No Strings Productions
No Strings Productions is a not-for-profit production company founded in 2002 that creates culturally adapted educational puppet videos on health, safety, and trauma topics for children in 13 developing countries, funded primarily by international development NGOs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What No Strings Productions does
No Strings Productions is a not-for-profit media production company founded in 2002 that creates culturally adapted educational puppet videos for children and communities in developing countries. The organization produces 5-15 minute videos covering sensitive topics including HIV/AIDS, natural disaster preparedness, peace building, landmine safety, trauma, child protection, and public health, delivered across 13 countries (Afghanistan, Indonesia, East Timor, Philippines, Cambodia, Burma, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Syria, Iraq, DRC, South Sudan) and dubbed into 24 languages. Core productions include ChucheQhalin (Afghanistan landmine safety), the Badu series (Indonesia disaster preparedness), Kibii Kabooka Kibing (East Africa HIV/AIDS), The Magic is in You (Haiti trauma/child protection), and Out of the Shadows / Red Top, Blue Top (Syria). Underlying production technology relies on professional puppetry techniques (moving-mouth, rod, shadow, walk-around, giant rod, glove, Bunraku, and marionette puppets), 3D scenic and prop design led by co-founder Michael K. Frith, and a workshop-based facilitator training model delivered through sister organization No Strings UK (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, founded 2003).
No Strings Productions firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- No Strings Productions
- Legal name
- No Strings Productions
- Website
- https://nostringsproductions.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- No Strings Productions is a not-for-profit production company founded in 2002 that creates culturally adapted educational puppet videos on health, safety, and trauma topics for children in 13 developing countries, funded primarily by international development NGOs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
No Strings Productions industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Media Production
- NAICS
- Motion Picture and Video Production (512110)
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public/Nonprofit Children’s Educational Broadcasters (MPABAKAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Puppetry & Marionette Theatre (MPAGABAK), Training, Safety & Compliance Video (MPADAEAM), Early Childhood Educational Media (Songs, Stories, Interactive) (EDAGALAC)
Keywords
Where No Strings Productions is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
No Strings Productions business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- NGO/Foundation Project Funding: No Strings Productions receives funding from international NGOs and foundations to create educational puppet videos for children in developing countries. Partners include Trocaire, CRS, Plan International, Save the Children, UNICEF, Caritas, World Vision, and Oxfam.
- Commissioned Video Production: Organizations commission No Strings to produce custom educational videos. Cost per video varies depending on complexity, with more videos using same sets/puppets reducing per-video cost.
- Pilot Projects and Domestic NGO Partnerships: New pilot projects partnering with domestic NGOs, non-profits, foundations, schools and individual donors to fund or commission videos addressing problems affecting children in specific countries.
- For-Profit Subsidiary (Little Ping Productions): Little Ping Productions is a for-profit company that produces educational videos for commercial clients, such as a 5-episode pilot series for a French private school teaching Mandarin Chinese.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom video production with variable pricing based on complexity |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels4 records
No Strings Productions product offering
Product offeringCore offering
No Strings Productions designs, produces, and delivers culturally adapted educational puppet videos for children in developing countries, addressing issues such as landmine safety, natural disaster preparedness, HIV/AIDS, trauma, child protection, public health, and peace building. Productions are commissioned and funded by international NGOs and foundations, accompanied by in-country puppetry workshops and training materials that enable local facilitators and teachers to extend the educational impact.
Product overview
No Strings Productions is a not-for-profit production company that creates a portfolio of educational puppet video productions designed for children in developing countries. The core offerings consist of individual puppet video productions organized by country and topic: Afghanistan landmine safety (ChucheQhalin), Indonesia disaster preparedness (Badu series) and peace building (Two Gardens), Africa HIV/AIDS education (Kibii Kabooka Kibing series), Haiti trauma/child protection/public health (The Magic is in You series), and Syria trauma/peace building (Out of the Shadows and Red Top, Blue Top). These are supplemented by add-on workshop and training services that teach puppet making and performance techniques to NGO partners. A for-profit sister company, Little Ping Productions, creates commercial educational content. The company has produced 15 short videos dubbed into 24 languages and distributed in 13 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Little Ping Productions: A for-profit subsidiary company that produces commercial or for-profit educational videos for children, such as the Mandarin Chinese teaching series for a French private school.
Products and services
- ChucheQhalin, the Adventures of the Little Carpet Boy A landmine awareness and safety puppet video for children in Afghanistan, featuring a carpet boy brought to life by an Afghan fairy who must learn about landmines to safely navigate his journey to school. Produced for international development partners and distributed through NGO networks and media motorbikes.
- Badu - Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Series A five-production puppet video series for Indonesia covering Earthquake, Flood/Landslide, Volcano, Tsunami, and Cyclone preparedness. Features the misadventures of Badu, a know-it-all who learns safety lessons from a bright Little Girl. Commissioned by international NGO partners and integrated into Philippines Department of Education curriculum.
- Two Gardens - Peace Building A peace building puppet video for Indonesia featuring the character Badu, who becomes resentful when an outsider is brought in to help him care for two gardens, exploring themes of fear and acceptance.
- Kibii Kabooka Kibing - HIV/AIDS Series Three puppet video productions for Eastern Africa addressing HIV/AIDS topics including Stigma, Gender Inequality, and Transmission. Features a flamboyant showman character who presents educational games to teach about HIV/AIDS.
- The Magic is in You - Haiti Series Three puppet video productions for Haiti on Trauma, Child Protection, and Public Health. Features Magic Heart, The Wishing Ring, and Amazing Machine episodes where a Carnival Band leader provides magic objects to help children discover their power to change their lives.
