My presentation during Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2015. I shared my experience producing the Angry Birds Toons animation TV series for Rovio. I discussed what made this case so extraordinary, and how other mobile game companies can benefit from animation to build their brands.

1. Angry Birds Toons & beyond:
Combining games and animation to create brands
Pablo Jordi. September 7th 2015 @pablojordi

2. © Rovio Entertainment Ltd
© Pikkukala 2015
© Stor Fisk 2015
© Stor Fisk, Televisió de Catalunya, TopDraw
© Sardinha em Lata, RTP, Stor Fisk, Televisió de Catalunya, Big Picture
© Stor Fisk, Televisió de Catalunya, Imira Entertainment

3. • Angry Birds Toons exceptional case.
• Challenges…
• …and opportunities for the rest of us.
Animation and game brands

4. • Exceptional brand. Global
awareness of 91% in a very short
time.
• Exceptional channel (Toons TV).
4 Billion views in December 2014
• Exceptional production and
financing structure.
© Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

5. IP OWNER
PRODUCTION
COMPANY
DISTRIBUTOR BROADCASTER CONSUMER AUDIENCE
Animation value chain

6. ©Rovio Entertainment Ltd.©Rovio Entertainment Ltd.©Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

7. Angry Birds Toons and Angry Birds brand
• Character driven stories
showed us what the characters
are all about (successful
reverse-engineering).
• Impact in the minds of fans and
in the next generation of
products
• Growth, depth, longer life of the
brand.

8. opportunities in brand building
• Think beyond the game. Explore your characters. Think as a brand.
• Exposure in other media = differentiation in the crowded mobile
gaming space.
• Brand ecosystem.Game portfolio around a fully owned, proven brand
allows you to take other chances.
• A wide, variated engaged fanbase around a brand that represent
values, is ready for new and different categories of products, sequels,
etc…
• Additional revenue streams.

9. Animation - game traditional marriage
• Successful animation property becomes a game (or vice versa)
often under a licensing model.
• Examples: Mickey, Ben10,Super Mario Brothers Super Show,
Simpson (Tapped Out), Pacman, Pokemon.

10. New times. L’imagination au pouvoir!
• Traditional relation between animation and games is
problematic:
• Brand consistency and quality at risk.
• Often limited to long-established brands.
• New times bring new solutions and ways to explore your brand:
• Examples: Minecraft, Lego Dimensions, Simogo’s Sailor’s
Dream, Plants Vs Zombies…

11. challenges
• Different lead times.
• Animation production is non- agile, waterfall type production.
Hard to pivot. Just like a sausage machine.
• Animation is expensive and takes time.
• Financing model shares IP rights with other partners to reduce
risk.

12. animation financing salad
Financing structure
Public Grant
TV Channel
Toy Master
Distributor
Co-Producer2
Co-producer
IP ownership
TV Channel
Distributor
Co-Producer2
Co-producer

13. What animation can learn from games…
• Scalability: Start small, gain traction, scale.
• Agility: Fail fast, pivot.
• Know your audience!

14. …what games can learn from animation…
• Co-production Model
• Characters and values as the core of the brand.
• Know your characters!

15. …to create healthy brands.
• Include animation in the long-term strategy of your game:
develop the series universe and characters while you build your
momentum.
• Use your traction data in mobile as leverage in negotiations with
broadcasters (i.e. to offer limited rights).
• Innovation can bring cheaper and more agile animation
production (i.e. using game engines to render, crowdsourcing…).
• Animation can be scalable: Start small and have fun with short
clips for YouTube, webtoons, comicbooks… Use your audience!

16. thanks !
pablo@pikkukala.com
@pablojordi