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Transmedia Storytelling and the Construction of Urban Tourism Brands: A Case Study of Quanzhou

Author(s)

Chuhao Shen*

Affiliation(s)

School of Creative Design, Quanzhou University of Information Engineering, Quanzhou, Fujian, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Against the evolving digital media landscape and platform-based communication systems, urban tourism branding is shifting from one-way promotion toward collaborative narrative construction involving multiple stakeholders. As a key paradigm of media convergence, transmedia storytelling offers a theoretical framework for the sustained expansion of urban brands across platforms. Drawing on transmedia storytelling theory and urban branding research, this study examines Quanzhou as a case through literature analysis and case study methods to explore the mechanisms and pathways of transmedia-driven brand construction. Findings indicate that Quanzhou demonstrates strong narrative potential through Maritime Silk Road heritage, pluralistic religious spaces, and living intangible cultural heritage practices. However, current branding efforts face challenges including an unclear central narrative, underdeveloped visual symbolic systems, weak cross-platform coordination, and insufficiently structured user participation. In response, this study proposes a framework centered on unified storyworld construction, coherent visual symbolism, platform-specific narrative role allocation, and user-driven narrative expansion. The results suggest that transmedia storytelling provides both an analytical framework and practical strategies for transforming tourism branding from short-term attention-based promotion toward long-term value accumulation in digitally mediated environments.

Keywords

Transmedia Storytelling; Urban Tourism Branding; Quanzhou; Urban Communication; Digital Media

References

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