THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Ryan's World YouTube Channel

Finalist in YouTube Presence

Objective

Since Ryan’s World first launched in 2015, the YouTube channel has rapidly evolved from a single channel focused on “toy reviews” to a multi-category global franchise through digital and broadcast entertainment, toys and consumer products. With 11 total YouTube channels, Ryan's World has expanded into a larger entertainment show focusing on providing fun and educational videos for kids and families starring Ryan’s whole family and featuring a variety of content, including science experiments, skits, family challenges, cartoon animations and much more.

 

Ryan’s World reaches international territories with Ryan’s World in Japanese and Ryan's World Español and remains consistent with its messaging and educational cadence across all channels.

 

As Ryan gets older, so does his audience, and navigating the evolution of his presence on YouTube has been a major theme for 2023 and beyond to ensure content reflects Ryan’s new hobbies and interests, as well as the interests of his growing fan base. To help streamline the workflow around Ryan's World and minimize Ryan’s on-camera participation, Shion and Loann Kaji created Sunlight Entertainment, which allows the Kaji family to expand on the Ryan’s World universe and continue to deliver fun and engaging content to kids and families.

Strategy

In 2023, Ryan’s World continued to champion as one of the most successful digital entertainment IPs for kids in today’s market. The Hollywood Reporter named Ryan Kaji, one of the “most powerful people in kids entertainment,” and Forbes presented him at No. 17 on its Top Creators List. Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards Abu Dhabi nominated Ryan for “Favorite International Content Creator.” Ryan’s World was selected as a Shorty Award Gold Honoree for “Best Overall YouTube Presence,” and was shortlisted as "Best YouTube Channel" Nominee for the 15th Annual Kidscreen Awards. His brand has continued its expansion, with over 100 global licensees and more than 10,000 individual products to-date, including his most recent partnerships with Cameo, Drone Racing League, Skechers, Dole Food Company, and Carl’s Jr.

 

Ryan’s family-owned production company, Sunlight Entertainment, has launched four brand-new animated series in the past year – “ELEMON,” “Pirate Adventures,” “Ninja Adventures,” and “Island Adventures,” – across the Ryan’s World YouTube channels, garnering over 41.8M views to date. The goals were to produce educational and entertaining content and to reach new and existing audiences through animated storytelling.

 

In October 2023, Sunlight Entertainment and globally acclaimed Japanese animation studio, Toei Animation, debuted the brand-new animated series, “ELEMON,” on its own dedicated YouTube channel. Around the same time, the “Pirate Adventures” series was released on the main YouTube channel.

 

In August 2023, Ryan’s World launched the “Ninja Adventures” program – inspired by Ryan’s family heritage, and their trip to Japan where they trained alongside real-life ninjas learning the principles of bravery, curiosity, and honor. To kick off the release, Ryan’s family hosted a livestream experience for fans on the Ryan’s World YouTube channel where they debuted their live-action, Ninja-themed short film, followed by a screening of Episode 1 from the new “Ryan’s World Ninja Adventures” series.

 

In April 2023, the Ryan's World “Island Adventures” content series combined live-action and animated episodes and rolled out over the following month. The channel also premiered a video featuring Ryan and his family’s visit at the Dole Pineapple Farm in Oahu, Hawaii, learning how to plant, harvest, wash and package pineapples.

 

Additionally, this fall 2024, fans of Ryan’s World will get the opportunity to see the brand beyond the small screen in a theatrical and streaming release for the live action and animated film, Ryan's World the Movie: Titan Universe Adventure. This marks the first time the popular kids brand, Ryan’s World, is in a feature length film.

Results

Ryan’s World has amassed over 62M subscribers, 83B lifetime views and receives over 1B views every month! The massive viewership and engagement shows the impact that Ryan’s World has had on families and kids in continuously delivering creative and educational kid-friendly content for the next generation.

Media

Video for Ryan's World YouTube Channel

Entrant Company / Organization Name

R&CPMK, Ryan's World

Links

Entry Credits