New Delhi: Akatsuki Inc., a Japan-based entertainment and technology company looking to expand its kid’s animation footprint in India, recently conducted a survey on ‘What Indian Parents Want From Animated Content For Kids’. The survey received participation from parents across 10 metros of India including Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Kanpur, Guwahati, Bangalore, and others. The survey findings uncover the key decision-making factors that influence a parent when it comes to the selection of animation content for their kids along with consumption habits.
The animation industry has seen massive growth in the last few years. The global pandemic has played the role of catalyst accelerating animation content consumption amongst kids as the primary source of learning and entertainment. 69% of parents who participated in the survey also agree, sharing that they have seen an increase in their kids’ animation content consumption habits post-COVID. The survey also found out that the average screen time for animation consumption amongst kids today stands at 4-6 hours weekly.
Interestingly, the survey revealed that even with the advent of some ruling OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney + Hotstar, 26% of parents chose Television, making it one of their top three platforms to watch. The leading platform of choice however continues to be Youtube with a strong preference shown by 76% of participants, followed by Netflix at 57%. This shows the hybrid patterns of both linear and digital media.
Throwing some light on what makes an animation IP click with kids and parents alike, the survey discovered that ‘Entertainment’ is the biggest parameter with 64% respondents choosing it over ‘What makes their kids happy’ (45%), educational benefits (35%), moral values (22%), local characters and storylines (11%).
In terms of consumption habits, television (60%), smartphones (49%), and laptops (24%) came across as the most popular and used devices for daily viewing. Parents chose English as the most preferred language for animation content along with Tamil, Telugu & Bangla as the top 3 vernacular preferences. The majority of parents (37%) also shared that their kids watch animated content unsupervised.
Yuki Kawamura, Head of Business Development and Partnerships, Akatsuki Inc. says, “We at Akatsuki are committed to bringing joyful and meaningful animation IPs for the growing and underserved kids animation space in India. We want to thoughtfully co-create our content roadmap with on-ground insights and need gaps. This survey is the first step in that direction and findings have strengthened our conviction in the potential of the untapped demand of kids animation in India and synergies with our IPs.”
In this era prominently followed by digital media and marketing, the survey shows that 75% of Indian parents still rely on the traditional word-of-mouth approach when it comes to choose and discover new content ideas for their children, followed by 28% of parents discovering content through OTT recommendations, 20% via parenting communities, and the remaining 10% via traditional news outlets.
Overall, the survey showcased a high appetite for entertainment-led, English animation content, preferably available on high access platforms like Youtube & Television with a strong community following.
