Malaysian streaming service for children’s educational shows – Wired PR Lifestyle Story
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I watched a lot of TV from a young age, from cartoons to educational content. I also found the latter to be the most effective method of learning for me, although it was very enjoyable. There is also a large market for this type of content, and if it is done well, it will gain momentum.
Sinan Ismail knows this because she has been doing educational content for children for almost 10 years. As CEO and co-founder Durian digitalHe has published titles such as Didi & Friends and Omar & Hana.
Since launching on Didi & Friends on YouTube in 2014, it has garnered around 5 billion views, sold over 800 types of sales, and organized carnivals along with concerts for Malaysian families.
Now, the 13-year-old entrepreneur is moving on to bigger things. His new goal? To create a technology startup, Durioo, A version of Disney and Netflix for Muslim children.
Holding on to a dream
Building digital Durian as it is today has been a long time coming for Sinan. In 2008, Sinan started a multimedia company that started providing wedding photography and video services in 2010.
But behind the scenes, Sinan one day kept his dream of making cartoons.
“I’ve loved cartoons like Transformers, ThunderCats and Care Bears. All of these cartoons had a big impact on me, ”Sinan said.
“Toy Story and Pixar were definitely the ones that influenced me the most and created my love of animation. The audio-visuals are amazing, the stories are great, and most importantly, there’s always a good message to be learned. ”
Growing up with parents who were both teachers, Sinan knew he wanted to create cartoons to instill positive values in children.
Following one’s heart
So he continued this dream. As he grew up, Sinan and his team participated 3 times in the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) Intellectual Property Creators Challenge (IPCC) competition, the first time in 2009.
That pitch failed, and so did the next one in 2010. In 2012, Sinan introduced Didi & Friends: The Science Explorers.
Equipped with lessons learned from the IPCC 2009 experience, Sina was better prepared this time around. “I rehearsed, recorded and edited my tone on my laptop. When he was ready, I played [it as an] A 3-day MP3 version, ”Sinan described, recalling that he had created the best pitch ever.
Later, Sinan was invited to the IPCC 2012 announcement ceremony at the Cyberview Resort dance hall. With an empty stomach and a beating heart, MC announced that Didi & Friends: The Science Explorers was one of the 10 winners of the 2012 IPCC.
He was soon introduced to Didi & Friends Cradle for an investment program. Although the application was rejected in 2011, it was finally approved in 2013.
At the same time, Sinan closed the wedding services. Although it was difficult to get away from his teammates and friends, he thought it was the right thing to do because his heart was no longer there.
“We made little progress in animation and it was best to focus,” he noted.
Put it in the air
From there, Didi & Friends began its journey to broadcast. Although the show was originally intended to teach science, local and international broadcasters repeatedly suggested changing their opinions and rejections.
Coincidentally, Sinan’s 1-year-old son suffered from infantile rhymes. He realized that this content could generate millions of views on YouTube. Sinan spoke with a childhood specialist to realize that childhood was important in shaping a child’s future.
“It also means that if we reach millions of children, it can shape the future of a generation,” he added.
This led to the discovery of a gap in Malay children’s songs. While they existed, they lacked interesting animation, but they still got hundreds of thousands of views. Google search trends also recorded 10,000 searches per month to get the exact thing.
That’s why the band changed their content to Didi & Friends: Kids Songs. The first episode was posted on YouTube on May 14, 2014, with the goal of getting at least one million views that year.
To the amazement of Digital Durian, one of the founders of Sinan, Hairul, Zai and Iman with only a few fellows, Didi & Friends garnered 5.5 million views in its first year.
Since then, Sinan has signed as a co-producer with Astro on Didi & Friends Astro Ceria in December 2015 to date.
Exploring bigger things
In 2021, the founders of Digital Durian came together to discuss the future of the company. While Sinan wanted to focus on the content of Islamic messages, his partner wanted to create cartoons for the masses.
Since having the same intent and purpose as the founders is essential for any business, it was the right decision. “I took Omar & Hana and took Didi & Friends and started a new business,” Sinan said.
While Digital Durian produced animations to put on YouTube or sell to broadcasters, Durioo is portrayed as a technology startup that produces animated Islamic content (Durioo Originals).
They will be published on their own subscription streaming service (Durioo +), phone, tablet, Smart TV, Android Box, etc.
“[For example]Instead of celebrating Halloween or Easter, the children in our shows will celebrate Eid, and instead of saying hello, they would say Assalamualaikum. What we want to do is instill good values and virtues from the perspective of a Muslim, ”Sinan shared.
Durioo will also publish educational games for his mobile phones that teach Islamic values.
“There are more than 400 million Muslim children in the world, but there are too few high-quality Muslims [educational] animations and games that children enjoy watching and playing. When they look at it, they can learn the beauty of Islam, ”said Sinan.
Today, the team is made up of 38 employees from the Digital Durian team. In 10-15 years, Sinan expects the group to grow to 500-600 members, collaborating with other animation studios, production houses and gaming companies to produce more content and games.
Durioo + subscription plans and levels will vary by region. Beyond subscriptions, Durio hopes to find additional revenue by working with sponsors, licensing, merchandising partners, and experiences (themed attractions at the centers) and events.
Launched at the moment, Durioo is now raising pre-grown funds and will harvest its seed in March 2022. Sinan told the Vulcan Post that they are already seeing interest from international investors in the UK, the US, Dubai and Singapore.
“This is just the beginning. Yes, there have been rejections, yes, there has been frustration, but all this is part of the journey, ”Sinan concluded.
Featured Image Credit: Sinan Ismail, CEO and Founder of Durioo
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