Produced by Epitome Pictures, this Canadian multi-generational drama has an audience that spans 30+ years. Case study created by Siobhan O'Flynn As technology has evolved, so have the show’s strategies for reaching out to fans & for creating an immersive online experience.

1. Degrassi
Canadian Transmedia Storyworld:
launched 1979 - ongoing
GO

2. DEGRASSI: FRANCHISE
degrassi
The Next Generation
!
The Kids of
degrassi
degrassi
High
degrassi
Junior High
1
2
3
4
1979-1986
1987-1989
1989-1991
2001-….

3. Why??
Social social social…
long before ‘social.’

4. !
This Canadian
multi-generational
drama has an
audience that spans
30+ years.
!
As technology has
evolved, so have the
show’s strategies for
reaching out to fans
& for creating an
immersive online
experience.
!
!
Multiplatform
Transmedia
Convergent….

5. DEGRASSI: SERIES 1
!
The Kids of
degrassi
Created by Linda Schuyler
!
Aired originally on CBC
!
The series followed the lives of a group of Elementary School children
living on Degrassi Street in Toronto and ended when the kids had
finished Grade 6
!
It began as a short film adapted from a children’s book, Ida Makes a
Movie (1979), though the children’s book had anthropomorphic cat
characters.
1
1979-1986

6. !
The Kids of
degrassi
1
1979-1986
SOCIAL BEFORE ‘SOCIAL’

7. DEGRASSI: SERIES 1
!
The Kids of
degrassi
!
4 short movies were made in total, airing as after-school specials
Cookie Goes to the Hospital, (1980) Irene Moves In (1981) and Noel
Buys a Suit (1982)
!
3 TV episodes aired 1983
!
5 TV episodes aired 1984
!
“The Kids of Degrassi Street featured many of the same actors who
would later appear on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High,
including Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin), Neil Hope (Wheels), Anais
Granofsky (Lucy), and others. However, their character names and
families were all different.”
1
1979-1986

8. DEGRASSI: SERIES 2
Producers Linda Schuyler & Kit Hood, Playing With Time, Inc - now
Epitome
degrassi
!
Junior High
!
Beloved, groud-breaking Canadian CBC TV Teen Drama
The series followed the lives of a group at fictional Degrassi High
School in 3 Seasons & 42 Episodes
!
!
2
!
!
Degrassi Junior High won an International Emmy in 1987 in the
Children and Young People category for the episode "It's Late” dealing
with teen pregnancy. The baby, Emma, would become a lead in
Degrassi: The Next Generation
The BBC aired Season 1 of DJH. CBBC aired 9of the 13 episodes.
!
UK Gold played Degrassi JH daily from its launch in Nov. 1992
!
1987-1989
Degrassi JH was broadcast on PBS in the US, in Australia on ABC TV
and in France as "Les années collège,”

9. grassi
NARRATIVE
DEGRASSI: series 2
degrassi: SERIES 2
EXTENSIONS
degrassi
Junior High
1987-1989
Books go deeper into the story lines
of specific characters, using content
from the episodes &
adding original content.
A number of Titles now in reissues

10. DEGRASSI: SERIES 3
degrassi
High
3
1987-1989
!
Degrassi High ran for 2 seasons with 28 episodes
!
The series, Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High,
and Degrassi High have won two international Emmys, 9
Gemini Awards, two Prix Jeunesse and countless other
honours from festivals around the world.
!
“Degrassi's School's Out! 1992 Breaks 2 Million
School's Out!, the bittersweet finale to the three award
winning Degrassi television series, captured an audience
of 2.325 million Canadian viewers. The number is almost
double the average audience that the Degrassi High
series enjoyed during it's run on the CBC.”
!
http://degrassi200552565.tripod.com/id113.html

11. DEGRASSI:
DEGRASSI: series 2
degrassi: SERIES 2
DOCUMENTARY SERIES
degrassi
TALKS
doc
1992
!
Aired on CBC February to March 1992
!
A sequel to the popular Degrassi series of television shows,
Degrassi Talks was a six-episode documentary series
featuring popular Degrassi actors discussing health and
social issues with teenaged audiences. Each episode was
hosted by one Degrassi actor, although Stefan Brogan
(Snake) & other actors participated in the series as well.
!
!
!
Episode list
!
Sex – hosted by Amanda Stepto
Alcohol – hosted by Neil Hope
Abuse – hosted by Rebecca Haines
Drugs – hosted by Siluck Saysanasay
Sexuality – hosted by Stacie Mistysyn
Depression – hosted by Pat Mastroianni
!

