The Dodo Founder Izzie Lerer on Filling the White Space Between ‘Pure Fluff’ and ‘Hardcore Activism’

The Dodo, the social media brand that has entertained millions with endearing animal videos, continues its push beyond Facebook and YouTube to linear and SVOD platforms. The company recently announced a new kids show that will be the first unscripted series on Netflix Kids, “Izzy Bee’s Koala World.” Last year, Group Nine’s The Dodo launched its first TV show “The Dodo Heroes” on Animal Planet and just wrapped production of its second season. The Dodo’s founder and chief creative officer Izzie Lerer spoke with TheWrap about the key to creating a successful animal brand that transcends digital — finding the sweet spot between “pure fluff” and “hardcore activism.” The Dodo has locked in show deals with Facebook Watch, YouTube, Animal Planet, and now Netflix. What makes the brand so attractive to these platforms? I think The Dodo is attractive to platforms like these for two main reasons. First, our singular focus on animals has allowed us to become expert storytellers in the space in a short period of time. This hyper-focus has allowed us to gain real expertise quickly about how to tell animal stories that perform extremely well and really resonate with audiences. We made a decision to go...

Read original story The Dodo Founder Izzie Lerer on Filling the White Space Between ‘Pure Fluff’ and ‘Hardcore Activism’ At TheWrap