Traveling through time and space.

Chapter 171 Cross-media Cultural Communication Strategies of Cultural Companies

Chapter 171: Cross-media Cultural Communication Strategies of Cultural Companies

Mu Yang successfully promoted the family oral history recording project, making it a significant milestone in the family's cultural heritage. With the confidence and motivation gained from this achievement, Mu Yang set his sights on the development blueprint of his cultural company, determined to explore an innovative cross-media path for cultural communication. He understood that in today's diversified media environment, a single communication method could no longer meet the needs for widespread dissemination of cultural products. Only by integrating multiple media resources could the company's cultural products shine like stars in a broader sky.

Mu Yang first visited a reputable film and television production company. The conference room was spacious and bright, its walls covered with posters of various films and television productions, highlighting its illustrious creative history. Mr. Liu, the company's producer, and Mr. Chen, the renowned director, were already waiting in the room. They were dressed casually yet professionally, with a stack of documents before them, clearly well prepared for the meeting.

"Mr. Liu, Director Chen, it is a great honor to meet you two. Our cultural company has many high-quality literary works, and I believe they have great potential to be adapted into wonderful film and television works. For example, our best-selling novel "Splendid Mountains and Rivers" has a grand story background, set in the turbulent times of the Ming and Qing dynasties, with vivid characters. The protagonist grows from a mere scholar to a hero who turns the tide. The plot is ups and downs, full of family and country feelings, love and hate. If it can be put on the screen, it will surely attract a large number of audiences." Mu Yang introduced enthusiastically, gesturing with his hands as he spoke, trying to make the other party feel the charm of the work more intuitively, with anticipation glittering in his eyes.

Mr. Liu nodded slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, an expression of interest on his face. "Mr. Mu, we're familiar with your company's work, and it's indeed very appealing. However, film and television adaptations involve copyright fees, and we need to discuss this carefully. After all, we're investing a significant amount of money in filming, production, and promotion, and the expected returns must be guaranteed. Adapting this novel for film and television would require considerable expense just to create scenes that match the historical context, and the cast must also be top-notch. These initial investments are enormous, and if the copyright fees are too high, the pressure to recoup our investment would be enormous."

As expected, the conflict of interest first became apparent over copyright fees. Mu Yang leaned forward slightly and responded sincerely, "Mr. Liu, I understand your concerns. The copyright value of this novel is self-evident. It has accumulated a huge readership and has long occupied the bestseller lists of major book sales platforms. The physical book has sold over a million copies, and the e-book has been read by tens of millions. This has laid a solid audience base for film and television adaptations. We can comprehensively consider the novel's market influence, expected ratings, and the investment and return of both parties to determine a reasonable copyright price. At the same time, we also very much look forward to establishing a long-term cooperative relationship with your company. There will be more high-quality works to choose from in the future. Fantasy novels like "The Ghost Story" have a wide audience and great potential for film and television adaptations."

During the discussion of adaptation concepts, the differences and conflicts between traditional publishing culture and film and television creative culture gradually emerged. Director Chen leaned back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest, and proposed, "Novels tend to have a more nuanced narrative style, focusing on inner experiences, but film and television require a stronger visual impact and a tighter plot rhythm. During the adaptation process, we may need to make some adjustments to the story, such as simplifying certain plot points. For example, the protagonist's inner struggle, which lasts for several chapters in a novel, may need to be expressed through a few shots and a few lines of dialogue in a film or TV show, highlighting the main character's conflict and enhancing the dramatic tension."

After thinking for a moment, Mu Yang said, "Director Chen, I understand the particularity of film and television creation. However, the charm of Splendid Mountains and Rivers lies in its rich details and profound cultural heritage. The book describes the costumes, etiquette, architecture, and other aspects of the Ming and Qing dynasties in great detail. I hope to retain these elements as much as possible during the adaptation. We can cleverly integrate these contents into the pictures and plot without affecting the rhythm of the story. For example, through a grand court banquet scene, showing the gorgeous costumes and complicated etiquette, let the audience feel the splendor of the film and television, and appreciate the charm of the original work."

After an in-depth discussion, the two sides reached a preliminary consensus on copyright fees and adaptation concepts.

Mu Yang then rushed to the online media platform's headquarters. It was a place brimming with youth and energy, with employees bustling about in various work areas. A large display screen displayed real-time platform traffic data and trending topics. Mu Yang met with Manager Li, the head of operations for the online media platform. Dressed in a stylish business suit, his eyes shone with shrewdness and competence.

"Manager Li, our cultural company plans to produce a series of high-quality cultural documentaries and online variety shows. We hope to leverage your platform's powerful communication and interactivity to allow more audiences to understand and love our cultural content. For example, the documentary "Exploring China's Treasures" we are preparing will delve into cultural heritage sites across China, from the ancient Dunhuang murals to the mysterious Sanxingdui artifacts. It is rich in content and highly entertaining." Mu Yang stated his purpose straight to the point.

