From the
previous, one may conclude that the characters are probably the most important
factor of a successful audiovisual production. But according to some critics in the
contemporary audiovisual landscape, an evolution is going on. Instead of ‘character-
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26. driven’, movies and probably other audiovisual productions will become more ‘plot-
driven’ (Schatz 2003). The characters also become mere plot functions that play a
role in a bigger narrative and with less attention for their own goals and motivations.
But there is a difference between films and television series. Films have less time to
give the viewer the chance to identify with the different characters.
Nevertheless, the story itself has to arouse interest. Some stories have double layers
which attract another audience segment. Good examples for this are the movies of
Pixar. These animation movies are very much liked by a young audience; however
they are also popular with adults. A recent example is Toy Story 3. The primary
target audience are children, but on The Internet Movie Database the movie rating is
9.1/10 (IMDB.com 2010) and this rating is given by adults. There is humour in this
movies that children will not understand, but adults will and vice versa. By
constructing such a sedimentary multilayer text, one text can be able to reach more
implicit viewers (Scolari 2009).
Carlos Alberto Scolari differentiates three kinds of multiple implicit (trans) media
consumers which can be classified according to their relationship with the media.
First there are the “single text consumers” who only play a game or read a novel and
do not take into account the total geography of the fictional world. This can be
because they do not know that there are other texts with which they can extent their
knowledge about the fictional world. These single units of a fictional world can be
considered as an open entrance to a narrative universe, but they are independent; all
texts may be understood without consuming other texts. This group only knows one
story-line which they found on a specific medium. A second group are the “single
media consumers”. These consumers experience the world by watching the narrative
world on TV each week or by watching DVDs. The third group is that of
“transmedia consumers”. These consumers participate in the narrative world in
different media and languages (Scolari 2009).
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27. 2.6. Conclusion
Transmedia Storytelling, introduced for the first time in 2006 by Henry Jenkins, is a
relatively new phenomenon. It was already applied by some entertainment
companies without them knowing what it was called. However, nowadays academics
like Jenkins, Scolari and Dena are paying more attention to the implementation.
Most of the time, it is the creative aspect of transmedia storytelling that is highlighted
and not how it can be used as a marketing tool. And if there is information about the
topic it is mostly related to movies as the macro story and not to television
programmes. For the literature review, a distinction was made between three topics:
transmedia storytelling in general, how it can be used by television broadcasting
companies and why they do or do not use it.
The information that was acquired by reviewing the existing literature about the
discussed topics was used to develop a coherent and efficient research methodology
which will be talked about in chapter three.
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28. CHAPTER III: Methodology
In the Flemish part of Belgium, in a normal week the two biggest television stations
“vtm” (Flemish commercial TV station, owned by VMMa) and “één” (Flemish
public TV station, owned by VRT) have a market share of respectively 21% and 33%
(VRT-studiedienst 2010). In this research, the programmes of two television stations
will be used because they reach the majority of Flemish viewers, but also because
multi-platform productions are mostly introduced by large broadcasting companies
(Bolin 2010).
Most television viewers are only attracted to a small range of genres. For television
viewers, genres are categories which bring information on content and form about a
television programme (Van Selm & Peeters 2007). The focus will lay on the
segment of fiction or drama because of the transmedia storytelling elements (SKO,
Dutch Audience Research Foundation n.d.). In selecting the TV-programmes that are
involved in the research, it was important not only to look at the quantity of viewers,
but also at the elements of transmedia storytelling that apply (Bolin 2010).
Because of the different nature of the research objectives there was a need to use
different research methods. Mixed research methods (Creswell 2002) were used in
this research, which will be discussed first.
The first part of these mixed research methods is the qualitative research. This gave
the opportunity to get information of certain specific cases in the Flemish television
landscape. A television series on which this research will focus is “Thuis”. This is a
Flemish soap opera which has around one million spectators and a daily market share
of 44,20% every week day (CIM 2010). “Thuis” is a television series around which
there is a lot of franchising related to transmedia storytelling like different websites,
a blog, a book and events. This television series was chosen after a short preview
about the storyworld of “Thuis” from Hilde Roeland (Producer Events for VRT Line
Extensions). However, the qualitative and quantitative went further than just one
television show. Other television series were also addressed.
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29. The second and biggest part of the research was based on quantitative research. This
quantitative research was done by using online surveys with the intent to generalise a
sample of the Flemish television viewers. The research for this dissertation was done
with knowledge claims on pragmatic assumptions because for this dissertation the
problem was more important than the used methods. Knowledge claims arose out of
situations and actions rather than antecedent conditions. This pragmatic approach
was also reflected in the way the data was collected. Different ways to collect the
data were used (quantitative and qualitative) instead of choosing only one way
(Creswell 2002).
3.1. Mixed methodology
This chapter explains the choice for a combination of quantitative data on one hand
and qualitative data on the other hand.
3.1.1. Mixed method strategy
The implementation of the research was based on a Concurrent Nested Strategy
(Creswell 2002). This strategy was chosen because it gave the researcher the
opportunity to gain a broader perspective than what would be achieved by using just
one dominant method. It also provided the opportunity to address different questions
to different groups and to get information from different groups. The insights of
experts with knowledge of transmedia in Flanders were used to compose the online
survey. Because transmedia storytelling is quite a new concept, it could be
interesting to see if the producers and academics’ point of view about transmedial
projects corresponds with the point of view of the Flemish television viewers.
Another reason to choose this strategy was because this way the different queries
could be done simultaneously. The advantages of the different methods that were
used could provide a benefit in the research. On the other hand, one of the
- 17 -

