Acamar Films launches its Bing: Watch, Play, Learn app to Italy and Poland

Acamar Films has now successfully launched its all-in-one freemium app, Bing: Watch, Play, Learn to the Italian and Polish markets. It follows the initial launch of the app to the UK last year and highlights the growing might of the IP across the European region.

The app offers child-friendly on-demand viewing of Bing episodes alongside a suite of learning games and activities all designed to help Bingsters develop their creativity, imagination and motor skills. Bing: Watch, Play, Learn has – to date – been downloaded over 400,000 times in the UK.

At its launch in September 2019, the UK app exclusively premiered the latest Bing series, ahead of its BBC broadcast – helping to drive over 100,000 downloads in the first eight weeks alone. Every single episode of Bing (104 in total) is now available to paid subscribers of the app – with a handful of episodes and games offered to free users.

In Italy, Bing: Guarda, Gioca, Impara launched on June 24, while Bing: Oglądaj, baw się i ucz’s official reveal is today. Ad-free, safe and secure for little ones, these localised apps each feature a free version including the top episodes chosen by fans in their country via Bing Facebook, plus complimentary learning games.

Over 80 videos including full episodes and 20 games are available for an annual fee (€4.99 pa / PL21.99 pa), with more content set to be added post-launch. Both free-to-download apps are available from Apple and Google Play app stores, plus the Amazon app store for Italy.

Claire Brossard, Acamar’s director of digital product, said: “We have been thrilled with the exceptional response to Bing: Watch, Play, Learn since it launched in the UK, and are delighted to kick-start our international roll-out with launches in Italy and Poland.

“These territories are incredibly successful for us, with strong broadcast ratings, high levels of affinity for Bing, rapidly growing social and digital communities, and hugely popular YouTube channels. Now, with the app – which sits at the centre of our multi-platform approach to building audiences – Bingsters and their families can take Bing with them wherever they go.”

Acamar Films brings all episodes of Bing to Amazon Prime Video in the UK

Acamar Films has signed a new deal with Amazon Prime Video to bring the most recent episodes of Bing to UK  streaming audiences, while extending its licence of the original 78 episodes for a further two years. The deal means that families can now watch all 104 episodes of Bing on Prime Video on the UK.

The latest series sees Bing, Flop and their friends joined by new characters Nicky and Dr Molly. Adapted for television from the much-loved original books by author Ted Dewan, Bing uses the power of story to explore strategies for both children and grown-ups to overcome obstacles and when things don’t go to plan.

 Acamar’s new deal with Amazon Prime Video also brings the first 26 x 7-minute episodes of the award-winning Bing to Prime Video audiences in Italy and Spain, where the series has already enjoyed huge linear and catch-up success.

“We’re thrilled to have extended our relationship with Amazon Prime Video in the UK, and to be able to introduce Bing to yet more viewers in both Italy and Spain,” said Eroulla Constantine, director of sales and distribution at Acamar Films. “It’s a testament to the success so far of Bing on Prime Video and we look forward to delighting yet more Bingsters with our stories.”

Prime Video offers customers a vast collection of TV shows, movies and more, all available to watch on practically any device.

Bing can now be enjoyed across multiple TV and SVOD services in 130 territories worldwide and via the ‘Bing: Watch, Play, Learn’ app (available now in the UK, Italy and Poland). The property goes from strength to strength with Bing recently, in May, winning ‘Best Property for the Year’ in Italy for 2019 activity.

Acamar Films expands its licensing and marketing units to meet global demand for Bing

Acamar Films has created a dedicated UK team and strengthened key global roles within the outfit to better service the growing demand for its flagship property, Bing, on the world stage.

As pre-school property’s popularity continues to increase in the UK, Louise Simmonds has joined Acamar as head of UK licensing and merchandising, reporting into executive director of sales, Natalie Harvey. Her experience includes 15 years with 20th Century Fox, where she led the UK CP Business and most recently was the vice president for EMEA across the Fox portfolio, working across brands such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The dedicated UK licensing team also includes Claire Shaw and Janna Kirkby, who has recently been promoted to UK associate licensing manager.

Caroline Payne has also joined the team as UK marketing manager, covering both consumer and trade, and reporting into head of marketing Ruedilyn Schwegler. Most recently marketing manager at CinemaLive, Caroline was also at StudioCanal and Simon & Schuster and has worked on popular family entertainment brands including Paddington, Shaun the Sheep and Octonauts.

Laura Clarke has been promoted to head up licensing and merchandising in EMEA following successful CP launches, strong YouTube performance, optimum broadcast placement and the expansion of Acamar Films’ agent network in the last 12 months. Clarke joined Acamar Films four years ago from Mattel, where she was group director EMEA, and her wealth of experience working across all categories in the pre-school sector with major licensees also includes stints at HIT Entertainment and BBC Worldwide. She reports into executive director of sales, Harvey.

