"WE AIM TO NURTURE CHILDREN'S CREATIVITY AND INDEPENDENCE"

JIELLA ESMAT, CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER AT AMUSE STUDIOS, ENUMERATES THEIR MAIN ANIMATED SHOWS FOR PRESCHOOLERS AND SHARES THEIR CONTENT STRATEGY FOR BUILDING INTERNATIONAL PRESCHOOL HITS.

Kids’ content specialist Amuse Studios has created 33 original preschool properties that have achieved billions of views on YouTube. Jiella Esmat, Chief Revenue Officer, talked with Señal News about the company’s goal of producing animated hits with global appeal.

Amuse Animation creates animated heroes for kids. What are the values of those series?

"Our priority is to create relatable stories for preschool children that promote positive values such as kindness, compassion, and empathy and inspire play. Achieving high animation quality with a digital-first distribution approach is our goal. We aim to nurture children's creativity, independence and promote an inquisitive approach to life."

What are the main titles of your current catalog?

"Our catalog features 33 original properties for preschool children, including some of the most beloved characters on digital platforms, such as 'Super Truck,' which has accumulated over 5 billion views since its launch on YouTube, 'Tom the Tow Truck' with over 3.2 billion YouTube views, or 'Shark Academy' with more than 1.2 billion YouTube views. Other titles include 'Plum the Super Witch,' 'Robo Fuse,' 'Animacars,' Increditales' and 'Miliki Family,' our most recent co-production with the acclaimed studio Caribe."

Do you create a 360° strategy around your IPS?

"Our digital-first model develops properties from the ground up, growing global viewership and popularity. We are currently adapting our concepts into premium longer-form shows for broadcast distribution with a longtail 360 franchise goal. We build our content strategy based on four key pillars: research and data segmentation, testing and scoring, continuous IP iteration, and leveraging insights. We localize our content into 27 languages for global distribution. Our strong Chinese distribution has provided access to global viewership data, which we use to assess an

IP's potential and adjust storylines to suit audience preferences. We continue to build on this methodology as we strengthen our content portfolio."

What are the main challenges you face when you create a new series?

"We face two primary challenges when creating new IP: first, the data-driven approach for content creation is complex. The data lacks granularity, and we have had to produce, upload, and analyze over 5.000 episodes to achieve the data bank necessary to create a truly audience-centric series. Moreover, the production process can be costly and rigid, but necessary to provide us with the raw data required to analyze audience preferences. Our model is based on producing content at a fraction of traditional animation costs while maintaining high-quality animation. We have had to dive deep into our creative and production workflows to evaluate the crucial versus the 'nice to haves' when determining how to streamline the process and reduce costs at each production step."

How do Amuse Animation's shows stand out in an overcrowded content landscape?

"We're focused on creating the most audience-centric content on the market by understanding the underlying reasons behind the content success and what elements generate children's interest and engagement. Our new slate incorporates these learnings into building new cost-efficient formats for self or co-financing. We're moving into premium digital-first content that will have a high enough quality to perform on YouTube, premium platforms, and within broadcast environments. Our priority is to create great content at scale and to continue iterating and broadening our viewership across a global marketplace."

By Romina Rodríguez