Jay-Z’s Transmedia Memoir

The launch of ‘Decoded‘, a memoir by Jay-Z, will be preceded by a campaign that allows you to read and experience reproductions of entire pages from the book in several locations cited in the biography. While about half of the pages will be displayed on traditional billboards, the rest will be printed on quirkier forms of outdoor media, such as at the bottom of a hotel swimming pool, or on the felt of pool tables in a pool hall – locations specifically cited on those pages of the book. Those pages will pop-up in cities including New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and London, until November 16 – when “Decoded” is published.

The location for the pages can be determined by searching at Bing.com/Jay-Z, which will also function as home base for an online scavenger hunt. Players will follow clues to arrive at the general vicinity of pages, with a ‘proximity meter’ indicating when they’re getting closer. The first players to discover the pages will be eligible to win a signed copy of the book, and a trip to Las Vegas to see Jay-Z perform at a New Year’s Eve concert.

Clues to the pages location will be given on Bing, as well as by Jay-Z on Facebook and Twitter. First players to discover the page on the Bing map can declare so online, while those who discover it by walking into it can stake their claim by sending a text that includes a code printed on the page.

Droga5 collaborated with Jay-Z’s empire to launch the deeply integrated and competitive campaign. We also observed this campaign speaks to some of the key trends we’ve been tracking to – game mechanics (a scavenger hunt) to motivate, engage (and stimulate curiosity), transmedia storytelling (quite literally), including utilizing Search/maps to tell that story. The later could also benefit the cited locations (generating curiosity and building awareness/engagement) – and not just Jay-Z’s book.

Bing.com/Jay-Z

[via New York Times]