Category Archives: Live

Acamar partners with Gulliver’s to bring Bing live shows and appearances to Gulliver’s Land

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Gulliver’s Theme Parks and Resorts has detailed its new partnership with Acamar Films that will see stars of its flagship children’s property, Bing, brought to life at Gulliver’s Land, Milton Keynes.

Both Bing and Flop will be the stars of daily live shows and special appearances at Splash Tots sessions, birthday packages and themed activities for overnight guests. The new campaign will kick off from April 4th this year, with the first character appearances scheduled daily during the Easter holidays.

Dean Kimberley, director of guest services at Gulliver’s, said: “The partnership with Acamar Films and Bing is a brilliant addition to our very popular stay and play packages and entertainment offering within the Park. We are really looking forward to hosting the themed activities for our overnight guests, in addition to the mini show and character appearances throughout the year.

“We wanted to promote inclusivity, adventure and kindness, Bing encompasses all of these values and is ideal for families with children of pre-school age to enjoy.”

In addition to Gulliver’s Land, parents and their little ones can enjoy Bing’s live show at CBeebies Land, Alton Towers Resort which continues into 2020. Guests to the park will be entertained by some of their favourite CBeebies characters and can enjoy live show performances daily in Big Fun Show Time, as well as Bing’s Sleepover for overnight guests at the CBeebies Land hotel.  

Kirsty Southgate, director of promotions and partnerships at Acamar Films, said: “We’re delighted to see Bing and Flop make their debut at Gulliver’s Land. The new themed activity trail and guest experiences will create wonderful ways for young children and their families to engage and play with Bing.

“We’re equally thrilled to announce the renewal of Bing’s presence at CBeebies Land who has been resident at the Park since 2017. It’s another fantastic way to create special treasured moments for Bingsters and their grown-ups to enjoy.” 

Bologna Licensing Trade Fair rescheduled for May as Italy is kept on lockdown after Coronavirus outbreak

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The Bologna Licensing Trade Fair has been rescheduled to later on in the year, owing to the latest European outbreak of the Coronavirus that has seen Italy go into lockdown in the last few days.

Originally scheduled for March 30th to April 1st this year, the Licensing and Book fair have both been rescheduled to take place this May, Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 as the country deals with what has been cited as the largest outbreak within a single European country so far.

Italy confirmed this week that the number of cases of Coronavirus within the country had now risen to 229, with seven deaths now recorded. Eleven towns across Lombardy  -where the outbreak emerged suddenly on Friday last week, and Veneto have been quarantined for at least the next 15 days.

The majority of those that have died from the Coronavirus in Italy have been elderly people who had also been suffering from other health issues. The latest was an 80 year old man in Milan.

Around 50,000 residents in the towns under lockdown have now been told to stay at home and avoid social contact, while schools, shops, and businesses – apart from chemists and some supermarkets – have been closed.

The Bologna Licensing Trade Fair made public its shift in dates via its social media pages and its own website where it will continue to post updates throughout the day.

Global analysts have warned of a major knock on effect on the worldwide economy as production throughout China still remains – at large – on lockdown with many of its factories closed under quarantine. The full-scale of the impact on industries and businesses is yet to be measured.

Coolabi secures new content and licensing partnerships for Clangers

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The independent media group, Coolabi Group has secured a raft of new partnerships for the award-winning pre-school property, Clangers spanning a deal with Gulliver;s Theme park Resorts, new episodes on CBeebies UK, and a YouTube Kids series.

A new Clangers licensing partnership with Gulliver’s Theme Park Resorts will see the launch of a live experience aimed at families with pre-school children launching this February half term. It features a 15 minute live Clangers stage show with Tiny and Small Clanger, as well as special hotel and birthday packages,

The partnership will run across four locations throughout the year.

On top of this, new episodes of the BAFTA winning show Clangers will air on CBeebies in March and will conclude series three. Narrated by Sir Michael Palin, the new eight x 11’ episodes will follow the Clangers on a host of new experiences and adventures.

The stop-motion animation series of Clangers is also continuing its global expansion on YouTube, by bringing more episodes to YouTube Kids in the US. The first 10 episodes of series three launched this week on the streaming service.

The recently launched YouTube seriesThe Tiny and Small Clanger Show, which has accumulated over 500k views so far, uses hand puppetry and is produced by Wildbrain Spark and Coolabi Productions.

