Moonbug & VaynerWatt
To Co-Create Animated Series Based On
VeeFriends Franchise
— Deadline | Jesse Whittock, March 11, 2024, 11:00am
EXCLUSIVE: CoComelon owner Moonbug Entertainment is looking to emerging production studio VaynerWatt for its next kids and family franchise.
The companies have struck a strategic partnership deal and will work together to create a 2D-animated series for kids aged 6-11 called VeeFriends, which is based on Vaynerchuk’s existing kids franchise of the same name. It will launch on YouTube in September, with Candle Media-owned Moonbug and VaynerWatt both attached.
VaynerWatt co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk created VeeFriends, which is billed as a “contemporary entertainment company” focused on collectibles, events, games and technology based around characters who aim to make soft skills cool.
The series will be set in the VeeFriends universe, which features a collection of larger-than-life VeeFriends characters such as Gratitude Gorilla, Quick Quail and Clever Crocodile who will compete in the VeeDome, the “ultimate over-the-top challenge arena, to battle out the biggest issues facing tweendom today.” Every character who goes into the VeeDome comes out “a little stronger and a lot more self-aware.”
As we revealed last year, angel investor and internet marketing expert Vaynerchuk teamed with former CAA agent and Wheelhouse exec Eric Wattenberg and Matt Higgins, who co-founded investment firm RSE Ventures with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross and appeared on Shark Tank, to launch VaynerWatt.
“I built VeeFriends in order to help change the world through dynamic characters that were both virtuous and entertaining, engaging and enlightening,” said Vaynerchuk. “I am excited to work with Candle Media and Moonbug Entertainment, which share many of the same core values, to expand this franchise for new platforms and audiences.”
“Our companies share a vision to contribute to the development and enrichment of the next generation, which naturally allows for a strong partnership,” said said René Rechtman, Co-Founder and CEO, Moonbug. “The VeeFriends characters and universe that Gary and his team have created will make a strong foundation for an engaging show, which our team is excited to develop.”
Candle Media bosses Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs added in a statement that VaynerWatt had “built an innovative, inspiring, digitally-native storyworld, which has galvanized a deeply engaged community around characters that espouse positive values
Episodes will begin in late summer as three-minute shorts on YouTube. Moonbug’s money-spinning kids franchises Cocomelon and Blippi both built their fantasies through short videos on the Google platform before expanding into other areas such as licensing and merchandizing, streaming music and live events.
Candle, which is backed by investment capital from funds managed by private equity biz Blackstone, bought Moonbug for around $3B in 2021. Since then, Moonbug continued to grow its Cocomelon, Blippi and Little Baby Bum brands into some of the biggest digital media pre-school brands, and is this month launching Disney TV series Morphle and the Magic Pets.
Gary Vaynerchuk, Eric Wattenberg
& RSE Ventures’
Matt Higgins Launch Production Studio VaynerWatt
— Deadline | Peter White, January 12, 2023, 10:00am
EXCLUSIVE: Gary Vaynerchuk, internet marketing expert and Resy founder, has teamed with former CAA agent and Wheelhouse exec Eric Wattenberg and Matt Higgins, who co-founded investment firm RSE Ventures with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross, to launch a new production studio.
The trio are launching VaynerWatt.
The company will produce original long and short-form content for linear networks and streaming services.
It marks the first TV production company for Vaynerchuk, the founder of communications company VaynerX, who is best known for his work in digital marketing.
Wattenberg, who will be CEO of the new company, joins from Wheelhouse, the company set up by Brent Montgomery, where he was Chief Content Officer. Prior to joining Wheelhouse, he was Co-Head of Alternative Television at CAA, where he represented talents including Kelly Ripa, Andy Cohen, Nick Cannon and Billy Porter. It was via CAA that Wattenberg and Vaynerchuk met.
Higgins, who appeared on two seasons of ABC’s Shark Tank, is CEO of private investment firm RSE Ventures, which he co-founded with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross. It has investments in companies including Magnolia Bakery and Momofuku.
Vaynerchuk, an angel investor who has backed companies including Facebook, Twitter, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase and Uber, told Deadline that the company had been a “decade in the making”.
“This is a sector I’ve been wanting to get into at some point before I hang up my cleats in entrepreneur-land. Eric and I have a very shared vision of creativity – quality over everything,” he said.
He added that he hopes to be able to bring his marketing savvy to networks and streamers. “When you sell a show to a distributor you don’t just go to sleep but you actually become activated and you actually care about the outcome. I haven’t for a long [time] not seen production companies with the capability of actually creating demand for the content they sell and I think that is an innovation that has a chance to really disrupt the marketplace,” he added. “There is nobody in Hollywood production company land that understands how to make TikTok creative to drive tune in on a streaming service. That does not exist. Now VaynerWatt exists and I think that is exciting.”
Vaynerchuk got his start in wine, having taken charge of his father’s liquor store before launching YouTube series Wine Library TV. He joked that he’s going to try and “stay in his lane” but added “I would be really sad if me and Eric didn’t produce a meaningful business show. would be lying to you if we didn’t pull this off in our careers, that would be a missed opportunity”.
He added that in terms of trends, a series featuring trend du jour mocktails might be better than wine. “One can make a show about wine or one can make a show about mocktails as they are exploding in culture. I have a funny feeling that the mocktails show is going to do better because it’s on trend and some of that consumer insight capability that we have at VaynerMedia will be an advantage for VaynerWatt,” he said.
Wattenberg is putting together his executive leadership team, which will be based both in LA and New York.
“Our mission, simply put, is to make exceptional content that can be used effectively as marketing tools that would eventually create outsized returns on investments for creators and all of our partners ,” Wattenberg said. “I am thrilled to witness this partnership come to fruition, and we are here to unlock potential for brands and content creators through an alternate and modern approach.”
“Eric has a tremendous track record of identifying undiscovered talent, shaping the seed of an idea into a workable concept, figuring out the right home, and then delivering a show on time and on budget, ” added Matt Higgins. “Eric’s deep relationships in the industry span decades. The confidence he inspires in everyone he works with will form the foundation of VaynerWatt. Partnering makes infinite sense, as Gary provides a bottomless well of minable content – either through our jointly owned firm, VaynerMedia, and the brands we represent or the trends Gary spots years before they go mainstream.”