Transmedia storytelling: Freshers app
40,000 members posted over 275,000 messages in the Freshers app, containing 90,000 vo’s! The past few months I’ve been busy working on a transmedia project for the BNN dramaseries Feuten (Translation: Freshers). And it is on!
Check our case video:
H.S.C. Mercurius is brought to life
The series Freshers is about the ups and downs of the members of the fraternity H.S.C. Mercurius. It’s about friendship, love, intrigue and power struggles between the members. For the second season, Spektor Storytelling and Elastique founded the fictional fraternity for real. New members were hazed through a Facebook-app, so they could enjoy the get-togethers and parties. More about this? Read this post. In August this year the third season started and a movie is on it’s way. Spektor (with me as a freelance transmedia storyteller), Elastique and BNN decided to work together to make the fraternity bigger and enrich the user experience. To achieve this we have, in addition to the use of social media channels, now developed a mobile application: the Freshers app.
Freshers app
This app brings Feuten fans the opportunity to join the illustrious association. First, they must go through an hazing processe. In this 10-minute journey, they have to prove to be worthy enough to become a member. They’re provided video and audio feedback from the series characters. Parts of hazing include opening bottles of beer and a quiz about the mores. Within 24 hours the Freshers are told whether they are admitted. And becoming a member of Mercurius opens up a whole new world. With the app you can pretty much do everything you would do in a real fraternity. You can bluster with other members in the society, you’re status rises as you do assignments and get achievements. And you can create your own chapter and invite your friends to join it.
Live events
There is a strong feeling of connection among the members. The chapter ‘The Panting Deers’ got hundreds of member in no time. We decided to respond to this by introducing the founder of the chapter into the Senate. She was invited by the Praeses, a maincharacter in the series. A whole group of members came to see this great event, everybody was nicely dressed in suit and tie, as we celebrated in style with members of the Senate and bottles of bubbles.
But this is not the only time the members met. Some of them arranged to meet each other and drink beers together and one guy even organized a large get together for all the members. They came on down from all around the country. Within Mercurius real friendships have arisen and we have even seen some blossoming love.
Additional content
Besides the re-enactment of being in a fraternity there is a lot more to see and do in the app. There are bonus videos with the series characters, as well as video diaries and interviews with members. Two new students keep you informed of their experiences through a blog. A whole new storyline starts when one of them uncovers a secret society that holds the strings at Mercurius. For the active players this storyline unfolds in an Alternate Reality Game. By working together and solving puzzles they can try to find out the truth. You can read more about the ARG in this blog post: Filius Septimus, the Alternate Reality Game.
Transmedia results
There is a lot more to say about this, but i’ll just write different posts about it. I want to end this one by saying that this project ensures that the fans really are immersed in the storyworld of Freshers. And that makes the brand stronger. Fans are not just members, but also ambassadors. Reality and fiction merge. Not because the players believe that it’s real, but because the players wánt to believe it’s real. And that’s exactly what you want to see in transmedia storytelling. Vo for Mercurius!
The Feuten app is free and available for both iOS and Android (in Dutch). Feuten season 3 is broadcasted every monday at 21.25 on BNN and the movie Feuten het Feestje will be in Dutch cinemas from October 17.
