Category Archives: Highlight

GoldieBlox prepares for rapid growth with new exec team and focus on consumer products

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The toy firm turned media and entertainment powerhouse, GoldieBlox has made a suite of new appointments to its leadership team as the company prepares for rapid growth in the coming years, including further moves into the consumer products sector, led by its new EVP of operations and partnerships, Tim Erickson.

Having started out from humble beginnings on Kickstarter back in 2012, GoldieBlox has evolved into a media and entertainment powerhouse that aims to lead the gender equity charge for girls in STEAM.

As the company has grown, so has its charge to inspire and educate girls around the world to follow their STEAM dreams. The expansion of the executive team reinforces GoldieBlox’s commitment to creating content, products and partnerships that move the needle for girls to get interested in STEAM as a passion, hobby or career.

“I am incredibly excited to lead this experienced team as we build on our current success to take GoldieBlox into the future,” said Debbie Sterling, founder and CEO. “As we enter a growth phase, each of these executives brings a unique and complementary skill set to the company.”

The new appointments to the leadership team, include naming Peter Pergola as its new operating partner. The former COO of The Arca Group also assumes a seat on the Board of Directors and will bring a wealth of experience across the developments and commercialisation of IP.

“I am thrilled to join GoldieBlox in the journey to continue to build the original IP the company is known for,” said Pergola. “As a father to two young daughters, the mission of GoldieBlox is incredibly important and timely. We have a few very exciting commercial opportunities rapidly emerging, and I’m also thrilled at the fast traction we are making across the media investment landscape.”

Meanwhile, Melissa Schneider has been named chief content officer, where she will oversee content development, production, and platform partnerships. Schneider was most recently EVP at digital studio New Form, where she built the development slate and production team from the ground up and led the creative development and licensing efforts for two of the first digital to linear series deals with Final Space for TBS in 3rd Season and I Ship It for CW.

Ferrell McDonald joins as chief marketing officer to oversee brand development, digital and traditional marketing, communications, and experiences. McDonald comes to GoldieBlox from Tinder, where she served as CMO for the popular dating app. Her previous experience also includes senior marketing roles with Starz and Nike.

Tim Erickson fills the newly created role of executive vice president, operations and partnerships, where he is tasked with creating brand experiences for GoldieBlox partners through consumer products, innovative retail, and immersive storytelling. In addition, Erickson assumes responsibility for business development and the company’s operations. His previous experience at DreamWorks and Fox involved creating original merchandise and brand experiences.

Finally, Elizabeth Miller has been appointed creative director to develop the company’s brand narrative across functions and partners. Miller has served in senior creative and marketing roles at 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Cloudco Studios, Hasbro, DreamWorks Animation, AwesomenessTV and Disney.

GoldieBlox is a media and entertainment company using storytelling to make STEAM fun. It aims to educate and empower young girls by sharing tools to build their confidence and their dreams. Through products, content, partnerships and programs, GoldieBlox aims to close the gender gap in STEM.

Bulldog Licensing signed as European licensing agent for Rolling Stone

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Bulldog Licensing has been appointed as the European licensing agent for the iconic music, entertainment, and politics media brand, Rolling Stone. Established for 50 years, Rolling Stone spans print, digital, social and events, and is now looking to leverage its brand, develop products and reach its extensive audience in new ways.

In the US, the Rolling Stone licensing programme is already underway with brand owners, Penske Media Corporation already working with licensees including Anheuser-Busch’s brewery Elysian Brewing for a Rolling Stone Lager, publishing deals with Alfred Publishing, Sellers Publishing, and Meredith, puzzles and games from Spin Master, and location based experiences including the Rock Room on Holland America Line ships and the Rolling Stone Bar & Grill at LAX airport.

Rolling Stone has a monthly footprint of 42 million people across its platforms, who access the brand for its photography, insightful reviews, in-depth interviews and award-winning journalism.