- Out of the Shadows - Syria Trauma A trauma-focused puppet video for children suffering from the civil war in Syria. After losing their parents, a young boy protects his sister from her fear of shadows until a shadow puppet show helps them both begin to heal.
- Red Top, Blue Top - Peace Building
Quantifiable outcome
- Videos shown to 5,000+ people weekly in Afghanistan through media motorbikes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use No Strings Productions
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
No Strings Productions technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
No Strings Productions partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- No Strings UK (No Strings International)coreSister company handling all in-country fieldwork including building relationships, program and partnership development, ensuring highest-need groups are targeted. Also responsible for workshop training, dubbing, delivery and evaluations. Founded 2003.
- TrocairecoreLeading Irish development organization and key partner to date. Trocaire HIV Programme Officer noted delegates trained through No Strings workshops reached 12,500+ children.
- CRS (Catholic Relief Services)coreMajor partner involved in Haiti projects. CRS staff participated in No Strings workshops and facilitator training programs.
- Plan InternationalmajorInternational NGO partner working on various child-focused development projects with No Strings productions.
- Save the ChildrenmajorInternational NGO partner collaborating on development projects involving No Strings educational content.
- UNICEFmajorUN children's agency partner supporting child-focused initiatives using No Strings puppet video productions.
- CaritasmajorCatholic humanitarian organization network partner in various international development projects.
- World VisionmajorChristian humanitarian organization partner collaborating on child-focused development programs.
- OxfammajorInternational confederation of NGOs partner in humanitarian and development work.
- JRS (Jesuit Refugee Services)minorJesuit organization serving refugees, partner in humanitarian aid projects.
- Little Ping Productions LLCminorFor-profit subsidiary company that produces educational videos for commercial clients. First project: 5-episode pilot series for a French private school teaching Mandarin Chinese.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
No Strings Productions competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Fred Rogers Productions: Nonprofit children's educational media producer (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Peg + Cat) with a similar funding structure (PBS, foundations, licensing). Comparable in mission of curriculum-linked children's programming and non-profit distribution model.
- Sesame Workshop: Nonprofit producer of children's educational media featuring puppetry and Muppet-style characters (Sesame Street). Direct comparable in mission, methodology (puppet-based children's education), and donor/grant funding model, with substantially larger global footprint.
- Sesame Street (production): The flagship children's educational puppet program, produced by Sesame Workshop. Most direct content and audience overlap with No Strings' puppet-based children's educational videos.
Emerging players
- Little Pim: Children's language-learning video series that pairs educational content with a child-friendly animated/live-action format. Comparable as a pivot of educational-IP expertise into commercial private-school and consumer markets, similar to Little Ping Productions.
- Ubongo: African nonprofit producing educational animated and video content (Ubongo Kids) for children across the continent. Comparable in mission of localized children's educational media for developing-country audiences, but uses animation rather than puppetry.
- Mother Goose Club: Children's educational video brand using costumed characters and songs for early-childhood learning. Comparable as a small-scale, mission-driven children's educational video producer with multi-platform distribution.
Others
- StoryToys: Children's digital media and educational app company where No Strings' Media Director (Emmet O'Neill) serves as CPO. Adjacent enabling peer in the children's educational IP ecosystem, with overlap in the talent and creative-producer network.
- World Vision International: Major international NGO that is both a commissioning partner and a producer of child-focused media content for humanitarian programs. Overlaps as a customer rather than direct competitor.
- UNICEF (content & media production): UN agency that both commissions No Strings content and produces its own child-focused educational media in conflict and development settings. Overlaps as both customer and adjacent producer of mission-aligned media.
Broad incumbents
- The Jim Henson Company: The commercial puppetry and creature-effects studio where No Strings' co-founders spent their careers. Broadly overlaps in puppetry craft, IP, and crew talent pool, but operates as a commercial studio across film, TV, and licensing rather than as a humanitarian-content nonprofit.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
No Strings Productions social profiles
Digital presenceNo Strings Productions financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
No Strings Productions leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
No Strings Productions subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
No Strings Productions funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
No Strings Productions M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about No Strings Productions
What does No Strings Productions do?
No Strings Productions designs, produces, and delivers culturally adapted educational puppet videos for children in developing countries, addressing issues such as landmine safety, natural disaster preparedness, HIV/AIDS, trauma, child protection, public health, and peace building. Productions are commissioned and funded by international NGOs and foundations, accompanied by in-country puppetry workshops and training materials that enable local facilitators and teachers to extend the educational impact.
Is No Strings Productions a public or private company?
No Strings Productions is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was No Strings Productions founded?
No Strings Productions was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is No Strings Productions based?
No Strings Productions is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does No Strings Productions make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. NGO/Foundation Project Funding is the primary driver. The others are commissioned Video Production, pilot Projects and Domestic NGO Partnerships and for-Profit Subsidiary (Little Ping Productions).
Who are No Strings Productions's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Fred Rogers Productions, Sesame Workshop and Sesame Street (production). Emerging players are Little Pim, Ubongo and Mother Goose Club. Others are StoryToys, World Vision International and UNICEF (content & media production). The Jim Henson Company is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does No Strings Productions have an API?
No public API is recorded for No Strings Productions.
What industry is No Strings Productions in?
No Strings Productions's product category is Educational Media Production. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABAKAF, Public/Nonprofit Children’s Educational Broadcasters, with a secondary code of MPAGABAK, Puppetry & Marionette Theatre. Its NAICS code is 512110 and its SIC code is 7812.