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When we talk about creating an animated film for a large business or brand, many clients see the ultimate goal in the video or series itself. But the true value of a quality animation project unfolds in a completely different dimension. We are talking about the transformation of a single piece of content into a full-fledged business ecosystem, where every element works toward a common result and generates profit for years. It's like building not just a house, but an entire residential neighborhood with its own infrastructure. In the world of animation, this approach is called the 360° model, and it is precisely what turns one-time investments into long-term assets.
In this article, we will break down how this model works using examples of industry leaders, what income streams it opens up, and why large companies are increasingly ordering animation specifically as the foundation for a future universe, rather than as a one-off advertising tool.
Previously, an animation studio would receive an order, create a video or series, deliver it to the client — and that was where its mission ended. The client, in turn, would broadcast the finished content — and that was it. The cycle was complete. But the modern market dictates different rules. Content is increasing, audience attention is fragmenting, and competition for children's and family time is growing every year. In these conditions, simply broadcasting a cartoon no longer guarantees either brand memorability or return on investment.
Major market players realized long ago: for a project to truly pay off and serve business objectives, it must be viewed as a platform. A platform around which additional products, services, and touchpoints with the audience can be built. This is precisely how brand universes emerge, where the animated film is merely the core, and around it revolve toys, clothing, stationery, books, mobile applications, educational programs, and even theme parks.
The 360° model in animation is a strategy in which content is used across the maximum number of platforms and in different formats, creating a synergistic effect. The idea is that each new distribution channel or product under the brand reinforces interest in the core content and attracts new audiences.
Someone first learns about an animated series by seeing a plush toy in a store. Someone downloads an educational game with familiar characters and then starts watching the cartoon itself. Children ask their parents to buy a coloring book after watching an episode, and on a children's food package they see a familiar hero — and the manufacturing brand gains the loyalty of a young consumer.
In essence, each new monetization direction becomes an additional touchpoint with the audience. The more such touchpoints, the stronger the emotional connection between the viewer and the animation brand. And a strong brand is the most valuable asset that can generate income for decades.
Most clients who come to an animation studio envision only one monetization scenario: they showed the cartoon — they received money for the screening or sale of rights. But in reality, the revenue structure of a successful animation project is much more complex and interesting. There can be multiple sources of profit, and their combination provides a sustainable financial result that cannot be achieved from content alone.
This is perhaps the most powerful and long-term source of income in the 360° model. Licensing is the transfer of rights to use character images or elements of an animation brand in other companies' products. Manufacturers of toys, clothing, stationery, and food products pay royalties to the rights holder for the opportunity to produce goods with popular characters.
According to the Animation Film Association, licensing historically brought projects up to 80% of profits, and in recent years this share has decreased to 50%, which still remains a colossal figure. Major deals in this area regularly make headlines. For example, in 2024, MTS acquired exclusive rights to use the characters of The Fixies as mascots for its children's digital services. This strategy is called the 360° strategy within the holding, where the same content is utilized across different ecosystem platforms. For MTS, this is a way to speak to a children's audience in its language, making its products more understandable and attractive. And for the rights holder, the Riki Group, it is a source of stable income and another channel for brand distribution.
Interestingly, the licensing market in Russia is actively growing precisely after the departure of major Hollywood studios. Domestic animation brands have filled the vacated niche, and today competition in the licensing market is no longer between foreign and Russian studios, but among local projects. This opens up great opportunities for new animation brands if they have the potential to become recognizable and beloved.
This revenue source remains basic and stable. TV channels and online cinemas buy rights to broadcast animated series and feature films. While television used to dominate, the structure is now changing with the development of digital platforms. As experts noted at the Russian Creative Week, the share of online platforms in total children's content viewing is increasing, and global VOD services allow a local project to become popular worldwide.
On average, 51% of series revenue comes from TV and digital platforms. At the same time, according to market participants, a series project requires about 78 episodes to break even, with a payback period of about five years. This suggests that creating a series is a long-term investment, but with the right strategy, it generates stable income for many years.
The popular series Um and Khrum is a striking example of how competent media distribution works to grow a brand. The cartoon was broadcast on the Karousel channel and major online cinemas. Its media rights were sold to China, and over the course of a year, interest in the series grew 10 times — according to Yandex.Wordstat, the number of monthly searches exceeded 200,000. In early 2025, the cartoon entered the top-10 of the Karousel channel.
This direction often goes hand in hand with licensing, but here we are specifically talking about the production of physical goods with brand imagery. Toys, books, stationery, clothing — all of this becomes an additional source of income and, at the same time, a promotional tool.
Using the same Um and Khrum as an example, we can see how this mechanism works. The studio Klaxon Production entered into a partnership with the company Konfitrade, which released a line of children's desserts featuring the series' characters: chocolate eggs with figurines, candies, and dragees. At the same time, the company Lev released books and coloring books, while Exclusive and Igamir produced plush toys. Importantly, all these products do not merely bear images of the characters — they organically complement the project's universe, deepening children's engagement with the world of the characters.
