For those following transmedia (as in, multi-platform) brand storytelling – and those of us in the experiential realm are absolutely doing so – the SyFy channel’s original show Defiance is an ambitious cross-over idea: both an episodic cable show and a MMORPG video game by game developer Trion Worlds (all major consoles and PC).

Video game players have the option of “Episodic Missions” which are game scenarios based on the television show’s plot arc and character development. And the show is successful in its own right as a standalone media product – SyFy has renewed for a second season in 2014.

Which all goes to say that brand marketers have a lesson to learn from here about “programming” their brand like a publisher and producer, mapping out the story arc over multiple touch points, including experiential, which gets the brand closer to the customer than any other channel.

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