With an increasing appetite for Bing publications worldwide, Etta Saunders Bingham has joined Acamar Films in a global role as senior publishing manager, bringing an in-depth understanding and impressive track record of managing children’s brands from her work in licensed publishing and product development for a variety of successful companies including Half Moon Bay where she was head of licensing and publishing, and Parragon Publishing where she worked on an assortment of publishing titles.

Sandra Vauthier-Cellier, chief commercial officer, Acamar Films, said: “We are delighted to welcome such experienced new talent to Acamar Films, and also to recognise with these promotions the fantastic work our teams are doing to move and delight our audience, who are at the heart of everything we do.

“This new structure will enable us to strengthen our engagement with them via a multitude of touch points and expand that audience even further internationally.”

Acamar Films grows live events for Bing with new Trend Media partnership for the Netherlands

Acamar Films has teamed up with leading Dutch theatre production company Trend Media to bring its hit pre-school series Bing to life on stage across the Netherlands and Belgium for the first time. The partnership is the latest move in Acamar’s ongoing plans to expand its international live events footprint.

The four-year deal will see a new live theatre show launch in autumn 2021. The first season will run through to spring 2022, with two further seasons to follow. Co-produced by Acamar Films and Trend Media, the hour-long, interactive musical adventure is designed to appeal to children aged two to five, immersing them in the world of Bing.

Specialists in TV and theatre productions for children, Utrecht-based Trend Media has a track record of delivering successful shows in the Benelux region, including the creation of its own leading children’s programme, Ernst Bobbie en de Rest.

Meanwhile, Emmy Award-winning Bing has seen extraordinary success since its launch in the UK in 2014. Its stories of everyday pre-school dramas have struck a chord with young children and grown-ups across the globe, acquiring a growing fanbase of Bingsters in 130 territories worldwide.

Kirsty Southgate, director promotions and partnerships at Acamar Films, said: “Bing is going from strength to strength in the Netherlands and Belgium, both in consumer products and in building an established loyal audience, so it’s the perfect time to deepen viewers’ engagement through an enthralling live experience.

“We are delighted to team up with Trend Media, who are real experts in designing joyful performances for children, and look forward to creating something truly special for Bingsters and their families to enjoy.”

Erik van Trommel, CEO of Trend Media, added: “We have long been a fan of Bing and we saw very good opportunities for a Bing theatre show in the Netherlands and Belgium. In recent months we have had many conversations with Acamar Films about how a collaboration and a theatre tour would look in these two countries.

“We are very happy with the result and it is wonderful that both companies share a love for children’s entertainment. We look forward to working with Acamar Films to produce a successful theatre tour in the Netherlands and Belgium.”

In Benelux, Bing is a rating hit on Dutch and Flemish linear channels Zappelin and Ketnet. Bing’s Dutch YouTube channel has amassed more than 143 million channel views and 20 million-plus watch time hours since its launch in October 2018.

Confirmed dates and venues for the new live Bing show across the Netherlands and Belgium will be announced later in the year

Acamar Films and HarperCollins celebrate strong start for Bing following World Book Day success

Acamar Films’ award-winning pre-school property Bing and its global publishing partner, HarperCollins Children’s Books, are celebrating a strong start to the year, thanks to the success of this year’s World Book Day.

The popular published title, Bing’s Splashy Story has now reached number three in the overall children’s book charts and is also the third bestselling World Book Day 2020 title. Bing was the only licensed character to have a title for World Book Day this year.

Following the popularity of its pre-school publishing range, Bing’s Splashy Story was created specifically for World Book Day to encourage parents and little ones to Share a Million Stories as reading together leads to long term benefits for early years literacy.

More than 15 million £1 National Book Tokens featuring Bing as a selected title were distributed in the UK and Ireland ahead of celebrations on March 5th this year.

Bing’s Splashy Story is currently available in leading retailers including Waterstones, WHSmith, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Amazon. The audiobook, narrated by British actress Anne-Marie Duff, is available through Audible, Google Audiobooks and Kobo.

Promotional activity included Bing meet and greets at Waterstones in Bluewater shopping centre and on Kensington High Street, along with special in-store live readings of Bing’s Splashy Story by CBeebies presenter Cat Sandion to a delighted crowd of Bingsters.

“Bing’s World Book Day success is a matter of great pride for us,” said Etta Saunders Bingham, senior publishing manager, at Acamar Films. “Reading to children is such a wonderful, shared experience and HarperCollins’ innovative list of Bing titles offers opportunities galore to engage with our preschool audience in a meaningful way.”

