Written by Allison Frazer

Image of Daniel Tiger and his sister, Margaret Tiger, holding hands in front of a green playground with "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" written above them and "PBS Kids" in the lower right corner.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

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It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood 🐯

About Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is a spinoff show from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 31 seasons starring Fred Rogers. Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is an animated musical show, geared towards preschool children aged 2-5. The show is produced by Fred Rogers Productions, making the show part of the Pittsburgh legacy within Fred Rogers’ life.

Target Audience

Having already run for seven seasons, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is looking to expand their audience. With the show being produced and created in Pittsburgh, the expanded target audience is families and caregivers with children under six in Pennsylvania.

Why we need a new strategy

The goal of this restructured digital strategy is to increase viewership of episodes of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood on PBS Kids over regular TV or mobile app. The young age of children means that the parents are Millennials or Gen Z, requiring new and different marketing strategies. For information on marketing to Gen Z, click the button below.

Gen Z Marketing

The strategy

Influencer Partnerships

While many children don’t watch TikTok or YouTube, parents follow mommy-influencers for advice and community. Since parents make the decisions for their child’s media intake, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood should look into utilizing parental influencers in partnerships. EMarketer indicates that “29% of US consumers have made a purchase based on endorsements from virtual influencers, while 27% would consider this in the near future.” To learn more about the impact of influencer marketing, click the button below.

Influencer Marketing

Social Media Revamp

Daniel Tiger’s official Instagram page isn’t used for much - after conducting a social media audit, it can be seen that the official page primarily posts birthday shout-outs, Neighbor of the Month announcements, and poor attempts to hop on Instagram and TikTok trends. Due to the young age of viewers for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, parents are left to interact with the page, which has nothing for them other than sharing what month their child’s birthday is in (which may not be the safest online privacy practice). EMarketer indicates that for young mothers, “the internet is one of their primary tools for navigating the experience of motherhood.” Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood has an opportunity to create online support groups for parents looking to ask questions and share advice, with posts about frequently asked questions added to Daniel Tiger’s main page. The creation of these groups can form emotional connections for the parents to the show, influencing them to let their child watch the show. For more information about social media audits, click below.

Instagram post from Daniel Tiger asking for May birthdays. — Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Instagram

Daniel Tiger asking for May birthdays to do a shout-out at the end of the month.

Social Media Audits

Online Contests

The best way to get local families excited about Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is to make it feel real for the children. The brand should run a contest on their social media pages where children create new characters for the show, and the best character creation wins the family a trip to the production studio and the character will be featured in the next episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. Mashable reports that online contests have been used in designing “I Voted” stickers in New York State, with one design going viral. This contest could have further reach for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood than just Pittsburgh families looking to tour the studio: families from across the country can try to make a character that means something to them and have it broadcast on national television. Click below to check out a case study on viral marketing.

Viral Marketing

Conclusion

With more information posted online everyday, brands need to be able to stand out. Moz says content strategy “acts as a glue, tying together numerous elements important for SEO, from overarching brand vision to promotional campaigns.” For Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood to have that glue, they need to work on reaching parents and guardians in Pennsylvania through influencer partnerships, a social media revamp, and hosting online contests to go viral.