Tag Archives: publishing

Publisher World Book eyes toys, games, puzzles and more with JRL Group

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The Chicago-based international book publisher, World Book, is looking is making its move into the toys, games, puzzles, and science kits space with the appointment of the brand licensing agency, JRL Group.

Under the partnership, JRL Group will develop a strategic licensing programme that leverages the global recognition of World Book brand’s core values of delivering education in engaging, informative, and inspirational ways.

Recognised as a leader in reference and education publishing for over 100 years, World Book offers up to date and authoritative information on topics from STEM subjects to historical and current events. The publisher delivers its content to customers worldwide through various media, including online, audio, mobile, eBooks, and print.

“The World Book licensing program will use our trusted and recognized brand to introduce exciting new products that are kid-tested and parent-approved. We look forward to working with JRL Group to establish World Book as a premier licensed brand,” said Geoff Broderick, World Book President.

Initial product categories include Toys, Games, Puzzles, Science Kits, Telescopes, Globes, School Supplies, Publishing, Interactive Learning Aids, Educational Audio and Video products, and more.

“World Book is a name that is synonymous with learning and education. We are honored to have been selected to represent such an iconic brand,” stated Andrew Lieb, president of JRL Group.

“World Book’s world-renowned name, coupled with its extensive library of articles, illustrations, and content, make this licensing program a truly unique opportunity. World Book is positioned to provide supplemental learning products that reach beyond the classroom in fun yet challenging ways.”

Millimages taps The Point. 1888 for Molang licensing push across the UK’s Gen Z and pre-school audiences

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The Paris-based production company, Millimages has tapped The Point. 1888 to represent Molang across the UK, as the animation studio looks to build on the character’s growing social audience of 4 million fans across the globe.

Launched initially as a pre-school IP supported by four animated TV series on Tiny Pop and Netflix in the UK, Molang has picked up a cult following of Gen Z and Millennial fans, an age group that embraces the character’s friendship themes, happiness and humour – evidenced by the 13 billion views of Molang on giphy.

Millimages has also witnessed strong adult sales of Molang accessories via the webshop – www.molang.com – that it launched last December.

The Point.1888’s brief will be to define and develop a new, retail-focused licensing strategy for Molang which primarily targets young UK adults (18 to 24 year olds), whilst also encompassing its secondary pre-school audience.

A phased category rollout, split by audience, will kick off with a range of adult gift and accessories (Abysse Corp), plush, apparel, publishing and then followed by fashion and jewellery collaborations.

Other softlines planned for 2022 onwards include homewares, health and beauty plus cosmetic collaborations. Hardline categories identified include gaming and FMCG.

Retail targets for these young adult ranges will encompass specialist outlets that appeal to lovers of Korean culture (Molang was originally created by a Korean artist) and fans of kawaii products, as well as more mainstream high street retailers.

For Molang’s pre-school audience, The Point.1888 will develop baby and toddler nightwear, fashion daywear and accessories, together with book and magazine publishing.

Mickael Zeggagh, commercial director licensing at Millimages said: “Our long-term vision is to build Molang into a global, 360 lifestyle brand for all ages. We’re certain The Point will become an invaluable strategic partner to help us realise this vision in the UK – a hugely important market.

“Together with Highlight PR, whose brief this year is to increase their creative influencer campaigns to continue driving brand awareness amongst Gen Zs and millennials, we are now in a strong position to ensure Molang takes off in the UK.”

Will Stewart, founder and managing director, The Point.1888, added: “We’re really thrilled to be working with Millimages studio and Molang. This is one of those brands that the entire team got excited about and the potential across retail and product is endless.

“As a retail-first agency we see what buyers want and ask for, and with Molang we can tick so many boxes. 2021 and beyond is going to be incredibly exciting for our team and all at Millimages, as we roll out our agreed strategy, work together on new creative and introduce this brand to a wider audience. As well as some exciting collaborations which we cannot wait to get started on.”

Story House Egmont acquires magazine and activity book rights to pre-school hit CoComelon

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Story House Egmont – formerly Egmont Magazines – has acquired the magazine rights to the hit pre-school property CoComelon, spanning all territories in the group for magazines, as well as colouring and activity books across EEA regions.

The move follows what has been a highly successful run for CoComelon, which is not only the current number one children’s channel on YouTube, but was 2020#s most popular show on Netflix. On YouTube alone, the series garners 3.5 billion views per month, and is adding to its 107 million subscribers every day.

CoComelon is the latest addition to Story House Egmont’s pre-school portfolio, which currently includes Thomas & Friends, Milkshake!, Ryan’s World, PAW Patrol, and more. Story House Egmont has itself seen vast success in the pre-school sector, having seen a ten per cent growth in RSV year on year.