30. disadvantages of this strategy was that the data needed to be transformed before they
could be integrated (Creswell 2002).
This study opted for an explanatory approach. By using explanatory research, it was
possible to explain the relationship between the variables which were obtained. A
survey strategy is chosen because it gave the opportunity to collect quantitative data
which could be analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics (Saunders,
Lewis & Thornill 2009).
3.1.2. Purpose
As mentioned before, qualitative and quantitative data were used to get a more
complete view of the use and the impact of transmedia storytelling in Flanders. It
was also necessary because different phases in the research needed different
methods. To be complete, this research needed a customer point of view and the
television broadcaster’s point of view. Because there were not enough experts with
knowledge of transmedia storytelling in Flanders, it was not possible to let them fill
in a survey. This is why three semi-structured interviews based on a stable
interviewing guide, was opted for. To research the television viewer’s point of view,
an online questionnaire was sent out.
- 18 -

31. 3.2. Qualitative data
As mentioned before, qualitative data was also used. This data was obtained from
experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling related franchise. They were
requested to participate in a semi-structured interview.
3.2.1. In depth-interview method
These in-depth interviews took approximately one hour each and were conducted in
a non-public space (like a meeting room). They were used to find out what the
underlying reasons and motivations are for television broadcasting companies to
implement transmedia storytelling into their television series. The purpose was to
understand the visions of the experts. These interviews were based on an
interviewing guide. This was an enumeration of different topics that had to be
discussed. A semi-structured interview was used because it provided the opportunity
to ask standardised questions and to allow the experts to explain their own thoughts
and ideas. This way, insights that have not been thought of previously could be
obtained. The function of the researcher was to encourage the respondents to give
more information and to “probe” continuously.
The experts were asked to grant the audio recording of the interview. This allowed
the possibility of writing a transcript afterwards and gave the possibility to listen to
the interview a number of times.
3.2.2. Respondents
For this research it was important to learn more about the academic point of view
about transmedia storytelling and its implementation in Flanders. By interviewing an
academic, the researcher could obtain objective information about the contemporary
situation in Flanders. The academic in this case was Nele Simons. She is a teaching
assistant and PhD Candidate in Communication Studies at the University of Antwerp
and one of her research interests is transmedia storytelling.
One of the objectives of the research was to get to know why television broadcasting
companies implement transmedia storytelling in their audiovisual productions. Two
- 19 -

