Driver Studios is a leader in kids and family entertainment specializing in award-winning commercials, branded entertainment, original content, and data-driven advertising solutions. Working closely with YouTube, they found that data shows routine and bedtime searches for kids were gaining a lot of traction on the platform. Simultaneously, storytime was trending as a search term.
Putting the two together, Driver Studios sought to fill a gap in the market with the launch of Bedtime Stories with Ms. Booksy. Utilizing Ms. Booksy’s already well-established and beloved brand, they worked to develop original IP, containing both live action and animation. In doing so, their goal was to promote reading and strengthen the bond between caregivers and children by creating engaging kids content that can be co-viewed with adults.
In close collaboration with YouTube, Drivers Studios brought creativity to their content and supported it with technology and data insights, particularly drawing on their experience with the Cool School YouTube channel - where the Ms. Booksy content lives.
And at a more macro-level, the ultimate goal of the series is to support both child development and parent-child relationships, by creating a positive and enriching environment for children that facilitates worthwhile interactions and fosters a lifelong love for reading.
Driver Studios brought the Bedtime Stories series to life with the underlying intention of not only promoting literacy but also on strengthening parent-child bonds. They felt in order to do that best, they would develop the animated series under the already well-established Ms. Booksy brand. The series utilizes a multi-mix content structure that incorporates engaging narratives, interactive elements - including questions and games - and other educational components to enhance engagement and learning.
In order to truly engage the audience, Driver Studios implemented techniques that their market analysis and key data points indicated would work. Specifically, they repurposed content multiple ways, adding in shorts, gamification and music, and improved thumbnails with more eye-catching visuals. They also edited and added videos with teaser introductions such as offering an action moment in the first 30 seconds, and leaving the viewers on a cliff hanger and then transitioning into the original introduction of Ms. Booksy.
Driver Studios’ data shows that live-action content performs particularly well, and that reaction videos were gaining popularity. With that in mind, Driver Studios created the series to be a mix of live action and animation, with the first 30 seconds catching the viewer's eye with live-action content from Ms. Booksy. Throughout the videos, the stories are largely told in animation with reactions from Ms. Booksy in live-action format - perfectly combining data and creativity to boost interactivity and engagement.
To differentiate the series from other Ms. Booksy content, they put her in pajamas in bed, with a big book, giving viewers a visual representation of exactly what they were searching for, according to YouTube’s data.
To optimize the series for US markets, Driver Studios also performed a full reoptimization of the channel, implementing SEO tagging while decreasing their paid media strategy in order to foster more organic audience growth and engagement.
The incorporation of various multimedia elements further set the Bedtime Stories project apart from other educational series targeted at kids, by providing a multi-sensory and engaging learning experience. While the mix of animation and live action content keeps kids engaged on YouTube, educational elements of the Bedtime Stories with Ms. Booksy series have also been made available via audiobooks, read-along stories on the Driver Studios reading app, reading videos on the Cool School Website, as well as games, puzzles and physical books for purchase.
The success of the animated Bedtime Stories series under the multi-media Ms. Booksy brand can be measured by views and watchtime for the 65 videos in the series. The series saw a total of nearly 13 million organic views with 5.96 million views coming from YouTube Kids, and the other 6.89 million coming from YouTube’s main site.
The average view time for Bedtime Stories with Ms. Booksy is 40:26 minutes - which is more than half the time (52%) children and teens in the U.S. spend on YouTube per day (77 minutes) - totaling 8.66 million hours watched for the series’ 65 videos.
5.8 million views came from Connected TVs, where viewers have watched a total of 6.73 million hours, with an average viewing duration of 1 hour and 9 minutes,
Success can also be measured by analyzing the award winning Cool School YouTube channel, where the Bedtime with Ms. Booksy series is located. With more than 1.7 million subscribers, 164 million hours watched, and a total of 1.8 billion views, the Cool School channel - and more specifically the Ms. Booksy Bedtime Stories series - succeeded in creating interactive content that keeps viewers engaged and watching.