The deal was signed by Story House Egmont Publishing Director, Laura Adnitt and includes all territories in the group for magazines, as well as Colouring & Activity book formats for EEA territories.

Adnitt said: “As a parent, I know first-hand the great appeal and value of CoComelon. As a publisher, I see the huge potential to share this blissful brand in a printed format with thousands of young families across our publishing network. CoComelon, with its mind-blowing reach and ‘of the moment’ relevance, is a wonderful addition to our publishing portfolio, where we aspire to offer something for every child. We are incredibly excited by this acquisition and can’t wait to get started on our product development with Moonbug.”

Katie Wilkinson, publishing manager at The Point.1888, said: “When Story House Egmont takes on a new brand, it fully commits to the partnership and to building the brand. The scale of CoComelon is like nothing we have seen in preschool and we cannot wait to see what this new partnership will deliver to its fans.”

Masha and the Bear scores new magazine and comic books deal with Panini across Italy

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New Masha and the Bear magazines and comic books are about to land at kiosks across Italy, thanks to a new partnership between Maurizio Distefano Licensing – the licensing agent for Masha and the Bear in Italy – and Panini.

Under the partnership, Panini will launch a new monthly, official Masha and the Bear magazine and series of comic books. The magazine is available at retailers now while the comics will launch on April 29th.

The Panini publications are all carefully designed to encourage reading among kids and will include simple and fun activities, stories, colouring-in pages and gifts. They can be found in bookstores, in kiosks and on the www.panini.it website.

The animated series Masha and the Bear is now a children’s classic, enjoying incredibly high levels of awareness. According to Parrot Analytics, a leading TV analytics company, the animated series was among the top five most in-demand kids’ shows in the world in January 2021.

It is also ranked third among the top favourite kids’ entertainment brands in Europe and MEA among children from 0 to six (source: Kidz Global, Jan 2021 edition).

Masha and the Bear airs daily on Rai YoYo. Its many regular showings have been a key factor in the enormous success of the series since its arrival in Italy. The episodes are also available on the Rai app Rai Play.

“This partnership between a leading Italian publisher of children’s magazines, books and comics and one of the most popular children’s series, both in the world and in Italy, is guaranteed to be successful,” says Maurizio Distefano, president of Maurizio Distefano Licensing. “Panini has developed some highly attractive products for Masha and the Bear, bringing together high-quality educational content and great fun! This magazine and these comics are perfect for their young target audience.”

Boat Rocker Studios secures two UK partners for The Next Step in Cooneen and Kennedy Publishing

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Boat Rocker Studios has detailed a UK licensing deal duo for its hit tween dance drama, The Next Step, partnering with Cooneen and Kennedy Publishing for clothing ranges and a magazine.

The garment designer, manufacturer, and supplier, Cooneen, has signed up for a new collection of apparel for audiences aged five to 16, with The Next step branded items across children and teen nightwear, loungewear including daywear, activewear, underwear, swimwear, and Snugz face coverings.

The range will be available from September 2021.

Meanwhile, Kennedy Publishing, a leading publisher in the children’s magazine sector, will launch a special one-off issue no.28 of ‘Totally Magazine – TNS Edition’ to launch on September 2nd 2021. It will carry insider info, cast news, interviews and fact/dance tips that fans of the show could wish for.

“The Next Step continues to have huge appeal and we’re delighted to be working with these best-in-class partners to offer fans even more choice with these fabulous new apparel collections from the award-winning team at Cooneen,” said Kate Schlomann, EVP brand management and content marketing, Boat Rocker Studios.

“Kennedy Publishing’s new magazine will be an essential read for all fans of the show, connecting them even more closely to the lives and journeys of the dancers of A-Troupe.”

Boat Rocker Studios is in production on some brand new at-home promotional content for CBBC. Specifically, a digital documentary that seeks to explore the experience of the black dancers of The Next Step, “Elevating Black Dancers” as well as three scripted promotional digital pieces that delve deeper into the drama of season season.

The Next Step, produced by Boat Rocker Studios, is an international hit, broadcast in more than 120 countries worldwide. It follows the trials, tribulations and triumphs of A-Troupe, a group of dancers at the Next Step dance studio. Now in its seventh series, the show has consistently been one of the most requested CBBC shows on iPlayer over the past five years, notching up more than six-million requests this year alone.

Signature Publishing trials plastic-free packaging for Transformers Rescue Bots magazine this month

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Signature Publishing Ltd is trialling its first plastic-free packaging for the collectable toy figurines it includes with a number of its most popular children’s magazine titles.