12. DEGRASSI: series 2
degrassi: SERIES 4
2
degrassi
The Next Generation
4
2001…
!
Premiered on CTV October 14, 2001
!
The series has won numerous awards, from the Geminis,
Writers Guild of Canada and Directors Guild of Canada,
and internationally from the Teen Choice Awards, Young
Artist Awards, and Prix Jeunesse. Filmmakers/actors Kevin
Smith and Jason Mewes are super fans of the show, and
have guest starred in seven episodes.
!
Highest rated digital cable show in 2006, on The N
!
In Season 9, 2010, the series moved to CTV's youthoriented sister channel, MuchMusic. The production style
shifted to become a telenovela, a daily soap opera. The
first half of season 12 aired 20 episodes in its first five
weeks, and premiered on July 16, 2012. 307 episodes have
aired as of January 4, 2013,
!
Since 2001, Degrassi TNG has sold in over 150 countries.
That beats Dallas - seen in almost 100 countries
!
http://degrassi.wikia.com/wiki/Degrassi:_The_Next_Generation

13. degrassi
The Next
Generation
Was your project conceived from the
beginning as a multi-platform/transmedia
project?
‘The original working title in 2000 was “Ready, Willing and
Wired,” which was about teenagers trying to deal ‘growing
up’ & the challenges of the wired world. Though the series
ended up shifting to become Degrassi the Next
Generation, the importance of technology was always
part of the storytelling & community engagement in some
way!
Degrassi TNG changed to become “Degrassi.” Over the
past 12-13 years of this current series, we’ve created
multiple different multi-platform experiences- from
Degrassi.tv, to Degrassi Mobile Game, to Degrassi’s
character roleplaying accounts, & Degrassi’s social media
presence on Twitter, Tumblr, FB, and Google+.
The Digital Development process was not really
formalized until 2009-2010 (Season 9 & 10) of the series,
when the Canadian Television Fund made changes to
become the Canadian Media Fund - when formalized
digital elements were a requirement for production.’
!
Abby Ho, Director, Digital & Social Media
Epitome Pictures, 2009-2013

14. degrassi
The Next
Generation
MULTIPLATFORM STRATEGY
‘There is definitely a story that is told across platforms.
We try to split our community to two broad groups:
fictional, and behind the scenes. For the fictional
elements, we like to continue the story seen in broadcast
to Twitter, where each of the 25 principal characters has
their own account and are able to talk about their lives as
if the Degrassi world was real! We have also done direct
mentions and connected the storylines from broadcast to
utilize these online accounts as seen in the Season 12
“Stuff Clare Says” storyline and many other direct
references to the extended Degrassi stories.
!
Abby Ho

15. degrassi
MULTIPLATFORM STRATEGY
!
!
‘Each season we begin with a proposal for the digital
initiatives and a timeline that follows closely with the
broadcast. Almost all projects run into little hiccups,
delays, or changes, but the beauty of creating content and
distributing it online allows for instant feedback. We can
make adjustments in real time, or ask for feedback on how
to improve. We watch for fan reaction as an indicator to
how we should be allocating our resources as well! If
something isn’t gaining the momentum we thought, we
adjust!’
Abby Ho

16. degrassi
MULTIPLATFORM STRATEGY
Over 9 points of entry:
- MTV.ca/Degrassi
- TeenNick.com/Degrassi
- Degrassi Mobile Game ios
- Degrassi Chat ios
- Twitter.com (@Degrassi)
- Facebook (Degrassi Epitome)
- Tumblr (Degrassi.tumblr)
- Google+ (google.com/+Degrassi)
- Youtube (youtube.com/Degrassi)
!
For our social media accounts, we maintained content
daily and for our broadcaster sites, they are maintained
by our broadcasters. Our mobile initiatives are created in
tandem with our broadcast seasons.
!
Abby Ho