32. persons from the television industries that had already experience with transmedia
storytelling were interviewed. To select these people, an informal and exploratory
conversation with Hilde Roeland (Producer Events by VRT Line Extensions) was
conducted. She recommended Stef Wouters (Independent media professional with
experience in developing transmedia drama series) and Wim Janssen (Producer
“Thuis” – VRT). To contact these experts, the networks of both the researcher and
Hilde Roeland were used (See Appendix E on page 61 for the Letter of Invitation).
If desired, the anonymity of the interviewees was guaranteed.
3.2.3. Analysis
Because of the fact that the interviews were audio recorded, it was possible to
transcribe them. This was done as soon as possible after the interview. It was also
important to protect the privacy/confidentiality of the respondents. The respondents’
right to withdraw was also assured. The participants were thoroughly informed about
the purposes of the interview. This information was provided in an e-mail as well as
right before the interview started. Afterwards they were also asked if they had extra
questions or comments. The participants were given the opportunity to reread the
transcript if they wanted to (Saunders, Lewis & Thornill 2009).
The data was analysed by using narrative. This method of data structuring was used
because the method of data collecting was through in-depth interviews (Saunders,
Lewis & Thornill 2009). This is why the data were analysed in their originally told
form. A lot of the interviews included examples of cases in which transmedia
projects were developed, what the contemporary situation was and how the
participants saw the future. Most of these elements were based on the own
experiences and know-how of the participants.
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33. 3.3. Quantitative data
This quantitative data gave the opportunity to collect attitude data (Creswell 2002).
This was also important to answer the objective question if consumers would be
more loyal towards a television series after consuming franchise related to
transmedia storytelling.
3.3.1. Online survey
The internet mediated or online questionnaire (which can be found in Appendix D on
page 60 and Appendix F on page 62) consisted of list questions, category questions,
ranking questions, rating questions, quantity questions and one open question. This
last kind of question was avoided as much as possible because the answers may be
hard to decode and analyse. The questionnaire was hosted on the website
enquetemaken.be. A previous study of 2009 showed that 77% of the Flemish
population has Internet and 96,5% has a television set (IBBT 2009). Because of this
it was appropriate to acquire the quantitative data by sending out online
questionnaires to potential respondents.
The questionnaire started with a little introduction about the study. It contained
questions to get specific personal data from the respondents although it was
paramount to bear in mind that privacy, anonymity and confidentiality needed to be
respected. Next, there were questions to get more information about the television
viewing behaviour of the respondents and their visions and opinions about the
transmedia storytelling related franchise they consumed.
A distinction was made between tangible products like books and intangible services
like websites, events and radio shows. At the end the respondents were thanked and
given the opportunity to receive the results of the research by providing the
researcher with his or her e-mail address.
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34. 3.3.2. Target population specifications
The target population for the quantitative research were all Flemings over 18 years
old who watch television. Because of this, the sampling frame contained more than
4.801.300 people (Belgian Federal Government 2009) from which 96.5% watches
TV (IBBT 2009). Because of this non-probability sampling was applied by using a
method of self-selection. The objective for the online questionnaire was to have at
least 384 respondents in two weeks (Saunders, Lewis & Thornill 2009). This amount
of 384 respondents was based on a margin of error of 5% and a confidence level of
95%. After one week the respondents received an e-mail to remember to fill in the
online survey. The potential respondents were reached by asking several television
and media related websites to put a link on their website or in their newsletter. Social
media tools like Twitter and Facebook were also used. The use of these social media
website could create a snowball effect to get new respondents. A limit to this self-
selection sampling was that the socio-demographics of the responds were not known
in advance. If there was a remarkable difference between sub-groups (based on age,
sex and province), quota sampling would be utilised to make sure that the collected
data represented the population correctly. These quotas were based on the statistics
of the Belgian National Institute of Statistics (NIS).
When people watch television, there are differences between the genders and ages.
Based on previous research in television viewer behaviour (Simons 2009), the
variable age of the respondents were divided into four age categories: 18-24 years,
25-34 years, 35-44 years and 45-54 years. The respondents were also categorized by
possession of or experience with franchise related to transmedia storytelling. This led
to 16 different categories (gender, age and possession/experience).
3.3.3. Analysis
The data received from the online surveys was analysed with SPSS. This was the
easiest and most efficient way to analyse the data because thesistools.com offers the
possibility to easily export the achieved data to statistical software like SPSS.
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35. 3.4. Validity and reliability
3.4.1. Internal validity
While composing the online survey and the interviewing guide for the interviews,
attention was paid to ensure that the measuring tools quantified the right subject.
3.4.2. Face validity
This kind of validity was applied by pretesting the online survey by non-experts to
reveal if all possible answers on a close-ended question were available. This was
tested by observing respondents while they were filling in the online survey and
afterwards the online survey could be adjusted.
3.4.3. Content validity
Another step was pretesting the online survey (and interviewing guide for the semi
structured interview) with experts. Therefore the survey and interviewing guide for
the in-depth interviews were sent to the supervisor of this research (Darren Coleman)
and a friend who is a marketer.
3.4.4. Criterion validity
A distinction needs to be made between predictive and concurrent validity. For this
research, the concurrent validity was the most important. While doing the research it
was, for example, important to classify the respondents in the right segment with a
certain typology. These criteria were based on other research. In this case, the
respondents were subdivided in different segments which were also used in a journal
article from McDowell and Sutherland: loyalists, passives, converts, tune-ins and
defectors (McDowell & Sutherland 2000).
- 23 -