Across social media, Rolling Stone has 5 million Facebook fans, 4.5 million Instagram followers and 6.3 million Twitter followers worldwide. The UK is one of the strongest audiences and provides over 1 million unique users and 6.8 million page views each month to the rollingstone.com website.

Across Continental Europe, the brand enjoys a huge footprint with local editions in Italy, Germany and France reaching millions of people every month.

Discussions are already well underway with licensees across a diverse area of products with announcements expected very soon.

Kevin LaBonge, VP global partnerships and licensing at Penske Media Corporation, said: “We’re delighted to be working with the team at Bulldog Licensing as we expand Rolling Stone into new formats. Rolling Stone is a hugely iconic brand around the globe with millions of touchpoints every month in Europe alone.

“With Bulldog’s rich history of delivering large scale licensing programmes for iconic media properties we are excited to tap into their experience and energy to grow the Rolling Stone brand even further.”

Rob Corney, MD of Bulldog Licensing, added: “Rolling Stone is a true icon in the music, entertainment and politics industry and has a huge, dedicated audience. We’re thrilled to have them on our roster and are looking forward to building a consumer products programme across the diverse core classic and vivid culture graphic collections.”

 

Reemsborko partners with TMS Entertainment to bring anime’s Lupin the Third to licensing

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Reemsborko, the pop culture and anime licensing specialist has partnered with TMS Entertainment to represent the classic anime property, Lupin the Third in the consumer products space. Under the deal, Reemsborko will embark on a licensing programme for the European market.

A classic in the anime market, Lupin the Third was created in 1967 by the manga artist Kazuhiko Kato (under the pen name Monkey Punch) and has spawned a multi-media franchise encompassing six animated TV series, seven full length animated films, two live action films, multiple music albums and soundtracks, stage musicals, and video games.

Lupin the Third follows the story of the grandson of the fictional Arsène Lupin, the original gentleman thief, and one of the most famous and wanted crooks in the world. A ruthless criminal with a sense of humour, Lupin is constantly pursued by Interpol’s Zenigata and often accompanied by a group of not-so-faithful accomplices as he attempts some of the most outrageous thefts of all time, or deals with the many, many people holding a grudge against him.

The animé series have been heavily rotated on Funimation and Cartoon Network while new content is still being produced. The first CGI feature film is due to be in cinemas worldwide later this year.

Max Arguile of Reemsborko, said: “It’s really great to be working with TMS, representing the best of Lupin the Third. This classic animé property is still delivering new content that will drive consumer products to the fans.”

Cinzia Mariani, Vice President at TMS Paris, added: “We are very excited at TMS to team up with Reemsborko to bring all the swagger and allure of the Lupin family to European fans old and new. Do keep an eye out for our gentleman thief.”

 

41Entertainment lands first SVOD and broadcast deals for animated series S.M.A.S.H

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HBO Max has signed a new deal with 41 Entertainment that grants it the First Window Exclusive SVOD rights to the company’s new animated series S.M.A.S.H in the US. The streaming platform is joined by Super RTL in Germany who has secured the exclusive content rights for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

41 Entertainment will launch the new animated series on a global scale in 2022. Discovery Family Channel and Discovery Familia in the US has already secured the exclusive linear rights to the series.

S.M.A.S.H is set at a one-of-a-kind sleepaway camp located on Lake Sebastian in Bavaria, Germany where four kids with superpowers – Streak (St Petersburg, Russia), Rocket (Cape Town, South Africa), Flare (Glasgow, Scotland) and Vitoria (São Paulo, Brazil) – are preparing to become the next generation of superheroes.

At the center of this super heroic action team is Mei Lien, a clever and charismatic mechanical genius from Guangzhou, China. Mei Lien is a tehc whizz and inventor of many of the SMASH kids’ customised vehicles and gadgets.