Available to watch now on the Clangers official YouTube channel, the short-form series follows Tiny and Small as they embark on lots of educational adventures together from learning about recycling and nursery rhymes, to finding out more about music, shapes and counting.

Available for licensees, Tiny & Small Dreams will feature a unisex palette on a clean white base, with pops of colour, flat character art, stitching detail and applique details. The range will be launching on the Clangers official store this quarter.

Director of content at Coolabi Group, Michael Dee, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be starting the new year with some brand new Clangers episodes on CBeebies and also celebrating our core pre-school family audience by focusing on the youngest members of the Clangers family, Tiny and Small, with a series of creative new brand extensions including live experiences and licensed apparel.

“YouTube is an essential platform for content creators to reach preschoolers. The Tiny and Small Show is full of educational messages, songs and adventure, and we are confident that it will resonate and be embraced by little Clangers fans across the globe.”

The Pokémon Company launches half term pop-up at Harrods

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The Pokémon Company International has launched a month-long pop-up in Harrods’ famed Knightsbridge store in London, featuring a host of special Pokémon activities for fans and families his half term.

The pop-up opened on Friday, February 14th, with a special area in Harrods themed after the Galar region, which is a UK-inspired new region from the recent Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games.

The two new releases have become the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch titles, with more than six million units sold worldwide during last November’s launch weekend, with global sales now totalling over 16 million units.

Running through to Friday, March 13th this year, Pokémon has taken over the pop-up space in the store’s fourth-floor toy department.

The pop-up features a range of Pokémon products, including toys, the Trading Card Game, stationery, and accessories. Activities planned for the month include giveaways and character appearances from Pikachu and friends, a screen showcasing the TCG and toys, and additional surprises planned to mark Pokémon Day on February 27th.

Mathieu Galante, licensing director EMEA at The Pokémon Company International, said: “We are delighted to be returning to this iconic store for another Pokémon pop-up.

“We were thrilled with the response to our previous pop-up at Harrods in May and are looking forward to providing another great experience for Pokémon fans old and new over the coming month.”

The pop-up follows a successful month at Harrods last May when Pokémon took over the pop-up space in the renowned store’s newly launched fourth-floor toy department with a range of products and activity to promote the launch of the live action movie Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

Disney and UEFA team up to encourage young girls into football with Playmakers campaign

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Disney has teamed with the UEFA to develop a ground-breaking football programme that uses the studio’s penchant for storytelling to encourage more young girls into football with the initiative it has called, Playmakers.

Inspired by academic research that has demonstrated the positive role of storytelling in helping children take up sport,  Playmakers also aims to increase the proportion of girls meeting the World Health Organisation’s minimum standards for physical activity.

Targeting five to eight year-old girls not currently playing football, seven UEFA national associations –Scotland, Norway, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Romania, and Serbia – will roll out the Playmakers campaign through schools, clubs and local communities, with more associations expected to introduce the programme later in the year.

Each of Playmaker’s ten initial training sessions follow the narrative of Disney and Pixar’s billion dollar global box office smash hit, Incredibles 2. Equipped with footballs, bibs and cones, trained coaches encourage participants to play the roles of popular characters, such as Elastigirl, Violet, Mr Incredible and Dash, bringing the film’s action scenes to life through movement, teamwork and imagination.

“If you’re going to teach football through the power of storytelling and play, you have to do it with the best stories and characters in the world, and Disney is the perfect partner for this,” said Nadine Kessler, UEFA Head of Women’s Football.

“By taking that Disney magic, and implementing the first-ever pan-European girls’ grassroots football programme, we will give any girl the best possible opportunity to fall in love with football.”

As Playmakers rolls out across Europe, new Disney storytelling will be added to the programme.

Early sessions will see the Playmakers programme focus on building girls’ confidence in their movement, encouraging creative thinking and communicating easily with their friends. Later sessions introduce girls to basic football skills.

Kessler added: “We want girls to have the same feeling and be encouraged to create their own game and make their own decisions. This is exactly what this programme is about – creating an environment for all girls to flourish and develop, whether that be fundamental movement skills, football basics or life skills and values.

“We truly believe that this unique programme can be the spark for a more active generation of football-loving girls.”

At the centre of the Playmakers’ campaign will be a play-based learning programme developed following a literary review from Leeds’ Beckett University in England. Commissioned by UEFA, the review assessed academic research into what motivates young girls to participate in sports, identifying best practice coaching methods to create a safe learning environment.