36. 3.4.5. External validity
The research focused on Flanders and the Flemish population. This is a relatively
small market (express.be 2010). Because of this, it was likely that the results
gathered using the online survey and the in-depth interviews, could be only limitedly
generalized. The results could differ from results that were obtained earlier.
Therefore, it is possible that the results of this research could not be applicable in
other countries in the rest of the world.
3.4.6. Internal consistency reliability
This type of reliability was certainly important for the online survey. In this survey,
methods like semantic differential scales and Likert scales were used. Therefore, it
was important to test if the different elements in the scale measured the same
construct. This was tested by using the Cronbach’s alpha.
3.4.7. Efficiency, ease of use and interpretability
It was important for the online survey to be set up in an efficient way. This is why
different questions were inserted about certain aspects of the customer’s loyalty
towards television series. This way the questionnaire became more reliable.
However, too many questions would have made the questionnaire too long and
because of this, the respondents would lose their concentration while completing the
survey. It was also important to ensure that the online survey did not become too
difficult to complete and that the answers on the questions resulted in data that was
easy to interpret.
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37. 3.5. Extra comments
In addition to the information given in the previous chapters, it could be interesting
to discuss why there are no focus groups in the research and the advantages and
disadvantages of working with online surveys.
3.5.1. No focus groups
This methodology was preceded by several brainstorm sessions. At first, some focus
groups were integrated in the research plan because of the possibility to obtain more
information about the motivations of customers to consume franchise related to
transmedia storytelling. They could also give an indication about the change in
loyalty towards a television series after consuming franchising related to transmedia
storytelling. However, organising focus groups is not easy, neither is being a good
and efficient moderator if you are not trained to do this. The obtained results would
also not represent the real thoughts of the participants because of social pressure.
This is why was opted to rather put some extra open questions in the online survey
instead of organising focus groups.
3.5.2. Advantages of online research
There were several reasons to choose online surveys over offline surveys. The first
reason was because of the high response rate of online surveys and the fact that they
were less time consuming. Also the fact that the data could easily be imported into
SPSS was an important element. Another very important factor was that the
interviewee could not be influenced by the interviewer.
3.6. Conclusion
A mixed method strategy was chosen for the research. By collecting qualitative data,
by using semi structured in-depth interviews, and quantitative data, by using an
online survey, it was possible to get more information about the point of view of the
experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling and about the point of view of the
Flemish television viewers about transmedia storytelling franchise.
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38. CHAPTER IV: Data Collection and Analysis
The previous chapter provided an overview of how the qualitative and quantitative
data were gathered. In this chapter, the data obtained from the qualitative and the
quantitative research will be analysed. Up till now, a total of 303 respondents filled
in the online survey and there were three semi-structured interviews with experts
with knowledge of transmedia storytelling in Flanders. With this analysis, the
purpose is to answer the question: Who buys transmedia franchise for which reason
and what is the impact on the loyalty towards a certain television series?
First the qualitative data will be analysed to answer the first research objective. The
second research objective will be answered by analysing the data from the online
surveys. The chapter finishes by answering the third research objective and by
concluding the data analysis.
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39. 4.1. Qualitative data – Research objective 1
4.1.1. Experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling in Flanders
Three experts with knowledge of transmedia storytelling in Flanders were
interviewed about their knowledge and experience with transmedia storytelling. The
purpose of these interviews was to answer the first research objective:
Identifying the main objectives of television broadcasting companies to (not)
implement transmedia storytelling.
4.1.2. Transmedia storytelling in Flanders
The term “transmedia” was not even invented yet when VRT produced projects with
transmedia storytelling elements. This was because VRT realized for example that
the Internet could be used to expand the television story. For most of these projects,
VRT did not analyse international cases because if so, the company risked making
the same mistakes they made in other countries.
“Thuis” is the only television series in Flanders that has a real working transmedia
component. The character Ellie is completely transmedial with her blog, her radio
show and her appearances in the television series. The creators have really been
thinking about how to create a transmedial experience. ‘Thuis” is a series in which
television viewers accede in a universe. – (Nele Simons)
There are also cases in which the transmedia storytelling franchise survives the
television series. Stef Wouters gave the example of the comic books of the children’s
television series “W817” (Ketnet). These comic books are still published while the
airing of the television series already stopped in 2003. One can expect that this is
also about to happen with the comic books of “F.C. De Kampioenen” (één).
For the moment, transmedia storytelling in Flanders still seems to be in a
transitional phase in which we could remain for the next ten years or two years.
Nobody knows for sure. – (Stef Wouters)
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40. 4.1.3. Financial motivations
For “vtm”, the application of transmedia storytelling served only financial purposes
(as in the “Sara”-case). Their internal production company Line Extensions only
produces franchising products if they experience that the television series is a
success. If the television series is not popular, they do not produce franchising
products.- (Nele Simons)
Stef Wouters explained that transmedia could very well deliver new opportunities for
advertisers to promote their products. Because of transmedia storytelling, advertisers
