Low-Risk Character IP Validation Ladder
Use small content experiments to discover an IP before funding its biggest format.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 95%
Start with the smallest format capable of testing the property's appeal instead of betting immediately on a television series, movie, or game. Publish varied short-form concepts and observe what audiences share, watch, and revisit. Use those signals to identify the emotional tone, humor, characters, and situations worth developing further. Increase investment gradually: static posts can lead to short animations, recurring characters, physical lore, voiced stories, and eventually longer media. At every stage, resolve ownership constraints that could create leverage or continuity problems later. This produces a validated creative direction, an identifiable audience, and evidence for larger distribution partners while preserving the freedom to adjust before expensive decisions become irreversible.
Origin
Extracted from The Jasmine Star Show, where Peter Lobanov explained how Pudgy Penguins used social posts and short animations to learn what resonated before committing to television, film, voices, or extensive lore.
Core principles
- 01Test audience response before funding a movie, series, or game.
- 02Use each format to answer the next unresolved strategic question.
- 03Let behavioral data reveal resonant themes and characters.
- 04Build emotional connection after proving visual appeal.
- 05Preserve future flexibility by avoiding premature creative commitments.
How to run it
- 1
Define the unresolved questions
List what the brand does not yet know about its audience, emotional promise, characters, tone, and story.
Pro tip Frame each experiment around one question, such as whether affirmation, humor, or adventure drives sharing.
Watch out Do not treat visual popularity as proof that a full narrative already exists.
- 2
Select a fast testing format
Choose an inexpensive channel that permits frequent publication and measurable audience response. Pudgy Penguins began with social posts rather than a movie or television production.
Pro tip Use the platform where the intended initial audience already spends time.
Watch out A platform can skew the age and interests represented in the results.
- 3
Test multiple creative themes
Publish deliberately varied concepts, such as real-world mascot clips, positive affirmations, relationship humor, and animated internet memes.
Pro tip Keep production simple enough that imperfect results do not slow the cadence.
Watch out Do not overinvest in aesthetics before learning whether the concept resonates.
- 4
Read behavioral evidence
Compare views, shares, follower growth, comments, and repeat performance across concepts. Identify patterns rather than relying on one isolated viral hit.
Pro tip Shares are especially useful when the strategy depends on relatability or emotional connection.
Watch out Virality without brand recognition or repeatability may be a dead end.
- 5
Increase creative investment
Turn repeatable winners into richer formats, moving from static content to animation, recurring characters, and deeper scenarios.
Pro tip Reuse familiar internet behaviors in the property's distinctive visual language.
Watch out Do not scale formats that perform only when detached from the brand.
- 6
Protect continuity and ownership
Before committing to hero characters, confirm that the company can use them consistently over the required time horizon. Create owned alternatives where expiring licenses would give another party excessive leverage.
Pro tip Think several contract cycles ahead when a character could become central to the franchise.
Watch out A short license can become prohibitively expensive after a character becomes successful.
- 7
Add story in reversible increments
Introduce lore through formats such as comics or short videos before locking in voices, canon, or a major production. Let each increment generate evidence for the next.
Pro tip Use physical or text-based storytelling to test characterization before selecting permanent voices.
Watch out Premature choices can pigeonhole the property into an audience or genre that is difficult to escape.
In the wild
Pudgy Penguins first tested rough real-world mascot content and positive affirmation posts. Shareable affirmations grew the account, after which the team invested in silent animated memes that relied on movement and relatability. A Netflix-binging animation reached 10 million views in a day, validating the short-form direction before the company committed to larger storytelling formats.
→ The brand generated major social reach and acquired evidence about tone, audience, and repeatable content formats.
Rather than immediately producing a voiced children's show, the team planned to introduce official Pudgy Penguins lore through a comic. This offered a smaller, more reversible way to establish setting and characters while continuing to test short animation and audience response.
→ The company could deepen emotional connection without making an early, expensive commitment to a single voice or long-form format.
Common mistakes
Betting everything on one production
A movie, series, or game consumes substantial time and capital while generating only one large test with an uncertain hit rate.
Polishing before learning
Overproducing early experiments slows iteration and makes teams emotionally attached to concepts the audience has not validated.
Creating a licensing hostage
Building the franchise around a temporarily licensed character gives its owner enormous leverage when renewal arrives.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for character brands, toy companies, creators, and emerging intellectual property with visual recognition but limited story or audience data.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the property already has a fixed canon, contracted format, or established audience expectations that prohibit experimentation.
From the transcript
“But I think putting all your eggs in that basket one, it's a lot of time, a lot of resources to produce something like this.…”
“And so we ended up spinning up a pudgy Penguins Instagram account and just focusing on short form viral content.”
“And so we were trying a bunch of different things.”
From the episode
The Business of Creativity: Finding Ways To Help Your Community Win with Peter Lobanov
Peter Lobanov