The programme is also the result of a knowledge-transfer partnership with the English Football Association who is currently running the Shooting Stars programme in partnership with Disney.

Playmakers represents a first step toward achieving one of the main goals of  UEFA’s own Time for Action mission statement, in which UEFA Women’s Football aims to double girls’ and women’s participation in football by 2024.

“It is UEFA’s duty as European football’s governing body to empower girls to play the game,” added UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, “Through this partnership with Disney, we will open up football to an audience not yet engaged with our sport.”

On top of this, it is across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), that Disney has a long-standing Healthy Living Commitment, using its storytelling to get families more active and working to educate and inspire children about healthy eating.

This has led to a variety of partnerships on inspirational campaigns, such as Public Health England’s 10 Minute Shake Up, which inspired two million kids to get active and register more than 100 million extra minutes of physical activity.

In Poland, Disney launched its #GetMovingWithDisneyJunior initiative, a campaign spearheaded by local sporting champions, which reached more than 30,000 youngsters. The campaign involved the creation of more than 30 films, which featured children exercising alongside Disney Junior characters.

Nicole Morse, Disney EMEA’s vice president of integrated marketing, said: “This brilliant Playmakers initiative is another great example of Disney’s long-term commitment to help future generations lead healthier lifestyles.

“By using our much-loved characters and stories as a force for good, we can really make a difference and inspire families and children to be more active. So we’re very proud that by partnering with UEFA on the first pan-European girls football programme, we will encourage more and more girls across the region to get active, build their confidence and participate in playing football, all in an environment that has been specifically designed for them.”

Industry backs The Sustainability in Licensing Conference as it readies for June debut

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BBC Studios, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and ViacomCBS are just a smattering of the industry big hitter to throw their support behind the Sustainability in Licensing Conference, an initiative aimed at breaking new grounds within the licensing industry’s sustainability efforts.

In a show of support for the concept launched in a joint venture by Max Publishing and Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of the Products of Change Group, the industry has been quick to back the event, with its roster of partners climbing to 20 within weeks of its announcement.

Already the likes of MDR Brand Management, the Natural History Museum, Hasbro, Character World, TDP Textiles, Brandgenuity, Change Plastics for Good, Smiffys, Dreamtex, Kids Industries, and Amscan have got behind the project as it prepares to debut this year.

This roster has been joined by the likes of GB eye, Global Brands Europe, Those Licensing People, University of Oxford, and Discovery Inc.

To be held at The British Library on Thursday, June 11th 2020, the Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2020 is aimed at everyone in the licensing arena, from retailers to licensors, licensees to trade suppliers.

Its aim is to help the industry future-proof its businesses with insight on how to develop sustainable strategies, taking into consideration how a given organisation operates in today’s ecological, social and economic environment.

The Sustainability in Licensing Conference (SILC 2020) will look to inspire and inform as to how the dynamic licensing sector can continue to innovate and grow commercially while not costing the planet.

“Sustainability is so much more than a buzzword, it is and will continue to be, a vital driver of business decisions,” said Mansell-Stopher, conference director and curator. “To drive sustainable growth within the licensing industry over the next few decades will require a radical approach to business practices be it through embracing new materials and production techniques, re-engineering packaging or adopting new marketing methods, all without sacrificing financial growth.

“Our aim with SILC 2020 is to help both future-proof our industry and our world.”

The conference’s agenda will see leading lights and visionaries from outside and within the industry as well as retail experts, sharing their achievements and demonstrating the gains, both environmentally and financially, that can be made.

“The licensing industry is huge and multi-farious – generating US$272 billion at retail at the last count. The brands and properties that feature on all manner of consumer goods across the whole retail spectrum bring so much pleasure to millions of people,” continued Mansell-Stopher.

“I have every confidence that the learnings shared at the Sustainability in Licensing Conference will see some significant gains being made on the environmental front too. We’re all on this journey together, but ensuring we establish a more sustainable footing is no distant wish, it’s very much a necessity.”

Demonstrating its own commitment to the cause, SILC has secured an additional partnership with Offset Earth to ensure the conference is fully carbon offset.

The event’s partnership with Offset Earth will mean that running the conference, along with its attendees, will generate the planting of 720 mangrove trees in Madagascar, an area that houses more than 200,000 species of plants and animals that do not live anywhere else in the world.

However, more than 90 per cent of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed, displacing entire animal species and taking away the Malagasy’s ability to farm and live on the land. Entire mangrove estuaries are gone, leaving the bare earth to wash away into the sea.