In the firm’s mission to ‘lead the way in the children’s magazine aisle,’ Signature Publishing has introduced the trial concept to its latest issue of the Transformers Rescue Bots Academy magazine, packaging its robot figurine in a plastic-free and recyclable window box.

“As a dynamic independent specialist Children’s publishing company, we are perfectly placed to react quickly to develop and implement highly creative solutions and deliver to market,” said Holly Tarrant, senior publishing manager.

“With the majority of our products sold in-store, captivating packaging that shows off the product is key, and therefore it’s been very rewarding to meet the challenge we’ve set ourselves to rethink the traditional blister packs.

“This plastic-free window box has been developed to hold the product safely and securely while still clearly displaying the quality figurine inside.”

Signature Publishing has outlined its renewed focus on sustainable packaging and in addition to the trial of the new packagign concept, it has confirmed that all packaging it produces is now recyclable, while PCW recycled content is being introduced where possible.

Transformers Rescue Bots Academy magazine is a monthly magazine priced at £4.49. The latest issue will be available nationwide from April 16th.

Waitrose bans kids’ magazines with ‘pointless plastic’ free toys in fight against pollution

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Waitrose has confirmed that it will no longer sell children’s magazines with plastic disposable toys in a move to help combat the issue of pollution and plastic waste.

The retailer’s decision was inspired by a campaign launched by the ten year old Skye from Gwynedd, who has made it a mission to persuade publishers to stop giving away the disposable toys in magazines.

Waitrose has backed the cause, stating that the plastic toys, often used as incentives for children and parents to purchase the magazine, have a short lifespan and cannot easily be recycled. Over the next eight weeks, it will be removing magazines containing the free toys from its shelves.

The grocer is urging publishers to replace the ‘pointless plastic’ with sustainable alternatives and the ban will not include educational or reusable craft items which are designed to be used multiple times, such as colouring pens and pencils, and collectable models.

Speaking with the BBC, ten year old Skye – who’s campaign inspired the move – said: “I’m really pleased so many people have agreed with me and supported my petition – I want to thank everyone who has signed and shared my campaign to ban plastics from comics and magazines.

“Thank you to Waitrose for agreeing with us and no longer selling the unwanted plastic tat.

“I hope all retailers can do the same and then the publishers will realise this is not acceptable anymore. We really like the magazines – we just don’t want or need the plastic packaging or the cheap plastic toys.”

Marija Rompani, partner and director of sustainability and ethics at Waitrose, said: “While we know these magazines are popular with children, some of the unnecessary plastic attached to them has become really excessive.

“Many in the younger generation really care about the planet and are the ones inheriting the problem of plastic pollution. We urge publishers to find alternatives, and other retailers to follow our lead in ending the pointless plastic that comes with children’s magazines.”

The retailer has written to magazine distributors giving them eight weeks’ notice of the policy, asking for alternatives to plastic toys and warning that they will not sell copies which contain the disposable items.

Campaigners for better sustainability measures within the children’s entertainment space has acknowledged the impact the decision may have on some publishers, but state that this is a ‘necessary step in tackling the issue of plastic waste.’

Trudi Bishop, a campaigner and columnist for ToyNews, said: “All publishers need to stop and believe in their content and not rely on cheap, nasty plastic marketing toys to sell what are great magazines.”

Aurora World and Macmillan Children’s Books lead licensing roster for Aardman’s festive animation Robin Robin

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Aurora World has been tapped as the master toy partner for Aardman’s new animated musical special, Robin Robin in a deal that will see the company develop the plush version of the titular character.

The new plush Robin Robin will be launched alongside the publishing and film premiere of the special as it arrives in the UK this Autumn. Leading the publishing roll out for the feature will be Macmillan Children’s Books.

Robin Robin is a 30 minute festive holiday special created in stop-motion by its directors Dan Ojari and Mikey Please. The special is currently in production at the Aardman studios in Bristol and is scheduled to launch on Netflix in November this year.

Robin Robin will feature the voices of Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant, Adeel Akhtar, and Bronte Carmichael.

Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired worldwide rights in all languages for an exciting range of children’s books associated with the new film. The publishing range, which will launch in autumn 2021, will include a classic picture book, film tie-in picture book and range of activity and novelty books.

Stephanie Barton, publisher, picture books, brands and classics at Macmillan Children’s Books, said: “To be working with Aardman on Robin Robin is a dream come true; their unique voice, attention to detail and the exuberance and joy with which they approach storytelling is perfect for the printed page, and we are excited to be working in partnership to create what are sure to be classics of the future.”

