🎧 Open Tabs: The future of kids content (and corporate creators)

Happy Friday 👋Here’s everything we covered in this week’s Open Tabs conversation:* Kids content on YouTube: evergreen, evolving, and oddly unpredictable [0:00]. Megan kicked us off fresh from Kidscreen, where her business partner Kaylee Mullen spoke about kids and YouTube. The big takeaway? The space is… nebulous. There’s real success happening, but it’s not a simple growth story.* Our POV: The kids space may be “hurting” amid reduced investment from big players and increased screen fragmentation — but that also makes it wide open. If you’re willing to commit to world-building and consistency, there’s room to define the category.* Additional resources:* If you’re looking for high-quality, low stimulation kids content on YouTube, check out our clients Wooby & Fotty* The “Dora Problem” and why dolls are struggling [~5:30]. A standout insight from the conference came via wonderworks Co-Founder & Partner Jane Gould: the “Dora problem.” If you’re a kid, you only need one Dora. One hero character can fulfill the fantasy — which makes it harder to build a collectible ecosystem around a single IP.This led to a broader conversation about declining doll sales, particularly at Mattel and American Girl. It’s not necessarily a product problem — it’s a behavioral shift. Kids are aging into technology and collectibles faster than ever.But American Girl sparked a debate. While sales may be down, the in-store experience (especially in NYC) remains strong — immersive retail, doll salons, restaurant reservations, nostalgia-driven storytelling. They’re even leaning into legacy storytelling with a new adult novel featuring Samantha in her 20s.* Our POV: The opportunity isn’t just nostalgia — it’s media expansion. Historical storytelling, fictionalized learning, and digital-first extensions could be powerful. Barbie succeeded with Gen Z partly because the brand invested in programming, not just plastic. If American Girl wants to scale across generations, media may be the unlock.(Also: American Girl, call us.)* Additional resources:* Modern looks, smaller sizes: American Girl Dolls get a makeover, NY Times* American Girl is releasing its first novel for adults, Northeastern Global News* The rise of employee influencers — and the control vs. magic tradeoff [~17:00]. We’ve been talking about employee-generated content for months, and now it’s mainstream. According to Sprout Social’s 2026 Content Strategy Report, the #1 thing consumers want brands to prioritize in 2026 is human-generated content. We think employee creators are the perfect people to deliver on this. Case in point: Staples Baddie, whose organic TikToks drove relevance and foot traffic for Staples — and quickly outpaced the brand’s own account. But there’s a catch: the more brands try to control it, the more the magic disappears. Once money, contracts, and ownership questions enter the chat, things get complicated.* Our POV: You can’t manufacture authenticity. Employee content works when it’s rooted in genuine enthusiasm — not assignment. Brands have to decide how much control they want, knowing it may come at the cost of cultural momentum.* Additional resources:* How one employee made Staples cool, #ForYou by Melissa Blum* Employee-generated content is the next big thing for brands, Sprout Social* How Starbucks is elevating coffee stories through partner (employee) content creators, StarbucksThanks for listening! 🎧 🤍 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mtdeco.substack.com/subscribe