{"id":23857,"date":"2022-09-30T08:50:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T12:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2022-10-03T10:01:03","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T14:01:03","slug":"peanuts-worldwides-tim-erickson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/peanuts-worldwides-tim-erickson\/","title":{"rendered":"Peanuts Worldwide\u2019s Tim Erickson"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim Erickson, executive VP of the Peanuts Worldwide brand at WildBrain, speaks to <\/em>TV Kids about the lead-up to Peanuts\u2019 75th anniversary in 2025, taking a multigenerational approach to managing the brand and being a lifelong fan of Charles M. Schulz\u2019s best-known creations.<\/em><\/p>\n

In 1950, a small number of U.S. newspapers introduced a new comic strip from Charles M. Schulz about a circle of young kids, led by the self-deprecating Charlie Brown, and their trusted beagle friend Snoopy. Over the years, through thousands of syndicated comic strips and a raft of beloved seasonal specials, the Peanuts gang has earned the loyalty of millions of fans across the globe. And new ones are being added every day thanks to a range of initiatives from Peanuts Worldwide, the venture owned by WildBrain, Sony Music Entertainment and Schulz\u2019s family. As the executive VP of the Peanuts Worldwide brand at WildBrain, Erickson is tasked with overseeing this enduring property, including the new shows on Apple TV+, the Take Care with Peanuts initiative and retail partnerships across the globe.<\/p>\n

\"***Image***\"TV KIDS: <\/strong>What most attracted you to taking on oversight of this beloved brand at WildBrain?
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> It was a big decision. I see it as an incredible responsibility to the fans and the legacy of Charles M. Schulz. There\u2019s a lot to live up to. I\u2019m a passionate fan. The business has been thriving for years. We\u2019re in our 73rd year. It was really about what\u2019s next for Peanuts. How do we continue to engage fans as we have in a world that\u2019s changing? The origins are from the news\u00adpaper. While we still are in syndication around the world, having the comics reprinted, how do we show up on some of these new platforms? Short-form content? YouTube? How do we leverage all the great Apple TV+ content across all these other platforms? How do we bring new fans around the world into the fold? How do we bring new kids into the fold? It\u2019s been interesting to understand how fans worldwide have come to know and love Peanuts. The journey is different depending on where you are in the world. In the U.S., it came to me through a series of different formats\u2014every Sunday, reading the comic strip, and the seasonal specials were a family ritual for us. It was also through products. I still have a grudge\u2014my cousin had the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, and I was not getting one. It\u2019s a deep connection, as you can see! We look to markets that are significant in size for us from a fandom perspective but still have a lot of room for growth and opportunity\u2014places like China, where people are coming to know Peanuts in a completely different way.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS: <\/strong>Tell us about working with the Schulz family and WildBrain\u2019s L&M and content-development teams to ensure you\u2019re all on the same page about how Peanuts is positioned.
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> Everybody wants to deliver the best experience for our fans and to live up to the legacy. We all have the same goal. Then it becomes about the approach. It\u2019s having conversations about the businesses we should be in and the types of stories we\u2019re telling. Much of that has already been figured out, so it\u2019s amplifying key stories Charles Schulz told through the strips. There are almost 18,000 strips. The timeless stories told over all those decades amaze me. So many can be retold in a different format. Snoopy in Space<\/em> is such an authentic relationship that dates back to the early \u201960s with the Apollo program. It\u2019s just as relevant today as it was then. Everybody involved with Peanuts is focused on quality first. If it\u2019s not going to live up to an appropriate quality, we don\u2019t want to do it. There are constructive conversations around the approach. Through the lens of Snoopy\u2019s imagination, would he have thought this versus that? What would Charles Schulz do? You have to try to do your best to interpret. We\u2019re fortunate that both Jean [Schulz\u2019s widow] and Craig [his son] are involved with our business. And then there\u2019s a lot of training that goes on. Every day I learn many new things. The teams are hungry to learn, whether it be at Peanuts Worldwide, the WildBrain team working on content, or Creative Associates [Schulz\u2019s studio] in Santa Rosa. Everybody\u2019s eager to learn and say, what is the most authentic way to tell this story?<\/p>\n

TV KIDS: <\/strong>What\u2019s been the L&M approach for all the great new content on Apple TV+?
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> Some elements celebrate the content you see on Apple TV+, like The Snoopy Show<\/em>. There\u2019s a look and feel to that. There\u2019s been an evolution of our character design over the years. Whether it\u2019s through consumer products or experiences or content, it needs to be consistent. The Snoopy Show<\/em> looks different than the original comic strip. So if we\u2019re doing something that celebrates the original comic strip, it will be all about that. Signage and marketing will be consistent. Then if we\u2019re doing something around The Snoopy Show<\/em>, and let\u2019s say it\u2019s very kid-targeted, it will look to that with a level of consistency. We have specific style guides and guidelines to ensure that we get that level of consistency.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS: <\/strong>How are you maintaining that multigenerational appeal the brand is known for?
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> First, we answer a few questions: Should we be in a specific business, and who should we target? Who is making the purchasing decision? What is the aesthetic? What is the storytelling we want to make sure that we\u2019re driving? It\u2019s different for preschool- or kid-targeted programs. As you get into the kids\u2019 space, you start to see psychographics have a huge impact on the direction. For example, if you\u2019re a gamer, there are some similarities within that community. How do we apply our approach to specific interests and ensure we have opportunities inclusive of all of our fans? In many cases, we\u2019ll do things that appeal to an entire family. We spend a lot of time creating those strategies. Hearing back from our fans is critical. And seeing what sells and what doesn\u2019t sell. You learn quickly what your fans like and don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS: <\/strong>The 75th anniversary is coming up in 2025. Can you tease any of the plans for that milestone?
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> It will be a celebration of the rich heritage and legacy. We\u2019re still pulling together those plans, but it will go across every aspect of how fans engage with us. So everything from experiences to products to content, marketing, you name it. It\u2019s an opportunity for fans to celebrate what they love about Peanuts. We want to ensure that our approach encompasses all those reasons to engage. It\u2019s still early days.<\/p>\n

TV KIDS: <\/strong>What are you hearing from the parents and caregivers of the new fans whose first exposure to Peanuts has been through the Apple TV+ content? What are they responding to?
\nERICKSON:<\/strong> Number one, quality storytelling. There are a lot of timeless themes that have always been in Peanuts\u2019 storytelling. We provide inclusive content for everybody to celebrate and enjoy. Space exploration resonates with people. And providing family time. We\u2019ve seen that from the beginning with our holiday specials. We\u2019re still seeing that. We have shows primarily targeted toward kids, though fans of all ages are watching. Then we have other specials that we regularly drop on Apple TV+ that are created for fans of all ages and a great opportunity for families to come together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The executive VP of the Peanuts Worldwide brand at WildBrain speaks about the lead-up to Peanuts\u2019 75th anniversary in 2025, taking a multigenerational approach to managing the brand and being a lifelong fan of Charles M. Schulz\u2019s best-known creations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":23858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,21],"tags":[1482,1156],"class_list":["post-23857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-peanuts-worldwide","tag-wildbrain","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nPeanuts Worldwide\u2019s Tim Erickson - TVKIDS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvkids\/peanuts-worldwides-tim-erickson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Peanuts Worldwide\u2019s Tim Erickson - TVKIDS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The executive VP of the Peanuts Worldwide brand at WildBrain speaks about the lead-up to Peanuts\u2019 75th anniversary in 2025, taking a multigenerational approach to managing the brand and being a lifelong fan of Charles M. 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