① When Kim Min-seok (from Pinkfong) gave the go-ahead in June 2016 to publish a 90-second clip of a children’s song, he had no idea what he was unleashing. It became a global phenomenon, clocking up more than 16 billion views - YouTube’s most watched video ever. That song was the incredibly catchy Baby Shark.
② Founded in 2010 as SmartStudy, the firm made digital content for children up to 12 years of age. It had just three employees, including Mr Kim and the firm’s chief technology officer, Dongwoo Son. The firm grew to around 100 employees and prioritised simpler, learning-based games and content. “And that’s when Baby Shark emerged,” Mr Kim said. The company has been known as Pinkfong since 2022. It now has around 340 employees, with offices in Tokyo, Shanghai and Los Angeles.
③ Baby Shark is believed to have originated in the US in the 1970s and was often sung at children’s summer camps. The song, which repeats the phrase “Baby shark, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo” is “attractive for children, though possibly annoying for adults,” said media analyst Kevin Chew from the Nanyang Technological University. Mr Kim is also very aware of just how catchy it is. “It’s like a K-pop song. It’s very fast-paced, rhythmical and it’s addictive,” he said, adding that the tune has a “chanting” effect, which makes it easy for children to remember.
④ But while it gained some early popularity, it only took off globally when its dance routine was featured at children’s events in South East Asia. Videos of children and adults dancing to the song started to spread online and the clip went viral. In November 2020, the Baby Shark clip claimed the title of YouTube’s most viewed. It generated around half of the firm’s revenue in the years immediately after the video’s release and became a springboard for new content and merchandise, he said.
⑤ Pinkfong’s other franchises like Bebefinn and Sealook are growing fast but the firm must prove its success is not just reliant on Baby Shark, said Korea University business lecturer Min Jung Kim. The company’s target audience is a major plus as toddlers tend to watch the same material repeatedly, she said.
⑥ Kim Min-seok insists his business can grow beyond Baby Shark, which currently accounts for about a quarter of Pinkfong’s revenue. Meanwhile, Bebefinn has leapt ahead, generating roughly 40% of the firm’s earnings.
⑦ Whether Pinkfong can create other characters to match Baby Shark’s commercial appeal remains unclear, said Prof Kim. But now it must show investors that it is not just a one-hit wonder.
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