Crayola and OceanX | “We’re encouraging partnerships to have a profound impact on supporting our planet”

The global non-profit ocean exploration organisation, OceanX has expressed its hope that its new partnership with the children’s arts and crafts brand, Crayola, will inspire more collaboration between brands and conservation groups.

The pair joined forces earlier this month to launch a new range of crafts kits to the US market, each designed to educate and inspire the next generation of ocean explorers and conservationists by blending hands-on creativity with a digital experience.

Titled The Crayola Experience Home Adventure Ocean Edition, the kits aim to ‘bring the wonder of the sea into homes across the US,’ by guiding children through a learning experience spanning the five layers of the ocean. Crayon characters will take them on their journey as they create a series of crafts inspired by sea creatures.

The education experience will also engage kids with its interactive video content, featuring nine activities including a drawing tutorial led by a Crayola designer.

Mark Dalio, founder and creative director at OceanX, told Licensing.biz that the hope is the partnership between the two will “encourage other companies and organisations to think about how they can creatively collaborate” to “have a profound impact on supporting our planet.”

He said: “This partnership exists at the intersection of Crayola’s creativity and youthfulness and OceanX’s mission to share the wonder and beauty of the ocean with the world. It’s always been our goal to put audiences in the front seat of exploration, and partnering with Crayola will help us spark a lifetime of interest, curiosity, and love for the ocean.

“Crayola is one of the world’s most renowned family brands, trusted by parents and educators everywhere to use its signature thoughtful, colourful creativity to educate and inspire children.

“This partnership illustrates Crayola’s role in highlighting important issues facing our society while also inspiring the next generation to be stewards of our planet’s most treasured natural resource.”

Designed to inspire environmentalism and conservation, the Crayloa and OceanX collaboration has also launched an immersive experience across the Crayola brand’s own physical Experience attractions in the US.

The message, says Crayola’s executive vice president and general manager of Crayola Attractions and Retail, Victoria Lozano, is “consistent and congruous” with the brand’s mission to “help parents and educators raise creatively alive kids and inspire the next generation.”

Lozano told Licensing.biz: “This includes teaching them to preserve the world in which they will live in as adults. Our partnership with OceanX will help us create content and engaging experiences to accomplish that through cultivating a sense of wonder for the mysterious playground of the deep blue.

“This partnership will continue to develop creativity products and educational content to bring to kids everywhere.”

LEGO and Levi’s build new collection that turns fashion line into “a blank canvas for LEGO play”

The worlds of fashion and toys have discovered an innovative way to combine through a new partnership between The LEGO Group and Levi’s and the introduction of the customisable baseplate, that will turn your pair of jeans “into a new blank canvas for LEGO play.”

Exclusive to the collection, the collaboration features the first flexible LEGO baseplate, a pliable LEGO silicone panel onto which fans can create their own customised designs using the LEGO Dots system, a new concept that was introduced by the LEGO Group earlier this year.

Sewn directly onto the garment, LEGO and Levi’s fans alike can create their own design using the mosaic-like tiles that snap onto the baseplates. The baseplate features as a customisable patch on the vintage stonewash Levi’s Trucker Jacket, a Dad Crop Trucker Jacket, 501 ’93 Straight Jeans, and a line up of hoodies, crewneck sweatshirts, and accessories.

Customisation pieces from the collection will come with a Levi’s and LEGO Group branded bag of 110 LEGO Dots. Graphic t-shirts are also included in the collection, featuring co-branded graphics. LEGO elements also appear in product details across the collection, including shank buttons in yellow, red, green, blue, white, and black. The Levi’s standard leather patch has also been converted to a flexible red LEGO patch.

“This is such a fun collaboration celebrating self-expression, creativity and nostalgia,” said Karyn Hillman, chief product officer for Levi Strauss & Co. “It’s Levi’s and the LEGO Group coming together to co-create something really special and new, but undeniably familiar. With the customizable baseplates, Levi’s is now literally a new blank canvas for LEGO play.”

Lena Dixen, senior vice president and head of product and marketing development at LEGO Group, added: “There’s so much passion and energy in this partnership, working with the creative and iconic Levi’s brand is inspiring, and is pushing the way we innovate the LEGO brand experience.”

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.”