Tag Archives: news

Mothercare signs off franchise partnership with UK high street retailer Boots

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The baby products specialist brand Mothercare has signed off a franchise deal with the high street retailer Boots that will see the pharmacy chain sell Mothercare products within its branches and online. Mothercare wnet into administration last year and was forced to close all of its UK shops in January this year.

The deal with Boots was first detailed in December 2019, but has suffered repeated delays drawn out by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The franchising agreement will now run in the UK and Ireland for an initial period of 10 years. Mothercare has stated that the deal will take effect as of this autumn.

“Boots is at the heart of one of the largest healthcare businesses in the world and Mothercare will dovetail well as the specialist brand for parents and young children in both Boots stores and online,” Mothercare said in an update on its restructuring plan.

Mothercare’s UK business went into administration in November last year and all its 79 UK outlets were subsequently closed. There are still 800 stores in 40 other territories, all operated by franchise partners.

Mothercare said it had signed a new 20-year deal with its biggest franchise partner, the Alshaya Group, which operates Mothercare stores in Russia and 10 Middle Eastern countries.

It said that the restructuring of its UK business had substantially reduced its debts, but estimated that it still had outstanding obligations worth about £10m.

The Emoji Company takes legal action against Emoji King for trademark infringement

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The Emoji Company has taken legal action against Emoji King and the use of its trademark that the company believes to ‘similar to the point of infringement’ upon its own trademark registered company name. Emoji is the registered name by The Emoji Company  for a multitude of goods and services.

The company owns the well-established Emoji trademark in more than 100 countries, encompassing goods and services in up to 35 classes.

In court proceedings, it has been stated that the use of Emoji King infringes The Emoji Company’s trademark rights. It has since prohibited several companies – one of which is Emoji King Industrial Co Ltd – from directly or indirectly advertising, offering, and bringing into circulation any products for which The Emoji Company holds registered trademarks.

The trademark Emoji is licensed and used through an international network of renowned agents, licensee, retailers, entertainment and advertisement companies around the world, and the Emoji brand has been globally awarded by the licensing industry.

Official Emoji brand partners include blue chip corporations such as Sony Pictures Animation, Ferrero, Burger King, Nikon, Walmart, Nestle, Zara, Aldi, Pepsico, Ravensburger, The Hershey Company amongst many others.

“Given the success of the globally established and recognized emoji® brand, there are competitors that try to imitate the original,” said Marco Hüsges, CEO and founder of The Emoji Company.

For that reason The Emoji Company continues to take legal action and working with customs globally to defend its well-established brand identity and honest reputation against trademark infringements.

US brand Owens Corning celebrates its 40 year partnership with MGM’s The Pink Panther

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The US construction company Owens Corning is celebrating a 40 year relationship with MGM’s iconic The Pink Panther, the recognised mascot for the business having kicked off its partnership back in August 1980. Over the course of four decades, The Pink Panther has starred in countless TV, print, and digital media promotions for the firm.

The Pink Panther also adorns the vehicles and hundreds of select contractors, distributors, and builders working with the company’s roofing and insulation business. The partnership first got off the ground to promote sales of Pink Fiberglas insulation on August 15, 1980.

“The relationship between Owens Corning and The Pink Panther is nothing short of remarkable,” said Suzanne Harnett, Owens Corning’s vice president of corporate affairs. “For 40 years, The Pink Panther has been a smart and stylish ambassador for our company speaking persuasively to our brand promise despite never uttering a word.”

Robert Marick, MGM’s executive vice president, global consumer products and experiences, said: “Marking 40 years of The Pink Panther as spokesperson for Owens Corning is a true moment to celebrate. It’s rare that you see a promotional relationship like this continue for decades.

“It speaks to both the timelessness and universal appeal of The Pink Panther, as well as Owens Corning’s ability to make him an integral part of their marketing and platforms.”

The company’s enduring relationship with The Pink Panther began the same year that saw the introduction of CNN, Pac-Man, and Post-it Notes, and it has since coincided with the terms of seven US presidents.

The concept for pairing The Pink Panther with Owens Corning was first suggested by Roger Butler, an executive at the New York-based advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather.

The association was made given the colour of the company’s insulation, which has brandished its distinctive pink hue for more than 60 years. The color was added in 1956 when the company was testing a new form of the product. After demonstrating decades of widespread use of the colour PINK®, Owens Corning became the first company to receive a trademark for a color, on May 12, 1987.

