Tag Archives: news

Xilam Animation hits new digital content milestones

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Academy Award-nominated French animation studio Xilam Animation has reached significant milestones in its global digital content strategy, including debuting on Samsung TV Plus and securing a second YouTube Diamond Play Button.

After launching on Samsung TV Plus in Brazil – the free, ad-supported streaming service pre-installed on all 2017-2021 Samsung Smart TVs – Xilam’s unique users hit 600K. The dedicated Xilam TV channel available on Samsung TVs in Brazil features titles from the studio’s extensive catalogue, including Zig & Sharko, Oggy and the Cockroaches, Where’s Chicky?, A Kind of Magic and Floopaloo – Where Are You?.

In a further milestone, Xilam has been awarded a coveted Diamond Play Button for its Oggy and the Cockroaches YouTube Channel, which now has 10 million subscribers. This marks Xilam’s second Diamond Play Button after its Zig and Sharko channel received the award in 2020. Also on YouTube, Xilam has now reached the 50 million subscriber mark across its network of dedicated brand channels.

Across all digital platforms worldwide, Xilam cumulated 12.5 billion views for its content in 2021. Of this total, 1.5 billion views were generated from Facebook Watch, making Xilam the No. 1 provider of kids’ content worldwide in terms of views on the VOD service.

Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO at Xilam Animation, said: “Digital platforms continue to play an integral role in our content strategy, as we ensure that fans can access our vast library of content wherever they are in the world, and from whichever device they prefer. As one of the first French production companies to launch a dedicated ad-supported linear channel in an international market, we’re proud to be taking an innovative approach in the digital sector and look forward to hitting even more milestones in the future.”

 

Motul appoints Ingram as licensing agent for Japan

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Motul has appointed Ingram as its agent for Japan.

Founded in 1992, Ingram (International Guidance Research And Management) has been a leading name in the Japanese licensing business for nearly three decades, and specialises in developing well-known global properties in the Japanese market and bringing popular Japanese brands to the international market.

Ingram’s homegrown clients include Rilakkuma, Mamegoma and Tarepanda, while its overseas properties include UCLA, Nesta and Cambridge University, and a number of major lifestyle brands including Norton, Santa Fe and Route 66.

The partnership continues Motul’s expansion as a major lifestyle brand, targeting a wide range of categories ranging from apparel, stationery and houseware to backpacks, phone covers, kitchenware and, of course, car accessories.

Ben Kato, founder and owner of Ingram, says: “We are thrilled to be working with Motul, a renowned company in motor sports, as its licensing agent in Japan. By combining Motul’s powerful brand identity with our strength in licensing and promotion, we expect to build a strong presence in Japan for Motul and a diverse range of products across many sales channels. Motul is a genuinely exciting prospect in this market, and I am looking forward enormously to working with this property.”

Managing the Motul campaign is Laurent Taieb, a licensing specialist with over 25 years’ experience. He says: “Motul is a globally recognised name that is perfectly positioned to become a popular lifestyle brand in multiple categories and markets. We are delighted to be working in the key Japanese market with Ingram, an established and respected name with a strong international reach and a powerful reputation for working with both overseas and lifestyle brands.”

Motul appoints Blue Chip Brands as its agency for Australia and NZ

Kidrobot debuts ‘Elvis’ Dunny in partnership with The Andy Warhol collection

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Kidrobot, producer of limited-edition art toys, signature apparel and lifestyle accessories, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts have announced the newest addition to the Kidrobot x Andy Warhol collection.

The Andy Warhol 20-Inch “Elvis” Dunny Sculpture pays homage to perhaps the most famous of Warhol’s subjects, Elvis Presley, who would have celebrated his 87th birthday this January. Warhol created a series of works in the early 1960s based on an image of Elvis from a publicity still for the movie Flaming Star, one of Presley’s most popular Western films.

The extremely limited edition is capped at 15 pieces worldwide and is available exclusively at Kidrobot.com.

Each “Elvis” Dunny sculpture is 20 inches tall, made of premium fiberglass with no articulation and is hand-painted in North America using high-quality paint for enhanced clarity and long-lasting quality. Each sculpture comes packaged in a premium Kidrobot x Andy Warhol wooden crate with a Certificate of Authenticity, and is priced at $2500 USD.

