Sesame Workshop: Smarter and Stronger
The long-running series is more than just a television mainstay. Sesame Workshop exemplifies what it means to evolve in an ever-changing world while staying true to its core values.
At a Glance
- Expanding Horizons Through Platform Diversification
- The Role of Traditional Licensing
- Bringing “Sesame Street” to Life
Since 1969, Sesame Workshop, and its flagship entertainment, “Sesame Street,” has been a hallmark of childhood spanning generations. Its message – that of helping children everywhere grow smarter, stronger and kinder – is heard in more than 70 languages across 150-plus countries. Its ethos is also a global one – ultimately to see the world through a child’s eyes while introducing them to a culture of acceptance and belonging, no matter the obstacles or opportunities that stand in their way.
It’s a message that filters down from the highest-level touchpoints (such as the dynamic breadth of entertainment offerings) to the licensed brand level extensions they produce, which generate $1.25 billion in retail sales for Sesame Workshop.
Expanding Horizons Through Platform Diversification
Sesame Workshop expertly navigates its audience of both children and their co-viewing adults by harnessing the power of media and technology to match today’s consumer habits. Whether it be through traditional linear television, YouTube presence (@SesameStreet has more than 23.5 million subscribers, in fact), social media like TikTok (where it has 6.9 million likes and more than 683,000 followers), Instagram or other channels, Sesame Workshop always makes it a top-tier priority to leverage its deep brand equity in smart and always-authentic ways that encourage full immersion in its brand.
“The important thing is that we always are going to be serving kids and all the needs they have, even as those needs evolve,” says Gabriela Arenas, senior vice president, global consumer products, Sesame Workshop. “But as we are a nonprofit, we don’t have the massive budgets that commercial companies tend to have. So, for us, leveraging the power of partnerships and selecting partners who are mission-aligned helps us to connect with audiences and not only reach them, but also deepen connection.”
Gabriela Arenas, senior vice president, global consumer products, Sesame Workshop.
Programs and partnerships are great examples of how Sesame is being smart and strategic with its brand extensions to further achieve audience penetration.
A perfect example is for this year’s Baby Shark cobranding. In April, Sesame Workshop and The Pinkfong Company joined forces to create content and ancillary entertainment (such as a YouTube playlist) that brings together the best of both child-loved companies – Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby with Baby Shark, who itself is one of the most-viewed YouTube videos of all time. The partnership was a worthwhile venture for both companies.
Roblox is another way that Sesame Workshop is driving its brand forward and engaging new and seasoned audiences.
Last year, the company debuted “Sesame Street Mecha Builders: The Game” on the Roblox platform, where robot or “Mecha” Abby, Cookie and Elmo help players work through a series of STEM-based puzzles and challenges, encouraging them to “plan it, test it, solve it.” The game was so popular that a brand-new level 4 was just added in May.
To date, the game has more than 35.9 million visits from 35-plus countries and further reinforces Sesame’s ability to remain fresh and relevant for new and existing audiences.
“Roblox is another way we’re taking our characters beyond the show and extending our reach,” says Arenas.
According to Arenas, the partnership with Roblox was an “unbelievable global launch” that also yielded additional new opportunity for licensed Mecha Builders avatar accessories available in game and in the Roblox marketplace.
“Sesame Street Mecha Builders: The Game” on Roblox.
Another creative partnership is with Headspace, which began as a way to support Sesame’s thematic drive for emotional well-being, but evolved into so much more.
Launched out of pandemic needs in 2020, Sesame Workshop paired with meditation app Headspace, to create animated shorts geared to children to help them learn the fundamentals of mindfulness, meditation and social and emotional learning. The “Sesame Street” x Headspace shorts launched on YouTube Kids, but has since evolved to be much more comprehensive, says Arenas, including a book series with Random House and a podcast titled “Goodnight, World” now in Season 2.
Other non-traditional partners like United Airlines, Doordash, Califia and NerdWallet also keep Sesame Workshop and its characters hyper-relevant.
The Role of Traditional Licensing
More typical licensed partnerships continue to be a cornerstone of Sesame’s strategy. Product categories like toys and books or food and beverage, for example, are long-trusted partnerships (some for more than 20 years, says Arenas) that remain central to expanding the world of “Sesame Street.”
In 2022, Sesame Workshop signed Just Play as its multiterritory master toy licensee for North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This year, Just Play is rolling out a wide range of engaging and educational preschool toys across categories such as plush, figures, playsets, vehicles, role play, bath and learning.