Opinion - Generation Media

Building the next CoComelon

This month, Greta examines the success of the commercial juggernaut that is CoComelon and looks at how the property’s success might be replicated.

Perhaps, like many parents across the globe, you are all too familiar with the phenomenon that is CoComelon. The pre-school brand has firmly cemented itself as the No.1 YouTube channel for kids, globally, with ambitions to continue its growth beyond the platform and into every facet of the modern pre-schooler’s media day. In fact, such has been the success in holding the attention of kids that Child Development Specialist Jerrica Sannes controversially claimed it to be “so hyper-stimulating that it actually acts as a drug, as a stimulant.”

More commonplace is the view that CoComelon is a commercial juggernaut, with the success of the franchise encouraging a Blackstone backed consortium to purchase Moonbug Entertainment (the owners CoComelon) for a reported $3.05b. Of course, Moonbug’s stable also includes successes such as Blippi (14m subscribers) and Little Baby Bum (37.4m subscribers), but the fact that CoComelon has more than twice their subscriber count combined (121m at the time of writing) indicates that JJ and friends added significant weighting to Moonbug’s valuation. This is further borne out by the success of the consumer goods lines, with supply struggling to meet an everincreasing demand.

For those looking to replicate this success, even a percentage of it, there is often a misconception in the digital age that successes like this happen “overnight”. This belief owes much to the trajectory of CoComelon’s success in disrupting traditional powerhouses such as Disney and ViacomCBS, however in reality, this is a journey spanning almost 15 years. Originally active as Checkgate on YouTube, before transitioning to ABC Kid TV in 2013, it was under this banner that the first pillars of long-term success emerged, with the introduction of recurring characters, notably JJ, ensuring a strong brand identity. It wasn’t until 2018 however that the channel was rebranded to CoComelon, and real efforts were made to cement the proposition as a brand that could live outside of YouTube. The watermelon logo was introduced and use of this within the intro and outro was made consistent across all videos. Increased use of JJ and friends became a prominent feature, an important step in establishing potential heroes for the eventual product lines.

The producers saw to it that the necessary steps were put in place to build the brand within the content itself, and Moonbug has gone about ensuring that that brand is accessible to us in every conceivable, relevant area. It is this omnichannel strategy that has been key to the long-term brand health - especially when you consider the fact that the original YouTube channel is currently experiencing long term decline. Year-on-year, monthly video views have declined -57% (September 2021 vs. 2020). Despite this, YouTube remains a fundamental cornerstone of CoComelon’s distribution footprint, and the metrics, by anyone else’s standards, are phenomenal. The channel still generates in excess of 1.5bn views per month and comfortably remains the No.1 “Made for Kids” YouTube channel, and No.2 YouTube channel overall (when ranked by both total views and total subscribers).

This omnichannel approach to viewership has also seen CoComelon successfully disrupt the traditional content distribution cycle, where content is distributed to broadcast first in order to achieve critical mass to create demand for product. However, given that the content offering is substantially greater than the ability of broadcasters to showcase it, we’re seeing more and more content providers utilising nonlinear TV options to reach their audiences directly. This opens new opportunities for brands to distribute great content in different formats, beyond the usual time lengths, thus democratising the landscape that little bit more. CoComelon will soon be launching a live stage show in the US, adding an additional layer of immersion and ensuring that the brand truly lives everywhere.

So, what have we learned from the CoComelon experience, and what should brands be looking to emulate within their own content strategy: • Strategic franchise management – success does not happen overnight and time needs to be invested in analysing the content analytics of what does and doesn’t work for your audiences.

Content is key for successful and long-term brand development • Invest in great content – ensure that the content has consistent brand pillars that are instantly recognisable: from storytelling, to look and feel, to ensure audiences are captivated and become loyal to your content, no matter where they may watch it. • Wider footprint distribution – the fragmentation of media distribution provides opportunity for brands to be wherever their audience might be.

Take advantage of this to prove the effectiveness of your brand to generate new audiences for channels.

Increasingly, content strategy should also be considered as part of your engagement strategy, in alignment with your advertising strategy. Content can generate demand for products and advertising will tell consumers how to purchase them. After all, if you are paying for your products to be viewed then wherever possible your content should be used to maximise the exposure to your brand, be that online, on TV/VOD, or even in cinema. This is why we have invested in growing Generation Entertainment, our “Content First” division, to better service the needs of the modern marketer. For more information on how we can help on your journey to building the next CoComelon, get in touch.