The Importance of Immersivity: Standing Out in Marketing

5 Aug

In his 2011 book The Art of Immersion: How the Digital Generation is Remaking Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and the Way We Tell Stories, Frank Rose wrote: “I think that what authors do have to do these days is to allow room for the audience in ways that they didn’t have to think about before. What happens is with any story, whether it’s a book or a TV show — and this has been true throughout history — if there’s a story that really matters to them, people want to inhabit that story.”

In the early-2000’s, as millennials increasingly chose to spend money on experiences over possessions, technological developments allowed storytellers to immerse their audiences into the world of their characters. These changes have had a huge impact on theatre, on cinema, and on audiences’ expectations of events of all kinds. But what about books? Is being immersed in outstanding writing still enough? Are readers looking for something more?

Typically, avid readers will avoid a book-inspired film until they’ve had the chance to read the book, for fear that the director’s vision won’t match their own and will spoil their experience. When it comes to literature, immersivity needs to be carefully created in a way that enhances the reader’s experience, while holding space for their imagination to run wild.

Multimedia reading experiences are increasingly popular. A few new releases, notably Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water and The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton, have been accompanied by Spotify playlists curated by the authors. Music is central to both narratives, so giving readers the opportunity to dive into the musical worlds and tastes of the characters seems a logical extension of the reading experience. The Last Guests by J.P. Pomare, however, is a soon-to-be-released literary thriller for which the author has created individual playlists for the two central characters. This approach, rather than taking readers into the world of the book, allows them to dive deeper into the characters’ psyches. All three authors are using music to bring their books to life and immerse readers in their fictional worlds.

The rise of immersive experiences gained pace when Secret Cinema, Punchdrunk and Gingerline, companies driving innovative immersive experiences in cinema, theatre and food respectively, were founded. Now, immersive experiences are everywhere and have become essential tools for effective marketing strategies. And marketing literature is no different.

The benefits of using immersive reading experiences as a marketing tool lies in both memorability and shareability; sending an influencer a book is far less impactful than inviting them to a reading experience. This is the principle behind Tandem Collective’s unique approach and signature format: the Readalong. Yet while the Readalong format can be applied to any book, immersive experiences are not suitable for every narrative. Key to using immersivity effectively in publishing is curating bespoke experiences that respond to a narrative and evoke the world the author has created. Immersivity won’t suit every book or every author. Care should be taken to ensure merit remains with the text, and that authors are given the opportunity to help shape the immersive experience.

Readalong image provided by @mikitravelgram

The book that kick-started Tandem Collective’s immersive approach was the thriller Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips. Set over a four-hour period, the book could be read in that time. It got Tandem Collective Founder Naomi thinking about what other experiences readers could have alongside the characters in the book. The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave posed another exciting opportunity to explore immersivity. Alongside the signature Readalong cards with quotes, questions and prompts that the Tandem Collective team always supply with books to their readers, they sent a set of numbered brown-paper packages. The Mercies Readalong bookstagrammers were guided through an immersive reading experience. As they read they discovered Readalong cards tucked in their books, each with a number corresponding to a parcel. For example, at the moment a character is struck by a strong scent of fennel and liquorice, readers were invited to open a package containing fennel-scented incense. Carefully chosen items evoked particular senses that were described in detail in the book. For another, upcoming Readalong the team have taken an almost opposing approach. The Dark by Emma Haughton is a thriller set in the dark world of winter in Antarctica. Fittingly, the bookstagrammers are being asked to remove a sense by listening to two of the chapters as an audiobook, while wearing a blindfold.

Over the past year, alongside running countless Readalongs, Tandem Collective have been developing their expertise in delivering immersive, digital events. But the future is not just digital. Now a measure of freedom has been restored, people are particularly eager for in-person experiences. With their passion for reading and their creative approach to bringing stories to life, the Tandem Collective team are planning to move into the realm of immersive events. Imagine something like a Secret Cinema for books. But Tandem will also always keep a foot firmly in the digital world. Having grown a global community of passionate readers, they won't be stepping away from online activations any time soon. Instead, innovative and immersive reading experiences and book promotions will be designed to make the most of all the opportunities afforded by both in-person and digital worlds. Readers still want to be immersed in the pages of a book; enhancing that experience through carefully chosen immersive elements is good marketing sense.