VIDEO

COLLABORATED CONTENT: COOKIE MONSTER AND JOHN OLIVER

Mashable, known for creating gobs and gobs of content about digital trends, has teamed up with Sesame Street to produce a vocabulary-based newscast.

Wait . . . what? Here's the deal: Sesame Workshop is launching its "Words are Here, There and Everywhere" initiative, and because adults are critical to the initiative's success, they needed to capture the attention of adults, particularly Millennials and young Xers with preschool kids. Who better to reach that demographic than Mashable? The W-ORD Channel 7 News mock show was born. Cookie Monster and John Oliver co-host the show, with appearances by Al Roker, Kate McKinnon, and Nick Offerman (all celebrities with adult appeal.) Unfortunately for us, there's just one episode. 

Did you know John Oliver and Cookie Monster co-anchor a nightly news broadcast about words? Just kidding, that's not a thing. But you would TOTALLY watch that show. In support of "Sesame Street's" newest vocabulary resource, "Words are Here, There and Everywhere," Mashable has teamed up with Sesame Workshop once again to encourage families to explore the wonderful world of words.

But there's more! Because behind-the-scenes content is pure digital gold, Mashable/Sesame Street created out-takes.

The local news would be so much better with John Oliver and Cookie Monster. Watch the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLi2xB82ZyI&list=PLSKUhDnoJjYkOcBDCTlCo69KJk42pnOMa&index=1 In support of "Sesame Street's" newest vocabulary resource, "Words are Here, There and Everywhere," Mashable has teamed up with Sesame Workshop once again to encourage families to explore the wonderful world of words.

Let's assume you don't have a Sesame Street– or Mashable-sized budget and therefore can't get popular celebrities to create mock news shows. That doesn't mean collaborated content can't work for you. If you're a nonprofit, consider whether you can team up with a media outlet or a corporate partner that has a large content staff to produce collaborated content through a work-in-kind agreement. If you're a small business, perhaps you can you work with a local university, giving those students valuable experience in creating digital content. If you're an independent businessperson, contact your professional association about creating content that works for you and other professionals in your industry. Or how about starting a meetup in your town that brings together professionals who want to brainstorm ways to market your organization, focusing especially on low-cost digital channels? You can also do the simplest content collaborations of social media: share a Pinterest board with another brand.

The bottom line? You don't always have to go it alone . . . consider how collaboration can work for you.