Exhibition and distribution...

If you combine a strong product, with good exhibition and distribution; it's a recipe for success! (Therefore having effective distribution is crucial!) In this post, I will attempt to explore some possible routes for exhibition and distribution of our products.


The Programme (OTS) itself
Obviously having your programme on a child-specific channel is a key thing to do. Channels such as Nick Jr, Cbeebies etc cater wholly for children, therefore receive viewers from within our age range for TA. Children often will have just finished watching their favourite programme on one of the channels, but continue to watch just to see what comes on next. In this way, our show would be introduced to new viewers and would hopefully gain a fan base of regular viewers. Often, a show can not be shown on multiple children's channels (this would have lead us to optimum exposure to TA), therefore we would have to select the channel with most viewers (within our TA age range) to try and maximise our chances of the most viewers.  


The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) have the average weekly viewing time per person (in the UK) for some various children's channels we could potentially be shown on. The viewings are as follows:
•Tiny Pop - 1 minute
•Cartoonito - 3 minutes
•Nick Jr - 5 minutes
•Disney Junior - 6 minutes
•Cbeebies - 22 minutes


As you can clearly see, Cbeebies would obviously be the best channel for us in terms of potentially receiving most viewers. (So this would be the channel we would approach to have our programme on.


The magazine
Supermarkets and newsagents would be the best choice I believe as this is where child's magazine's tend to be sold currently. These places would be the most sensible to sell our magazine because children often visit these places with an adult who could buy it for them. If we placed the magazine at child's eye level they would be more likely to see if (and if they like the programme) would potentially ask the adult to buy it for them. Also, if you include a free gift(s) on the magazine this increases the child's desire for it as they would receive toys/stickers etc. 


The DVD
The main place which children visit with an adult which sell DVD's would be a supermarket. (Much like the magazine section, if a child sees the DVD of the show they like, they'd ask their adult for it. And again, placing the product at eye-level would increase the chances of the child seeing it and subsequently wanting it.) Also, DVDs are regularly advertised on television (for children's and adult's channels) to advertise it to the child or an adult (as a birthday gift for example). So having a good marketing and advertising campaign for the DVD would be crucial. Also, with the increase of people using online shops such as Amazon etc, selling our product here would be another effective way.




Looking at distributors of current Cbeebies programmes, I have identified a few potential exhibition/distribution company for our products. 


HiT Entertainment - they are distributors for a lot of children's programmes and therefore have good experience.


Universal Pictures - are a very well-known name with good contacts and big budgets and do deal with children's shows DVD releases.


Classic Media - seem to deal with only cartoon/animation/children's programmes so therefor may be the best equipped and used to distributing products like our's successfully.