LO2: SWOT Analysis★

 SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The first strength about my product is that it is a good fit for the target audience. The product is supposed to be happy and lighthearted cartoon that people can use to relax and unwind. My target audience will mostly be students, so this means that they will likely have a lot of stressful days and will be able to unwind using the product. 

On top of this, there is already a market for cartoons that are child-friendly but not necessarily aimed at just children, with animations like Adventure Time and Regular Show becoming mainstream. Better yet, this market is not particularly saturated at this time, so my product already has a market shaped by other animations, which will help me to gain an audience.

On top of this, there is also a gap in the market for Northern based cartoons. Shows such as Ackley Bridge have been well received by a Northern audience, but the only popular cartoon that is Northern based is Wallace and Gromit. Therefore, I have identified this gap in the market and decided to fill it.

The product is also relatable, which is a unique selling point. People like to consume relatable content, and people who have pets are definitely going to relate. This makes light out of an annoying situation and appeals to people who have pets who misbehave.

I also plan to distribute the product via YouTube and TikTok, which are sites that teenagers frequent. This means that the product is distributed in a way that is familiar to, and popular amongst 

Lastly, my product also follows Todorov's narrative structure, which is conventional for products with a narrative. This structure will be familiar for audiences, and also is resolved in the end, making it a good comfort show.

Weaknesses

The first weakness that I can think of is the fact that the audience is narrowed when we look at the amount of people who don't like cats, which is unfortunate because they probably won't find the evil cat character very amusing.

The distribution of the product online would also mean that the success of the animation would heavily rely on algorithms, which are hard to learn and adapt to, and even then, there is no success guaranteed.

As the target audience will likely be students, there is also the chance that things could go the other way in the sense that they are simply just too busy to watch the show. This has lead me to consider the possibility of aiming the product at a younger audience.

Opportunity

The product has the potential to be played in a school setting if I do change it to be targeted at a younger audience, such as wet playtime.

The product also has the opportunity to be made in to merchandise such as stuffed animals of the cat. This would also appeal to a younger audience and possibly even the older one too.

There is also the opportunity to make it in to a series, which would mean more viewers, engagement, and therefore, more profit too.

If aimed at a younger audience, we could also host competitions in local schools, for prizes such as being a guest character in the series, free merchandise or even a donation to the school. This gets the community involved and builds up a loyal audience, as well as a good reputation for the series.

We could also have the screening of the first episode in a local cinema. This would promote the animation to a local audience who would want to come and make a day out of it. It would also be advertised by the cinema, which would mean that we would not have to pay for it.

Threats

As there is already a market for cartoons that are enjoyed by adults, the closest one to my product probably being Bluey, which is a very popular product to compete with, meaning that my animation may not grow to that size.

The algorithms on YouTube or TikTok may not promote the animation as I would like, running the risk of it not being seen by the target audience.

Small clips of longer products are frequently re-uploaded to TikTok by pages ran by bots, which know the algorithms well. If the product was to be stolen and re uploaded to one of these accounts, it would likely have a larger reach than the original content, meaning that they profit from it more than we do.