Düşyeri, Turkey’s first kids’ animation studio, is eyeing international expansion, armed with a growing portfolio of local brands. Gün Akyuz reports.

From its origins as a start-up with a workforce of three in 2008, Turkey’s first independent animation production outfit, Düşyeri Animation Studios, has single-handedly kickstarted the local market and is now preparing to launch its homegrown shows internationally.

Düşyeri (meaning ‘place of dreams’) is the brainchild of actress and TV producer Ayşe Şule Bilgiç, CEO of the company, founded together with her husband Ali Tufan Kiraç, a leading singer and composer for Turkish TV drama series.

Its beginnings have a familiar ring. As a mother, Bilgiç saw that generations of kids had grown up on imported series and identified a need for local quality animation with educational values.

Starting from scratch as a tiny studio in a country with no active animation sector to speak of, and where the scale (and costs) of global production models didn’t apply, Düşyeri set about developing its own production models. It also acquired its own know-how and trained its staff “to make dedicated content for our kids,” says Bilgiç.

Seven years on and Düşyeri is now an 88-strong company with four television animation brands, a live-action drama and a movie under its belt. Operations span two animation studios, a sound recording studio and games production arm, as well as a burgeoning 360º brand management division, including licensing and merchandising, publishing and live events, advertising and marketing.

In January, Düşyeri came full circle when it struck a partnership deal with the Satis Ofisi-owned Turkish children’s channel Planet Coçuk, with Bilgiç becoming its editor-in-chief. As well as giving Düşyeri a dedicated broadcast platform for its animation, the move sees Bilgiç managing, programming and acquiring content for the channel as a whole. The partnership generated instant results, with a 210% leap in audience share for the channel in the space of four months.

Düşyeri is now targeting the international market for its next growth phase, using Turkey’s status as Mipcom country of honour last week as the springboard. “Turkish dramas are performing incredibly worldwide and we’re hoping to follow the same path,” says Bilgiç.

Focusing on preschool animation initially, Düşyeri’s first project, Pepee, became a major hit and Turkey’s first ‘national cartoon hero.’ The 3D animated series, featuring the daily adventures of a five-year-old boy, his sister and extended family, was developed with advice from a team of child development experts to help young children understand and deal with their emotions as well as encouraging healthy habits.

The production’s first four episodes were entirely self-funded, without broadcaster backing. But as luck would have it, its development coincided with the launch of state broadcaster TRT’s new children’s channel a few months later, giving Düşyeri the opening it needed. TRT snapped up the project, which grew into a 104-episode series from Düşyeri and the pubcaster, helping to fund the company’s growth.

Although TRT still airs and distributes the original episodes under that initial agreement, Düşyeri now controls and manages the licensing and distribution of all subsequent seasons of Pepee and the other shows and brands it has since developed. “We wanted to remain independent and build brands, and to do that we had to be free-minded, so we’ve opened up to private channels,” explains Düşyeri’s marketing manager, Nazli Güney Uysal.

Düşyeri now has four ongoing animation projects. Alongside Pepee came 2D animated adventure movie RGG Ayas in 2013. A spin-off series (18×15’, 34×12’) followed, centring on the adventures of a young boy in the streets of Istanbul, played back in video-diary style on a fictional social network, RGG.

Another property is interactive 3D series Leliko, featuring two playful robots and two characters Leli and Liko, who present a range of active games and dances for preschoolers. The show, made in 2013, now airs on Düşyeri’s current broadcast partner Planet Çocuk, and is also present on YouTube in Russia.

The company’s fourth animated brand is a 2D series featuring the adventures of a feline character called Pisi – based on a striking breed of Turkish cat with blue and green eyes – and its animal friends.

Düşyeri’s expansion into the world of marketing, licensing and merchandising in 2011 has further fuelled the company’s growth. “We realised that it wasn’t only animation but this big world that accompanies it, so we started building the business with licensing and merchandising. We now have a big team to build this area, and we’re earning the money necessary to make the extremely expensive animation,” says Güney.

She insists, though, that the company’s driving motivation remains good content and values rather than profit. Düşyeri, she says, applies strict guidelines to any merchandising attached to its brands – no unhealthy snacks, sweets or fast food, for instance. “We still hold on to our values to keep mothers and children safe and to add value to their lives,” says Güney.

For now, Düşyeri’s growth is being generated by all areas of the business, including TV. “In the long run this will stop,” Güney says, explaining the company’s decision to start exporting its properties. “Networks don’t pay much in commercial hours for global properties, but here in Turkey, since there’s not much local production, we’re getting better rates. But if local competition increases, those rates may fall, so we’re preparing ourselves for that eventuality.

“We see 2015 as a year to export,” says Bilgiç. Earlier visits to content markets, among them MipTV and Mipcom, confirmed a gap for educational, non-violent content like Düşyeri’s, says Güney. “I realised that what would empower us globally was also what drove our concerns as mothers, and I was so proud of what we’re showing to children,” she adds.

While Pepee has already had something of an international outing on a number of channels from previous licensing distribution deals brokered by TRT, this year will be Düşyeri’s first move into the global marketplace. It hopes its already high-profile presence online should help fuel its efforts.

“Social media is empowering us to go global,” claims Güney. “Pepee is the fourth-most Googled word in Turkey and we’re extremely active on YouTube.” Düşyeri is also busy on a number of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with around 2.5 million followers combined, she adds.

Alongside its partnership with Planet Çocuk, Düsyeri became a YouTube partner this year with a channel for its own shows, which clocked up 200,000 subscribers and 230 million views in four months. In 2014, Pepee was also the fourth most watched video on YouTube Turkey, and the first and second most watched in 2011 and 2012, claims the company. Moreover, older episodes of the series made for TRT are also up on YouTube and continue to be watched by millions, Güney adds.

Düsyeri is also expanding its production ambitions beyond preschool animation. This June, it began production on new live-action comedy drama series Ayda Maya, targeting older kids aged eight to 12. The 26×30’ series is being lined up for Planet Çocuk this fall, when the channel launches its back-to-school schedule.

“We’ve dominated the preschool market and can offer all kinds of content for preschoolers, but we’re now expanding into producing for school-aged kids and teens up to adults,” says Güney. “We are also planning movies that would appeal to family audiences.”

As well as sales opportunities for its four completed animation projects, Düsyeri’s international expansion opens up wider prospects, such as coproductions. “The fastest way is to sell the finished products, but we’re open to coproductions on new projects,” says Bilgiç.

Düsyeri doesn’t currently have an international licensing partner either, but Bilgiç says the company is formulating a strategy and direction for the company in wider international waters. “We’ll be trying to carry this whole brand idea to other territories,” says Güney.