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, publisher, Macmillan Children’s Books, added: “We fell in love with Robin Robin at first sight and quickly discovered that the values of Macmillan Children’s Books and those of Aardman were aligned.

“To have the opportunity to publish both a classic illustrated picture book on our Two Hoots list, as well as the animated tie-ins on our Brands and Media list, plays to our strengths across MCB. Robin Robin will be a focus among the other successful high end media brands on our list and is a very exciting acquisition for us.”

The first title, a classic picture book, written by the co-creators of Robin Robin Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, and illustrated by Briony May Smith, will be published by the Two Hoots imprint in October 2021.

A film tie-in picture book featuring stills and lyrics to the songs will be published in November 2021, alongside the Netflix premiere. An audiobook will be available for digital download.

Please said: “We are utterly delighted to be partnering with Macmillan to bring the Robin Robin books to life, and thrilled that we get to actually write one with wondrous pencil-wizard, Briony May Smith. Briony worked with us early on in the development of Robin Robin, so it feels perfect that we get to team up again in creating the classic picture book. And in the hands of the fantastic Macmillan team, we know this picture book and the entire series are going to be things of beauty.”

Alongside the publishing programme, Aardman has appointed Aurora World – a global leader in the character and content industry – as master toy partner, who will be developing the plush version of Robin Robin to be launched alongside the publishing and film premiere in Autumn 2021.

Martin Ringer, sales director, said: “We have built a great relationship working with Aardman to develop Shaun the Sheep plush products over recent years. The opportunity to broaden our relationship and be involved in the development of plush for Robin Robin is incredibly exciting and we look forward to delivering some beautiful product for this wonderful property.”

Robin Robin is the endearing story of a robin who is adopted by a family of burglar mice when her egg fortuitously rolls into a rubbish dump. As she grows up her differences become more apparent. She sets off on the heist to end all heists to prove to her family that she can be a really good mouse, but ends up discovering who she really is.

Numberblocks publisher Sweet Cherry makes British Book Awards 2021 shortlist

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The independent children’s book publisher, Sweet Cherry – the publishing partner for Numberblocks, Alphablocks, and The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, has been named a Regional and Country Winner for the Small Press of the Year in the Midlands.

Having made the cut, the book publisher is now in the running to be crowned Small Press of the Year at the British Book Awards 2021.

Hosted by The Bookseller, the judging panel for the awards praised the Leicester-based publishing house’s efforts in 2020, championing it for doubling its export sales in 2020 and highlighting the firm’s diversity with “half of its management from BAME backgrounds.”

Sweet Cherry hit record-breaking sales in 2020 despite being based in Leicester, one of the longest-suffering UK cities during the pandemic. Staff have been working home since March 2020 and the company has been able to publish its new children’s books as planned. 

Lara Clift, publisher and sales director at Sweet Cherry, said: “We are over the moon to have won the regional finalist award in the Midlands. The team has worked so hard during the pandemic and we could not be any happier.” 

The full shortlist for the awards will be announced on Friday 19th March 2021. 

Signature Publishing debuts Adventures With kids’ magazine with Masha and the Bear partnership

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Signature Publishing is to launch a new monthly magazine for children called Adventures With, a changing theme magazine for pre-schoolers that will partner up with some of the biggest names in the entertainment sector.

Marking the debut of the new title, Signature Publishing has partnered with Animaccord to brings its flagship property, Masha and the Bear to print as it looks to support early years learning through stories, puzzles, colouring, and other activities. On top of this, each issue will come with a bespoke cover-mount.

Masha and the Bear currently ranks number five in the list of most in-demand children’s shows worldwide as well as number three among top favourite kids’ entertainment brands in Europe and MEA. On YouTube, the series reached over 84 billion total views and 130 million followers as well as received 40 YouTube Play Buttons including five Diamond Buttons (YouTube Creator Awards).

In 2019, the cartoon was included in Guinness World Records book as the most-watched animated video on YouTube, with the episode “Recipe for Disaster” that today counts over 4.4 billion views.

“Masha and The Bear is a brilliant brand to begin our Adventures With magazines,” said Amanda Clifford, Signature Publishing’s editorial director. “The characters and stories are endearing and funny with a unique appeal to young children and it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with it.

“We have many more exciting brands that we’re going to be taking Adventures With and each one is sure to be a magazine that children will love and treasure.”

Adventures With is a monthly magazine launching March 31st 2021 priced at £4.99. The first issue, dedicated to Masha and The Bear, will come with a Masha and The Bear secret box set and will be available nationwide at all good supermarkets and newsagents.