Another telling example from Soyuzmultfilm's practice is the brand Prostokvashino. Dairy products featuring these characters have been sold for decades, and children still ask their parents to buy "that very" yogurt or kefir. This is a classic example of a successful partnership between an animation brand and a manufacturer, where each strengthens the other.
Modern children don't just want to watch cartoons — they want to interact with the characters. Mobile games and educational applications are another way to expand the project's universe and generate additional income. For Um and Khrum, the publisher 1C Publishing developed an educational game for children aged 2 to 7, where characters help learn the alphabet, numbers, and develop logic and motor skills. The characters' appearance, their lines, and musical accompaniment took about six months to create — and this paid off with high audience interest.
Major studios actively use this channel. For example, Soyuzmultfilm creates virtual worlds based on its projects in the Roblox metaverse. There are spaces for Prostokvashino, Nu, pogodi!, and The Adventures of Petya and the Wolf — vibrant, constantly updated digital platforms for interacting with audiences, which also allow promoting partners' goods and services.
Russian animation brands account for 76% of audiovisual exports, and this figure continues to grow. Cooperation with China, Indonesia, and other countries is expanding. Selling broadcast rights abroad, concluding licensing agreements with foreign manufacturers — all of this turns a local project into a global asset.
As experts note, animation overcomes cultural barriers more easily compared to live-action films, so it has great potential for international expansion. Projects for preschoolers and animated sitcoms are proving particularly successful in this regard. At the same time, interest in animation for adult audiences is growing four times faster than in anime, and demand for such content exceeds supply by three times. This means that creating animated films for adult audiences is another promising direction that remains undervalued.
By 2030, the volume of the Russian animation market could reach 38.8 billion rubles. To capture a niche in this market, it is necessary today to build into the project not only a creative but also a business component.
To make it clearer what a difference the 360° strategy makes, here is a simple comparison in a table.
From this table, it is clear that the 360° model is not about more work or complexity. It is about a systematic approach that pays off many times over and creates a sustainable business around a single animation brand.
One of the key mistakes clients make is thinking about expanding the universe only after production is complete. "Let's make the cartoon first, and then we'll see what else we can come up with" — this approach kills a huge number of opportunities. The potential for scaling must be built in at the earliest stages, even in the script and visual development.
Here are several principles that will help create an animation project ready to transform into a business universe:
Characters must be "playable." If children don't want to act out scenes with the characters, invent their own stories, and carry them around, toys will sell poorly. The "playability" of characters is a factor that directly affects licensing potential. It needs to be evaluated and built in at the concept stage.
The world must be expandable. A universe is not just characters. It is locations, rules, and conflicts that can be developed in different directions. If the world is closed and limited, the opportunities for ancillary products shrink.
"Entry points" must be planned. An animation brand should be present on as many platforms as possible: TV, streaming, YouTube, social networks, mobile applications. The more formats covered, the higher the chance that the audience will encounter the characters and become interested in them. One child may become captivated by the story through a series, another through a game, and a third by seeing a character on the packaging of their favorite yogurt.
Brand support must not cease. Even after the cartoon is created, interest in it needs to be maintained. This can be through regular content, new episodes, the emergence of related products, and participation in events. Without constant support, even the strongest brand risks losing relevance.
For a client who wants not just a cartoon but a foundation for a business universe, choosing an animation studio becomes critically important. This is no longer about "drawing beautifully" but about strategic partnership.
A studio that understands the 360° model will offer solutions not only for production but also for the brand's future development: how to adapt characters for licensing, what content formats to create for different platforms, and how to build a visual style that looks equally good on screen and on a children's food package. This is more complex and extensive work, but it is precisely what creates true value for the business.
Major animation holdings have long established this practice. For example, the Riki Group provides a unified 360° service package, which includes a production center, an animation studio, and a company handling legal matters and licensing. The animation company YARKO also operates on the 360° model, with its own creative development departments, animation studio, design studio, licensing agency, and marketing department for brand support.
For a business that orders animation, this means that it can work with a single studio throughout the entire cycle — from concept to bringing licensed products to market. This simplifies project management, reduces risks, and allows for maintaining unified quality control at all stages.
Large companies that are considering ordering animation are increasingly asking not just creative questions: "What will the style be?", "Who will do the voice acting?" They are asking business questions: "How will this generate profit?", "How long will the project work?", "What additional income can we get?"
An animation project that has the 360° model built into it from the start provides answers to these questions. It becomes not a cost item, but an investment in a long-term asset. This changes the very approach to budgets: the client sees not the production cost, but the potential profitability of the universe that can be built around the content.
And this is the key difference between an ordinary animation order and the creation of a strategic brand. The former is a one-time service. The latter is a partnership that generates profit for years.