Zippy, Furchester Hotel, Gremlins and more to star in Pop-Up Palladium supporting puppeteers across the arts industry

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The iconic Zippy, characters from The Furchester Hotel, Gremlins, and the talent behind the puppets of Netflix’s Dark Crystal Age of Resistance, The Seed of Chucky, and the Muppet films will be coming together for a new virtual puppet theatre launched to support puppeteers across the arts industry in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Acts taking part in the Pop-Up Palladium’s first two shows on Friday, September 4th and Friday, September 18th have now been detailed, as the campaign prepares to launch across Zoom with the aim of ‘whisking audiences away from the doom and gloom’ with a mystery tour of nostalgia.

Pop-Up Palladium will be hosted by the Welsh puppeteer, Emily Morus-Jones, and each show will feature an eclectic selection of types of puppetry, showcasing individual performances, followed by exclusive interviews. It will look to offer a behind the scenes look into the full spectrum of puppetry in theatre, TV, and film.

Included in the first mix of shows are accomplished puppeteers including Shadowography with Drew Colby, The Puppet Barge with Stan Middleton, Artistic Director of Curious School of Puppetry Sarah Wright, The Lips by Puppets with Guts, Toybox with Kamarai Romeo, BGT’s Patsy May, Mademoiselle Lychee with Aya Nakamura and BAFTA and Emmy winning Director Julian Kemp.

Further acts for future shows are yet to be announced.

The Pop-up Palladium host and puppeteer Emily Morus-Jones, said: “My hope is that this event will go some way to keeping struggling performers afloat, give them a bit of hope and inspiration for the future, and help audiences to discover what a wonderful, broad church the world of puppetry really is.”

With theatres having been left out in the cold by lockdown easing, and TV productions being slower to start up, it has been a notably difficult time for puppeteers who usually work in close proximity. The Pop-Up Palladium was conceived as a way to help the industry across the whole spectrum of puppetry showcase their work and learn about the different approaches to this rich and varied art form.

Funds raised will be split between the puppeteers performing, utilising the online platform to support artists through these challenging times while Theatres and TV productions are just getting back on their feet.

The Pop-Up Palladium has been funded by The Arts Council Wales in addition to being sponsored by The Curious School Of Puppetry and Talk To The Hand Puppets.

 The line up is as follows:

Friday 4th September, 7.50pm for 8pm start:

HOST – Emily Morus-Jones

A Welsh Puppeteer and Puppet Maker for film, TV, and live events. Emily trained as a TV puppeteer on the Sesame Workshop and BBC production The Furchester Hotel in addition to completing training at The Curious School Of Puppetry.

Emily has performed with puppets on shows for ITV and CBBC, short films, and commercials in addition to working with high profile clients in the music industry that include Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa, The Brit Awards, Rag’nBone Man and Jam Baxter.

Additionally she has built puppets for The Handspring Puppet Company, KneeHigh Theatre, Nick Barnes Puppets, John Lewis and the band Iron Maiden.

SHADOWOGRAPHY with Drew Colby

Drew Colby has worked with puppets in the UK and Southern Africa for over 30 years. His first professional work started at the Playhouse Puppet Company at Durban, South Africa. Work spanned traditional double bridge, long string marionette shows, open stage tabletop puppetry, and performances with mixed styles of puppetry, acting, mask work, and dance.

He later returned to work in the UK at the Little Angel Theatre, notably alongside Steve Tiplady, which led him to start exploring ‘instant puppetry’ where there are no purpose built puppets – only objects brought to life. This in turn led him to shadow work where the theatre is created out of the absence of light, the puppeteers ability, and the audience’s imagination – ‘the ultimate instant puppetry’.

Drew has travelled across the globe performing shadows in addition to creating shadow sequences for Danny Boyle, Nintendo, B&Q, Lodotra, Suso, the RSPB, BBC, Channel 4, V&A Museum, and The Royal Opera House.                                    

THE PUPPET BARGE – Stan Middleton

The Puppet Theatre Barge has been putting on a programme of unique and magical shows on a converted Thames barge for over 30 years.

Stan Middleton is a third-generation puppeteer who has been performing professionally since the age of nine. Stan specialises in marionettes and runs The Puppet Theatre Barge, a fifty-seat puppet theatre inside a converted barge based in London. The Puppet Theatre Barge was started by Stan’s grandparents who originally trained at the Little Angel Theatre with John and Lyndie Wright.

