Zodiak Kids Launches Research Lab and Appoints VP of Marketing Research

Zodiak Kids, Zodiak Media’s children’s division has set up an International Research Department and promoted François Vallerian to Vice President, Marketing Research, Zodiak Kids from his previous position as Marathon Media’s Research Manager.

The Research Lab will provide market information to all Zodiak Kids production companies including Marathon Media (Totally Spies, Redakai), Tele Images Productions (The Basketeers, Extreme Football), The Foundation (Waybuloo, Mister Maker), Zodiak Active (The Qpiz), as well as to its international sales and licensing teams.

The research unit will focus on three different areas:

-       Commission qualitative and quantitative studies with kids in Europe and North America.
The surveys, conducted by independent institutes, will assess Zodiak Kids’ new developments in order to help creative teams adhere to kids’ expectations, and also assess the sales potential of its current productions in key territories.

-       Track the performance of Zodiak’s shows worldwide for its sales team.

-       Monitor key market trends worldwide:

International property launches, audience hits, changes in kids’ expectations, developing themes, emerging genres, and changes in interactivity, as well as taking a broader look at the evolving relationship between kids & families and media & leisure activities.

François Vallerian takes the helm of the department as VP Marketing Research Zodiak Kids, in addition to his role as Marathon Media’s Marketing & Research Manager. Based in Paris, he will work closely with the board of Zodiak Kids: Matthew Frank (CEO, Zodiak Rights), Karen Vermeulen (SVP Global Sales & Co-productions, Kids & Family), Vincent Chalvon Demersay (CEO, Marathon Media & Chief Strategy Officer, Zodiak Media), David Michel (General Manager, Marathon Media & SVP, Marketing Zodiak Media), Philippe Alessandri (CEO, Tele Images Productions), and Nigel Pickard (CEO, The Foundation).

Before joining Marathon Media in 2009 as Research Manager, François Vallerian worked at M6’s Research unit for four years, where he was in charge of analysing international audience results and monitoring kids studies.

One of the first surveys commissioned by the new Research Lab was an online panel conducted in the USA on the animated series The Basketeers, produced by Tele Images Productions for M6, by Harris Interactive and Aloa Consulting. The panel revealed excellent results among children 6-11: 77% of them liked the show, and 85% of them judged The Basketeers to be “very different from what they know”. They appreciated the mix of action, adventure, basketball and comedy that, according to 65% of them, appeals to girls just as much as boys. These results are very encouraging for sales of the programme in the US.