Ben Sherman introduces Team GB-inspired Humanz NFTs

Extending the Ben Sherman and Team GB collaboration to outfit the official delegation of Team GB athletes, Ben Sherman has re-imagined the iconic line as wearables for the Metaverse. 

Through a partnership with Tokns Commerce and Humanz, Ben Sherman is offering an exclusive opportunity for Team GB fans to own the first custom-designed Humanz NFTs.

The delegation of 250 unique Humanz will wear artist interpretations of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games Opening and Closing Ceremony look worn by the Team GB at the Beijing Games. While the physical items retail as a limited-edition Ben Sherman x Team GB collection available to purchase online from Ben Sherman and Team GB websites, the NFT collection will be available exclusively at TeamgbNFT.com.

Humanz is the creation of a team of illustrators, designed to be a simple, fun and appealing form factor, capable of endless possibilities, representative of familiar characters throughout history, and from all over the world and beyond. An ambitious collection of the remaining 10,000 Humanz will be available to the broader NFT community in a public minting event in March 2022.

Tim Reid, Senior Vice President, for Ben Sherman, commented: “We are thrilled to extend our support of Team GB beyond the Beijing 2022 Games and into the Metaverse. As an iconic fashion brand, this is part of a comprehensive plan to bring Ben Sherman into the world of virtual goods and spaces.”

“We are very excited to partner with Ben Sherman to make creative collectibles available to Team GB fans first,” adds British Olympic Association Commercial Director Tim Ellerton. “As the first Olympic Team to launch an official NFT collection in support of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, we are proud to include this collection alongside our Official Team GB collection at TeamGBNFT.com.”

 

Team GB to present Day 1 keynote at Brand Licensing Europe

Fresh from securing 63 medals at Tokyo 2020 this summer, Team GB will present the opening day keynote at Brand Licensing Europe in November when British Olympic gold medallists Tom Daley and Charlotte Worthington will talk about their journeys to the 2020 Summer Olympics.

BLE – the meeting place for the European licensing industry – takes place in-person at ExCeL London from 17-19 November followed by an online event on 30 November to 1December. Visitors can register for a free ticket now at www.brandlicensing.eu

The Team GB keynote will take place on Wednesday 17 November at 4pm (GMT) in the Platinum Suite of ExCeL London, and open with the Olympians’ personal accounts of their experiences before, during and following their gold-medal-winning performances at this year’s 2020 Summer Olympics.

The first Team GB diver to win four Olympic medals, Tom Daley will appear by live video link from Canada. BMX Freestyle gold medallist Charlotte Worthington will appear in person alongside Tim Ellerton, Commercial Director of Team GB, and Will Stewart, Managing Director of The Point. 1888 (one of Team GB’s brand licensing partners).

A panel session will follow, featuring all four speakers and covering: how Team GB are building the brand to inspire future athletes and sports fans; how will Paris 2024 be a new milestone for the Team GB brand and its athletes?, and Team GB’s unique approach to brand licensing with sports and fan communities in mind.

Charlotte Worthington will join The Point. 1888 on their stand for a meet-and-greet following the presentation at 5pm.

“The brand licensing stories behind Team GB and our British Olympians are fascinating for retailers, licensees and consumers at any time, but this year – when the pandemic delayed the 2020 Summer Olympics by 12 months – they are particularly compelling,” says Informa Market’s VP of Licensing Anna Knight.

“How do you extend your campaigns while also ensuring they have the same impact with consumers? How do you maximise the window of opportunity when an athlete strikes gold? And how do you prep for something that’s three or four years ahead?

“BLE is truly honoured to have two of this summers’ most popular and inspirational Team GB Olympians participate in what will no doubt be an exceptional keynote at the event next month.”

“The Tokyo Games were a sporting event like no other and the postponement to a year later created some complicated challenges, not only for the athletes but also off the field of play in the commercial and licensing world,” says Tim Ellerton, Commercial Director of Team GB.

“Our ability to come together and find creative solutions for our partners and licensees played a huge role in ensuring that when the Games arrived we had everything in place to provide the athletes with the best possible platform to go and perform. We’re very excited to join the panel on the day and provide an insight into what was another fantastic Olympic Games for Team GB.”

Please note, attendees must pre-register for Brand Licensing Europe to ensure a seat.

 

Bravado fires up the fans with Team GB apparel and accessories ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Bravado, the merchandise and brand management division of Universal Music Group, has secured a deal with Team GB to design and distribute official, branded merchandise ranges to the UK retail market. The launch will coincide with the team’s efforts in the 2020 Olympics this summer in Tokyo.

Fans will be able to show their support of the nation’s Olympians through a ‘multi-layered offering’ that will span both online and in-store, as well as luxury, with high-end capsule collections scheduled to run later this summer. The range will feature athleisure, apparel and accessories boasting never before seen designs.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games will take place in Japan from 23 July until 8 August 2021. Team GB will take part in 40 sports, with over 370 athletes due to represent their country.

Keith Taperell, vice president retail and sales, Bravado UK, said: “We can’t possibly be more passionate and excited about this collaboration. With such a testing year behind us, we look forward to the creativity, optimism and patriotism that accompanies this project. The unity and inspiration the Games conjure the world over, is just what we all need.”

Paul Ellis, head of licensing and retail, Team GB added: “Team GB is delighted to be working with Bravado to tap into their design and retail expertise to excite the fans with great product ranges as the nation get behind the team with the Games set to take place in just under a month.”

More details on individual capsule collections will follow in the coming weeks.