Kidrobot unveils new Dunny series with the Met including Monet and Hokusai-inspired designs

 

Disguise announces Squid Game costume and accessory launch

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Disguise, the costume division of JAKKS Pacific, is currently designing and developing costumes and masks based on Netflix’s hit series Squid Game for launch in North America and APAC in autumn 2022.

Disguise will design, market, manufacture and distribute a range of costumes and costume accessories featuring characters from the show. These styles will include a red Triangle Guard jumpsuit and teal “Player 456” Track Suit as well as a Squid Games Front Man mask and masks for Square and Triangle Supervisors.

Korean series Squid Game became a fast favourite on Netflix this year with over 142M views in just 4 weeks, becoming their most watched show to date.

“Squid Game is a perfect addition to our vast array of costumes and offerings that cater to fans demanding a higher quality and a more detailed design that fully embodies the characters,” says Tara Hefter, EVP and GM of Disguise, Inc. “The show sets the stage for the perfect Halloween group dress-up opportunity and we anticipate the sell-in for this line to be incredible.”

All Squid Game costumes and accessories will be widely available at retailers in North America and APAC in store and online in 2022.

Disguise signs multiyear deal for Disney costume rights in EMEA

ARTiSTORY strengthens UK sales team with the appointment of Caroline High

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Global art and cultural IP licensee ARTiSTORY continues to grow its UK team with the appointment of Caroline High, of Caroline High Consultancy Ltd.

Caroline is an established brand licensing expert with 20 years’ experience working with a wide genre of brands across the globe, including preschool, entertainment, lifestyle, heritage and movie.

Having previously worked at Boat Rocker Studios, Fremantle Media and Warner Bros, Caroline brings vast experience in developing licensing and retail strategies across a range of categories, leading on global toy and publishing deals, launching soft lines and apparel collaborations as well as DTRs with major retailers and also managing agencies across EMEA and Australasia.

Working on brands such as Thomas & Friends, the DC Comics portfolio, Harry Potter, and entertainment brands including The X Factor, Caroline has an in-depth knowledge of the licensing industry and most recently developed the licensing strategies for preschool shows Love Monster and Dino Ranch, negotiating the master toy, publishing and soft lines rights with partners and agents across North America and EMEA.

Caroline will play a key role in the UK team to secure licensing deals using ARTiSTORY’s latest on-trend designs inspired by artwork and artefacts from the archives of its partners: the National Gallery, London; the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Palace Museum, Taipei; and Dunhuang.

ARTiSTORY Co-Founder and Licensing Director Natasha Dyson said “Having worked with Caroline previously I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work together again at ARTiSTORY. A huge part of ARTiSTORY’s business is creating unique and exclusive designs, so having someone with Caroline’s creative vison joining the sales team is a big win.”

Caroline commented “Having recently set up my own consultancy I am delighted to work with Natasha and the team at ARTiSTORY and I am looking forward to working on the licensing strategy for their engaging portfolio and bringing their designs to market in new categories.”

Q&A: Natasha Dyson, co-founder of ARTiSTORY

Barbie links with Balmain for fashion collection and NFTs

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Mattel has announced a collaboration between its Barbie brand and French luxury fashion label, Balmain. Developed as a celebration of both Barbie and Balmain’s combined impact on fashion and greater culture, the two brands are launching a new global ready-to-wear fashion and accessories collection. 

The venture also marks the first time Barbie is entering the digital art world. Together, the two entities are dropping three one-of-a-kind NFTs of distinctive Barbie and Ken avatars. Styled in complete looks from Balmain’s designs, each is accompanied by a one-of-a-kind bespoke set of Barbie-sized Balmain pieces, creating a unique digital and physical art collection.

These Barbie x Balmain NFTs will be available exclusively through Mattel Creations, via an online auction hosted on mintNFT.

From a nostalgic 1990’s-era Barbie logo to a “Barbie pink” Pantone to Barbie’s iconic packaging,  the Balmain 50+ piece collection intertwines the toy’s signatures with the label’s hallmarks, like its marinière and Labyrinth patterns.

