Transmedia/Cross Media (XM) Workshop

Successful transmedia or story telling campaigns (also called cross media or XM) rely on a collaborative and cohesive marketing or messaging effort. In this type of campaign, all of the communications or media touchpoints (emails/sms, webpages, print) encourage audience participation. During these workshops, you will learn how to plan, build, review and manage a cross media campaign (aka Circle project) that includes several personalized touchpoints, along with reviewing Circle Analytics. These workshops require and expand on your skills gained from the Personalized Print Workshop practices.

Workshop Required Software: Access to the internet and Circle with appropriate permissions. uProduce is accessed via Circle and should be working within your network. Adobe InDesign and XMPie uCreate, are needed for print touchpoints. Access to uPlan is optional.

Allotted time (based on your purchase) for these practices range from 8 to 24 hours.

Transmedia Hands-on Practices:

 

 

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Practice 16: Transmedia Campaign planning

Cross media campaign projects require planning and coordination. This practice session includes reviewing terminology, sketching a project, collecting assets and resources for the campaign, planning the templates, and outlining business rules needed for the various touchpoint communications and how those touchpoints interact with each other.

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed Practice 1, and 2. Based on campaign requirements, Practice 3 might be reviewed.
Practice Takeaway: How to plan and sketch a transmedia/cross media campaign using Circle.
Estimated Effort: 2+ hours, depending on Q&A.
Learning Materials: To be determined, or using a previously created campaign.

Learning Objectives: 

  • Review the Circle interface.
    • Login to your SaaS subscription
    • Invite Circle users and discuss permissions
    • Review tasks for admins, planners, builders and reviewers
  • Review terminology and resources.
    • Projects vs campaign, templates vs touchpoints and nodes
    • Flow patterns vs duplicating vs project instances
    • XMPL v5 and XMPL Wiki
  • Sketch (storyboard) a project.
    • Use various nodes (touchpoints, enhancers and actions)
    • Add mockups, notations or other details to the project
    • Invite a reviewer to the project or share the sketch

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 17: Creating cross media campaign logic

In this practice session, we'll review the different ways to build a project's campaign components starting with the campaign logic for Content Objects/ADORs.  Then using one of these methods we'll start building campaign for the project.  

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed Practice 16.  
Practice Takeaway: How to begin building a transmedia project (cross media campaign) using Circle.  
Estimated Effort: 1+ hours, depending on Q&A.
Learning Materials: Using the material that were setup in practice 16.

Learning Objectives: 

  • Review the campaign requirements (from previous practice).
  • Review how the connection to uProduce works. 
  • Review the Get Started Wizard and use one of the methods:   
    • Method 1: Use Circle's Plan Editor
      • Uploading the Data Source (easy start) 
      • Edit rules using the plan editor
    • Method 2: Start with uCreate and the uCreate Rule Editor - this method requires uCreate experience
      • Start a print template in InDesign, link data and use the rule editor
      • Create a campaign package (regular or web - discuss the differences)
      • Upload a Campaign Package File (*.cpkg) (Get Started Wizard)
      • Modify rules using the plan editor
    • Method 3: Start with uPlan (.plan) - this method requires some uPlan experience
      • Use the plan wizard
      • Edit the business rules
      • Upload the Plan File
  • Review which method is best based on different kinds of changes. Using the Library.

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 18: Working with Emails

In this practice session, we will build and setup one or two email touchpoints templates using the Email editor (or uploading zip), adding Content Objects/ADORs, and running a small test.  This practice also includes more terminology and introduction to XMPL, along with email configuration options, scheduling and, if applicable, event-based filters. 

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed Practice 17.
Practice Takeaway: XMPL introduction and how to create and configure dynamic email templates.
Estimated Effort: 1+ hours, depending on Q&A.
Learning Materials: Using the material that were setup in practice 16 or, as needed, create a new small email only project.