17. degrassi
GOOGLE+

18. degrassi
SOCIAL SURPRISES
Q. Have you found more success on a given social media
platform than any other?
!
A. We have been very surprised with the success we’ve
had in the very short time on Google+! In a little under 2
months, we were already at 170K +1’s, now over 310,000
+1s.
!
Our cast and producers really enjoy using Twitter.
Whether or not it’s been a ‘successful’ investment, that’s
difficult to measure, but they love tweeting to their fans
and getting instant feedback…it’s very gratifying for them.
!
Abby Ho

19. degrassi
TWITTER ACCOUNTS

20. degrassi
What kind of prompts or calls to action did you
design to draw your audience across platforms?
We try to cross promote as much
as we can. We link to link up
character tweets to our tumblr
page, where we post ‘art work’
that refers to something that
might be ‘real’ in the Degrassi
world. For example our character
Mo, was holding band auditions
and posted a photo and
mentioned he had ‘tweeted it’ in
the episode. Therefore, we had
his character post the tweet and
link to the image on our tumblr
page! Therefore, it goes full circle.
We do this in various different
ways across platforms.!
Abby Ho

21. degrassi
AUDIENCE
Q. How did you determine who your audience was? Did
your audience change?
A. Our audience has continued to evolve. Our show is very
unique, as we have been on air for over 12 years (in its
current form) and over 30 years from Kids of Degrassi
Street/ Degrassi Junior High etc. So we have audiences
that range from 14- 40+.
!
Q. How did you reach out to your audience?
A. We started at a very grassroots level. We reached out
to bloggers, and the top Degrassi community curatorsfrom fanfiction sites to fan forums to Degrassi bloggers
and contributors. Then we started connecting one on one
with them from a marketing/ communications level! We
also reach out to our fans through our broadcasters.
Abby Ho

22. degrassi
DEGRASSI SUPER FAN
Fan Blog & News Hub
Twitter Account
4,000+ followers
YouTube Channel
The Degrassi Extra
!
!
!
!

23. degrassi
The Next
Generation
DEGRASSI SUPER FAN
Kevin Smith, American director, guest starred in three episode
arc with Jason Mewes in Season 4, 2005. Released as DVD as
Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi the Next Generation
!
Both appeared in two more episodes the following season,
when they returned to Degrassi for the Toronto premiere of a
fictional movie, Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!.
!
!
!
!

24. degrassi
FAN ENGAGEMENT
Currently, Degrassi has over 1.6 million fans across our
network. But we also have 3.2 million likes that have been
accumulated by TeenNick’s Degrassi fan page!
!
Over 3,500,000 likes on the Facebook page
!
The Youtube Channel has over 2000 subscribers &
440,000 views
!
The Degrassi fanfiction archive has over 16122 stories. the
fan fiction community on Wattpad is also thriving.
!
Abby Ho

25. degrassi
FAN YOUTUBE CHANNELS
Fan run Youtube Channel ACESonline3
4,917 subscribers
5,947,799 views
!
!
!
!
!
Joined Sep 19, 2009

26. degrassi
DEGRASSI WIKI
Q. How big is your team? Are you working in partnership
with others as collaborators? or are you working with a
‘hired’ top-down model?
A. Our digital media team internally is 2 people- myself
and a co-ordinator. However, we work closely with a
marketing team which gives us a grand total of 4 people
that are available to help out when needed. We also have
threevendors that we are working with right nowBitHeads, Badgeville and Mobovivo.
!
Q. What tips would you offer on how to communicate your
vision to different partners or
team members?
A. Always use visuals. Illustrate ideas. Infographics or flow
charts that explain the vision are very helpful.

