During a session called “Claynosaurz: Rise of the Interactive Franchises: Why the Future Belongs to Creators,” Nic Cabana, co-founder and creative director of Claynosaurz, shared transformative insights with an enthusiastic audience at the View Conference in Turin. He articulated a challenge that many studios face: the rapid evolution of audience behavior has outstripped traditional linear release cycles, pushing new franchises to engage groups in a transparent and collaborative manner from the outset.
“Entertainment is increasingly nonlinear,” Cabana pointed out, asserting that for contemporary creators, “Distribution is effectively free.” His main premise is that by designing content that reflects the way audiences already consume media—through short-form videos, games, GIFs, digital stickers, and toys—a single production can serve as just one facet in a broader, interconnected intellectual property. “Today’s kids crave interaction,” he emphasized. “We collaborate alongside the internet; we don’t function in isolation.”
Cabana outlined a swift three-year growth trajectory for Claynosaurz, a transmedia brand fueled by veterans from Sony, DreamWorks, Illumination, and Disney. The team initially self-financed a short film which garnered a Webby award, then tapped into crowdfunding by releasing 10,000 high-quality digital collectibles. These avatars have become integrated across the brand’s various platforms, including social media clips, a forthcoming mobile game in collaboration with Gameloft, merchandise, live events, and an upcoming YouTube-native series co-produced with Mediawan, as recently highlighted by Variety.
“We are development on an episodic series consisting of 40 episodes, each running approximately 7 minutes. We’re launching directly on YouTube,” Cabana shared. This strategic choice is intentional: the modular nature of the episodes, similar to the format of ‘Family Guy,’ allows for discovery to occur at any entry point determined by the algorithm. Concurrently, Gameloft is working on a long-form mobile game; Claynosaurz is also implementing a loyalty system and utilizing “proof-of-view” technology to incentivize viewers for engaging with specific episodes, effectively creating a gamified viewing experience.
The content creation operation focuses on continuous A/B testing. The team is dedicated to producing captivating social media content, including short reels, timeless mini-stories, and trendy “cameos” when relevant, while also tracking what resonates organically. “We don’t manipulate the algorithm,” insisted Cabana. He cited impressive statistics: approximately 910,000 followers across multiple platforms, videos nearing one billion cumulative views, individual clips attracting nearly 60 million views, and around 300 million Claynosaurz GIF views on Giphy. This approach mirrors practices seen in the tech startup realm where rapid audience engagement takes precedence over immediate monetization.
Most importantly, the audience isn’t just passively observing; they’re co-creating. “We view them as co-creators,” Cabana noted, highlighting practices like incorporating community avatars in the shorts, recruiting talented fan artists, distributing free resources for students at the Annecy Animation Festival in France, and fostering memes and fan art—areas where traditional intellectual properties may face hurdles with legal complexities. By embracing transparency, he claimed, creators can foster a creative advantage: early storyboards, concept art, and behind-the-scenes clips encourage audience-driven micro-iterations and enhance commitment prior to release.
According to Cabana, their latest digital sticker pack launched on Telegram raked in $223,000 in just 20 seconds, and a recent digital collection of Popkins generated $18 million in demand. This innovative approach utilized a blind box system, enabling anyone to participate in the sale of Popkin characters, with only a select number winning. Those who didn’t secure a character were automatically refunded. This strategy effectively ensured a swift sellout and provided genuine consumer demand insights in real-time. He explained this method succinctly: “We mitigate the risks of intellectual property by embedding it within cultural contexts beforehand.”
Cabana reported that this new methodology has already enhanced the company’s negotiation power with industry players. “The traditional studio framework is not indispensable,” he remarked. “We generated $3,000,000 in our inaugural year… accumulating a total of $11 million by year three,” he informed Variety, additionally noting that the broader collectible ecosystem encompasses approximately $40,000,000 in value, with the company earning royalties on every transaction. He contended that organic growth translates to more favorable discussions with streaming platforms, toy manufacturers, and distributors since the audience engagement is clearly evident.
For traditional studios, Cabana’s insights serve as both a challenge and a signal to adapt. The intended product might center around a YouTube series rather than a conventional pilot; promotional efforts may hinge on the behind-the-scenes creation process itself; and the brand’s foundational document could be iteratively updated based on community input. “Our creed was… to engage with audiences where they are, and that’s everywhere. Entertainment has unequivocally become nonlinear,” he stated.
The guiding principle, he asserted, is brand memory: not only a show someone has watched but also a sticker they have used, a pop-up they have participated in, a toy they have unboxed, or a short video shared with a friend because “that resonates with you.”
There is an urgent reality for studios to rethink their strategies, as Cabana referenced peers exploring similar paths, such as Glitch’s “Digital Circus” and the viral character Nobody Sausage, demonstrating that when characters drive engagement rather than formats, scalability follows. From this expansive and devoted fanbase, characters can ultimately transition into movie and series formats or any imaginable medium.