To mark the partnership, Barbie and Balmain have a launched digital campaign, which depicts the ready-to-wear and accessories collection on Barbie avatars.

For more information on the Barbie x Balmain collaboration and to join the Barbie x Balmain MintNFT fireside chat on 1/11, visit NFT.MattelCreations.com. The Barbie x Balmain ready-to-wear and accessories line will be available for purchase at Balmain stores, balmain.com, Mattel Creations and retailers worldwide beginning January 13.

Savage He-Man box image

WWE signs agreement with IGT for exclusive licensing rights to develop omnichannel lottery games

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WWE has signed a multi-year exclusive licensing agreement with International Game Technology PLC to develop and distribute WWE-branded omnichannel lottery games and turnkey promotional programmes featuring company logos, Superstars, events and programmes.

“IGT is the clear industry leader in the lottery and gaming space, and we look forward to collaborating by bringing our intellectual property to our fans and lottery games around the globe,” says Alex Varga, WWE Vice President, Revenue Strategy & Development. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to continue to leverage the strong crossover between the WWE Universe and another segment of the gaming landscape.”

“The WWE brand has broad appeal that reaches diverse age groups and cultural demographics in many geographies,” says Jay Gendron, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Lottery. “IGT looks forward to melding the unique WWE assets with IGT’s lottery expertise to create appealing, high-quality games and second-chance promotional opportunities for our global customers and their players.”

 

BlackMilk goes sci-fi with latest Matrix-inspired pieces

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BlackMilk clothing has officially entered the Matrix with seven new pieces inspired by the hit movie franchise, including its take on the iconic Neo Trench Coat.

The new pieces are dropping on January 10 at 1pm (PT) as part of BlackMilk’s larger ‘Beam Me Up’ collection, which includes futuristic designs inspired by all things sci-fi. Fans can get their wish lists ready ahead of launch by previewing the entire collection now at https://blackmilkclothing.com/collections/beam-me-up

 

 

Spotlight on brands: Richard Pink on where The Laughing Cow is heading next

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There’s more to The Laughing Cow than the iconic red image. We caught up with Richard Pink of Pink Key Licensing – exclusive licensing agent for the brand in the UK – to talk pink cows, pop art and plans for the future.

[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]

Hi Richard, how has the last year been for you, business-wise?

It’s been a tough year for everyone: we’ve tried to work with our licensees and support them through the problems they have had to deal with, including Covid, and the ensuing challenges of fractured supply chains and increased freight costs, and to be as flexible as we can. The Laughing Cow and some of the other brands we have such as Kellogg’s, Pringles, Vimto and SLUSH PUPPiE are the kind of brands that people gravitate to in troubled times because they’re so familiar; they’re ones we’ve all grown up with. Consequently, things have not been too bad, but I think the licensing industry more than any other thrives on social interaction and we’ve all missed that enormously.

So, we’re all looking for things to cheer us up?

Definitely. After being locked down for so long, all we were hearing from people was ‘We really need a laugh’, and we can’t think of a licence that conveys laughter better than The Laughing Cow does. So, while we’ve hopefully come through the worst, the brand has a certain resonance about it for these times.

The red cow image is instantly recognisable. But what else is there to the brand?

The red cow itself is iconic, but outside of that, there’s so much imagery to play with. You’ve got vintage artwork that dates back to when the brand first came to fruition a century ago, right the way through to pop art and contemporary imagery – there’s such a vast range available and it works on so many different levels.

Some brands don’t have the flexibility to allow you to adapt the imagery, they have quite stringent rules in terms of what you can and can’t do. But we love The Bel Group (owners of The Laughing Cow) because they are so open to ideas. When we first took on The Laughing Cow and we said to them, ‘We’d love a pink cow’, they had no problem with that!

What plans do you have for The Laughing Cow in the UK?

It’s had a solid licencing programme in Europe for quite some time and one of the reasons we wanted to take it on is because even though it’s a French brand it has an enormous affinity with the UK consumer. It’s got a great history in the UK and is very recognisable, so we knew it would work.

