Digital Durian makes it big in the online animation world with local folk songs.
ANIMATION series Didi and Friends is fast becoming a household name, especially among parents with young children.
It’s created by local animation studio Digital Durian (DD), founded by school friends Sinan Ismail and Hairul Faizal Izwan in 2008.
THE MAKING OF DIDI
From providing digital and design services, Digital Durian later ventured into the business-to-consumer market with Durian Kahwin, a one-stop wedding trading platform for invitation cards, door gifts and stylish weddings.
However, Sinan and Hairul soon realised that this was not their passion.
In 2012, the duo were awarded a RM50,000 grant after taking part in an Intellectual Property Creators’ Challenge (IPCC) organised by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
Together in the incubator initiative were two other big IPs in the local animation scene — BoBoiBoy and Ejen Ali.
Winning the grant gave DD that much-needed push to close down their wedding business and realign their focus back to Didi and Friends: the Science Explorer.
Didi made its first appearance alongside Upin&Ipin and BoBoiBoy.
“When the other mascots came out, everyone recognised the characters but when Didi appeared, they shouted “Ayam!” and that was how Didi, an “ayam Serama” (Serama chicken) wearing just a belt evolved into what it is today,” says Sinan.
Realising that Didi and Friends did not get the traction he hoped for, Sinan gathered feedback and applied the necessary changes to his “chicken”.
But it was his then 1-year-old son who opened the path for Sinan.
“I was searching online for children’s songs for him when I realised that there weren’t any children’s folk songs available. It was then that I decided to marry the character Didi with children’s folk songs,” says Sinan.
BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
After switching strategy from mainstream channels to a YouTube channel, Didi finally got its fan base.
“One of the reasons for Didi’s rejection could be that it was too educational. By changing the concept to edutainment, the series finally got the attention it deserves,” says Sinan.
In May 2014, DD published two songs — Kalau Rasa Gembira and Rasa Sayang — on the channel, hoping to surpass the 1,000 views for Didi and Friends: the Science Explorer in a year.
Instead of the projected one million views in just six months, the channel received five million views instead.
“It was amazing. Having public figures sharing its links was an amazing feat too,” says Sinan.
To date, Kalau Rasa Gembira has garnered 47 million views, with more than a billion users for the channel.
To celebrate the one-billion-user milestone, Sinan has a surprise for fans this September.
Recently, the channel was awarded a Gold Button from YouTube to commemorate its success in having one million subscribers.
The channel received its second button just two years after receiving its silver button (100K subscribers).
The YouTube Play Buttons, a part of the YouTube Creator Rewards, acts as recognition by YouTube for its most popular channels. These buttons are intended to recognise channels’ subscriber count. Each channel is reviewed before an award is issued, ensuring each awarded channel adhere to YouTube’s community guidelines.
THE JOURNEY
Sinan, who has always wanted to create cartoons, is a Mathematics graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
He took the biggest leap when he created Digital Durian with Hairul in 2008.
Starting out as a multimedia company, both Sinan and Hairul wanted a name that is simple yet local.
“Durian is known as the king of fruits and we wanted to be known as the digital ‘king’,”says Sinan.
The name has since created values for both creators, making them easily remembered and it has been one of the best ice-breaker question and conversation starter.
“The journey has not always been easy but I was lucky to have started a business with someone who understands it,” says Sinan.
The company went through some tough times after Didi and Friends: the Science Explorer didn’t get the desired attention. Sinan then had to downsize his employee strength to four — himself, Hairul, a creative director and an intern.
They re-created Didi and Friends and produced Kalau Rasa Gembira and Rasa Sayang.
Sinan says they are driven by three core values — to show how serious they are; to create better content; and to make the company employees feel like they are family.
From a staff strength of four, Digital Durian is now 90-strong, with Sinan saying it is important that the company has a vision which everyone can align with.
Needless to say, Digital Durian has grown exponentially since the day Didi was created. It has recently added a new programme Omar & Hana, an Islamic children content under its brand.
Sinan wants Didi and Friends to be among the top 10 children’s animation in the world by 2025. Besides that, he and the company want Omar & Hana to be the #1 preschool Islamic IP in the world and DD to be among the top 10 animation companies by 2035. Its Konsert Hora Horay!, which was released in March this year, brought in RM2.75 million.
Sinan also aims for DD to be one of the best animation workplaces in the world by 2025.
“I have visited Silicon Valley and understand that it’s all about the culture,” says Sinan.
From speaking to the people there, he learnt that it’s important to trust each other and to have the same vision.
“We sometimes forget that it’s just as important to create a healthy lifestyle and a great office environment for those who work for you and with you,” he says.
DD TAKING THE WORLD
Sinan reveals that Didi will be coming up with a new playlist in the future.
Next month, DD will also release a #didicover contest, where fans can do a cover of Didi and Friends’ songs.
The studio has also entered the pre-production stage of Didi the Movie, which is expected to be released in 2020.
STRATEGY
Digital Durian’s Didi and Friends channel is currently available in three languages — Malay, Bahasa Indonesia and Hindi for the Indian market.
All are available on separate channels because different market has different needs, says Sinan.
Since its viewers are toddlers, it is important that they learn their first word in their own language.
Didi and Friends will also be released in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Viet and Arabic languages.
Despite having the folk songs translated and dubbed into other languages, the songs will still retain their Malaysian identity.
“One example is Burung Kakak Tua, where certain parts of the song will be in its original format,” he says.
Meanwhile, Omar and Hana, which was launched in February last year, is already making it big on YouTube. The channel has more than 700,000 subscribers, with more than three million views currently.
The next step for this Islamic pre-school channel is to launch the series. DD showed three test episodes during Ramadan this year and the response was overwhelming, says Sinan.
Soon, it will be available in Arabic, with the aim of broadcasting to 22 Arabic-speaking countries.
“It is a big challenge for the team but I’m confident of their ability,” says Sinan.
“Maybe we can feature folk songs from other countries soon,” he concludes.