could target a certain niche and because of this, their advertisements could be more
effective.
However with “Thuis”, like Wim Janssen (producer of “Thuis”) explained, the
investments in transmedia storytelling are not likely to generate profit in the near
future. However, Wim Janssen and Hilde Roeland (VRT Line Productions) were
working on a project based on the travel cafe “Noorderzon”. There are plans to set up
deals with travelling agencies who could sell travels on the website of “Noorderzon”.
This could create a win-win situation for the creators of “Thuis” and the travelling
agencies. The agencies would deliver content for the website and answer the
questions of the visitors on the forum as one of the characters of the series. This way
people could experience the universe of “Thuis” more and for the producers of
“Thuis” this could generate income (by for example selling licenses of the brand
“Thuis”, product placement ...). This extra money could be used to finance the other
transmedial elements of “Thuis” and to create more content. Henry Jenkins says the
following about this kind of projects: “Transmedia storytelling is trying to take an
economic imperative (the need to build up franchises in an era of media
conglomeration) and trying to turn it into a creative opportunity” (Dena 2004).
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41. 4.1.4. Innovative motivations
During the interview Nele Simons mentioned that “Thuis” is an odd case. In the
literature studies that she conducted, she learned that developing a transmedial
concept asks for a big financial investment and that there has to be sufficient ROI.
However for VRT, transmedia storytelling was something new and the creators of
“Thuis” believed that it was something that had to grow and the financial part was
less important. This was the same case with Emma.
The telenovella “Emma” (VRT) gave the creators the opportunity to reach an
audience which was otherwise very hard to interact with. Most of the players of the
online reality game of “Emma” were between 14 and 25 years old. This is an
audience that is hard to reach with TV. – (Stef Wouters)
This is also what o’Flynn referred to (2009). Because of the wide range of media, a
consumer can be involved in the whole story in different ways that can be attractive
for different age groups.
4.1.5. Loyalty
“The financial aspect might be important, but I think you can also find return on
investment in the loyalty that you create with the audience. It has to be like that,
because a lot of the content is free”, says Nele Simons. Wim Janssen argues that it is
hard to measure whether the transmedia storytelling franchise motivates people to
watch the series “Thuis”. However, he is convinced that the yearly fan day of
“Thuis” and the blog of Ellie resulted in more and more loyal “Thuis” viewers
because of the community-element.
Transmedia storytelling can also help producers to keep their viewers watching the
series. This is necessary because the competition is murderous. – (Wim Janssen)
This is what Bhat and Reddy (2001) meant by saying that consumers have to be
aware of the benefit that the brand extension delivers. If transmedia storytelling is
implemented well, it can be a USP for the television programme compared to its
competitors (Kotler & Kettler 2006).
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42. 4.1.6. Difficulties
In the Flemish industries, people are still very sceptical towards transmedia
storytelling. Until now I have met only a few people who are enthusiastic about it
and see more than a financial aspect in it. – (Nele Simons)
Stef Wouters explained that book publishers also still believe the old philosophy that
they have to sell books by telling people that “there will be a television series about
the books”, even if the book is an introduction to the television series. This is the
case for “Wolven”.
However Wim Janssen explains that the biggest part of the transmedial project of
“Thuis” will be shut down. The websites of the fictional companies will disappear
and only the radio show and the blog of Ellie will remain. The ROI turned out to be
insufficient.
4.1.7. Future
The future of transmedia storytelling really depends on the turning point on which
advertisers will start to really invest in those projects.- (Stef Wouters)
VRT decided to shut down a lot of transmedial elements from “Thuis” and I regret
this because transmedia is and will be very important. However the macro-story will
still be, certainly in the case of “Thuis”, the story on television. – (Wim Janssen)
I believe that the transmedial stories will have more success if they come from other
countries. I think, in the future, the Flemish television viewers will participate more
in transmedial stories, but they will be in English.- (Nele Simons)
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43. 4.2. Quantitative data – Overview
4.2.1. Respondents
In total, 303 people completed the online survey which was created with
enquetemaken.be. The short url service Bit.ly was used because it is also interesting
to know which sources generated which amount of traffic.
Table 1: Referring sites
Email Clients, IM, AIR Apps, and Direct 133
www.facebook.com 62
www.9lives.be 42
www.showbizzsite.be 42
www.femistyle.be 39
www.digitalcafe.be 35
www.tv-visie.be 16
www.vrtfansite.be 13
www.seniorennet.be 11
www.tik.be 11
This resulted in 140 male (46.2%) participants and 163 female (53,8%) participants
which is a good reflection of the ratios in Flanders (Belgian Federal Government
2010).
Table 2: Gender respondents
Gender
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid M 140 46,2 46,2 46,2
F 163 53,8 53,8 100,0
Total 303 100,0 100,0
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44. The majority of respondents were between 18 and 24 years old (50.6%). The next
largest group were the respondents between 25 and 34 years old (25.8%).
Table 3: Age categories
Age Category
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid <18 years 10 3,3 3,3 3,3
18-24 years 99 32,7 32,8 36,1
25-34 years 92 30,4 30,5 66,6
35-44 years 34 11,2 11,3 77,8
45-54 years 27 8,9 8,9 86,8
>55 years 40 13,2 13,2 100,0
Total 302 99,7 100,0
Missing System 1 ,3
Total 303 100,0
4.2.2. Viewing behaviour
In the first questions of the survey, the respondents were asked how many times a
month/week they watch/watched a certain television programme. 24.9% of the
respondents (9.6% male and 15.3% female) watched at least three episodes of
“Thuis” a week and 27% (10.6% male and 16.4% female) of the respondents
watched at least three episodes of “Sara” a week. These two television series got the
highest viewer rate in the genre soap/telenovella. Details about these percentages can
be found in Appendix A on page 56.
In the drama fiction genre, “Witse” got the best score with 51.8% (20.9% male and
30.9% female) who watch the series at least twice a month. For more details see
Appendix B on page 58.
- 32 -

