Behind the Scenes of a YouTube Mega-Hit: Baby Shark, The Pinkfong Company, and What’s Next

by Abishek Nagaraj and Sukhun Kang
01 Oct 2025

This case follows The Pinkfong Company from its founding through the birth of its YouTube mega-hit, Baby Shark. Along the way, the company researched and developed its first products, experimented with new technologies, and shifted company strategy. Once the 'Baby Shark Dance' video went viral, the company capitalized on that success to generate revenues through YouTube ads, toy and good sales, and more. Now, Pinkfong’s leadership faces questions about what’s next, both with respect to Baby Shark and the company’s future strategy. How will Pinkfong balance sustaining its current success with seeking out and capitalizing on new, potentially larger opportunities?

Learning Objectives

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This case is designed to support flexible use across courses in corporate strategy, entrepreneurship, and digital strategy. It can be adapted to highlight different analytical lenses depending on course goals.

1. For corporate strategy courses: evaluate the challenges of sustaining competitive advantage from a core asset, and how firms define and evolve their identity over time.
2. For entrepreneurship courses: understand how founders capitalize on viral success and make resource allocation decisions under uncertainty.
3. For digital strategy courses: analyze platform dependency, digital monetization models, and cross-platform intellectual property (IP) management in the content economy.

More broadly, this case helps students analyze growth strategies for companies built on viral success.

1. Understand the risks and rewards of IP concentration.
2. Explore how digital platforms influence business model decisions.
3. Evaluate diversification versus focus in creative industries.
4. Reflect on how a firm defines its identity and long-term strategic position.

Details

Pub Date: October 1, 2025

Discipline: Entrepreneurship

Keywords: Corporate strategy, Defining target markets, Digital, Entertainment industry, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Licensing, Managing creativity & innovation, Media, Strategy

Product #: B6077-PDF-ENG

Industry: Arts, entertainment & sports, Toys, Media

Geography: United States, South Korea

Length: 9 page(s)