I remember the first time I watched Sesame Street.
I was eight. We had just installed our first television. I’ll point out that I grew up in the middle of nowhere and, that before I was eight, there was no point having a television. The signals did not reach our part of the world.
My mother was appalled by the American accents and began to enforce the pronunciation of the letter ZED, not ZEE.
And, I learned a lot from Sesame Street. I was from the era of Mr Hooper, played by Will Lee. Lee died in 1982. His death was handled brilliantly by the show’s creators. It taught a generation of kids about the difficult topic of death.
Even to this day, when I am explaining the sounds of different letters to my daughter, I can hear the “G – Grover, G – George” song in my head!
Enough with the reminiscing already!
Sesame Street has survived many generations and changes in our society that no one would ever have predicted when the show first aired in 1969. It still engages its audience and, now it also works to actively engage parents.
It is a prime example of understanding not just your target market but its influencers. Because of this, the show has been on the air for 45 years. And, that’s a long time full stop, let alone in television.
And, the show has just done it again. After the recent wildly popular Comic Con in the US, Sesame Street is having its own version – Numeric Con.
Who knew that the muppet version of Dr Who had a favourite number? This is the exact example of what I mean when I say that the show understands the influencers of its audience. Dr Who, Captain Kirk, Princess Leia and the rest of the Numeric Con Sesame Street costumes are not aimed at the primary audience – children.
No.
These characters are aimed to capture the hearts and minds of the parents, who will then watch the program with their children. This will create another generation of Sesame street fans. And, the cycle will continue.
This short video that previews this upcoming episode, shows the genius of Sesame Street writers and strategists – know your audience, know it’s influencers.
Who knew that a muppet version of James T. Kirk would be so engaging!
Sesame Street – Numeric Con (preview)
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