Applied Media Research Detailed Research - Hollyoaks

Over the past few weeks, the other members in the group (Jodie and Emma) and I have done some research on some of the most popular multiplatform shows. The two that I did research on were Hollyoaks and X Factor. I chose to do these because as they are two of my favourite programmes I already knew quite a lot about the multiplatform aspects of them both. Also I knew that extra research on these two shows wouldn't feel like work as I would enjoy it and I always think if you enjoy work then it will be much better done. 

Hollyoaks
Hollyoaks, a soap aimed at young adults, has always strived to be innovative within the issues it focuses on and in the way the show is created. This is also shown in the way it has became a major player within multiplatform programming. I feel that this is a clever idea as the audience the show is aimed at, are more likely to interact online with a particular TV programme. Also as Hollyoaks is on every day except for the weekend, I think that it is vital that there are areas of the show that viewers can interact with over the weekend so they can maintain a high level of interest. 

As soon as you enter the official Hollyoaks site (http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/index.html ) you can instantly see that it is fully interactive, embracing the idea that users can register to join the site, with a section at the top titled, 'Stuff happening now' which is a live feed of what other users are 'liking' and commenting on within the site. 

As you scroll down there is a comment box in which members are invited to come and write down their views of the show at the moment, sparking conversation with other uses on the message board. The fact that this on the first page is good because I think it instantly shows that Hollyoaks are a show that welcome the audience to get involved and participate.

There are also links to their official Facebook and Twitter so fans can get gossip and news about the show before others. The Facebook has over 1.5million likes and the Twitter has over 150,000 followers showing that social networking and TV is now linked strongly than ever before. These networks are vital for shows to thrive as it is imperative that fans are kept interested and given the exclusive access they feel they deserve. This also allows for fans to tell the programme creators exactly what they think about the show and this can have an impact on how the show continues with characters and storylines. 

There is a blog on the site that gives away spoilers about that weeks upcoming storylines so fans that are interested can go and get some hints about what will come up -  something that me, personally as a fan, love to do. 

Hollyoaks also really care about what the fans want, and their ideas and suggestions. They recently asked for fans suggestions of a name for a character's baby and the executive producer, Bryan Kirkwood, went ahead and chose someone's winning answer. This is really encouraging for the future of multi platform programming as it shows that viewers can impact the programme by participating in decisions made about the character. 

In 2012, Hollyoaks created the fictional mini-site 'DocYou' which played a central role in the storyline of character, Esther, being online bullied, showing viewers just how it can affect a person's life. Fans were able to visit the actual DocYou site and see how the characters were interacting with eachother, and bullying Esther so they felt like they were actually in the story, making the characters seem like real people. However, Hollyoaks also added a variety of backstage videos showing the actors who played the characters involved with this site, talking about how bad cyber bulling is and how it can be stopped. This acts as a vital support system for fans who were going through the same thing and gave them confidence to get help. There was also a link to the official Hollyoaks DocYou Facebook site which fans could 'like' and talk about the issues with other fans.

There is also a page that shows the playlists from each episode and allows you to instantly download these playlists from iTunes allowing fans to also have a little piece of Hollyoaks on their music players!

Hollyoaks has been completely revolutionary in storylines involving fans participation, such as running a competition allowing 10 fans to attend a secret Wretch32 gig and being asked to film it, which would then appear in the actual televised episode of Hollyoaks. This is groundbreaking and why I am such a fan of the show, it's brilliant to see them use new digital media to their and the fans advantage and makes me excited to see what they will do next