Created by Allen Bohbot and based on an original idea by Kaaren Lee Brown, S.M.A.S.H has been developed for television by Kaaren Lee Brown and Kiersten Halstead, illustrated by Mel Bontrager, and executive produced by Allen Bohbot. The series is planned to launch in 2022 worldwide from the same creative and production team as the international hit Super Monsters.

“We have built a great team of writers to bring the S.M.A.S.H adventures to life, including Josh Haber (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Skylanders Academy, Spider-Man) and Eric Rogers (Skylanders Academy, Futurama, Brickelberry),” said Halstead.

“We are also fortunate to have a fantastic production team to build out the Camp S.M.A.S.H world. Each episode focuses on fun and engaging superhero adventures that require teamwork, problem solving, and a sense of humour.”

Nancy Koff, VP, sales and marketing, added: “It is thrilling to be announcing an initial line-up of such stellar international broadcasters. The response from the market to S.M.A.S.H has been very encouraging and we look forward to announcing additional broadcasters and platforms soon.

“We believe the property is attractive to customers worldwide due to the high quality CG animation, cultural diversity of characters, and earnest storylines, which revolve around the children honing their skills and powers, while realizing how much they still need to learn in order to become a superhero like their parents Torpedo, Silver Streak, Rocket Man and Flame.”

WWE unveils World of Tanks mashup for PlayStation and Xbox

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WWE is leaping into the ring with Wargaming’s World of Tanks video game with the launch of its Update 5.0 – Season One SummerSlam, that will see a new collection of Superstar Collector Tanks land within the game, each inspired by WWE Superstars including The Undertaker, Becky Lynch, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Andre the Giant.

Running from now until Monday, September 21, SummerSlam brings an exclusive new season pass featuring WWE inspired tanks, Superstar collectable crews, new garages and more to World of Tanks players on PlayStation and Xbox.

Players will also be given the ability to experience their own redesigned WWE Garage – including Superstar introductions for their vehicles, unique visuals for each Premium Collector Tank, and two sets of crew chests that will include the aforementioned five Superstars and Legends to start in addition to Roman Reigns, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in August.

Update 5.0 will also introduce cross-play between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users, giving players the opportunity to pit their skills against one another in an expanded player base with quicker matchmaking speeds across all tiers. For real-time-strategy fans, the popular Commander mode returns allowing players to get a different angle on the intense tank fighting and tactics.

TJ Wagner, executive producer of Wargaming Chicago-Baltimore, said: “The update 5.0 and launch of Season One is probably the biggest one our team in Chicago has done in a couple of years. Partnering with WWE has been a fantastic experience and is bringing unique new content to our players, who can expect more updates like SummerSlam in the future.

“With update 5.0 e’re very excited to be able to address many player requests and desires for our game like cross-play that unites PlayStation and Xbox tankers, to make match making faster and better.”

Brand Licensing Europe 2020 to be all-virtual event called Festival of Licensing

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Brand Licensing Europe will not be taking place in its physical form this year, but has transitioned to an all-virtual, four-week long global event called Festival of Licensing.

Running from October 6th to 29th this year, the large scale virtual gathering promises to be ‘the most inclusive global licensing event to date,’ and a ‘never-before-seen celebration of the business of brand licensing,’ that will be held in partnership with the industry trade association Licensing International.

Festival of Licensing builds off of the momentum of the Global Licensing Group’s Licensing Week Virtual event which took place in June this year in place of the Las Vegas Licensing Expo. The Festival of Licensing will comprise of four regionally tailored events in key licensing territories.

Week one will run 6th to 8th of October with its focus on the European market, powered by Brand Licensing Europe. Week two will be Asia focused running from 14th to 15th October and powered by Licensing Expo China and Licensing Expo Japan. Week three will be powered by Licensing Expo and will place its focus on the North America and Latin America markets, running from October 20th to 22nd. The fourth week will be a Global C-suite virtual conference, powered by the Licensing Leadership Summit and will be held on October 28th to 29th.

