In advance of accepting his Content Leadership award at the 2016 !magination Awards on September 27, Christopher Keenan, Mattel Creations SVP, content development and executive producer, chatted with Cynopsis Kids editor Cathy Applefeld Olson about the evolution of Mattel Creations into a content-driven company developing properties to engage audiences through character and story.
Cynopsis: Where do you look for inspiration for new children’s programming?Keenan: Historically, Mattel has had a lot of focus on girl properties, whether it’s Barbie, Monster High, Polly Pocket or now American Girl. One area I’m very interested is boys properties that are based in strong characters and strong stories. I’m not particularly looking for combat-based properties. I’m trying to look at genres that aren’t being served by some of our competitors and colleagues, and trying to carve out a new niche of what can be competitive boys entertainment. We are pursuing a couple of properties from other media. One property I can’t name yet but it’s from an established book series, and another is a new take on a well-established character.
Cynopsis: You’re producing programming for television, OTT distributors, and shorter form content for the Internet. What are the differences in the production process?
Keenan: It’s no longer just about telling 100 half-hour stories. One of the first questions I ask now is, Can we tell a variety of stories in a variety of formats in a variety of lengths – and have them be equally impactful in different ways? It’s not a given that a property is going to launch as a television series or a direct-to-consumer movie first. From the early stages of development it could be realized in short form or purely as an app before it becomes narrative content. There are so many different ways characters and stories are coming to life and audiences are finding them. It’s almost critical from the get-go that we look at developing a property with all those platforms in mind – and the different platforms can serve different purposes.
Cynopsis: What’s most challenging creating kids content these days?
Keenan: It’s really a matter of standing out. There are just so many choices for audiences, for kids in particular right now. The landscape is more competitive than ever, and so many of kids’ viewing choices are being made so rapidly and there’s such instant decision-making going on in terms of what’s going to be appealing and what’s not. Things like design and production style are more important than ever now in terms of grabbing attention.
Cynopsis: What’s the secret to longevity in kids programming today?
Keenan: Kids are very savvy viewers. Probably the No. 1 key is to have a focus on storie sand characters that can mean a multitude of things to a multitude of audiences. One of the things that fascinates me about the character of Barbie and how she’s evolved is the perception of Barbie through the years. The character has allowed for audiences and to tell their own stories. The properties with longevity usually come from developing a character and story that’s open to interpretation and that is more than a one-trick pony. – CAO