45. 4.2.3. Margin of error
In the research proposal, the goal was to have 384 respondents. This way there would
be a margin of error of 5% and it was a size of population at a 95 confidence level
assuming that the data are collected from all cases in the sample. Because only 303
respondents filled in the survey on time, there is a margin of error of 5,59%.
4.3. Quantitative data – Research objective 2
This data is used to answer the second research objective:
Discovering which factors determine why a franchise related to transmedia
storytelling is popular.
One of the purposes of this dissertation is to create a document which is useful in
practice. Therefore the motivations will be discussed in general first. If there are big
differences between males and females, and between the different age groups, those
differences will be highlighted.
4.3.1. Books
The series of books of “Sara” were read by a lot of people. The first book was read
by 22 respondents (7,3% of the total of respondents), while the second book had 16
readers (5,3%). There were 13 respondents who read the third book (4%). The fourth,
fifth and sixth book were read by 10 respondents (3,3%).
The relationship between the respondents who read the first book of “Sara” and the
respondents who read the second book of “Sara” is significant with p = 0.00. The
value of the correlation coefficient is +,964. This means that there is a strong,
positive correlation between those two variables. The crosstab can be found in
Appendix C on page 59.
- 33 -

46. Table 4: Chi-square test of reading the first and second book of Sara
Chi-Square Tests
Asymp. Sig. (2-
Value df sided)
a
Pearson Chi-Square 513,884 4 ,000
Likelihood Ratio 410,107 4 ,000
Linear-by-Linear Association 278,608 1 ,000
N of Valid Cases 301
a. 3 cells (33,3%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected
count is 1,17.
The books of “Witse” were a lot less popular. The three books of “Witse” were all
read by just around three respondents (1.0%).
De most popular books were the comic books of “F.C. De Kampioenen”. These
books were read by 81 respondents or 26,7%.
50
40
30
20
10 m
0 f
22 16 13 10 10 81
Sara 1 Sara 2 Sara 3 Sara 4 Sara 5 F.C. De
Kampioenen
Figure 3: Readers books
Motivational factors
There were in each statement around 208 respondents (68,6%) who said that the
statements were not applicable to their situation. However, 64.8% of the respondents
who read a book answered that they agreed with the statement that they read the
books out of interest in the story. The second important motivation was the interest
for the characters (58.7%). 42.9% of the respondents who read a book agreed on the
question if they read the book out of interest in the storyworld.
- 34 -