Juliet Matthews, publisher, media and brands, HarperCollins Children’s Books, added: “Bing’s Splashy Story is the perfect book for World Book Day as it highlights the joy of sharing stories for pre-schoolers in a delightfully entertaining story where Bing wants to read his favourite story in the bath.”

HarperCollins Children’s Books are the exclusive global publishing partner for Bing. They also recently released Bing My Reward Chart Book which rewards little ones with Bing stickers for completing everyday tasks such as tidying up, sharing, brushing their teeth and toilet training.

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

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.” 

European children’s specialist Chicco picks up Bing for pre-school capsule collection

Acamar Films’ hit pre-school IP, Bing is embarking on a new European jaunt, thanks to a partnership with the children’s products specialist, Chicco.

Maurizio Distefano Licensing closed the licensing agreement for the Italian market this year, in a deal that will now see Bing become the inspiration for a capsule collection for pre-schoolers for spring/summer 2020.

‘It’s a brand-new line, but one that brings together all of Chicco’s established strengths – understanding of fabrics and how to ensure maximum comfort for the little ones – with graphics that reflect the charm and fun of Bing,’ read a description of the line.

As well as the daily broadcast on leading Italian free-to-air kids’ channel Rai Yoyo of 15 episodes a day, Bing can also be seen on Sky Italia channel DeA Junior.

The Italian licensing effort has been launched off the back of not only the series’ broadcast success in the region. Bing also has his own themed area as one of the best-loved children’s characters at Leolandia, Italy’s most popular theme park, where visitors can meet Bing and his friend Flop in person.

Bing is also a growing presence on Italian social networks, with more than 70,000 Likes on the Bing Facebook page, and more than 415,000 subscribers on the Bing YouTube channel, which gets 1,000,000 views every 24 hours!

Acamar Films bolsters team as 2019 rings of success for Bing

While Acamar Films enjoyed quite the successful past 12 months in the public space, with the launch of its new app Bing: Watch, Play, Learn, and the debut of Bing’s Christmas in 106 cinemas across the world, for the UK independent studio, things were just as eventful behind the scenes.
The company has added to its growing stable, welcoming new senior members to the product development and marketing teams.

Paul Keech joined Acamar Films as director of product development. A respected consumer product professional with over 20 years’ experience he has a proven track record of project delivery in global design direction, creative management, style guide creation and product development.

Prior to joining Acamar Films, he was VP of creative services at both DHX Media and HIT Entertainment and director of European Product Development at 20th Century Fox.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Hill has taken on the newly created role of marketing director, leading on Bing’s global marketing and communications strategies. Hill brings with her over 15 years’ experience across content and licensing.

She was previously global brand director at DHX Media and has worked at FremantleMedia Kids & Family, 4Kids Entertainment and Disney amongst other places.

Finally, Ruedilyn Schwegler joined Acamar Films as head of marketing from Warner Bros. where she was key to the global branding, marketing and communications of Harry Potter and the newly created umbrella brand, the Wizarding World.

Schwegler has 11 years’ experience in entertainment marketing and has worked at UKTV, BSkyB and Channel Nine Australia.

Sandra Vauthier-Cellier, chief commercial officer, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming a wealth of experience to Acamar Films to strengthen our senior management team. We are driving forward international expansion in 2020 and are committed to bringing Bing into more homes and hearts.”

Acamar Films bolsters team as 2019 rings of success for Bing

While Acamar Films enjoyed quite the successful past 12 months in the public space, with the launch of its new app Bing: Watch, Play, Learn, and the debut of Bing’s Christmas in 106 cinemas across the world, for the UK independent studio, things were just as eventful behind the scenes.
The company has added to its growing stable, welcoming new senior members to the product development and marketing teams.

Paul Keech joined Acamar Films as director of product development. A respected consumer product professional with over 20 years’ experience he has a proven track record of project delivery in global design direction, creative management, style guide creation and product development.

Prior to joining Acamar Films, he was VP of creative services at both DHX Media and HIT Entertainment and director of European Product Development at 20th Century Fox.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Hill has taken on the newly created role of marketing director, leading on Bing’s global marketing and communications strategies. Hill brings with her over 15 years’ experience across content and licensing.

She was previously global brand director at DHX Media and has worked at FremantleMedia Kids & Family, 4Kids Entertainment and Disney amongst other places.

Finally, Ruedilyn Schwegler joined Acamar Films as head of marketing from Warner Bros. where she was key to the global branding, marketing and communications of Harry Potter and the newly created umbrella brand, the Wizarding World.

Schwegler has 11 years’ experience in entertainment marketing and has worked at UKTV, BSkyB and Channel Nine Australia.

Sandra Vauthier-Cellier, chief commercial officer, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming a wealth of experience to Acamar Films to strengthen our senior management team. We are driving forward international expansion in 2020 and are committed to bringing Bing into more homes and hearts.”