here<\/a>, Takahara weighed in on the importance of authenticity and being wherever kids are amid shifts in consumption habits.<\/p>\nThe biggest pressure point in the business is audiences\u2019 attention, Takahara said, and \u201chow to reach them where they are at. It\u2019s discoverability. It\u2019s also in authenticity. We all know the audience is on YouTube. There\u2019s all the user-generated content that they\u2019re watching. It feels authentic to them. Those are real people. They feel like they\u2019re their friends. That\u2019s what they want. So they can spot when something does not feel authentic, it doesn\u2019t feel real, it doesn\u2019t feel that it\u2019s speaking to them and their generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked Takahara how professional content producers, distributors and platforms should be approaching these challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne, you have to be where the audience is. You have to try your best to get in front of them and try to capture their attention. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s necessarily going after user-generated content. It can be, but I think it is more about creating the content that will speak directly to them, to their interests, to what they want. It\u2019s not about the traditional way of making content. It\u2019s about how we adjust our thinking and perceptions of things in a way that will appeal to the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a challenge for everyone, Takahara said, linear and streamers alike. \u201cIt\u2019s about knowing your audience and being very specific with that target. Hopefully, you do get the broad audience, but if you\u2019re specific to one audience, then hopefully it can expand beyond that. It\u2019s also starting out with something that\u2019s more of a brand and trying to build awareness ahead of time before going straight into content. It used to be that content could launch and drive brand and toy. And that\u2019s not necessarily the case anymore. It\u2019s other aspects of entertainment that can reach kids, whether it\u2019s games or live events or just getting out in front of the audience\u2026 and have them know and be familiar with your brand. Content can be a part of that, but it\u2019s all about building out a brand, an IP, versus just creating content now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Known IP is still paramount, Takahara said, despite there being some franchise fatigue in the marketplace now. Launching a new brand is still possible. \u201cIf you have something that is so incredibly special, that has so much heart, that kids can connect with, things that can break through. I often tell people when they\u2019re coming up with ideas, What is the shock factor? What is it that we haven\u2019t seen? Is it a theme? Is it character? Is it a design? What is that shock factor that you can bring into a show or a brand to make kids want to interact with it and watch the show or buy the toys or play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collaboration in this new environment is also critical, Takahara said. \u201cEvery streamer has pulled back on the amount of content that they\u2019re making. That\u2019s why there is this slowdown in the market; it\u2019s no longer the gold rush. Everybody is pulling back. Everybody is looking at how much they\u2019re spending and how much they\u2019re investing. There are some properties that the streamers will do fully global and will fund completely. Then there are other projects where maybe they don\u2019t necessarily want to, but they\u2019re open to a co-production. Having that opportunity to go to international markets and find the funding and piece together your budget is definitely a viable option.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the road ahead for a kids\u2019 media business, Takahara is upbeat that there are better days to come. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of opportunity with kids. It\u2019s figuring out where they\u2019re at and how you produce content for the new generation. It\u2019s not the traditional content we used to do. Is it shorter form content? Micro dramas are getting very popular\u2014is there something in the kids\u2019 space for that? There are people who are working with Roblox. Another opportunity is AI. It can help workflows. I don\u2019t think AI replaces human creativity. It enhances and quickens the timeline of human creativity. Being able to adapt and adjust and use these technologies is going to be key to surviving this slump in the industry. I think of this moment in the industry as a bit of our pandemic in a way. During the pandemic, I admired so many companies trying to figure out any way to stay alive. It was thinking outside the box. That\u2019s what we need to do in our industry. We need to think outside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Netflix alum Amy Takahara, who has set up her own consultancy, Sigma Girl Media, joined the TV Kids Summer Festival to discuss navigating the evolving ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":290,"featured_media":29792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[11022,11023,10985],"class_list":["post-29791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-amy-takahara","tag-sigma-girl-media","tag-tv-kids-summer-festival-2025","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n
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