Stan is a regular puppetry tutor at Central School of Speech and Drama and The Curious School of Puppetry. Other performance credits include ‘The Oddissy’ Paper Cinema and Battersea Arts Centre, ‘Venus and Adonis’ RSC and Little Angel Theatre, ‘Jabberwocky’ Little Angel Theatre. ‘Angelo’, Little Angel Theatre.

 ZIPPY & RONNIE LE DREW

Zippy is one of the UK Children’s TV heavy weights and most iconic childhood characters. No virtual puppet theatre would be complete without him!

Ronnie Le Drew is one of the UK’s most respected puppeteers, and recipient of the prestigious Harlequin Award, the Oscar of the puppetry world. He has operated many of the most iconic children’s puppets of the twentieth century – Sweep, Muffin the Mule, Bill and Ben, Brains from Thunderbirds – as well as working on classic puppet films such as Labyrinth, Little Shop of Horrors and The Muppet Christmas Carol. Muppet Treasure Island, and the new Netflix series Dark Crystal Age of Resistance. He continues to work regularly as a puppeteer in TV, theatre and advertising and also teaches at the Curious School Of Puppetry, London School of Puppetry, and at The Little Angel Theatre in London.

SARAH WRIGHT

Sarah is a master Puppeteer and Puppet Director who served as an additional Muppet performer on 1996’s Muppet Treasure Island and puppeteered Vogons and other aliens in the 2005 Creature Shop-effects film The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Sarah is a veteran London theatre Puppeteer, founder of the Curious School of Puppetry, and Director of her own company Invisible Thread. Her stage credits include work with the Royal Shakespeare Company on The Tempest and directing Sleeping Beauty, The Adventures of Curious Ganz, and Hansel and Gretel. She puppeteered on the TV series Sooty (as occasional character Scampi) and the film Seed of Chucky (operating all three lead doll characters).

Sarah will be talking to us about her life growing up in the Little Angel Theatre and prolific career as a Puppeteer, Director, and Headmistress.

Friday 18th September, ‘doors’ open 7.50pm for 8pm start

 THE LIPS BY PUPPETS WITH GUTS

A dazzling & surreal big puppet outdoor sing along, The LIPS are a chorus of delightfully deviant divas whose mouths have escaped from their bodies! The LIPS reanimate our favourite songs, celebrate our shared love of popular music and uphold our freedom to speak out, through a pop-puppetry performance that is seductive yet subversive. The LIPS are highly expressive, they change colour at nighttime and are best performed after sunset as a musical finale show stopper for festivals or events.

Puppets with Guts is a daring big puppet theatre company. Puppets with Guts are devisers of dazzling big puppet theatre experiences that inspire and delight. We animate and inhabit outdoor and unusual spaces through spectacular creative adventures that surprise and captivate our audiences. We create spectacular shows for outdoor events and festivals and provide professional services in puppetry, creative consultation and design and making for theatre, corporate events, film and television.

TOYBOX – KAMARI ROMEO                          

A 22-minute visual spoken word album with music & puppetry, looking at experiences of British childhood. Produced and created by Kamari Romeo. Written and performed by Kamari Romeo, Sirena Reynolds, Tobi, Tiahnna, Maya TOYBOX is about taking experiences, playing with them and putting them back together with a better understanding.

This project, made in April 2018 over a period of 9 months endeavours to bring honest conversations into sharp focus via a series of short, filmed poems, performed to original music in collaboration with 5 care leavers aged between 20-27. These original workshighlight how childhood experiences and traumas may affect us, shaping the people we become.                            

PATSY MAY – LAURA BACON

Patsy May is a talented singer and all round diva who reached the semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent. Before her audition she was seen flirting with other male contestants claiming she was almost chosen to play Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. She’s sassy, funny and brings a whole load of attitude into all her endeavours.

Patsy May is performed by Laura Bacon a gifted singer, writer, and puppeteer.

Previously described as the Banksy of puppetry, Laura performs several other characters of her own creation both on screen and in live shows. In addition to writing her own characters she has previously worked on the 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Truffles, and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.

MADEMOISELLE LYCHEE – AYA NAKAMURA

Probably the smallest burlesque dancer in the world. Watch as she embarks with the audience into a sensual and glamorous world of corset, feather, velvet and satin silk leaving you either horrified or laughing at the end of your unforgettable experience.

Aya is a Japanese theatre-maker, puppeteer, and puppet maker who is based in London. She has created many shows for the Rouge28 Theatre, who’s primary interest lies in puppetry for adult audiences.

