Digital Platform for Spatiotemporal Transmedia Storytelling of Historical and Cultural Events for the Promotion of SME Products and Services

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The aim of the project was to promote the products and services of small and medium-sized enterprises of Crete to its visitors by highlighting the rich historical and cultural heritage of the island at a very low cost in order to attract a large number of businesses. More specifically, within the framework of the action, an open, integrated Digital Platform (DP) has been developed for the visual representation of complex historical events and processes or myths that took place in Crete, which are presented via the internet and/or via mobile devices (smart phones, tablets) for the purpose of digital marketing and the promotion of products and services of small and medium-sized enterprises of Crete operating in the tourism sector (Accommodation, catering, transport, travel agencies, etc.) using basic principles and mechanisms of transmedia storytelling and active reader engagement , allowing their participation in the storytelling experience.

The DP provides a tool for designing, creating and managing transmedia multimedia content for the visual description and spatiotemporal representation of historical and /or fictional events (processing of scenarios, scenes, plots, battlefields , audiovisual documents, photographs , etc.). The tool was based on a model of spatiotemporal, visual representation and narrative description of events which was described by a formal language and which was then organized, structured (packaging) and provided as input to the applications of the internet and mobile devices for its reproduction and presentation (player application) which were also developed within the context of the act.

Upon completion of the project, local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Tourism had been able to register with the Platform and plan targeted advertising and promotion campaigns for their products and services . To support this process, the Platform provided the necessary elements of conceptual modeling and visual representation for the smooth and transparent integration of promotional actions and activities into the narrative flow of the narrated events. In this context, the main objective was to support and provide personalized services and experiences, location-based and context-aware services to the end users of the Platform.

For the communication and evaluation of the DP, within the framework of the proposed project, the planning, development and pilot demonstration through the DP of the historical event of the Battle of Crete during World War II and subsequently the National Resistance on the island until its liberation was developed. Specifically, the Battle of Crete, as it unfolded in Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion, had been described by representing its spatio-temporal evolution based on official historical data. At the same time, however, the recording of material that is available to individuals was sought, through the crowdsourcing approach , as well as the contribution of narratives of people who were, directly or indirectly, witnesses of the historical events in an effort to record historical, oral memory. In this way, an alternative, experiential approach to the past had been offered, which had included, in addition to the official historical narrative, oral testimony and inherited memories and narratives that include feelings, thoughts, mindsets, perceptions, social relations and processes of the era, providing the opportunity for a multi-prism perspective of this historical period.