Media mix

In Japanese culture and entertainment, media mix (wasei-eigo: メディアミックス, mediamikkusu) is a strategy to disperse content across multiple representations: different broadcast media, gaming technologies, cell phones, toys, amusement parks, and other methods. The term gained its circulation in late 1980s, however the origins of the strategy can be traced back to 1960s with the proliferation of anime with its interconnection of media and commodity goods. It is the Japanese equivalent of a media franchise.

The penetration into the American market of the series such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! gave rise to the recognition of what is variously called transmedia storytelling, crossmedia, transmediation, media synergy, etc.

Researchers argue that the 1963 Tetsuwan Atomu marked a shift in Japanese marketing: from the focus on the content of the commodity to "overlapping the commodity image with the character image".

The book Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan by Marc Steinberg details the evolution of the media mix in Japan.

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