Cross Media IP & What It Means For You

Joined-Up Thinking Across Media Sectors

Cross media refers to the interconnectedness and convergence of various media platforms, such as film, television, publishing, gaming, and more.

For creative media IP owners, this presents a unique opportunity to harness the power of synergy by seamlessly expanding their narratives and universes across multiple platforms. By adopting joined-up thinking across media sectors, IP owners can engage audiences on different levels and create a more immersive and comprehensive storytelling experience.

This approach not only increases fan engagement and opportunities to build an audience you own, but also opens up diverse revenue streams and partnership opportunities that extend beyond traditional mediums. By considering the film or television show you want to make from outside of its original context, you can related to the idea in new ways with one foot in business and one foot still firmly rooted in creativity.

Increased Revenue Opportunities for IP Owners and Investors

The cross media approach offers IP owners and investors unprecedented revenue opportunities. By leveraging the power of multiple media channels, IP owners can tap into diverse income streams, including licensing and merchandising, interactive experiences, live events, cross-platform advertising, and more.

The ability to reach a wider audience and engage them across different touchpoints translates into enhanced monetisation potential, which helps to de-risk your financial proposal to investors and partners such as brands or co-producers.

On review of the financial success of recent films, you’ll notice that it is professed to be beyond difficult to turn a profit on an investment in a feature film, especially when adding the cost of Print and Advertising (P&A) to the production budget. By contrast, if you were to strategically design your idea to be a feature film, documentary series, graphic novel, low budget video game, an immersive theatre production and a soundtrack, you add the number of opportunities that the intellectual property has to generate revenue and, as a whole, to go into profit.

Cross media approaches to generating revenue in the media and entertainment sector are not new to studio owners and franchise builders, but they are a gap in media founder thinking and people seeking break-out success in their filmmaking careers.

Once remedied, cross media strategies for media founders makes your idea much more investible to private investors and creates a stronger position when negotiating with distributors, publishers, broadcasters and streaming platforms.s

Strategic Merchandising and "Star Wars: A New Hope"

The strategic utilization of cross media for merchandise sales is exemplified by the legendary franchise, "Star Wars." George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars," envisioned the films as a means to strategically sell merchandise. He stated, "I realized, 'Oh, this is how you can make money in the movie business — by selling them [toys] directly.'"

Lucas recognized the potential to extend the Star Wars brand beyond the big screen, leveraging merchandise tie-ins to generate substantial revenue. The success of "Star Wars: A New Hope" laid the foundation for an expansive merchandising empire, demonstrating the impact and profitability of cross media synergy.

Conclusion

Cross media has ushered in a new era for creative media IP owners, providing them with unprecedented opportunities to expand their narratives, engage audiences on multiple platforms, and generate diverse revenue streams. Joined-up thinking across media sectors enables IP owners to craft immersive and comprehensive storytelling experiences. Simultaneously, the strategic use of merchandising, as exemplified by George Lucas with "Star Wars: A New Hope," highlights the immense potential for IP owners to leverage cross media for increased revenue opportunities. As the cross media landscape continues to evolve, creative media IP owners must embrace this paradigm shift to unlock the full potential of their intellectual properties and capitalize on the multitude of possibilities that cross media offers.

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