  • Week 1: 6-8 October – Europe, powered by Brand Licensing Europe
  • Week 2: 14-15 October – Asia, powered by Licensing Expo China and Licensing Expo Japan
  • Week 3: 20-22 October – North America and Latin America, powered by Licensing Expo
  • Week 4: 28-29 October – Global C-suite virtual conference – Licensing Leadership Summit

The first three events will be time-zoned around the respective territories they serve and deliver visitors and exhibitors the chance for IP discovery with exclusive brand and property showcases from up to 200 exhibitors and the virtual take on the annual License This! and Pitch the Brands competition finals.

Content wise, Festival of Licensing will host live keynote headliners from the world’s most influential brands that address the most pressing topics of the current and changing business environment, more than 100 hours of live and on-demand, territory and category specific content to guide businesses through the new consumer landscape, and a retailer only space with exclusive content and expert Q&A sessions.

While it won’t entertain the usual Hand and Flower networking sessions, the virtual event will offer ‘thousands of opportunities to meet, do business and strike deals’ through the Festival Matchmaking Service, enabling both pre-planned online video meetings and impromptu exhibitor booth drop ins.

Ticking the Experiences box, while the planned theme of fashion will be postponed until Brand Licensing Europe comes back in its physical form next year, the Festival will host Fully Licensed! a programme of special live daily evening entertainment and experiences in each region. It will also host Community & Wellbeing, a celebration of the global licensing industry, a wide range of career/business advice and mentoring, an industry fundraiser and wellbeing workshops focused on our physical, nutritional, creative, psychological and social needs.

The festival will conclude with Licensing Leadership Summit taking place 28th to 29th October. Originally scheduled as an in-person, senior-level, global gathering of the industry’s C-Suite and thought-leaders from brands, agents, manufacturing and retail, the new virtual offering will draw on key learnings from the previous three weeks and future-looking topics that will facilitate debate and shape the future of the global licensing industry.

Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group Vice President, Anna Knight, said: “We are incredibly excited to announce Festival of Licensing and proud of the opportunities and experiences it offers to the global licensing industry. Although the decision to transition Brand Licensing Europe to an all-virtual event was a difficult one and we will miss seeing everyone at ExCeL this year, I’m proud that we have a comprehensive offering in its place and look forward to the European event kicking off Festival of Licensing.

“We have had great feedback from June’s Licensing Week Virtual, so we know that there is huge potential and appetite for industry connection during this challenging time when meeting face-to-face is difficult. Our partners are telling us that driving domestic and international connections, discovering new IP and brands and learning how to navigate the new consumer landscape are paramount to the health of forward-planning for the business of brand licensing, and Festival of Licensing will support all of these needs.

“We also want Festival of Licensing to offer amazing experiences for everyone who joins us. One of the joys of virtual is that it can make the previously impossible possible, and we plan to use the power of the platform to fuel the imagination, delight and inspire in a fitting celebration of this industry and the people within it.”

Maura Regan, President, Licensing International, added: “This global virtual event is an exciting platform to provide our members and the broader industry with the connections and tools to continue to move their business forward. Our industry is truly global, and this event promises to bring us all together (while apart) designed expressly to engage and facilitate smart business in real time, regardless of where in the world you may be.”

Brands who are interested in exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities should visit www.festivaloflicensing.com

 

 

The Hachette Children’s Group lands publishing rights for the hit pre-school series Tinpo

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The Point. 1888 has partnered with one of the UK’s leading children’s publishers, the Hachette Children’s Group, to adapt the CGI animated television series Tinpo into a wide range of book and activity formats.

The agreement will see the launch of a new range of picture books, annuals, story books, activity books, and novelty books featuring the characters and stories from the popular children’s series.

Since launching in February 2019 via a prime slot on the CBeebies television channel, Tinpo has become a favourite among its pre-school audience in the UK. Combining themes of construction and unconventional problem solving, the main character Tinpo and his team resolve problems in their unique world in ways that are never practical, but always fun.

