House of Cards blurs the distinction between the imagined world of the show and the real world of the audience. By releasing a series of fake presidential  campaign adverts during the real American elections of 2017, the show used a clever marketing ploy that placed the HOC story within the real world experience of its audience. This nurtured valuable  brand visibility for Netflix just as it was starting to produce original content for its streaming service - a  vulnerable moment for the streaming giant.

 

We might also label these tactics as 'transmedia storytelling' in that the additional narratives surrounding the broadcast story build a fictional universe that extends beyond core story lines. Jenkins also argues that these extensions prompt fan communities to construct their own imaginary reworkings - to appropriate fictional content for their own purposes. Certainly, the scope of fan fiction using President Underwood as a central antagonist available online provides ample evidence of this process in action.

 

Importantly, it is digital media technology that has enabled this convergence or coming together of both audiences and producer. More importantly, and as illustrated above, audience/producer convergence conveys benefits for both parties.