47. 4.3.2. Events
The events the respondents visit the most were “Flikken”-day (25 respondents =
8,3%) and “Thuis”-day (17 respondents = 5,6%).
The reason why these events could have had more visitors than the other events is
because there have already been 10 editions of “Flikken”-day and more than 5
editions of “Thuis”-day.
Motivational factors
The reason why the 54 respondents visited the events was in the first place out of
interest in the storyworld (53.8%). And they also visited the events to know
something more about the storyworld (51.9%). It is notable that just 36.5% agreed
that they visited the events to experience the storyworld on their own, because events
are the way to experience the storyworld of a television series.
- 35 -

48. 4.3.3. Radio
The two radio shows had a high response rate. 19.9% of the respondents (n=60) had
already listened to “Dams and Van Deun” on Radio 2, while 14% had already
listened to “Thuis with Ellie” on Radio 2 (n=42).
Motivational factors
In general, the respondents who listened to the radio shows did this in first instance
out of interest in the story (52.2%). But they also wanted to know something more
about the story (47.1%). Certainly in the case of “Thuis with Ellie” this could be a
decisive factor because in the radio show Ellie gives some extra information about
the story on TV. Only 41.9% listened to the show out of interest in the characters.
In 2003, Schatz said that, in the future, characters would become more plot functions
that play a role in a bigger narrative in the television series and there will be given
less attention to the character’s own goals and motivations. In the findings for the
radio programmes, it is reflected that people listen to the shows mainly for the story
and less for the characters.
a. Differences male/female
There is a strong difference between males and females and their motivations to
listen to the radio shows. Male respondents agreed more strongly on the question if
they listen to the radio shows for the characters than females. Because p = .001,
which is smaller than .005, the relationship between the two variables, gender and
the characters as a motivation to listen to the radio shows, is significant. The interest
in the storyworld is an important factor, more males (48.8%) agree to this than
females (18.5%) and males also want to know more about the storyworld (41.9% of
the males vs. 15.8% of the female respondents). Females (47.5%) however, listen to
the show more to learn more about the story than men do (37.7%).
- 36 -

49. Table 5: Crosstab radio programmes gender/characters
I listened to the show(s) out of interest in the characters. * Gender Crosstabulation
Gender
M F Total
I listened to the show(s) out of interest in Strongly Agree Count 7 1 8
the characters.
% within 21,9% 2,4% 10,8%
Gender
Moderately Agree Count 8 6 14
% within 25,0% 14,3% 18,9%
Gender
Slightly Agree Count 0 9 9
% within ,0% 21,4% 12,2%
Gender
Neither agree nor Count 7 5 12
disagree
% within 21,9% 11,9% 16,2%
Gender
Slightly Disagree Count 0 7 7
% within ,0% 16,7% 9,5%
Gender
Moderately Disagree Count 5 10 15
% within 15,6% 23,8% 20,3%
Gender
Strongly Disagree Count 5 4 9
% within 15,6% 9,5% 12,2%
Gender
Total Count 32 42 74
% within 100,0% 100,0% 100,0%
Gender
- 37 -

50. Table 6: Chi-square test gender/characters radio programmes
Chi-Square Tests
Asymp. Sig. (2-
Value df sided)
a
Pearson Chi-Square 21,946 6 ,001
Likelihood Ratio 28,319 6 ,000
Linear-by-Linear Association 2,495 1 ,114
N of Valid Cases 74
a. 6 cells (42,9%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum
expected count is 3,03.
4.3.4. Websites fictional companies “Thuis”
One of the questions in the survey was if the respondents had already visited one of
the websites of the fictional companies in the soap series “Thuis”: Praktijk Dedecker,
Noorderzon, Sanitechniek, Taxi Tersmissen and Hof Tersmissen. 32 respondents or
10.7% of the respondents answered that they already visited one of these websites.
Motivations
The respondents who visited the websites said they have done this mainly out of
interest in the characters and the fictional companies (41.9% agreed strongly for
both). The story and storyworld were about equally important (38.7% and 35,5%).
- 38 -

