Author Archives: Mike

Kelowna-based Yeti Farm Creative expands
and launches original production division

Kelowna, B.C. – Yeti Farm Creative, a Kelowna-based animation studio founded in 2007, has recently expanded into a 7,000 sq. ft., open space, state-of-the-art, dark fibre, geothermal studio in the heart of the burgeoning tech district of Kelowna, British Columbia. The area is often referred to as Silicon Vineyard because of its proximity to the region’s world-class wine country and the growing number of animation, digital and tech companies, such as Disney Interactive, Bardel Entertainment and Hyper Hippo Games, that have set up shop in the community about 390 km east of Vancouver. Along with their move into the larger, more tricked-out studio, Ashley Ramsay, Catalyst and Co-founder, also announced that the studio has launched YetiLABS, a digital-first animation production and distribution company. Their first two original digital-first productions are Knobs and Sweet Tweets and, although it’s early at this point, Knobs has garnered in excess of 200,000 views between both Facebook and YouTube combined in a little less than one month.

“It is an exciting time at Yeti Farm Creative and YetiLABS,” says Ramsay. She explains that over the past eight years, the team at Yeti Farm Creative has been quietly building momentum for both production services, original content development and digital rights acquisition. “We have strategically managed our growth. We hired the right people, found the right location for our new studio, and we made sure that we attracted key partners.” She adds: “We knew that to fully meet our long-term business and creative objectives, we wanted to balance production services with the investment in developing our own original work. We also had to make sure that we continued to provide the world-class quality of work that our clients expect, while we were growing and expanding. Our client feedback and growing client roster tells us that we have done all of that and more.”

Over the years, Yeti Farm Creative has delivered production services, from design to final animation, to industry leaders such as Atomic Cartoons, DDB Canada, EA Sports and Kickstart Entertainment. They currently have three original digital productions on the go, with two original television properties in development, some of which have interest from major merchandise partners.

Ramsay explains that YetiLABS came about in response to the rapidly changing tides of content consumption, from cable television to mobile. “YetiLABS was actually born about two years ago, but we kept a low profile so that we could develop our projects to the point where we – and they – were ready to share with an audience online.” Ramsay says: “Today, YouTube and Facebook are going head to head in their quest for viewers. YetiLABS is fully immersed and committed to producing and distributing our content for these platforms as they emerge and develop in real time.”

YetiLABS’ first original series is an edgy, youth-based comedy, Knobs (http://www.youtube.com/knobscartoon), targeting 14 to 18-year-olds, created by YetiLABS Co-Founder and Studio Creative Director Todd Ramsay. The second original series, Sweet Tweets (http://www.youtube.com/sweettweets), is made up of episodes of newly spun nursery rhymes for infants and millennial parents. Conjured up by well-known creative genius Jon Izen, the series debuts today on YouTube and Facebook. The third series, now in development, is a girl-skewed action sports and lifestyle series that will debut at Kidscreen in February 2016.

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For more information or an interview with Ashley Ramsay, please contact Ruth Atherley at: ruth@ahacreative.com or 604-886-1788.