27. degrassi
SEASON 9-12: SOCIAL STRATEGY
“Over the past few years, we have found interesting ways to integrate social
into the overall storytelling in the series. Degrassi is a unique series in that there
are over 20 different principal characters and not all characters are seen in
every episode. So, in Season 9, we created official character role-playing
accounts, which would keep the storytelling alive between broadcast and
between character arcs. We like to think of it as the producer and writer’s take
on the very popular fan fiction community that had arisen from our series. We
have also found new ways to integrate the fictional character accounts into the
broadcast itself. In our summer Season 12 episodes, we featured a storyline
around a trending topic and the character account @TrueClare and as the
season goes on, we’ll find that the social communities on Twitter, Tumblr,
Facebook (or as we call it, FaceRange) on the series, will play a large part in the
story.”
!
Stephen Stohn, Executive Producer of Degrassi & President of Epitome Pictures
Inc
Source: http://lostremote.com/an-inside-look-at-epitome-pictures-social-tv-strategy-for-degrassi_b34453

28. degrassi
SEASON 11: MOBILE GAME IOS
‘The Degrassi Mobile game was a 6 episode
“choose your own conversation” adventure
game, where you can interact with the
characters and trigger different endings. Based
on gender, orientation, and the way you chose
to interact with individual characters, would
determine your ending! This type of nuance is
something that we were able to do that stayed
true to our brand, our fans, and was an
authentic social TV experience.’
Stephen Stohn, Executive Producer of Degrassi
& President of Epitome Pictures Inc.
Source: http://lostremote.com/an-inside-look-at-epitomepictures-social-tv-strategy-for-degrassi_b34453
!
!
!

29. degrassi
SEASON 11: MOBILE GAME IOS

30. degrassi
SEASON 12: SOCIAL STRATEGY
“It is not really about ‘outdoing’ or competing against
shows with similar demographics…it’s about finding a
social TV component and experience that suits the brand,
the storytelling, and the fan base. Ultimately, a social TV
extension needs to be authentic to the core values of the
series. Degrassi is about inclusivity, community, and the
high school experience. We find ways to keep that at the
center of all our efforts, from the very beginning when we
created Degrassi.tv in 2000- an interactive web
community where fans could interact with characters,
have their own virtual locker and chat on forums about
topic issues that they were face.”
!
!
Stephen Stohn, Executive Producer of Degrassi &
President of Epitome Pictures Inc.
Source: http://lostremote.com/an-inside-look-at-epitome-pictures-social-tvstrategy-for-degrassi_b34453

31. degrassi
DEGRASSI TUMBLR

32. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
DEGRASSI TV
Social TV Strategy
!
!
Degrassi.tv is an interactive web community where fans can
interact with characters, have their own virtual locker & chat
on forums about topic issues that they were face.
!
“The Degrassi Social TV Strategy for season 12 is to develop a
digital dashboard that rewards interactions with Degrassi
properties – broadcast, online streaming, Twitter, Tumblr,
Facebook, Google+, the Degrassi Web site on MuchMusic (our
broadcaster in Canada) & our Degrassi mobile game in realtime. The connectivity between all the digital offerings will
enhance the value of fan engagement and the brand. The
dashboard will track points gained through engaging with the
broadcast (i.e. live tweeting the show), and online properties
(i.e. reblogging photos from the official Degrassi.tumblr.com
account, sharing Degrassi blogs from MuchMusic.com).
!
The Degrassi dashboard will be hosted on Muchmusic.com/
Degrassi and the Degrassi Chat App. The dashboard will act as
a hub to connect all existing Degrassi properties, while
providing rewards and points for engagement.
!
Stephen Stohn, Executive Producer of Degrassi &
President of Epitome Pictures Inc.

