All the usual clichés of the wider entertainment industry still apply; it’s super competitive, not all fun and games and not always what, but who you know. Still, more specifically, what advice would you give to someone looking to make their big break, creating content for kids?

I’ll start with three things I think are most important, but would love to hear some other professionals share their wisdom and help newcomers like Claudia find their way.

Focus.

Whatever goal or position you want to achieve, be specific and keep trying to get there. Telling people you want to work in the media is too vague. Think of it like this, if Steven Spielberg showed up on your doorstep and asked you to help him make a movie, what would you tell him you want to do?

Now there’s a caveat to this I wish someone had told me when I graduated. Unless you’re best friends with someone like Mr. Spielberg, you’re not going to simply graduate and become a Producer or Director overnight. College is merely the first step on that path, so figure out the route you need to take to get where you want to go.

Join In.

Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Blogs – the opportunity to discover what kids media conversations are occurring right now is immense. Learn from others, but don’t be shy; contribute your own thoughts and ideas too! Don’t be afraid to share your work either, it’s what will get you noticed.

Do Do Do.

I don’t have any solid evidence to back this statement up, but I bet Picasso’s first painting wasn’t as good as his last. Whatever creative skill you want to develop, design, animation, photography, writing, or whatever; you have to keep doing it all the time. It’s the only way you’ll get better. Again, tell the world about your work, get noticed.

So there you go! I would love some other professionals to chime in with their tips, and likewise if you’re looking for advice, be sure to get in touch.

Actually, I helped a bit, so blame any mistakes on me.

Beginning with the earliest kids brand we could think of, we feverishly made a list of other important ones and then set about researching the year they were released. It was a lot of fun, but also incredibly interesting to put some perspective on a lot of household names. Did you know Mickey Mouse is a year older than Popeye… who’s the same age as Tintin? Cool!

From a commercial point of view, it’s useful to note how many classic brands were created in the 50’s and how the market virtually exploded in the late 70’s, with brands that are stronger today than ever before.

However, the timeline isn’t finished yet. Eric and I need your help.

We still have lots of space to add other significant children’s brand names, so we’d love you to send your ideas to us to be featured on the timeline. Anything from television or radio shows, to toys and breakfast cereals are welcome, so get sending.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy scrolling through memory lane. Who knows what we’ll be adding in the years to come!

I’ve just finished tightening up the range of Subject Tabs that I use, both to make this place easier to navigate, but more importantly to better focus on the kinds of things I want to use Imaginary Eric for. Over the past few days I’ve been chewing over the question, who am I aiming this site at? Is it people in the kids media industry? What about parents? Maybe just anyone with a casual interest in how children consume media? All of the above? I haven’t found the answer yet, but it’s early days.

Another piece of the wider puzzle I’ve started working on is my Twitter account. This is special for two reasons. Firstly, I intend to use it to fire up a combination of daily creative observation and random thoughts that don’t warrant a full-blown blog post. Secondly, I’m designing a hopefully-cool background image, which contains a range of characters and concepts from brands I’ve pitched in the past or currently have in development. This will be my first piece of personal design since launching Imaginary Eric and is intended as an experiment to determine if the look and feel I’m thinking of would work well as a background style here too.

So what’s this website all about? Well, it’s naive of me to start a project as organic as this by reeling off a list of what Imaginary Eric will become, but my biggest aspiration is for this site to become a useful resource of news and commentary, regarding the latest goings-on in the children’s media industry – I love working in it, I love talking about it, but most of all I love to see the magic of children experiencing something that captivates their imagination. My goal is to contribute as much as I can to make this happen.

Yes it’s a broad aim. Yes it’s a challenge. Yes I’m ready to get started – let’s go!