In addition to the UK, the show just launched last week in Japan on TV Tokyo and last month in Latin America on Nick Jr./Noggin with more broadcaster announcements coming shortly.

The Hachette Children’s Group was chosen as the property’s publishing partner for its record of success in creating award-winning and bestselling books for children of all ages and interests. Its licensed publishing includes Rainbow Magic, Beast Quest and Pokémon.

Bethan Garton, retail and brand director at The Point.1888, said: “This is a wonderful start to what will be a successful licensing programme for Tinpo and its owner, Cloudco Entertainment. Publishing is a key pillar within the programme, allowing the brand to reach an already loyal audience with some crucial products in a popular category.

“Here at The Point.1888, we love working with the Hachette Children’s Group and are delighted to be adding Tinpo to its portfolio of impressive brands.”

Heather Crossley, Pat-a-Cake and Licensing Publisher at the Hachette Children’s Group, commented: “We’re delighted to be constructing a tailored publishing programme that introduces the “Tintastic” world of STEAM to pre-schoolers. Building on the themes of problem-solving, creativity and teamwork, we will combine tried-and-tested formats with innovative ideas to create books that children will come back to time and again.”

Roubina Tchoboian, vice-president of international licensing at Cloudco Entertainment, added: “We have long admired the products that Hachette Children’s Group creates and look forward to seeing the key themes of Tinpo brought to life through what we’re confident will be a successful range of books.”

 

Online shopping habits could be here to stay, says new research from DS Smith

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The pandemic has accelerated consumers’ move to online shopping, with new research into consumer behaviour indicating that the majority of Brits now plan to stick to their lockdown online buying habits from here on out.

According to a survey commissioned by DS Smith, the London-based packaging specialist, retailers have seen online sales increase dramatically, with 61 per cent of Brits admitting to shopping more online during Covid19. The unsurprising increase in ecommerce is expected to add £5.3bn to UK ecommerce sales in 2020, bringing the total to £78.9bn.

The same survey goes on to reveal that 89 per cent of British shoppers say they will continue to shop online at the same level, or even more, post lockdown. 93 per cent of Brits now feel confident about buying items online.

Groceries has seen the biggest increase, with 39 per cent of British shoppers reporting an increase in online shopping. Lockdown also saw 29 per cent of Brits increase their online shopping for home and garden products – contributing to the 41 per cent of Brits who received a home, garden, or DIY related product since the Covid-19 crisis.

With lockdown easing, DS Smith’s research indicates that many of these new shopping trends will now be here to stay. More than half of Brits are planning to buy groceries (60 per cent), hygiene products (51 per cent), and home and garden products (54 per cent) online at the same rate or higher in the coming six months.

On top of this, almost one third of Brits said they have signed up to a new shopping website that they hadn’t used before lockdown, while spending on meal kits and grocery delivery boxes soared by 114 per cent after people were told to stay home.

Stefano Rossi, packaging CEO at DS Smith, said: “There has been a seismic shift in the way consumers are shopping and we’ve been using our expertise to support businesses of all sizes with the rapid growth of ecommerce so they can survive and thrive through this uncertain time.

“What’s clear is that as lockdown eases further, these trends aren’t likely to fall away. Consumers have found new confidence and convenience in the way they shop, buying a whole range of items online – everything from the family food shop, to toiletries and home and garden products.

“If companies are not already transforming their business to meet this new age of ecommerce, they risk being left behind.”

The survey has gone on to detail the latest statistics around greener packaging, suggesting that green recovery and building back better is becoming a global priority, while sustainability is an increasing concern for Brits post-lockdown. It indicates that 24 per cent of shoppers are more likely to buy online if items are delivered with less packaging or more sustainable packaging, while 21 per cent are more likely to buy online if their products arrive in more recyclable packaging.

