Creators 101

“When planning a rollout, the first thing to do is identify your goals. What are you trying to achieve with the release? How does it fit into your overall strategy? Use the answer to help with your planning. When you have a sense of what you are trying to accomplish, pick a date that will focus your efforts. Release show, birthday party, whatever: tying the release to another event helps create a story to drive your marketing.

“Work backward from the date, considering when you have to deliver the music to your distribution partner , and what kinds of marketing tools you need time to create. Put it all in a calendar to create accountability, and never stop marketing, even post-release.”

—Mark Tavern, Music Industry Educator

“There’s so much animated content coming out all the time. Our team thinks about this constantly. Sometimes, you want to make the biggest impact on release day—really cut through the noise. To do that, you might drop the full short, behind-the-scenes clips, and promotional materials all at once to grab attention. But if you go all-in on day one, what’s your strategy for keeping interest alive the next week? That’s where planning comes in. If you don’t release everything at once, you can pace it out. At the very least, you should have a few weeks’ worth of extra content ready—like making-of features, alternate scenes, or social media clips. Stuff that keeps people coming back to watch the cartoon again.”

“You want to have follow-up content ready after the initial release. Animated clips or teaser scenes are great for keeping momentum going, because they can drive viewers back to the full cartoon or series on streaming platforms DSPs. Have a rollout schedule in place for post-release content, and be ready to promote across multiple platforms with all your assets prepared. For example, if your animation gets featured or spotlighted somewhere, have that graphic or announcement ready for social media. Keep promoting with posts that direct people to your full collection or hub—just having a ‘link in bio’ isn’t enough.”

“The rollout should have clear phases: pre-release, release week or month, and post-release. The goal is to build longevity for your animated content. You can start by teasing the short or series even before it drops—maybe with character reveals, sneak peeks, or short clips. I’m also seeing creators get smart with media strategy: instead of packing all the buzz into the first week, spread out the coverage. Plan to showcase a new highlight or achievement each week—whether it’s fan reactions, behind-the-scenes moments, or features—so you always have something fresh to share.”

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