It really is a science – in more ways than one – for the creators of The Mad Science Group, a science-based kids entertainment company.
From their Montreal basement ‘laboratory’ to corporate offices and franchises all over the world, brothers Ariel and Ron Shlien have used science to spark the imagination of kids three to 12. But they’ve also taken a very deliberate, methodical – scientific – approach to their marketing modus operandi.
It’s not your traditional kid franchise, so it’s partly through a relentless focus on forging high profile, family-oriented alliances, as well as a consistent and innovative product, that the brand has come into its own.
But the entirely grassroots strategy has paid off. Indeed, the self-financed company has been profitable every single year of its 17-year existence, says Ariel Shlien, president and CEO, adding that Montreal-based Mad Science’s growth of late has been in the double and triple digits (the private company does not reveal specific numbers).
What started as a mini neighborhood science show, has now become a multi-million dollar edu-tainment corporation that delivers original science content through a network of 150 franchised offices in 20 countries. In 1995, the company reached just under 85,000 families – this year its after-school, camp, community centre and birthday party shows will be seen by over five million.
In its efforts to target middle- to upper-income families, or more particularly, parents who spend a lot of money on their kids, Mad Science has depended entirely on word-of-mouth, and reaching parents through school and show take-home materials.
‘Marketing to kids is critical for many reasons. Our business, however, is not about marketing to kids. In 100% of the times, parents, or [other] adults of some kind, are paying for it,’ says Shlien. ‘So our entire strategy is built around engaging children and sparking their imagination, and inspiring the parent to want to continue and pay for our services.’
The major growth began when Mad Science turned its focus toward the brand, he says, adding there are three major components to the momentum. Establishing the franchise channel in 1994 was the first fundamental shift.
‘As a business, you can’t just snap your fingers and be in the schools – you’ve got to do it in a careful, well-thought-out manner. We decided having local operators, who were owners, was the smartest way to make sure the quality of the service is monitored by someone who has a vested interest. And the customer can see it is a local grassroots operation that’s all about community and doing something positive with children by sparking their imagination. That was the marketing packaging that we felt was important – we wanted that image to be extended throughout our channel consistently.’
The company now also conducts large venue touring productions through its separately established affiliate, Mad Science Productions – the second component of the overall growth equation. Currently it does large-scale theme park attractions for amusement parks and fairs such as Ontario Place, Canada’s Wonderland, and many U.S. locations, including a permanent installation at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.
‘The third major growth opportunity came from just focusing on the brand – the licensing deals and the sponsorship deals that we have gotten into – where we are associating with third parties for some tremendous synergies,’ says Shlien.
Almost two years ago, Mad Science approached children’s book publisher Scholastic about a potential book deal. The ‘deal’ eventually became Mad Science’s first licensing partnership. Their most recent book campaign has resulted in over one million copies of the Mad Science series of fictional novels being sold through Scholastic book flyers distributed in schools. The series is now being launched in retail outlets throughout North America.
It has also just signed on with Chick-fil-A, a thousand-store quick service restaurant in the Southern U.S., that will include a Mad Science cross-promotion with take-home material and premiums given with the purchase of a meal. Mad Science also recently inked a deal with Lego to integrate one of its more complex products into the Mad Science program. And the company has countless other partnerships under its belt, including an in-school sun safety program with L’Oreal and live, in-store presentations for the grand re-openings of several Toys R Us outlets.
‘These deals are tremendous opportunities for us to build brand and revenues, but also an opportunity to leverage third parties and grow even further in a mutually beneficial relationship. But they must fit our criteria: predominantly brands with a strong family or educational appeal. And we’re being very selective,’ says Shlien.
Mad Science has never employed traditional advertising channels to market itself, he says, citing that his strategy, rather, has been to reach kids where they are most open to be reached, which is where they spend the most time every day: at school, at home, with friends, in camp, in scouts.
‘And that’s where we are. We’ve stayed away from traditional channels because we’re a non-traditional company. We reach those kids in a way that nobody else can. Why would I want to spend a lot of money to reach them when there are 50,000 other people trying to yell at them via the television or radio?’ he says. ‘Our strategy has been extraordinarily effective for us – and we’re lucky because most companies don’t have access to the kind of channel that we’ve created.’
Having said that, mainstream media may eventually have a role to play for Mad Science. The brand is currently in discussions to launch a Mad Science TV show, complete with licensed merchandise and product apparel, CD-Rom and video games. Shlien also says he envisions one day getting into publishing magazines.
‘We are the kind of company that has extraordinary opportunity – it’s all a question of imagination. There are all kinds of new revenue-generating opportunities that leverage our brand and our customer base, which is growing quickly. Five years form now, we’ll probably be an even further diversified business.’
