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Sesame Place exec: Mobile fragmentation still a big challenge

Sesame Place is using mobile to further engage children and parents with educational content, but finds that fragmentation is still a big challenge.

The company has mobile applications both in Apple?s App Store and Google?s Android Market and is using SMS to reach parents globally, especially those that only have a feature phone. The company has embraced a mobile strategy spanning SMS, mobile Web and applications to better connect with parents and children.

Mobile Marketer?s Rimma Kats interviewed Terry Fitzpatrick, executive vice president of Sesame Place, New York.

Here is what she said:

How does mobile fit in with Sesame Place's overall strategy?
What makes us unique as an educational organization is that we use popular media to deliver our content and when you look at the mobile platforms in many developing countries, people are getting access to mobile devices before television.

So it?s a really powerful platform for us in delivering our mission.

We work in trying to get engagement around kids and families with our educational content, but we?re competing head to head with highly commercial companies like Nickelodean and Disney for that engagement.

However, we?re more focused. We look at what all the various platforms that our content is on.

We look at it that so that every device a preschooler will interact with, we can build a cirruculum and education goals across all platforms at the same time and it becomes so powerful.

Another great thing about it is parent and child engagement. We don?t expect preschoolers to have their own cell phones, nor do we encourage that, but their parents do. It?s another opportunity for parent and child to have that shared experience around the content and when that happens the educational impact increases expontentially. It really helps a lot to have parent engagement.

Many schools are now using tablets for student engagement. How do you think the iPad fits with education?
Very much so. Touch devices in particular are ideally designed for a preschooler.

It?s totally intuitive, it?s developmentally appropriate ? all based on the touch interface. 

It?s also engaging to the kids because of that interactivity. They?re part of the process. That?s fantastic for us, it?s a real breakthrough because a lot of interactive gaming content that we?ve done, the controller is really challenging ? particularly for a preschooler.

There are so many tablets coming out aside from the tablet, are you looking at that too?
We are looking at all of them. Obviously the Galaxy and Research In Motion's one.

Apple has a clear lead with the iPad and has been a great hit with families, so that?s a really strong platform for us.

As we look at the different form factors and their applicability to family experiences, we?ll put those higher on the prioirility list as far as developing content for it. Some of the tablets seem to be geared toward business environment, which obviously wouldn?t be as high on our list.

Are you looking to develop more applications?
Yes. We currently have 15 applications and we are developing a whole bunch of new apps and concepts also kind of investigating the notion of a subscription app experience so that you?re getting fresh content on a regular basis.

Currently all the apps we have out are distinct app experiences and our Monster Maker application has been a huge success and we are doing a refresh actually of that with themed content.

Sesame Place has many applications and mobile sites. What about SMS?
We?re working and strategizing with SMS and MMS content that?s particluraly focused on our work internationally as well.

Most of the popular media that we have been involved with has been television and DVDs. It is all video-based and we have a lot of video content.

Mobile devices have a really wide range of funcationality, so it can be as simple as voice and SMS all the way up to smartphones.

We are looking at the low end of functionality and looking at how we can really build a truly Sesame experience using voice and text content, which will allow some video, although it?s pretty limited.

How do you approach your mobile strategy in the U.S. as opposed to globally?
It?s regional. You really have to look at what the mobile ecosystem is in each of the countries an what devices are prevelant.

We think it?s a huge opportunity to get educational content out to kids who really need it. Particulary to kids who do not have any schooling at all. So what devices do those families have and how do we optimize content for those devices and also encourage the parents to get the content and share it with their kids.

Sesame Place has many videos that are archived. Are you going to incorporate that in your applications or podcasts?
Yes.

We have more than 4,000 hours of video content. We have been doing that.

For the podcast we designed, we take generally 30-seconds to a minute content from the TV shows, but we create a podcast by going to our library and finding classic video clips, which also encourage parental involvement.

The library is a treasure trove of that content to build out for users.

Have you allocated a budget specifically for mobile?
We are doing it on a case by case basis.

We are looking at all the business models to support it. Sponsoship is obviously a big one.

We do not allow any advertising dirfectly to preschoolers so we really look at a sponsorship format.

Apps for example, you pay for, so that?s part of the business model, but as we go through each of these devices.

One of the big challeges for mobile is fragmentation. Apple?s fairly straightforward, but when you get to the Android market, each device has different requirements, and that can get very complicated and expensive to try to deliver content for each of those scenarios.

We are working to try to define which ones seem prime. Droid for example has higher penetration and is a logical one to extend our apps into, but as we look at the cost benefit ratio.

What opportunities does your platform present to sponsors?
Huge. In specifically on the various mobile devices, but also when you look across the ecosystem.

The fact that a sponsor can come in and we can place them across platforms against the same educational content so that they can have a multiplform experience, which is very attractive to sponsors.

Where do you see mobile in 2011?
Huge growth. I just look back at the past five years and how digital platforms have exploded.

Web-based video delivery in particular. Mobile has really started to move and there?s going to be huge growth as these tablets enter the market. 

I would never underestimate Apple. They?ve been a pretty smart company and to see what they introduce in response to all these competitive products.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York