33. degrassi
SEASON 12: SOCIAL STRATEGY

34. degrassi
SOCIAL STRATEGY: COMMUNITY
Degrassi Mobile game in season 11 had monthly
downloadable episodes in app!
!
Abby Ho, Digital & Emerging Media Strategist

35. SOCIAL: SEASON 12B 2012

36. degrassi
DEGRASSI MOBILE CHAT
Degrassi Chat was launched August 2012 “to
facilitate a true co-viewing experience.”
!
Epitome Pictures CEO and show exec
producer, Stephen Stohn, describes the app
“with Degrassi Chat, fans can create highquality autographed photos of the cast, even
while watching the show.”
!
Abby Ho, “users receive points within the app
for checking-in, sharing, and are able to view
their MuchCloser Dashboard when they
rotate their screen’s landscape….We wanted
to make the Chat App the remote for all
Degrassi online and a large part of that, was
connecting it to the loyalty program.”

37. degrassi
DEGRASSI MOBILE CHAT
!
“We see it as a very valuable application
that drives interaction around the ‘live’
broadcast, and engagement around the
show between episodes. This engagement is
very valuable to our broadcasters and our
loyal fans. We see our fan engagement as a
way for us to continue the conversation and
keep the themes around the show alive
between broadcast.”
!
“It is community that makes the Degrassi
brand resonate, and we continue to build
engagement on new platforms. It is this
continued conversation and authentic
transparency we have with all our online
properties that gives our audience various
touch points to our brand.” Abby Ho.
!
!
Source: http://playbackonline.ca/2012/12/14/how-degrassis-new-chat-app-helps-build-shows-brand-online/#ixzz2pRjbUGrV

38. degrassi
DEGRASSI MOBILE CHAT
Source: http://playbackonline.ca/2012/12/14/how-degrassis-new-chat-app-helps-build-shows-brand-online/#ixzz2pRjbUGrV

39. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
DEGRASSI MOBILE CHAT
Degrassi Chat was developed for Epitome Pictures by
Ottawa mobile app developer Bitheads using what’s known
as an application programming interface (API) built by
Mobovivo, a second-screen video distribution company
based in Alberta.
!
The API was made using Mobovivo’s StayTuned platform,
which Mobovivo said in a statement allows for easier
integration with TV companion apps.
!
“TV audiences are using their smartphones and tablets
while watching TV. That’s a business reality for producers,”
says Mobovivo founder and CEO, Trevor Doerksen.
!
Source: http://playbackonline.ca/2012/12/14/how-degrassis-new-chat-apphelps-build-shows-brand-online/#ixzz2pRmYqMmL

40. degrassi
FAN ENGAGEMENT 2013
!
The Zit Remedy only wrote one song, but they’re
practically as revered a Canadian musical
institution as Neil Young, the Tragically Hip, and
the “Log Driver’s Waltz.” “Everybody Wants
Something” is the finest (only?) musical creation
by Degrassi‘s beloved Joey Jeremiah, Snake, and
Wheels (RIP), and it became Degrassi‘s most
iconic musical gift—or discounting Drake, its
most iconic fictional gift—but it also became a
cherished symbol of our national adolescence,
musical amateurism, and half-assed juvenile
bands. It’s arguably more important than the
larger-than-life Gourmet Scum, Dwayne Myers’s
Asia t-shirt, and Degrassi High‘s killer theme
(which was once covered by incredible ’90s
Toronto teen-punk band Eww… You’re a Girl and
Girls Suck).
!
So, in honour of the Zit Remedy (and The Zits, as
they’d later be called), here are 17 interpretations
of “Everybody Wants Something.”
http://www.aux.tv/2013/08/17-covers-of-the-zit-remedys-hit-degrassi-song-everybody-wants-something/

41. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
PRODUCTION TEAM
Q. How big is your team? Are you working in partnership
with others as collaborators? or are you working with a
‘hired’ top-down model?
A. Our digital media team internally is 2 people- myself
and a co-ordinator. However, we work closely with a
marketing team which gives us a grand total of 4 people
that are available to help out when needed. We also have
threevendors that we are working with right nowBitHeads, Badgeville and Mobovivo.
!
Q. What tips would you offer on how to communicate your
vision to different partners or
team members?
A. Always use visuals. Illustrate ideas. Infographics or flow
charts that explain the vision are very helpful.
!
Abby Ho

42. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
DIGITAL PRODUCTION
Q. How did creating for many different platforms or screens differ from
producing for film and/or tv? what tips would you offer?
!
A. Things are very iterative in digital development. It is all about
constant updates and fixing bugs as they arise. It is a bit different than
with TV production because it is less linear and more volatile. For tips, I
think that digital development does require lots of business structure.
You need to have clear budgets cause things can spiral out of control
very very quickly with change requests or fixes that are out of scope.
Also, one important tip is learning about your audience. It doesn’t matter
if you are creating the most technologically advanced property if your
audience hates using that particular device or site, or whatever you are
creating. Be specific to the demographic you are reaching out to. For our
Degrassi projects, we like to be create customizable experiences for our
fans. Where they can choose which pieces of our social and online
experience they want to participate in…it’s always an a la carte feeling.
!
Abby Ho

43. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
COMMUNITY MANAGER?
Q. Did you use a community manager? what kind of time
commitment did that become?
!
A. I started as the only ‘digital’ team member…so I did
strategy, financing, all the business & the execution
(community management). Resources are always very
tight, so yes it was a very big time commitment. It
depends on the broadcast timeline- so in the summer the
time commitment is very high- with episodes airing
nightly. We live tweet all events, so it is very time
consuming when we are on TV, and this summer we had
two shows, so it would be very chaotic.
!
!
Abby Ho

44. degrassi
The Next
degrassi
Generation
BUSINESS PLAN & REVENUE
Q. What is your business plan? Did you have a clear idea of what
you were going to do? or has it evolved?
A. Our business plan has always been to engage and connect with
our fans and create a community- that reacts and is highly involved
in the content. We are now creating Degrassi network that connects
all fans to a hub- which we hope with me a Youtube channel. It is
always a slow process, building the pieces that will then lead to a
path toward monetization. Ultimately, the stronger the community,
the more opportunities for sponsorship, advertising, or
subscriptions etc. We have a general plan but it has constantly
evolved as we learn more about our community and their
behaviours.
!
Q. What is generating revenue? have you any merchandizing?
A. We generate revenue through online distribution, itunes sales,
merchandise, and our mobile game sales.
!
Abby Ho

45. degrassi
DEGRASSI DID IT FIRST!
Adam Torres was the first scripted teen transgender
character in television history.
!
Snake and Caitlin were the only ones to use the word
"fucking" on Degrassi, and they were the first ones to use
it in Canadian television history.
!
!
!
According to the DVD commentary, The episode "Secret"
was the first use of the word "blow job" (as said by Jay
Hogart) on any Viacom owned network, owner of MTV,
Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central.
!
source: Degrassi.wiki

46. DEGRASSI: FUNDING

47. big thanks to Abby Ho!

48. Get in Touch
contactus
TMC Resource Kit
info@tmcresourcekit.com
tmcresourcekit.com
The Degrassi Case Study was prepared
by:
Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn
siobhanoflynn.com @Sioflynn

49. tmcrkpartners
thanks to...

50. The Degrassi Case Study is released under a
NonCommercial ShareAlike Creative Commons license
to be shared, remixed and expanded
non--commercially, as long as you credit:
!
The TMC Resource Kit,
the creator of the Case Study, Anthea Foyer or Dr.
Siobhan O’Flynn,
& license your new creations under the identical terms.
!

51. resources
http://www.museum.tv/eotv/degrassi.htm
!
http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol13/no4/degrassi.html
!
http://mediacommons.library.utoronto.ca/fonds/epitome-pictures-inc
!
http://www.answers.com/topic/degrassi-the-nextgeneration#ixzz2pFjhZ7w4
!
http://www.answers.com/topic/degrassi-the-next-generation
!
http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/arts-entertainment/television/
television-general/the-degrassi-approach-to-childrens-drama.html
!
http://www.answers.com/topic/degrassi-talks#ixzz2pFspYwuv
!
http://lostremote.com/an-inside-look-at-epitome-pictures-social-tvstrategy-for-degrassi_b34453
!
https://www.fanfiction.net/tv/Degrassi/