Legendary Sesame Street Goes Digital for Preschoolers and Parents

Legendary Sesame Street Goes Digital for Preschoolers and Parents

Magnani Caruso Dutton Leads Design of New SesameStreet.org

NEW YORK, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit, educational organization responsible for the creation of TV's longest running children's series, Sesame Street, has launched www.SesameStreet.org -- a greatly enhanced web destination for preschoolers and their parents. The Workshop partnered with New York-based digital agency, Magnani Caruso Dutton (MCD), to design the new site. The website launch coincides with the premier of Sesame Street's 39th Season on PBS Kids.

The re-designed website sets a new benchmark in children's media. With more and more preschoolers online, the site introduces a safe and interactive experience designed to engage and educate children and their caregivers.

Sesame Workshop and MCD collaborated to develop a new vision for the web destination. As part of the team that created the site, MCD led the design direction and contributed to the evolution of the site strategy, architecture, and user experience. The final result is an interactive broadband site that features live-action Muppets that greet and guide children through the site's interactive play features; Sesame Playlists is a new feature that allows users to select from over 3000 videos and over 400 games filtered by subject, theme or character and can be shared with friends. My Street is a customizable Sesame Street web space for children and their caregivers, while other preschooler-friendly applications such as "PlaySAFE," prevent children from navigating away to other sites on their own.

"We created a new SesameStreet.org that kids and parents can enjoy together, and that also encourages preschoolers to explore and learn on their own," said John Caruso, Creative Director and Partner at MCD. "Just like the TV show, we put the famous Muppets center stage where they directly address their young audience and guide them through a structured play space that was designed to be safe, friendly, and easy to use. The entire online channel was redesigned to bring an updated broadband experience to their newest generation as well as long-standing fans of the show."

"MCD was integral to the overall strategy and direction of this project," said Susan Kolar, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer at Sesame Workshop. "They helped define and prioritize our requirements, and designed a user experience that truly brings Sesame Street to life on this new site."

A separate website, www.SesameWorkshop.org, is also live, and speaks to the extensive work the organization does to help children across the globe reach their highest potential. MCD and Sesame Workshop also collaborated in the development of this destination, which chronicles their numerous initiatives, strategic partnerships, and promotes their philanthropic efforts.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. As the single largest informal educator of young children, local Sesame Street programs produced in countries as diverse as South Africa, Bangladesh and India are making a difference in over 140 nations. Using proprietary research to create engaging and enriching content, Sesame Workshop produces programs such as Dragon Tales and Pinky Dinky Doo. In addition, multimedia needs-driven initiatives provide families tools for addressing such issues as children's health, military deployment and emergency preparedness. As a nonprofit, product proceeds and philanthropic support endow Sesame Workshop's educational research and creative content for children around the world. Learn more at www.sesamestreet.org .

About Magnani Caruso and Dutton

Founded in 1999 and based in Manhattan, Magnani Caruso Dutton is an independent digital agency helping some of the world's most recognizable brands to manage and grow their businesses online. Magnani Caruso Dutton has created high quality interactive experiences for clients including: AT&T, The Coca-Cola Company, Discover Financial Services, HBO, London 2012, Sesame Workshop, Tiffany and The Partnership for a Drug Free America. Learn more at www.mcdpartners.com .

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Magnani Caruso Dutton

CONTACT: Alyssa Siegel, AJ Media Inc, +1-212-396-9179,
Alyssa@aj-media.com, for Magnani Caruso Dutton

Web site: http://www.mcdpartners.com/
http://www.sesamestreet.org/
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/

-------
Profile: intent