                                                           

 

 

 

 

 

JULIAN KEMP

Julian’s career began at the age of thirteen as a founder member of the Central Junior Television Workshop, which led to a number of acting roles in children’s television series such as Murphy’s Mob, Dramarama, Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It and Palace Hill. He trained at RADA before becoming a director on the children’s factual programme Wise Up for Channel 4. He directed three series, winning 2 BAFTAS, 2 International Emmys, an RTS, and a Peabody award.

Julian is a seasoned pro at directing TV puppetry having directed The Fimbles, The Roly Mo Show, Roger and The Rotten Trolls, Diddy TV, The Diddy Movies, and the BBC/Sesame Workshop Production of The Furchester Hotel.

Julian will be talking to us about the trials and tribulations of Directing puppetry for TV and film he has encountered across of the course of his career.

                                                           

Mattel Television to launch new musical Barbie movie to Netflix, Barbie Princess Adventures

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Mattel Television has partnered with the animation studio Mainframe to launch a new animated musical adventure to Netflix this year in the shape of Barbie Princess Adventure. The new feature animation will launch with its own soundtrack which will be made available across all streaming platforms on August 28th.

The new adventure feature follows Barbie and her friends as they are chosen by their school to travel the country of Floravia to meet Princess Amelia, who, nervous about becoming queen, is looking for an escape and devises plans to trade places with Barbie. When a rival prince finds out what has taken place, Barbie and her friends must team up to stop him, and rescue the princess in time for her coronation.

“Barbie is an iconic character who provides endless storytelling opportunities. She inspires the limitless potential in all kids, and this brand purpose resonates deeply with children and parents alike. Barbie Princess Adventure builds on that purpose with a focus on empowerment, self-discovery and finding your voice in the age of social media,” said Adam Bonnett, executive producer, Marvel Television.

“Barbie Princess Adventure captures a range of musical genres which enables the audience to connect with the story in a variety of ways. Original music will continue to be an integral part of Mattel Television content moving forward – for Barbie as well as other brands.”

Barbie Princess Adventure features songs by Matthew Tishler and Andrew Underberg, with score and additional songs by The Math Club. The musical numbers are animated to the choreography of Paul Becker.

The digital soundtrack includes “Try It On,” “Somewhere New,” “(Not) A Picture Perfect Girl,” “Life in Color,” “King of the Kingdom” and “This Is My Moment.”

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing named master publishing partner for Fred Rogers’ new pre-school series Donkey Hodie

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Fred Rogers Productions, the entertainment company behind Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Odd Squad, and Peg + Cat, has tapped Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing as its master publishing partner for Donkey Hodie, its multi-platform puppet series for pre-schoolers.

The new series will launch early next year on PBS Kids, it will be supplemented with a wide range of books from Simon & Schuster, all inspired by the new show and the work of Fred Rogers to begin rolling out at retail in the first quarter of 2022.

“We’re very excited to build on our successful relationship with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for our newest brand, Donkey Hodie,” said Paul Siefken, president and CEO, Fred Rogers Productions. “Donkey Hodie shows children that they can accomplish great things with a can-do attitude, perseverance, and a little help from their friends.”

Valerie Garfield, VP, publisher, novelty and licensed publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, added: “We’re delighted to develop books for this stunning new series and build on its timely messages about creative problem-solving and goal-setting for pre-schoolers beyond the screen.

“We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with Fred Rogers Productions with another standout brand that will inspire kids and families to learn and play together.”

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing’s broad assortment of titles for Donkey Hodie will encompass storybooks; Ready-to-Read beginning readers; board books; novelty titles, including pop-up and lift-the-flap titles; early chapter books; and e-book formats. As master publishing partner for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, the company has produced more than 10 million books in print across a range of formats for that license.

Donkey Hodie is an imaginative puppet series that follows the adventures of Donkey Hodie, a sweet, yellow donkey with a magenta mohawk, and her pals – Purple Panda, Duck Duck, and Bob Dog – who live in the land of Someplace Else. Donkey Hodie is the granddaughter of the original Donkey Hodie character (now known as Grampy Hodie) from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, who appeared in 59 episodes of the beloved classic children’s series.

The new Donkey Hodie series, produced by Fred Rogers Productions and Spiffy Pictures (Nature Cat), is designed to empower children ages three to five to dream big and overcome obstacles in their own lives, to work hard and persevere in the face of failure, to be resourceful and discover they can solve problems on their own—and to laugh themselves silly along the way.

