Digital media start-up TotallyAwesome has teamed up with talent agency StarFish Kids and child-friendly social app PopJam in order to launch TotallyAwesome Squad. 

The initiative is designed to create a safer culture for kids and aspiring YouTubers in Australia. TotallyAwesome will select influencers and help them curate content to be shared across PopJam, the social media platform built for kids under 13.

The program is a response to a study that TotallyAwesome ran back in January. Results showed that over half of Australian children aged six to 14 are actively watching online content regularly. The study also showed that 64 per cent of parents have bought something for their child because an influencer had advertised it.

The right influence

Jeremy Carr, commercial director for the Asia-Pacific region at TotallyAwesome, said: “With increasing demand for more local kid-safe content, the TotallyAwesome Squad will not only deliver highly engaging influencer content, but will enable us to incubate new up-and-coming global influencers to support our growing influencer network dedicated to kids under 13 years old.

“Part of TotallyAwesome’s mission is to create great digital content for this generation of kids which is truly authentic and relevant. Our TotallyAwesome Squad is the first step on this path.”

PopJam is one of the fastest growing digital kids platforms in Australia, boasting over 30 per cent monthly growth and 13 million total engagements. The app also has over 140 influencers creating content for PopJam's userbase. 

TotallyAwesome has plans to expand the Squad initiative beyond Australia, to reach a number of south-east Asian countries including Vietnam, Singapore. Malaysia, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. 

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