What is a Multiplatform Project?

"You cannot launch an animated show online.  Why would audiences search for a show on the internet when they have so much choice on television?"

This was the advice given to me when I first explored the idea of applying my script writing and animation skills to the internet.  For 7 years I managed my own animation studio which had produced a number of short films for television.  Securing work usually involved waiting for a production fund to become available or hoping for a TV network to commission your idea.  As digital technology developed, I soon became intrigued by the possibilities that new media offered creative film makers.  Could the internet free animators from the competitive process of securing commissions from funding schemes and TV networks?
The above advice is true in the sense that a TV show launched online will gain a very small following, for example, few parents will search for a pre-school cartoon show online when they already have so much choice on TV.  But what if that animated show was integrated with an online service and existed within a website that offered more than just a show to sit and watch.  Could an animated show exist as a small part of a larger multiplatform experience that was completely detached from any TV network.
Previously, an author had presented me with her book and asked me to develop her idea into a TV show which was pitched to the BBC and soon rejected and shelved.  I revisited the project, and rather than designing a show to be pitched to a TV network I decided to redesign the idea as a multiplatform project.  This animated show was redesigned to be watched online by 4-7 year olds during school time: 

Via the website, teachers would show an episode of the show to their class and then download an arts and crafts lesson plan related to the viewed episode.  Inspired by the show, the students would make their project and then the teachers would photograph the finished work and upload it to their profile page on the website, creating an online gallery of student work and an information sharing system for teachers.

I felt that I had successfully refuted the negative advice given to me and I had proven that an animated show can be launched online if carefully build into a larger system where it played a small role along side other associated platforms. 
 In the coming weeks I will update you on the progress of my new production company and the projects it will develop.