Learning Objectives:

  • Configuring email options.
  • Discussing HTML vs TXT emails and multi-part emails.
  • Create and modify an email template.
    • Use email building blocks
    • Use Plan, Special and Email Content Object/ADORs in the email
    • Reviewing the code behind and saving the template
  • Setting sample recipients. 
  • Previewing the email
    • Using the editor and modifications as needed
    • Previewing the email from the canvas (from build and review modes) 
  • Testing the email using a couple of recipients.

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 19: Creating the personalized website

In this practice session, we will build and a small website (two pages), implementing a unique personalized link, adding Content Objects/ADORs, implement an form to update a recipient's data, upload the site and test for functionality. This practice also includes additional terminology and more XMPL coding. 

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed Practice 17.Previous experience working with HTML and other web technologies is helpful.
Practice Takeaway:  How to setup and configure a managed website, use XMPL code in various web pages. 
Estimated Effort: 1+ hours, depending on Q&A.
Learning Materials: TBD (preconfigured HTML5 webpages or other)

Learning Objectives: 

  • Use Circle to set up a managed web site. 
  • Discuss or review personalized response web sites basics: 
    • How Physical folders, IIS virtual folders, tracking work
    • How Helicon's ISAPIRewrite performs redirection (aka Friendly URL)
    • How Recipient information is placed on a page
  • Implement XMPL code into a web site
    • Add the header and body code for XMPL
    • Add Content Objects on a webpage (text, graphic, etc.). 
    • Configure a web form to submit updated personalized data,
    • As needed, add trigger for personalized email touchpoint and to direct to another webpage from the form
    • Implement (if possible) a friendly URL for the website touchpoint. 
    • Test the new web pages to trigger tracking using sample recipients.
  • If time allows, discuss or implement error handling, social media tags, or other types of pages and forms, etc. 

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 20: Add Personalized Print templates

An initial print document, such as a post card could lead a recipient to their personalized website using a QR code.  In addition, a personalized print document could be triggered based on clicking a button or updating data via a form, this is called PDF onDemand touchpoint. In this practice, based on available time, we will setup and implement one or both types of templates to our current Circle project (XM Campaign).

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Learning Prerequisite: Must have completed Practice 17 and 19. Previous experience working with HTML and other web technologies is helpful.
Practice Takeaway:  How to setup and configure a managed website, use XMPL code in various web pages.
Estimated Effort: 1+ hours, depending on Q&A.
Learning Materials: TBD (preconfigured HTML5 webpages or other)

Learning Objectives:

  • Using connectivity between uCreate and uProduce. Add to the print invite, a personalized QR code containing personalized landing page link.
  • Generate print from the Circle project using either Circle or uCreate. 
    • Review scheduling and (if applicable) filtering data.
    • Using the Run Center. 
  • Add another personalized print document to the project (for example, coupon or ticket).
    • Setting up PDF onDemand links in emails and webpages.
  • If time allows, discuss branding the PDF On Demand status window

 

 

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Hands-on Practice 21: Circle Analytics

Out-of-the-box reports are available for your touchpoints almost immediately as touchpoints are used. This practice reviews using Circle Analytics to view reports and modify the analytics dashboard for yourself and your client. Using Circle Analytics during and at the end of a campaign is essential.

Audience: All trainees that will be planning, creating, and managing cross media campaigns.
Practice Takeaway: How to view the analytics for different types of touchpoints and how to share these results.
Estimated Effort: 1+ hours, depending on Q&A.

Learning Materials: TBD

Learning Objectives:

  • Discuss and modify (if possible) 
    • Setup of what is tracked
    • Track other items on webpages
    • Add touch point tracking
  • Review the Analyze (Circle tab)
  • Review and discuss various KPI and other charts
    • Landing over time and other website analytics
    • CTA (call to action) and other email analytics
    • Print, SMS (if applicable) and other details
    • Use List report Review Print report
This Transmedia ILT is typically sold with these solutions/product suites: PersonalEffect eMedia Cloud, PersonalEffect Transmedia, PersonalEffect Transmedia Pro, or Enterprise Cross Media.