“For most of my career, the idea in children's media has been to get as many eyeballs as possible on your content. Today, it's shifted entirely, to the point where what is really important across multiple devices that kids use is that you find your cohort, find your audience and make yourself essential to them.” This paradigm, as David Kleeman, SVP of Global Trends for Dubit, laid it out in the keynote presentation that opened the tenth edition of Young Horizons Industry (YHI, 28-30 September), set the tone for an event where connecting with the audience in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem was a crucial core theme across all of the enlightening talks and panels on offer.

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We now live in a world where creators still operating within the traditional model of going through gatekeepers and developing their content over a longer period of time have been joined by other creators dealing with a fan-first audience base whose content is distributed almost instantly, and where established linear platforms have been joined by streamers, video-sharing platforms, gaming consoles and apps, but also user-generated platforms – forming an ecosystem within which the power structure has seen major shifts, too. In this context, Ampere Analysis has found that US and UK users consume an average of 11.5 platforms over the course of a week, a number that Gen Alpha exceeds by two to three. Understanding this generation of multi-screen natives is therefore paramount to navigating this shape-shifting landscape and finding one's way to not only their eyes, but also their hearts.

Knowing the devices available to kids and which platforms are accessible to them, as well as establishing a flowchart for the decisions they make constantly throughout the day about what they want to watch, is clearly an essential first step in approaching this truly competent generation. Gen Alpha's much shorter "interest span" may seem daunting, but as Kleeman stressed, it does not mean you cannot pique their attention and, more importantly, rouse their emotions. This is a generation that wants to participate – not just watch, but develop a deep relationship with their content. They want to have the freedom to explore and expand their taste, but they do look for connection and community. Also, as they have a profound awareness of algorithms, AI and so on, safety has become a key concern for them. These kids do not want to be manipulated; they want to be recognised as individuals, and they need to establish trust.

This is indeed a very skilled audience that knows authenticity, as was stressed at the panel "Building IP with Heart", co-organised by Creative Europe Desk Poland and moderated by Kleeman. Today's kids have been watching a great deal of storytelling, and they know how to differentiate something you try to force onto them from something genuine. But knowing and really working with the platforms, plus using them to prove your concept and build your audience beforehand (alongside developing your project), has become indispensable – just "really being in the weeds", as strategic consultant Janine Weigold put it.

While Nora Twomey, partner and co-creative lead at Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, warned against too much second guessing, as it hinders storytelling, and against audience capture, which can make projects blander, she also admitted that finding ways of communicating with your audience was essential – for the award-winning Puffin Rock pre-school series, which only took off after a children's book was made, some testing was done through YouTube clips. Big studios may not need, or even want, to create digital-first content, but YouTube can boost discoverability (or cater to existing fandom), said the panellists, although some questions could be raised about how it surfaces content, and it remains a tool to use carefully and while sitting next to your child, creating a safe space.

Beginning with an existing IP is a common approach, to ensure there is an initial connection, but the source material is only the starting point. Illustrating the incredible range of experiences in this fragmented new world, Simona Krasauskienė, CEO of NJ WORLD, recounted the journey of Nelly Jelly (which was also the focus of a dedicated YHI case study) from a character in a beloved Lithuanian book into an impressive multi-platform IP which she is now in the process of scaling up internationally.

No less fascinating is the trajectory of the upcoming film ViQueens (which will be released in time for Christmas and was at the centre of another YHI case study), based on a bold concept – flipping traditional Viking tropes on their head by trading brute masculinity for strong female figures. During the panel, writer-producer Veslemøy Ruud Zwart, CEO of production outfit Zwart Arbeid, explained how her small Norwegian team was able to build a film with the scale, visual impact and commercial DNA of a global animated blockbuster, while retaining a distinct identity. As it was an unknown, original IP, all kinds of platforms were explored, but listening to two young girls who told her about their favourite influencers – thereby acknowledging that kids have their sources – led to one of the most efficient campaigns. This being said, more traditionally inventive ideas, such as making Erling Haaland himself a character in the show (before the World Cup) and thus creating a cultural moment, have proven effective.

Interestingly, outside of platforms (where getting dynamic feedback is trickier anyway when it comes to kids), all of the panellists have found that the social, shared experience offered by the movie theatre remains a strong tool to connect with younger audiences – and their parents, which you also need to think about in the way you "layer" your content, stressed Zwart. This was confirmed by Krasauskienė, who explained that a test screening for the new Nelly Jelly CGI TV series, which initially seemed like chaos, was actually a joyful, magical moment of communion – so much so that it became a format that is now travelling the world.

Some of these enlightening reflections and findings were echoed during various events pertaining to the Spotlight on Polish Animation, which neatly complemented this exploration of the challenges that creators of content for young audiences are facing right now (see the article).