The series is currently in production on 40 half-hour episodes and will feature new music along with re-imagined versions of Fred Rogers’ original songs to reinforce and underscore each story’s positive message.

Universal Music Group strikes partnership with Soundtrack Your Brand

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Universal Music Group has signed up another global licensing deal, this time with a pioneering business-to-business cloud-based music streaming service called Soundtrack Your Brand. The new deal will allow the music platform offer tracks from the library of music produced by Universal Music Group’s own artists.

The aim of Soundtrack Your Brand is to deliver flexibility of music-streaming technology to brands and businesses for an ‘improved user and consumer experience.’ The model is based on full song trackability, and the deal will offer UMG’s artists and songwriters compensation and credit when their music is played in business and public environments.

Insight fro Soundtrack Your Brand has shown how playing music that reflects their brand’s value positively impacts a business, from noticeably moving sales to directly affecting customer satisfaction.

Ola Sars, founder and CEO of Soundtrack Your Brand, said: “Together with partners like UMG, we have re-imagined the licensing and business-to-business model. We hold the conviction that music has intrinsic value as an art-form and that creators must be compensated for their contribution to a business.

“Brands can benefit artists in accessing new fans, if their in-store music is matched to their customer and brand values. It is my belief that through Soundtrack, there is substantial value to be unlocked for artists, rights owners and brands.”

In 2019 Soundtrack commissioned Nielsen to carry out the biggest study on background music to date, engaging with 5000 small businesses across two continents and seven countries. Nielsen reports that 21.3 million businesses are using illicit consumer services, leaving potential revenue untapped for the global music industry. With 88 per cent of businesses playing music four or five days a week and 86 per cent prepared to pay for an improved service, the opportunity is substantial.

James Healy, SVP digital strategy and business development, Universal Music Group, said: “In Soundtrack, we have a partner whose technological and strategic re-imagining of an evolving business-to-business model will support us in ensuring creators are valued and fairly compensated.”

Paul Stuart, head of licensing and business affairs, Soundtrack, added: “Whether you run a bar in Brooklyn, a café in Sydney or a multinational brand, customer experience is everything. I couldn’t be happier for our customers who can now access UMG’s incredible artists and their music through their unrivaled catalogue and new frontline releases.”

Hasbro, Pokemon and Penguin Ventures among first exhibitors taking part in Festival of Licensing

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Hasbro, The Pokemon Company, Penguin Ventures, and the Natural History Museum are among just some of the biggest names to be taking part in the new virtual Festival of Licensing running this October and taking the place of Brand Licensing Europe this year.

Brands from across the entertainment, publishing, gaming, sport, lifestyle, and heritage licensing fields have now confirmed their attendance and taken up their exhibition slots at the digital gathering which this year will run all online from October 6th to 29th. The event is to be hosted by Global Licensing Group in partnership with Licensing International.

Acamar Films, Chupa Chups, NBA Properties, Sega Europe, Start Licensing, and Yale are among those to have already registered to exhibit.

“Many great business opportunities have stemmed from the connections we have made at Brand Licensing Europe,” said Maxine Lister, head of licensing, Natural History Museum. “This year, especially, it is important for us to continue expanding our partnerships and develop new ways for the public to connect with the natural world through our 80 million specimens.

“We are thrilled to be taking part in Festival of Licensing and look forward to new business opportunities to evolve our licensing strategy.”

Registration for the four-week long celebration of global licensing also opens today at www.festivaloflicensing.com where attendees can opt to attend any or all of the Festival’s three regionally tailored events for Europe, Asia and the Americas, as well as the Licensing Leadership Summit:

  • 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 feedback we have received about Festival of Licensing since announcing it just four weeks ago has been incredible and we are thrilled to be able to announce such an amazing first roster of exhibitors,” said Anna Knight, vice president, Global Licensing Group, Informa Markets. “This is only the beginning – we have another seven weeks till ‘doors open’ – so there will be a lot more news, and surprises, coming down the line.”

