How the viral Baby Shark video created a $400m business

Osmond ChiaBusiness reporterGetty ImagesWhen Kim Min-seok gave the go-ahead in June 2016 to publish a 90-second clip of a youngsters’s track, he had no thought what he was unleashing.It grew to become a worldwide phenomenon, clocking up greater than 16 billion views – YouTube’s most watched video ever.That track was the extremely catchy Child Shark.Not solely has it captivated toddlers and terrorised adults around the globe, it laid the foundations for its creator Pinkfong to turn out to be a media enterprise price tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars}.“We didn’t count on it to face out from our different content material,” mentioned Mr Kim, Pinkfong’s chief government, informed the BBC from the agency’s headquarters in Seoul.”However trying again, it grew to become a significant turning level that set the stage for our world journey.”On Tuesday, that journey took Pinkfong to the South Korean inventory market, the place its shares rose by greater than 9% on their debut, giving it a valuation of greater than $400m (£304m).Getty ImagesPinkfong chief government Kim Min-seok on the agency’s inventory market itemizing ceremony’We did not count on a wage’ Based in 2010 as SmartStudy, the agency made digital content material for kids as much as 12 years of age. It had simply three workers, together with Mr Kim and the agency’s chief expertise officer, Dongwoo Son.”The workplace was tiny – even smaller than this,” recalled Mr Kim, gesturing to the convention room he was calling from.It was so small “we did not even count on a wage on the time”, he mentioned by way of a translator.Pinkfong went by way of a number of main overhauls, together with shifting its focus to toddlers.The agency grew to round 100 workers and prioritised less complicated, learning-based video games and content material. “And that is when Child Shark emerged,” Mr Kim mentioned.The corporate has been referred to as Pinkfong since 2022, a reputation impressed by a cheerful and curious fox that featured in one among its early cartoons.It now has round 340 workers, with places of work in Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.Getty ImagesThe agency was renamed Pinkfong after its cheerful and curious fox character in 2022The Child Shark momentBaby Shark is believed to have originated within the US within the Seventies and was typically sung at youngsters’s summer season camps.The track, which repeats the phrase “Child shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” is “enticing for kids, although probably annoying for adults,” mentioned media analyst Kevin Chew from the Nanyang Technological College. Mr Kim can also be very conscious of simply how catchy it’s.”It is like a Ok-pop track. It is very fast-paced, rhythmical and it is addictive,” he mentioned, including that the tune has a “chanting” impact, which makes it straightforward for kids to recollect.However it was an on the spot hit and solely gained traction when its dance routine was featured at youngsters’s occasions in South East Asia.Movies of youngsters and adults dancing to the track began to unfold on-line and the clip went viral.There was a “festival-like feeling” within the Pinkfong workplace, because the staff watched its viewing numbers soar, Mr Kim mentioned.In November 2020, the Child Shark clip claimed the title of YouTube’s most seen.It generated round half of the agency’s income within the years instantly after the video’s launch and have become a springboard for brand spanking new content material and merchandise, he mentioned.Child Shark: It is bought a catchy tune and plans for world domination – however the toddler hit is older than you thinkBut Pinkfong confronted a authorized problem in 2019 when it was accused of plagiarising the work of an American composer.South Korea’s Supreme Courtroom rejected the case, after the corporate argued that its model was derived from a folks track within the public area.The victory, Mr Kim mentioned, gave the agency a carry as its shares went public.One-hit surprise?Pinkfong’s different franchises like Bebefinn and Sealook are rising quick however the agency should show its success is not only reliant on Child Shark, mentioned Korea College enterprise lecturer Min Jung Kim.The corporate’s audience is a significant plus as toddlers have a tendency to observe the identical materials repeatedly, she mentioned. Kim Min-seok insists his enterprise can develop past Child Shark, which at present accounts for a few quarter of Pinkfong’s income. In the meantime, Bebefinn has leapt forward, producing roughly 40% of the agency’s earnings.One dad or mum informed the BBC that his household has combined emotions about Pinkfong’s movies.Father of two Saleem Nashef mentioned he appreciates the academic qualities of the agency’s content material however his spouse thinks Child Shark is “too over-stimulating for youths”. Nonetheless, the viral video is seemingly inescapable, as his daughter, who’s about to show three, could have a Child Shark-themed birthday celebration.Whether or not Pinkfong can create different characters to match Child Shark’s industrial attraction stays unclear, mentioned Prof Kim.It raised nearly $52m in its inventory market debut and plans to make use of the cash to broaden its line-up of movies and characters, mentioned Mr Kim.The corporate additionally goals to turn out to be a “tech-driven” content material creator, utilizing viewing patterns and different information to form its new tasks.Pinkfong has already achieved “what many creators have all the time dreamed of,” Mr Kim mentioned.However now it should present traders that it’s not only a one-hit surprise.