51. Figure 4: Visit fict. comp. out of interest in characters
Figure 5: Visit fict. comp. out of interest in fict. comp.
- 39 -

52. 4.3.5. Website “Noorderzon”
The people who watch Thuis were asked to visit the website of the fictional company
“Noorderzon”. In total 110 respondents visited the website. The factors on this
website that attracted the visitors the most were information about the fictional
company “Noorderzon”. 30% of the visitors agreed on this statement. But the most
popular factor was the information about travelling, 41.8% of the respondents
agreed. About 25% of the visitors agreed that they were attracted by the information
about the story, storyworld and characters.
4.3.6. Blog “Ellie”
While comparing the results for the website of Noorderzon and the blog of “Ellie”,
one could see that there are different factors on the websites that attract visitors. On
the blog of Ellie, the visitors (also 110) were the most attracted by the pictures that
were posted by Ellie. 42.6% agreed that they were attracted by these pictures. The
second important factor was information about the characters. The third important
factor was information about the story. However, it is noteworthy that the sound files
(the radio podcasts from “Thuis with Ellie”) are less popular. Only 17.4% agreed that
they found the sound files attracted them.
- 40 -

53. 4.4. Quantitative data – Research objective 3
This data is used to answer the third research objective:
Discovering if transmedia storytelling has any (positive or negative) effect on the
viewers loyalty towards a television series.
For this part of the research, the focus will be on the television series Thuis, Sara and
Witse, because a lot of respondents answered that they had consumed at least one of
the franchise products related to one of these television series.
These results are based on 292 respondents because 11 respondents did not fill in the
matrix in the survey.
In the questions, were there is “...” in the sentences:
- Reading a book / comic book related to a television series
- Visiting a website of a fictional company from a television series
- Listening to a radio programme based on a television series
- Visiting an event related to a television series
- 41 -

54. 4.4.1. After ... more a favourite/I like the TV-series more
The relationship between the variables “after ... the TV-series became more a
favourite” and “after ... I liked the TV-series more” is significant with p = 0.00 and
there is a strong correlation (+,824) between the variables.
Table 7: Correlation and significance more favourite/like more
Symmetric Measures
Asymp. Std.
a b
Value Error Approx. T Approx. Sig.
c
Interval by Interval Pearson's R ,824 ,035 24,768 ,000
c
Ordinal by Ordinal Spearman Correlation ,833 ,033 25,636 ,000
N of Valid Cases 293
a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.
b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
c. Based on normal approximation.
On these questions, the majority of the respondents strongly disagree or neither agree
or disagree. However, 7.5% moderately agreed and 10.9% slightly agreed on the
statement that a certain television series became more a favourite after consuming
transmedial franchise. About the same percentages are derivable on the statement
that they like the television series even more.
- 42 -

55. Figure 6: After ... more favourite
Figure 7: After ... like more
- 43 -

56. The people for whom the television series became more a favourite could be placed
under the category of “Loyalists” in the categorization of McDowell and Sutherland
(2000). These people will watch the television series more out of brand commitment
and hold stronger brand program equity which is the result of the consumption of
transmedial franchise.
4.4.2. After ... I watch the TV-series more/more frequent
About 20% of the respondents agreed on these statements. However, respondents
who listened to “Thuis with Ellie” say that they watch the television series more
(40% = 16 respondents). There might be a significant relationship between these
variable (p = ,000), but the correlation is rather weak (r = 0,204).
Table 8: Correlation and significance listening to Ellie/watching more frequent
Symmetric Measures
Asymp. Std.
a b
Value Error Approx. T Approx. Sig.
c
Interval by Interval Pearson's R ,204 ,059 3,561 ,000
c
Ordinal by Ordinal Spearman Correlation ,204 ,058 3,552 ,000
N of Valid Cases 293
a. Not assuming the null hypothesis.
b. Using the asymptotic standard error assuming the null hypothesis.
c. Based on normal approximation.
- 44 -