OCTONAUTS: TAKING NEW AUDIENCES ON A JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY.

2.5 BILLION VIEWS

4.5 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS

TRANSLATED INTO 7 LANGUAGES

The Octonauts aren’t just going on missions under the sea - they’re diving headfirst into new homes, cultures, and languages around the world. With a rich blend of curiosity, adventure, and learning, the beloved underwater explorers have always held a special place in the hearts of preschoolers. Over the past three years, Little Dot Studios has supercharged the Octonauts’ global journey - launching innovative content formats, expanding language accessibility, and partnering with platforms like YouTube Kids to reach millions more little learners.

 

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Objectives

The introduction of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in 2020 significantly changed the digital landscape for kids' content on YouTube, removing targeted advertising as a revenue stream to better safeguard children online. In response, Little Dot Studios reimagined the Octonauts' channel strategy, ensuring compliance while unlocking new pathways for growth.

In parallel to remaining COPPA compliant, the overarching channel goals were to:

BOOST AWARENESS

Reach new audiences through localization and platform expansion.

REFRESH CONTENT

Create engaging content that blends play and learning.

OPTIMISE STRATEGY

Stay adaptable with a channel strategy that evolves with the audience. 

Content Creativity

To meet our objectives and maintain engagement under COPPA regulations, we diversified the content portfolio beyond full-length episodes, introducing new formats that combined learning and entertainment. This enabled us to inject fresh ideas into the channel and create a flexible programming schedule to reach new audiences. 

Preschool Audiences

We introduced formats like ‘Spot the Difference’ and ‘Hide and Seek’ videos. These interactive videos expanded reach and deepened engagement by making learning feel like play.

Increase Viewership

Since taking over the management of the channel, we’ve translated the Octonauts into 7 other languages. By expanding Octonauts into new territories, the brand has been able to reach 240M additional views in the first quarter of 2025 alone. The show has been particularly successful in Polish speaking territories and since launching in August 2023, the channel has seen an average increase of 48% per quarter.

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YouTube Kids Takeover 

As part of our collaboration with YouTube Kids, we produce content to take advantage of the takeover events that are held on the platform throughout the year. These takeovers have specific themes that encourage learning and development, and uploaded content is given priority on the platform through home page promotion and increased visibility. This integration has contributed to an average of 40% growth in views per quarter. 

For Octonauts, these takeovers include;

 

STEM

A celebration of science and technology. Science is a core theme for Octonauts and many of our videos focus on the technology used in each episode. These include compilations featuring all the unique vehicles and gadgets.

ANIMALS

A no-brainer for Octonauts, every episode involves the discovery of a new type of underwater animal or creature. These range from the smallest amoeba all the way up to the humpback whale. Audiences all have their favourite and so we produce compilations that regularly focus on the most possible.

Flexible Strategy That Adapts to Audiences

Our approach to Octonauts goes far beyond seasonal content drops. The channel’s visual identity and structure are continuously updated to reflect time of year, holidays and audience sentiment. 

  • Visual Refreshes: Banners and thumbnails shift to match the seasonal vibes.
  • Smart Playlists: Highlight relevant content based on seasonality or special events.
  • Ongoing Experimentation: We trial new formats regularly to ensure the channel never stagnates.

Our reasoning for this is two-fold; the first is to create a space that lives and breathes, that does not feel robotic or sterile, but that is able to connect to the preschool audience by reflecting their day-to-day environment. A channel that speaks to them, not at them. The second is to ensure the channel is able to maintain high viewing numbers. By maintaining a policy of adaptability, new ideas emerge and new content types are produced allowing the channels to continuously bring in new audiences.

In summary 

By championing flexibility, creativity and purpose-driven storytelling, Little Dot Studios has transformed the Octonauts channel into a global success while remaining a beloved brand. With over 2.5 billion views on YouTube and a growing audience across continents, the channel remains a shining example of how education and entertainment can go hand in hand for children’s enjoyment.