Funds from SILC 2020 will support the non-profit Eden Reforestation Projects as it continues to reforest the island. Eden is a world leader in responsible reforestation, having already planted 265 million trees and created 2.6 million work days for local communities.

Sustainability in Licensing Conference 2020 – the line-up

Meanwhile, already a content framework for the day has been detailed, highlighting the need for greater change with talks on the following topics:

  • Why change? – 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what they mean for the industry and the individual
  • How can business contribute towards a sustainable future?
  • Designing out waste – why design plays an important part in the sustainability journey
  • Plastic innovation in packaging and SUPs
  • Collaborations and why these are so important
  • How to unlock sustainable finance and the need to review how we track finance within corporations’ gross domestic product
  • Why we need to move to a circular economy business model
  • Innovation within fashion manufacturing and retail
  • Marketing and communications – both internal and external
  • A panel with leaders from the toy industry, discussing the road ahead and how to manage change collectively
  • What retail requires from the industry
  • A panel with UK retailers, coming together to drive change

Find out how to book your place at this year’s Sustainability in Licensing Conference by clicking here.

The Light Fund’s Licensing Lolz comedy night returns for 2020 with new venue

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The Licensing Lolz, an evening dedicated to comedy and raising money for the licensing industry charity, The Light Fund, is making its return for the third consecutive year this year, taking place a new and bigger, better location.

This year’s offering of laughter – at both the evening’s comedians and (more likely) your colleagues’ expense – will take place on April 23rd at The Albany on Great Portland Street, London. Doors will open at 6pm and the comedy evening will commence promptly at 7.30pm… so walk in late at your own risk.

“It’s a great chance to catch up with your industry colleagues whilst being entertained by some very funny comedians – £40/ticket with food included, tickets are limited so get yours soon,” said Sabrina Segalov, event organiser on behalf of The Light Fund.

Money raised from the evening will go towards to charities backed by The Light Fund.

BBC Studios taps Step Inside Productions to launch first CBeebies-themed experiential pop-up tour for kids

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BBC Studios has tapped the London-based experiential production company, Step Inside Productions, to develop and manage the first CBeebies-themed interactive pop-up experience for children.

The CBeebies Rainbow Adventure has been designed for children under the age of six and their parents, families, or carers, delivering a transportable, inflatable CBeebies-themed structure spanning 350 square meters.

It contains an array of immersive activities based on CBeebies favourites, including Hey Duggee, Something Special, Sarah & Duck, Go Jetters, and Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures.

CBeebies Rainbow Adventure launches its year-round tour of the UK in April 2020, debuting at Ealing Common, before moving on to Brent Cross, Hull, Ipswich, Richmond, and York. Further UK locations will be announced in due course.

Step Inside Productions is part of Theseus Agency, which consults to clients in entertainment and media to develop new products, brands and business strategies and to source and execute commercial deals.

The company specialises in designing, producing, licensing and operating experiential entertainment formats and combines the vision and extensive experience in entertainment business, rights and design of its partners – Dan Marks, Victoria Molony and Samantha Hardingham – to develop and operate new experiential formats.

Dan Marks was the deputy managing director of British Telecom’s consumer division and CEO of BT TV. He has also held senior executive positions at Universal Studios Networks Worldwide, ProSiebenSat1 and TV3 Russia.

A best-selling author and experienced architectural designer, Samantha Hardingham has curated exhibitions in the UK and Europe. She led on the design of the CBeebies Rainbow Adventure.

Victoria Molony is a qualified lawyer and experienced business affairs adviser specialising in media, entertainment and telecoms. She has advised a range of clients including international broadcasters, Premier League football clubs and J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore on licensing, exploitation and distribution matters.

Marks said: “We’re incredibly excited to be launching CBeebies Rainbow Adventure into the experiential market. The rich insights and cross-sector experience that the partners bring have enabled us to take a truly holistic approach to the creation of new entertainment experiences.”

Mat Way, global director, live entertainment, at BBC Studios, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Step Inside Productions on the first ever CBeebies interactive pop-up experience. CBeebies Rainbow Adventure is an innovative, inspiring and fun way of bringing CBeebies branded activities to the UK regions.”

Millimages brings Molang to the Paris Aquarium for exhibition on plastic pollution

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The French animation studio Millimages has partnered with the Paris Aquarium to bring the popular character Molang to a special exhibition that will educate children on how to preserve the oceans from plastic pollution.

