TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING: "Who Is Tim?" App

On July 6 Dutch soap GOEDE TIJDEN SLECHTE TIJDEN went off the air for its summer break.  But RTL Netherlands has published the "Wie is Tim?" ("Who is Tim?") app to tide over the fans during the summer until the new season starts on September 3.

The "Who is Tim?" app is about a new character on the show, the mysterious Tim Loderus (played by Beau Schneider). Users will find out more about Tim with the help of handwritten notes, videos, games and hidden content. Users need passwords to unlock that hidden content. Those passwords can be found everywhere: on TV, in newspapers and on advertisement posters at bus stops. Twitter and Facebook also play an important role during this project. It's a form of transmedia storytelling.

Every week new content will be available. At the end of the summer break users will have found out who Tim is. Fans who don't or can't download the app will still be able to follow the story line on the show because the app only reveals an extra layer to the story line.

During its first week the app was downloaded over 120,000 times for I-OS and Android devices and it had 65,000 active users, making it the number one free app in the App Store. Users can win several prizes, including a trip to South-Africa to be an extra on the show.

Arno Otto, Managing Director of Digital Media at RTL Netherlands, says: "We are always looking for new ways to get our audiences involved in our programmes long-term. We offer an extensive mix of digital content to extend GOEDE TIJDEN SLECHTE TIJDEN onto all platforms - so that fans can continue to get their daily dose of the soap during the summer."