Former Warner Bros. Discovery execs Tom Ascheim and Tricia Melton have teamed up to run Pith & Pixie Dust, a new consulting company they quietly launched over the summer. 

Based in LA, Pith & Pixie Dust is focused on helping brands reach kids, families and YA audiences by offering insights on storytelling and content strategies.

Both Ascheim and Melton recently spent two years working in the kids, young adults and classics division at WBD, Ascheim as president and Melton as CMO. They departed the company last year amid post-merger restructuring. 

They’re collectively bringing decades of experience to their new venture, as well as a familiarity with each other, having worked together in the senior ranks at many of the same companies, including Disney and Turner.

Ascheim says Pith & Pixie Dust (because they’re looking to unite strategy with the magic of storytelling) is already working with a number of international clients—and its owners aren’t planning to narrow their focus when it comes to partners. Ascheim says he and Milton want to collaborate with players beyond entertainment who want to tell a story for their brand.

It’s a crucial time to step up with a consulting service, given the challenges the entertainment industry is facing—and the kids industry has even more specific hurdles to overcome, says Ascheim. 

“As the industry has moved to streaming, I think it’s been much harder to find profitability,” he says. The kids space, in particular, has potential to provide a much-needed boost, given the strong and steady demand for children’s programming. “Looking at streaming audiences, about half of them have kids in the household. Those families are always looking for great entertainment, either for kids on their own or for [family co-viewing].”

Ascheim and Melton are looking forward to helping more businesses see the value in connecting with young audiences, as well as opening some eyes about how the kids industry can serve as a bellwether to indicate where adult-focused businesses could be heading.

Ultimately, the kids market remains a reliable bet for everything from consumer products to the movies, Ascheim says. “And we hope to help people rediscover that.”

Pictured: Tom Ascheim (left) and Tricia Melton (right)