The exhibition will run from January 11 until March 9 this year and will feature both Molang and his best friend Piu Piu throughout the venue. The aquarium will be re-branded with Molang wall graphics, ticket counters, boutiques, screens, TV, flyers and a photobooth.

A new live show – targeting children aged three years and above – will aim to show children the right actions to take to preserve the oceans. In addition, every weekend and through the school holidays, Molang will appear at the Aquarium for meet and greets with fans.

Lise Cosentino, director marketing and communication, Millimages, said: “We have been working on this collaboration for more than a year now. It has been a unique experience to customise three 500m² in the very heart of Paris with Molang. The Paris Aquarium is a popular family outing for Parisians and tourists.”

Children can also take part in creative workshops themed around the marine world with the characters including building their own mobiles featuring maritime motifs or colouring in the fish with Molang and Piu Piu.

Other activities will include a treasure hunt, while a dedicated app will be available during the exhibition featuring interactive games.

Ian Wickham, director, Licensing Link Europe, added: “We are delighted to see Molang and Piu Piu delivering a campaign such as this at the highly regarding Paris Aquarium. Part of the DNA of the show and interaction of the key characters focuses around happiness and mutual respect – which fits in perfectly with the education of young people to how to respect the oceans which, in turn, delivers a feeling of happiness that they are doing their bit in understanding how we can make positive differences.”

Special screenings of episodes of the TV series will also be broadcast in the Aquarium’s movie theatre.

The partnership will continue to build on the already high profile of Molang in France. Season four launched on PIWI+ (Canal+) in September 2019 and is broadcast every day.

TF1, meanwhile, is airing two episodes in a row every weekday, with season three having launched in November 2019. Molang is also available on Netflix.

Opinion: How I met Vincent Van Gogh and its future for licensing

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It was at the opening of the Van Gogh Museum’s newest UK venture, the Meet Vincent van Gogh experience along London’s South Bank last night, that a glimpse into the high-spec future of immersive licensing was offered.

A collaboration of efforts between Holland’s Van Gogh Museum and the UK’s own Golden Tours, the three month exhibition comes with a big promise; to give art lovers and families an all immersive insight into the life – and mind – of one of history’s most celebrated artists.

And it’s a promise on which the Van Gogh Museum – first established in 1973 and now watched over by the Van Gogh family, relations of the Dutch artist himself – truly delivers; bringing visitors as close to the talent and his family – short of meeting the man himself – as is possible.

In a statement to opening night visitors, Mikesh Palan, the managing director of Golden Tours, with whom The Van Gogh Museum has partnered to bring the UK leg of the experience’s global tour to life, riffed off the company’s own mission statement, that tourism is the only business that brings cultures together.

I believe now that a caveat can be respectfully added to the sentiment, and that is that licensing, tastefully done with as much care, attention, and scrutiny as carried by those presiding over the Van Gogh estate, can do it just as well.

Today, more so than ever, the most successful licenses know that key to it all is a brand’s ability to tell a story. There’s certainly no lack of storytelling when families put on their headsets and step straight into a story of love, vision, and a relationship between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo, all while walking through, engaging with and becoming part of the art work that has made Van Gogh (although visitors learn he’d rather be known as Vincent) the revered artists, and by extension, the brand, he is.

Families and art fans are invited, if not actively encouraged, to engage with the installations around them – whether that is touching the walls, the table and chairs of a Parisian café setting, the hay bales of the Wheat Field, become the Potato Eaters by getting their hands quite literally on the focal point of the famous painting, or scale the walls of the Yellow House with their eyes as they peer into – and out of – some of the most significant windows of Vincent’s life.

A chilling walk through the passages of the asylum the artist spent a year of his life within takes visitors on a deeper journey of Van Gogh’s mind as it battles those famed psychotic episodes that encompassed the ‘Yellow Years’, and draws empathy from an audience that, in Meet Vincent Van Gogh, finds a new way to engage with art and artistry.

All of this, of course, positions Meet Vincent Van Gogh as the perfect platform from which audiences can continue their love affair with the work of the artist in a gift shop that could just as easily be a part of the exhibition itself, so seamlessly does it transition from 1890 and the death of Van Gogh, and the legacy that his art left behind him.

Were I an art critic, I’d be singing my excitement for the future of art exhibition from the roof of the National Theatre that this experience sits tucked behind. For the licensing community however, this is a prime example of immersive entertainment done the right way. Now, time to go and get my hands on all that merchandise.