KIDS_CYBERGROUP_INSERT_1015_ALT2_EUR_1006_ELLENDER 8/26/15 12:50 PM Page 7
TV KIDS
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Cyber Group has positioned itself for continued growth. © Cyber Group Studios. «Based on Jonny Duddle’s book GIGANTOSAURUS published by The Templar Company Limited 2014» © Cyber Group Studios. «Based on Jonny Duddle’s book PIRATES NEXT DOOR published by The Templar Company Limited 2012» © BROWN BAG FILMS LTD.- CYBER GROUP STUDIOS
an award in China. We’ve been nominated for an International Emmy Kids Award.” To keep Cyber Group at the top of its game, attracting talent has been essential. “We’ve had a great number of new colleagues joining us, sometimes from very different companies, sometimes from competing studios,” Sissmann says. “The more people we have who bring us a talent we don’t have, the better off we are. Cultivating talent is really important. We need to have ideas, we need to make great shows—but if you don’t have talent inside the company, it doesn’t work. We have people of exceptional talent working with us. That’s probably what I am proudest of. We have grown on the success and talent of the people working with us. That’s why we’re here today.” The growth over the last decade prompted a reorganization this year, says COO Dominique Bourse, “to give us more flexibility and the ability to go in new directions.” As such, he adds, “We are very grateful to our financial investors, such as Viveris, Idinvest and Entrepreneur Venture, to have given us support for our growth.” Sissmann is confident that the Cyber Group team, driven by a passion for high-quality animation, can continue to adjust to the fast-changing kids’ business. “We’ve had projects that failed and we learned from them. It’s interesting for us to always learn about new things and new people. It’s about bringing talent into the company, learning from them and building something new that will create the ‘wow’ effect, even for us. It’s not about just doing a show or a series—it’s about being proud of what we do, and going beyond what we’ve already done. Each time we set a bar, we go beyond it and say, we’re going to go to the next stage.” Central to Cyber Group’s approach to talent has been assembling the best creative minds from three of the biggest exporters of children’s content: France, the U.K. and the U.S. “When you’re inside this triangle, you get the best of all worlds. Nobody writes cartoons like U.S. authors. Some of the best preschool comes from the U.K. Some of the best kids’ shows come from France. And we are now actively developing our ties with Asia—China in particular—as our goal is to be truly global.” The ambition to constantly do better work drives all of Cyber Group’s employees, Sissmann notes. And creation is a passion which needs to be constantly fueled by the best. “We live in a world where change is so present—change in technology, change in habits, change in cultures. We have to anticipate those changes. It’s always about creating new shows that will surprise kids and families worldwide, and that our clients will be happy with. And it’s about having fun. And the digital age brings new opportunities that we are excited to be able to tap into.”
Cyber Group’s slate of new projects for the kids’ demo includes, from left, Tom Sawyer, Gigantosaurus, The Pirates Next Door and Gilbert and Allie.