 

Exhibitors confirmed to date Include:

 

  • Acamar Films
  • Asgard Media
  • Bioworld
  • Brainbase
  • Brandgenuity
  • CAA-GBG
  • Chupa Chups, S.A Unipersonal
  • CPLG/Wildbrain
  • Crunchyroll Europe
  • Cyber Group Studios
  • Dependable Solutions
  • Design Plus
  • Edutainment
  • Hasbro
  • Herschend Entertainment Studios
  • J Patton
  • KOCCA
  • Licensing Works
  • LoCoco Licensing
  • Natural History Museum
  • NBA Properties Inc
  • Octane5
  • Opsec
  • Penguin Ventures
  • Pokemon
  • Sega Europe
  • Start Licensing
  • Tesa Scribos
  • UCLA
  • Xilam
  • Yale
  • Zolan Licensing Agency

Brands who are interested in exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities can visit www.festivaloflicensing.com for more information.

UCLA debuts new collection with French retailer Don’t Call Me Jennyfer

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With the yearlong festival celebrating its centenary year now in the rear view mirror, UCLA is looking to kick start its next 100 years with a touch of French class via a new partnership with the French retailer, Don’t Call Me Jennyfer.

UCLA has launched its latest collection of women’s apparel throughout the retailer’s store location across France, Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as online.

“We are thrilled to have this upbeat and fresh UCLA collection launch in France,” said Cynthia Holmes, director of UCLA trademarks and licensing. 

“With fantastic support from our European licensing agent, Plus Licens AB, and licensing partner, Stone Kids, this new UCLA collection, presented by Don’t Call Me Jennyfer, captures the energy and confidence of young women who are passionately and perpetually engaged with the world around them.”

The collection is a fresh take on classic campus silhouettes including crew sweatshirts and hoodies, tees, and joggers, that ‘all go well with a confident attitude and your favorite pair of jeans or casual skirt.’

Through a physical network of 330 stores in France, Don’t Call Me Jennyfer has – over just two years – become a leading name in the clothing industry. Its new strategy brings with it the motto ‘No stereotypes’, developed as an embodiment of inclusion, tolerance, and diversity to appeal to Gen Z.

Don’t Call Me Jennyfer is one of the most influential and active brands on Instagram in France, with a community of 1.2 million members.

Unanico Group to bolster content development, production and licensing under new CEO Leanne Preston

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The international independent media company, Unanico Group is looking to bolster its content development, production and global partnership and licensing strategies with the appointment of a new Producer and CEO in the form of Leanne Preston.

The former Nickelodeon executive is set to head up the award-winning team and bring her over 14 years of animation experience to the role as Unanico continues on its mission to expand across the US.

During her time at Nickelodeon, Preston worked on the BAFTA-nominated House of Anubis, before moving into her role as head of development at Red Kits Animation. It was there that she spearheaded the development of the award-winning DreamWorks Classics property George of the Jungle, now airing in over 125 countries, and Ella Bella Bingo, recently sold to over 25 countries.

Prior to joining Unanico, Preston has served as head of production development, animation for Citizen Skull Productions, working on Nickelodeon’s LEGO City Adventures, Youku and international pre-school series Emmy & GooRoo, and Tencent hit Mini Mind Warriors.

Preston also had a stint as director of animation development for production at Gaumont Animation US.

Founded in 2009 by producer Paul Laikin and creative director Jason Jameson, Unanico Group is dedicated to the creation of original 2D, 3D and CGI animation, with a focus on developing and producing in-house IPs, as well as co-developing and co-producing animated IPs from selected partners.

Unanico Group creates long-form series, films, shorts, illustrated books, casual games, apps, interactive experiences, AR, VR, MR and licensed merchandise. Previous projects include: One Night In Hell, an award-winning animated short film in collaboration with Queen’s guitarist Brian May, the All Dead, All Dead Queen music video (3M+ views on YouTube), and the animation of all three seasons of CBeebies four-time BAFTA-nominated series, Apple Tree House.

Preston is joining Unanico Group following the release of its pre-school series Buddi in March of 2020. Buddi is streaming worldwide as a Netflix Original Series, with executive producer Keith Chapman. Unanico Group is currently in development of multiple other original series and feature films and has industry partnerships in Japan and in China, where the company has successfully distributed Apple Tree House and Koala Brothers to platforms such as Tencent Video, Mango TV and Jetson Huashi and produced Buddi with Motion Magic of Shanghai Media Group.

“Unanico Group is thrilled to welcome Preston to the team, and excited for her collaboration and leadership on their upcoming development slate and productions, including exciting new IPs and music partnerships,” read a statement from the firm.

“Unanico is dedicated to creating quality animation and forming strategic partnerships, with several new projects underway with major companies leading the IP. We’re excited for the upcoming developments from Preston and her team.”