Lorna Withrington on Reaching the Global Market
Lorna Withrington, Director of Creative Affairs for Family and Brands at Entertainment One, shares her insights on reaching the international market through animation.
Lorna Withrington of Entertainment One had two sessions at CTIAF. In one, together with Alexi Wheeler, VP of Production and Development at Nickelodeon, she spoke about her career in creative development. She also presented case studies of Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and other surprise hits. She shares her insights on the global industry with the Callsheet.
What exactly does your job entail?
It basically means that I have to go out into the world on behalf of E-One Family and connect with creators, find new content, and help bring that content into E-One. Once that content is in E-One, we develop it, so really we work as facilitators. We facilitate whatever that property needs to help it become the next Peppa Pig; the next PJ Masks; the next huge show on TV.
What are these phases of development?
If we pick something up at a very early stage that’s just the creator’s vision, we’d go through a whole stage of development where we build what the stories are, what the world is, what the show will be, and the art that is involved around that. We might even develop some animation tests to show what it looks like. Then we take that out to broadcasters. Once we’ve spoken to the broadcasters, once we’ve found the right partner for the show, we enter the second phase of development where you work with the broadcaster to make sure that it is correct for the channel. Then hopefully you get a greenlit and you’re in production.
Why are shows like Peppa Pig so popular in the market?
Peppa Pig is 15 years old in the UK, and in other markets, she’s been around a lot shorter. There’s a vast difference between those ages and it becomes about nurturing this brand and holding its audience so that it remains relevant to them. For Peppa, one of the core brand principles is humour. Beyond that, it’s a depiction of everyday family life. When you’re talking to this lower-preschool audience, their whole world is their family.
When I spoke at CTIAF, it was also about when you pitch, making sure you know what the producer or broadcaster you’re speaking to has on their slate. There’s no use you coming to me and pitching a show that’s an animal-based community show because that’s what Peppa is. We don’t cannibalise our own slate — we’re very careful of that.
In animation, story is king — what elements are key in reaching audiences?
For us, no story gets into our shows unless it has a clear emotional throughline. We don’t necessarily look for educational content, but every story has those moral tales to them and that emotional storyline is what will connect the audience to the character and to the story. Story is absolutely king. We talk about being a brand-building company, but you cannot build brands from something that doesn’t have an exceptional character and an exceptional story at the forefront because nothing comes without it. It’s the driving force behind the show.
What trends have you noticed globally that are influencing these stories?
In the upper preschool, everyone is looking for play patterns and the challenge then becomes that every play pattern has been done. How do you find a new way into a new play pattern or an existing play pattern? It’s finding that aha moment of how it speaks to the audience, and how you find one that hasn’t yet been done.
Is there a global market for African looking and themed stories?
As long as it speaks to a child in every country, it will work. Coco is a perfect example of this. Nothing can hold back a character with a great story to tap. From a global perspective, as long as it tells a story kids can connect to, it will work.
This interview first appeared in The Callsheet Issue 4, 2018.