Rossi added: “The research shows that greener packaging is a real concern for shoppers and as we help our customers make a green recovery a practical reality and priority through simple measures like adopting sustainable packaging. We’re keen to help brands and businesses navigate this path and work with them so they can benefit from sustainable packaging solutions.”

 

Dark Horse Comics teams with Studio71 Games to launch The Umbrella Academy card game

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For everyone who enjoys a bit of pop culture nerdery, Dark Horse Comics is looking to provide your latest fix with the launch of a new battling card game based on the hit comic series-turned Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy. The news arrives as season two of The Umbrella Academy readies to land on Netflix this July 31.

The card game has been developed by the comic book publisher in partnership with Studio71 Games, a Red Arrow Studios company, and aims to bring the fantastical and dysfunctional world of The Umbrella Academy to life in the living room.

“We are thrilled with the continued fan response and reception to The Umbrella Academy. Our love for these stories and characters is what makes us excited for you all to get to experience them firsthand with the Studio71 Umbrella Academy Card Game,” said Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, creators of The Umbrella Academy comic series.

The game brings together your favourite seven siblings to defeat hordes of villains in cooperative battle. Play as Five, Séance, Space Boy, The Rumor, The Horror, The Kraken, or Vanya, each with their own unique powers. These abilities give players a powerful strategy to follow during the game.

Players will battle deadly villains like Carmichael, Dr. Terminal, Perseus X and Medusa, Hazel & Cha Cha, and more. Based on the number of players, shuffle and place the indicated number of villain cards in the middle of the play area, face down. Those villains will use villain attack cards to battle against the siblings.

‘An Umbrella Academy game would be nothing without a little dysfunction, brothers will fight, there will be confrontation, hopelessness, you might even hit rock bottom,’ reads the game’s description. ‘Throughout the game, dysfunctional family cards bring the comic themes to life and affect each round. The siblings are victorious when all the villain cards are defeated, but if the villains overwhelm the siblings the world will be destroyed.’

The Umbrella Academy Card Game is available to pre-order now.

Spacetoon to develop consumer product programme for YouTube’s The Moshaya Family across MENA

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Spacetoon, one of the MENA region’s largest family content providers, has signed a new partnership with The Moshaya Family – the top rated family friendly content creator in the Arab world – to roll out a consumer products and digital media programme that will encompass a new animated series.

Through the agreement, Spacetoon will work to transform the hit YouTube channel into a lifestyle franchise across a variety of consumer products including toys, animation series, video games, and FMCG specially designed to targeting and entertain kids and families.

In developing the consumer products programme for the channel, Spacetoon will introduce the franchise to the toy industry for the first time. The official announcement coincides with the unveiling of a new brand identity for The Moshaya Family, including a new logo reflective of the connection the family has established with its fan base across MENA.

The new brand identity is considered to be the first action towards building a strong brand positioning in the market for The Moshaya Family. As a result, this will pave the way for companies which look for partnership opportunities to boost their businesses through products for children and families.

Ahmad Weiss, commercial director of Spacetoon, said: “This is truly one of the most exciting partnerships that we have ever involved with. We’re so thrilled to be collaborating with the pioneer in the family content creation in the region to provide new experiences for kids and families throughout a variety of consumer products.

“Being in the family entertainment industry for over 20 years has made us closer to the consumers especially parents in a way that helps us win their trust. This couldn’t have been done without the massive support of our global and local partners.”

Muhammed Moshaya, the founder of The Moshaya Family YouTube channel, added: “We are so thrilled for this opportunity with Spacetoon. We have always been interested in enlarging our work throughout in many fields such as toys and licensing, but it was difficult to find the right partner. Now with this alliance we are so excited to finally see the results coming to light.”

Spacetoon has already partnered with Toy Pro, a Dubai-based company specialised in toy distribution and licensing, to launch the first toy line for The Moshaya Family brand in the markets alongside working on wide range of consumer products.