“Discovery’s brand equity is second to none around the world,” points out Jo Edwards, VP of international licensing at Discovery, “we’re in a great place right now.”

Discovery Enterprises is on something of a high at the moment. The team has just come out of a successful Licensing International, which saw it reveal its new strategy on how it’s going to expand its brands within the sector; on top of this it already has a solid programme running for Animal Planet.

“Our international licensing business is going from strength to strength,” says Edwards. “We have successfully introduced the Animal Planet line for kids, with product launching in multiple markets this year, and we are now exploring further opportunities in the kids space through our flagship brand, Discovery Channel.

“This also forms the core of our proposition for men, through two brand extensions: Discovery Expedition and Discovery Adventures. In addition, we’ve spent time over the past year exploring opportunities to extend our brands beyond traditional consumer product categories, and have deals in progress within the travel and entertainment spaces.”

Animal Planet has actually existed as a private label brand for Toys R Us in the US for over a decade. This has now been extended into High Street retail on a global basis. Partners are on board for plush and book publishing globally, while internationally licensees have been signed in categories including toys, apparel and home furnishings.

The plush range – which picked up Best New Toy 2010 for Character Options at London Toy Fair earlier this year – launches this summer and will be supported by TV ads in all core categories. Further product launches are planned later this year and into 2011.

“Retail response has been extremely positive, with major retailers on board including Toys R Us, Argos, Tesco and Mothercare,” Edwards continues. “In addition, a global publishing deal with Bonnier Publishing will see books being launched in Q3 2011, alongside a host of other products across international markets.”

Edwards is also hoping to be able to announce Discovery’s first deals for Expedition and Adventures before the end of the year.

It’s certainly a busy time for Discovery, and this coincides with a renewed energy from the wider industry in terms of investing in new brands, with a greater demand to partner and create property extensions across all categories.

“The trend for ‘green-ovation’ continues to grow,” Edwards adds, “and often the biggest advocates in this area are kids. We have built this messaging into our kids propositions both through product and packaging. In addition, this message is important across our wider business; we recently announced an innovative partnership with Nirmal Lifestyle in India.

“Nirmal will develop green office and residential spaces using environmentally-friendly building methods. Green is a natural extension of Discovery’s mission and brand and this partnership makes green issues – and a healthier lifestyle – accessible to a growing population of consumers.”

Edwards is also confident that the trusted heritage behind the Discovery brand will stand it in good stead going forward, as well as its commitment to making the most of new technology available.

“There is an emphasis on [these kinds of brands] which allow for evergreen licensing opportunities rather than event-driven releases which have a shorter shelf life. However, alongside this, product innovation is key as consumer become ever more sophisticated and the digital world moves forward at an incredible pace.

“Licensors and licensees need to work together to ensure that these consumer demand can be met, whether that’s through advanced fabric technology, which will be built into the Discovery Expedition range, or through augmented reality or interconnected technology built into toy product, as well be seen in both the Animal Planet and Discovery Channel product roll out.”

By the end of 2010, Edwards is hopeful that the wider licensing industry will be much more aware of what Discovery is trying to do. “We plan to embed our kids and men’s strategies within the licensing and retail communities so that they become top of mind, and build upon the initial success of Animal Planet with additional deals to complement the launch of the plush line this summer.”