One Animation and Redan partner to bring Oddbods into Fun to Learn magazine

The content creation, distribution, and licensing studio, One Animation has secured a deal with the pre-school magazine publishing house, Redan Publishing to bring Oddbods into its Fun to Learn magazine titles this month.

Under the partnership, Oddbods will feature in the monthly magazine Fun to Learn Favourites from July 16th, followed by the three-weekly Fun to Learn Friends from August 6th. The magazine will feature Oddbods games, puzzles, and word searches, as well as host competitions for readers to win Oddbods plush and dress up merchandise.

The deal covers the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Rob Spindley, SVP business development at One Animation, said: “An important part of our strategy for Oddbods is transporting the characters from the digital realm and into the physical world. This new partnership with Redan Publishing will offer fans an exciting way to interact and play with their favourite Oddbods characters beyond the screen, and we look forward to seeing the magazines hit shelves this month.”

Julie Jones, managing director at Redan Publishing, added: “When deciding on which new characters to add to our successful pre-school compilation magazines, we take into account how on trend the brand is, whether it will work from an educational standpoint and most importantly will it be popular with our readers.

“What attracted us to Oddbods is the wonderful mix of unique characters. Every child will be able to relate to one of the characters and this encourages children to celebrate difference and individuality especially when it’s all presented in such a fun and humorous way.”

Oddbods has becomed a globally recognised comedy brand featuring seven highly unique friends. Together, despite their differences, they survive the perils of everyday life, unintentionally turning ordinary situations into unexpected, extraordinary, and always humorous events.

Signature Publishing shows support for the Hungry Little Minds campaign for pre-schoolers

The UK children’s magazine publisher, Signature Publishing, is lending its support to the Department for Education’s Hungry Little Minds campaign, an initiative launched in 2019 to improve the communication and literacy skills of pre-school children.

Becoming an active partner of the campaign, Signature Publishing is helping Hungry Little Minds to encourage parents and carers to engage in activities that will support their children’s learning. The first Hungry Little Minds features will appeal in Fantastic Funworld, Signature’s pre-school multi-character magazine.

It will then be featured in more of the publisher’s pre-school magazines that include top licensed brands and characters.

Using fun activities and simple prompts, these Hungry Little Minds pages will reinforce the campaign’s mission of showing parents that early learning isn’t a chore, but something to be enjoyed and shared – and will help children to develop those vital communication skills.

“We are fully behind this brilliant campaign and know that children’s magazines are the perfect vehicle to promote it,” said Amanda Clifford, Signature’s editorial director. “We’re so aware that many children miss out on these vital pre-school skills and, as highlighted by Hungry Little Minds, can become disadvantaged not just in school, but in their whole lives. It’s such an important initiative and we are honoured to be able to partner with it.”

The first Hungry Little Minds feature will appear in Fantastic Funworld, on sale July 24, and then will be featured in every issue.

To find out more about Hungry Little Minds, visit hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk and for more information about Signature Publishing, visit signaturepl.co.uk

Kennedy Publishing partners with The Social Store to launch Hearts By Tiana themed issue of Totally

Kennedy Publishing is celebrating a successful partnership with The Social Store that will see the children’s magazine publisher launch a one-shot issue of its hit Totally magazine featuring the ten-year-old YouTube sensation, Tiana Wilson, face of the Hearts By Tiana brand.

The 36 page magazine will be based on Tiana’s licensed brand, Hearts By Tiana, which launched exclusively with ASDA where it saw a 60 per cent sell through in the first week. Tiana currently boasts more than 16 million subscribers across hr two YouTube channels and total video views of three billion.

In this special issue of Totally, readers can find out all about Tiana and read what she has to say in her own words. Fans can take the TT squad quiz, solve puzzles, get involved with squad pranks and make fun crafts. There will also be pull-out Tiana posters and an exclusive competition for Hearts By Tiana product. Readers will receive a Squad Set gift including gel pens, notepad, scrunchie and surprise collectable.

The Hearts By Tiana range, including daywear, nightwear, bags, shoes, accessories and stationery is now available at over 1000 retailers across the UK. Readers can find an exclusive discount code inside the magazine to put towards their favourite items.

“We are excited to be working with Tiana for this new one-shot edition of Totally magazine,” said Sophie Rowlands, licensing director at Kennedy Publishing. “High quality editorial, design and gifts combined with Tiana’s huge following will ensure the magazine is a great success at retail.”

Ian Shepherd, founder and CEO of The Social Store added: “[Hearts By Tiana] has opened up a new category of licensors injecting new opportunities into the retail space and demonstrated the power of licensing in a new, high profile and rapidly growing influencer industry.

“We are very proud to work with Kennedy Publishing on this landmark magazine and are sure it will be a huge success for kids looking to learn more about Tiana.”

Egmont is launching a new Milkshake! magazine for early years audiences

Egmont Publishing is to launch a new Milkshake! magazine later this month, bringing Channel 5’s multi-platform pre-school brand back to the publishing sector.

During its day-part, Milkshake! is the top performing TV segment on a free-to-air channel and is currently experiencing a 15 per cent growth in kids’ viewership year on year.

A compilation magazine for all children who love Milkshake!, Egmont’s new title will be aimed at three to five year olds. In the new Milkshake! magazine, readers can learn and play with their favourite characters including Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol and Thomas & Friends, as well as their favourite Milkshake! presenters too.

All 44 pages of Egmont’s first issue of Milkshake! magazine will be full of pre-school fun, plus an extra eight-page Peppa Pig mini mag and an amazing Peppa Pig shopping set, so Milkshake! readers can extend the world of play and discovery beyond the magazine.

Through Egmont’s own research, Milkshake! magazine’s content will be rooted in Early Years Foundation Stage learning, delivered through fun and play, with Egmont’s Ages and Stages insight to make sure that each page caters to multiple skill levels and abilities.

Over the next twelve months, Milkshake! magazine will be promoted at the end of Milkshake! programmes on air. Milkshake! fans will also be in with a chance to win a year’s worth of the new magazine, as a competition to win subscriptions will run on air and online.

As well as social media advertising across Milkshake! and Egmont platforms, a website takeover for Milkshake! magazine will run on popular parenting website, UKMums.tv.

Kiran Vara, publisher of Milkshake! magazine, said: “We’re thrilled to be launching our take on Milkshake! magazine and to be offering a high-quality magazine to the segment’s 1.6 million monthly viewers.

“We’re sure that the package of Egmont’s lively and engaging editorial, vibrant, contemporary design and quality cover mounts will mean that this new look magazine is a big hit with Milkshakers!”

Issue number one goes on sale on February 12th and is priced at £4.99.