Effective calls-to-action can encourage users to move through a transmedia story, while ineffective ones can discourage user interaction with the narrative. These questions about calls-to-action should be asked (and answered) during the design process.

  • Is each call-to-action designed to provide both immediate and long-term connections if users don’t go to linked information immediately? (Story Level Design Tasks)
  • Are the attractors in each call-to-action internal or external to the storyworld? (Story Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the call-to-action support the narrative flow? Does it disrupt the narrative flow? Will affect the temporal sequencing of the narrative? If so, what will the impact be on the narrative? (Story Level Design Tasks)
  • How does the transmedia narrative handle the shift from one medium to another? Does the call-to-action signal the kind of medium the user will migrate to? Are there limitations/constraints that could affect the user’s migration from one medium to another? (Story Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the design of each call-to-action use a goal-centered approach that enables users to develop clear and measurable objectives for each task and message component? Select goals that users perceive as having personal value? Ensure goals are aligned with the target message of the transmedia narrative? (Story Level Design Tasks)
  • What is the purpose of each call-to-action? Are the call-to-action and the jump it supports essential? Does the call-to-action enhance the progress of the narrative? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Are the story and media elements on both sides of a call-to-action described? Have the factors affecting the effectiveness of the call-to-action been considered? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Is each call-to-action used as an opportunity to build suspense and strengthen the narrative? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does each call-to-action have an attractor? Does the attractor provide the appropriate sensory affordances? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does each call-to-action have a motivator? Does the motivator provide the appropriate cognitive affordances? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the design of the motivator reduce the user’s cognitive load by minimizing extraneous processing using the temporal contiguity, spatial contiguity, signaling, coherence, and redundancy principles? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the design of the motivator reduce the user’s cognitive load by managing essential processing using the segmenting, pretraining, and modality principles? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does the design of the motivator reduce the user’s cognitive load by fostering generative processing using the personalization and voice principles? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does each call-to-action have a connector? Does the connector provide the appropriate physical affordances? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Does each call-to-action have a retainer? Does the retainer provide the appropriate functional affordances? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)
  • Do the elements within each call-to-action work synergistically to help the user move through the transmedia narrative? (Scene/Sequence Level Design Tasks)