Manager Li smiled and said, "Mr. Mu, we've always been interested in cultural content. However, during our collaboration, advertising revenue sharing and traffic distribution are key issues we need to discuss. Our platform has invested a lot of resources in promoting content, from algorithmic recommendations to placement on popular lists. All of this costs money, and we hope to get a reasonable return on our investment."

Mu Yang was well prepared and responded, "Manager Li, we can work together to come up with a fair and reasonable plan. The advertising revenue share ratio will be determined based on the quality of the content, audience feedback, and the traffic growth it generates. A documentary like 'Exploring Chinese Treasures' has been meticulously polished by the production team, which has invited top archaeological experts and cultural scholars in the industry to participate. The content quality is absolutely guaranteed. We believe it will attract a large number of viewers, enhance the platform's cultural atmosphere and user stickiness. At the same time, we also hope that your platform can provide a certain amount of traffic support to make our cultural products more discoverable to the audience. We believe that high-quality content will bring more user stickiness and activity to the platform, achieving mutual benefit and a win-win situation."

Furthermore, the varying cultural ecosystems of various online media platforms also present challenges for communication strategies. Manager Li frowned and noted seriously, "Users on our platform prefer lighthearted, engaging, and interactive content. Relatively serious topics like cultural documentaries require innovative presentations, adding more fun and interactive elements to better engage users. For example, we could set up online polls, allowing viewers to select the cultural heritage they're most interested in and delve deeper into it."

Mu Yang listened carefully to the suggestions and said, "We will innovatively package cultural documentaries based on the characteristics of the platform. For example, we will add some interesting stories and interviews during filming, such as telling the legendary life of the craftsmen who protected the Dunhuang murals; in post-production, we will add animation demonstrations and interactive barrages, using vivid animations to show the unearthing process of Sanxingdui cultural relics, so that the audience can have a greater sense of participation in the viewing process."

Back at the cultural company's marketing office, Mu Yang worked with the staff to plan an integrated marketing campaign. The office was filled with lively discussion, with employees gathered around the conference table, pitching their ideas. The walls were covered with creative sticky notes and event planning sketches.

"For film and television adaptations, we can hold offline premieres and invite the leading actors and creative team to interact with the audience to increase the topic. At the same time, we can initiate online topic hype on social media, such as the film and television version of Splendid Mountains and Rivers, to guide the audience to discuss the plot, characters, etc. We can set some interesting topics, such as 'Who is the most suitable actor to play the leading role in your mind', to stimulate the audience's enthusiasm for participation." An employee said excitedly, his face full of confidence in creativity.

Another employee continued, "We can also collaborate with e-commerce platforms to launch peripheral products related to the film and television works, such as costumes and props that match the characters. This will expand our influence through cross-platform marketing. For example, we could create a period costume that matches the main character and sell it in limited quantities on e-commerce platforms. This will definitely attract fans to buy."

During the planning process, Mu Yang fully felt the enthusiasm and creative passion of the marketing department staff. However, when integrating resources, the interests of different media partners also quietly emerged.

Film and television production companies hope to dominate the premiere and focus on promoting their films, believing it is a showcase of their hard work; while online media platforms hope to use the popularity of the premiere to drive traffic to related promotional activities for the platform and increase its visibility. Mu Yang had to once again coordinate the interests of all parties: "Everyone's goal is to achieve better dissemination of the work. The premiere can focus on film and television promotion, but at the same time, we can also cleverly incorporate elements of the online platform, such as setting up an online live broadcast session to allow audiences who can't attend the event to participate. The platform can use this opportunity to promote its own live broadcast function, which can not only meet the needs of the film and television companies, but also bring traffic to the online platform."

With the gradual implementation of a cross-media communication strategy, the film and television adaptation of "Splendid Mountains and Rivers" has attracted widespread attention since its inception. The offline premiere was a lively event, with fans arriving early, some even setting up tents outside the theater a day in advance. On the day of the premiere, the audience erupted in screams as the lead actors appeared. Online hype was also in full swing, with related topics quickly climbing the trending search charts and sparking widespread discussion. Netizens were enthusiastically discussing topics such as casting and plot speculation, and the topic's readership exceeded hundreds of millions in just a few days.

After the cultural documentary went live on online media platforms, its innovative presentation and high-quality content attracted widespread attention. The interactive comment section was bustling with activity, with viewers leaving comments expressing their love for the cultural content and appreciation for the innovative format. Comments like "I never thought a cultural documentary could be shot this way! So interesting!" and "Through the animation, I instantly understood the historical background of the cultural relics. Great!" continued to roll in.

Mu Yang stood by his office window, watching the company's cultural products flourish across various media outlets, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He understood that the path of cross-media cultural communication was fraught with challenges, but with continuous innovation and flexible responses, cultural companies could stand out in the fierce market competition and achieve their goal of diversified development.

"This is just the first step in our cross-media communication. In the future, we will continue to explore new cooperation models and communication methods to bring more excellent cultural products to the public. We want to create a cross-media cultural communication matrix to let the company's cultural influence radiate to every corner." Mu Yang said firmly, his eyes revealing confidence and determination in the future development of the cultural company.