Team GB partners with Micro Scooter in latest deal from The Point. 1888

The hit outdoor and wheeled toys brand, Micro Scooters has partnered with Team GB to launch an officially licensed range of Team GB Micro Scooters, now live on the Micro Scooters website.

Developed under a partnership brokered by the UK licensing agency for Team GB, The Point. 1888, the new range of Micro Scooters includes three variations: The Classic Team GB Micro Scooter, The Sprite Classic Team GB Micro Scooter, and the children’s Mini Micro Team GB Deluxe Scooter.

Prices on the new line range from £79.95 to £159.95. The partnership with Team GB marks the first licensed deal secured by Micro Scooters

In an announcing made via The Point. 1888 online platform, head of product and brand, Janine Richmond, said: “For me, this was a dream partnership with such paralleled values. I’m genuinely a massive fan of Micro Scooters – they are perfectionists with the quality of product and branding, which I’ve experienced first-hand having now bought most of their range for my children.”

The new range lands just months away from the much-anticipated Tokyo Olympics 2020 that, having been postponed owning to the pandemic, will take place this July under the same branding. It is expected that a massive 94 per cent of the UK population will be following the games this July and August.

“We know fans want to feel more connected to the brands they love,” continued Richmond. “The Olympics inspires us to become more active and get outside, so this is a great way of getting closer to the action through product.

“It’s so exciting to see the concepts coming through – the product range has surpassed all expectations. The Micro Scooters team are fuelled with amazing ideas of how to get interaction with their product whether on the track; through school programmes or fanZones; they are hugely committed to making this a success and are a joy to work with ….watch this space.”

Team GB partners with Moonpig for greetings and gifts lines ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Team GB has landed a new partnership with the greetings card and gifting platform, Moonpig in a deal that will witness the launch of multiple new product lines, including cards, e-cards, mugs and t-shirts featuring designs focused on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthdays.

The range has been developed to celebrate special moments and lands on the platform with just over four months to go until the Tokyo Olympics taking place this year. Brokered by The Point.1888, the deal will enable fans to celebrate this year’s olympic event with Team GB and Moonpig.

The partnership marks Team GB’s first venture into the greetings category with exclusive products that will allow fans to show their support for the country’s athletes in new ways. The Moonpig deal also now takes the total number of licensing partners for Team GB up to 31 as it continues to expand its licensing programme into new categories and retail channels.

The intention is to drive awareness of, and support for the team in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021 and generate income to reinvest into the continued success of Team GB.

Meanwhile, since its launch some 20 years ago, Moonpig is on a mission to reinvent the gifting experience and become the gifting companion for all of its customers.

Olivia Wiggett, senior commercial executive at The Point.1888, said: “With the Tokyo Olympic Games being delayed by 12 months as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we made sure to put this extra time to the best possible use. We’ve been able to reach out to more potential licensees and really take extra care in immersing them in the brand to be sure the products developed and the marketing plans associated with them could reach their full potential.

“Moonpig was a no brainer for Team GB. They’ve done an amazing job on other sports properties and its wider licensing programmes. Their credibility and reach make them a perfect licensee.”

Paul Ellis, head of licensing at Team GB, said: “I’ve been so proud of the team and our licensees for their continued dedication and hard work and am thrilled that we’ve secured such a strong relationship with Moonpig in time for the Tokyo Games.”

The new Team GB products are now available on Moonpig’s website.

Peppa Pig supports Team GB at Tokyo Olympics in new campaign as children’s ambassador

Hasbro has detailed a new collaboration with Team GB in the UK that will see Peppa Pig join the British Olympic team as a special children’s ambassador to get kids excited for the summer Olympics in Tokyo. The event has been rescheduled from 2020 to 2021, a move that was forced by the world’s lockdown measures.

Big Inspiration for Little Piggies is a new campaign designed to get the nation’s kids moving and into the spirit of the Olympics – set to be one of the most watched sporting events of the year next year – by cheering on their favourite national athletes.

The campaign will be underpinned by a roster of live events, retail activations, digital content, and bespoke merchandise.

“With a year to go until the Olympics there couldn’t be a better time to inspire young kids and their families to get active,” said Hasbro’s Marianne James, VP EMEA consumer products. “Our Big Inspiration for Little Piggies campaign is a great opportunity to tap into the enormous interest surrounding the Olympics to both support the Team GB athletes and nurture a lifelong love of sports in the younger generation that will leave a lasting legacy.”

Partners are already lining up to produce exclusive new consumer products across categories including toys, apparel and accessories, stationery, home gifting and publishing.

The campaign will span multiple touchpoints with a brand-new bespoke style guide featuring innovative new designs that put Peppa and all her friends right into the action with unique sporting outfits and active wear to inspire a range of Team GB licensed merchandise for children, placing the preschool brand in good company with Team GB’s official mascot, Pride The Lion.

New branded content is also being developed across digital channels that will harness the popularity of Peppa Pig and Team GB by encouraging children and families to take advantage of the global sporting event and promote an active, healthy lifestyle.

Throughout summer 2021, Hasbro will be readying a packed calendar of interactive marketing activities that will see Peppa Pig model her very own Team GB kit at various events across the country, sports-related meet-and-greets, experiential displays, retail activations and fun competitions hosted at multiple locations.

The collaboration will kick off with a digital presence in Team GB’s inspired community campaign I Am Team GB from 23rd – 30th July to capitalise on the should-have-been Olympic buzz, and get kids enthusiastic about getting active with Peppa Pig.