Creating National Media Brand by Transmedia Storytelling in Animation Sector: A Comparison of Selected Cases from Turkey and Pakistan

ABSTRACT The animation industry, which plays a key role in cultural identity construction for new generations, uses multiple media channels to convey their messages concerning their brands and interact with audience by using transmedia storytelling technique (TST). TST empowers integrated marketing communication efforts of the businesses and enables the audience to experience a unique holistic entertainment. The main purpose of this study is to analyze how TST is adopted to create national media brands by Turkish and Pakistani animation producers comparatively and to investigate how cultural representation is treated in the selected cases – Elif’in Düşleri, Teen Bahadur. The study was designed as a qualitative research of multiple case studies. Multiple media channels across which the story unfolds were examined in detail with the help of illustrations, and a content analysis was made for each production. For both cases, the producers conducted the productions as transmedia projects by converting the story through a national media brand via several media channels. Cultural representation was achieved through local plots, local places, traditions, values, names and people. It’s been observed that the Turkey is ahead of Pakistan with its production of several national cartoon films/series compared to Pakistan.