Dive Brief:

• Crayola is expanding its partnership with digital content studio TheSoul Publishing following its success in growing the brand’s YouTube presence, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The partnership, launched earlier this year, will now also encompass TikTok and Pinterest.
• The initial tie-up led to an increase in organic views on Crayola’s YouTube by more than 40-times in April 2023 compared to the average monthly performance during Q4 2022. Total hours spent watching increased 30-times over the same period.
• The Hallmark Cards brand also reported a significant boost in output for its YouTube channel along with a boost in subscribers. Crayola working to expand its digital reach comes as social media remains popular among younger audiences, including Gen Alpha.

Dive Insight: 

Crayola is deepening its social media ties with its expanded partnership with TheSoul Publishing, a sign that the century-old brand is angling to connect with younger generations Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Together with the digital content studio, Crayola this year will grow its creative content across YouTube, Pinterest and TikTok.

Since its initial tie-up, TheSoul Publishing has already made strides on Crayola’s YouTube channel that could have helped inform the brand’s decision to expand. Notably, the number of published videos on Crayola’s YouTube channel is six times what it once was when comparing April of this year to average monthly performance in Q4 2022. The subsequent surge of views, watch hours and subscribers underscores the value of the partnership between the two, according to Patrik Wilkens, vice president of operations at TheSoul Publishing.

“This tells us that the content isn’t just being watched, it’s being eagerly anticipated and regularly consumed by a dedicated and growing fan base,” Wilkens said in the press release.

Crayola in the past has attempted to grow its digital presence to better reach younger consumers. For example, the brand in 2021 partnered with WildBrain Spark to expand its YouTube digital content series to better appeal to children. The brand has also established mobile apps including Create & Play and Scribble Scrubbie, leaning into growing interest in the mobile gaming landscape. 

TheSoul Publishing, also the agency behind popular YouTube channel 5-Minute Crafts, touts ongoing success on social media that could translate to valuable know-how for Crayola. The content studio has amassed over 2 billion social media subscribers and 25 billion monthly views across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, per release details.

Crayola is one in a handful of legacy brands that have aged down in hopes of capturing the next wave of consumers. For example, Kellogg brand Frosted Flakes last year partnered with Twitch’s brand studio to transform brand mascot Tony the Tiger into an interactive streamer. Similarly, a number of longtime beauty brands, including giants Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, have recently adopted innovative strategies like digital avatars and metaverse plays to reach Gen Z.