Because of the close association with food The Laughing Cow is always going to lend itself to kitchen and food related products, but if you start looking at some of the Laughing Cow’s quirky imagery, it also really lends itself to apparel and gifting. In a similar way to Kellogg’s, it can potentially benefit from being part of a number of trends that seem to come and go such as vintage, logos and – most obviously – food.

And in the long term?

We are still keen to sign new brands, but you can see from our portfolio that they have to fit what we do. We are lucky enough to represent the rights of some brands that are distributed globally. They all have longevity and great stories behind them, and they’re going to be around for a long time. We only work with brands that we love, and they have to be brands that need to be managed the way we do it.  We try and build brand programmes in a methodical way, going for the ‘bullseye’ products and categories that fit the nature of the brand most closely, because we think that this is the best way to manage the type of brands we have for the long term.

If you are interested in talking to Pink Key about licensing The Laughing Cow you can contact Richard at richard@pinkkey.co.uk

Spotlight on Brands I Pink Key gets Vim!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spotlight on brands: Richard Pink on where The Laughing Cow is heading next

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There’s more to The Laughing Cow than the iconic red image. We caught up with Richard Pink of Pink Key Licensing – exclusive licensing agent for the brand in the UK – to talk pink cows, pop art and plans for the future.

[divider style=”solid” top=”20″ bottom=”20″]

Hi Richard, how has the last year been for you, business-wise?

It’s been a tough year for everyone: we’ve tried to work with our licensees and support them through the problems they have had to deal with, including Covid, and the ensuing challenges of fractured supply chains and increased freight costs, and to be as flexible as we can. The Laughing Cow and some of the other brands we have such as Kellogg’s, Pringles, Vimto and SLUSH PUPPiE are the kind of brands that people gravitate to in troubled times because they’re so familiar; they’re ones we’ve all grown up with. Consequently, things have not been too bad, but I think the licensing industry more than any other thrives on social interaction and we’ve all missed that enormously.

So, we’re all looking for things to cheer us up?

Definitely. After being locked down for so long, all we were hearing from people was ‘We really need a laugh’, and we can’t think of a licence that conveys laughter better than The Laughing Cow does. So, while we’ve hopefully come through the worst, the brand has a certain resonance about it for these times.

The red cow image is instantly recognisable. But what else is there to the brand?

The red cow itself is iconic, but outside of that, there’s so much imagery to play with. You’ve got vintage artwork that dates back to when the brand first came to fruition a century ago, right the way through to pop art and contemporary imagery – there’s such a vast range available and it works on so many different levels.

Some brands don’t have the flexibility to allow you to adapt the imagery, they have quite stringent rules in terms of what you can and can’t do. But we love The Bel Group (owners of The Laughing Cow) because they are so open to ideas. When we first took on The Laughing Cow and we said to them, ‘We’d love a pink cow’, they had no problem with that!

What plans do you have for The Laughing Cow in the UK?

It’s had a solid licencing programme in Europe for quite some time and one of the reasons we wanted to take it on is because even though it’s a French brand it has an enormous affinity with the UK consumer. It’s got a great history in the UK and is very recognisable, so we knew it would work.

Because of the close association with food The Laughing Cow is always going to lend itself to kitchen and food related products, but if you start looking at some of the Laughing Cow’s quirky imagery, it also really lends itself to apparel and gifting. In a similar way to Kellogg’s, it can potentially benefit from being part of a number of trends that seem to come and go such as vintage, logos and – most obviously – food.

And in the long term?

We are still keen to sign new brands, but you can see from our portfolio that they have to fit what we do. We are lucky enough to represent the rights of some brands that are distributed globally. They all have longevity and great stories behind them, and they’re going to be around for a long time. We only work with brands that we love, and they have to be brands that need to be managed the way we do it.  We try and build brand programmes in a methodical way, going for the ‘bullseye’ products and categories that fit the nature of the brand most closely, because we think that this is the best way to manage the type of brands we have for the long term.

If you are interested in talking to Pink Key about licensing The Laughing Cow you can contact Richard at richard@pinkkey.co.uk

Spotlight on Brands I Pink Key gets Vim!