The Beano brand is promising 365 days of mischief to mark the milestone, following success in 2022 with a raft of new licensing partnerships.
Mastering the trick of growing up without growing old, Beano will celebrate its 85th year in 2023, following an amazing 2022 which saw a host of new and extended licensed partnerships for the brand.
These include an extension of the Licensed to Charm range, the Hornby Beano Carriage, Spike Leisurewear, a classic capsule collection with Dennis and Gnasher from Cotton Division, a Dennis bespoke statue and Beano chess set (from Blu Goblin in aid of Save The Children) and the Farshore book range.
Starting in 2022 and continuing into 2023 are collaborations with Visit Scotland & Scotrail, Hollywood Bowl, Puttstars, The Story Museum and The Outdoor Gaming Company. Still to come are a Halloween Quest with English Heritage and work with the Royal College of Anaesthetists, which is collaborating in efforts to help children attending UK hospitals.
Beano is a hugely versatile brand IP that interests and engages on many levels, resulting in a diverse breadth of licensed partnerships across experiential, telecoms, banking, travel and entertainment sectors this year. Partners include Netflix, where Mr Bean saw Man vs Bee become Man vs Bee-no; The Eden Project and its interactive trail with Beano, where visitors helped Dennis and family rescue the Eden Project from CO2-Zilla; EE utilised the brand to show kids, including Dennis and Minnie, how to stay safe on their phones and online and NatWest teamed up with Beano and Marcus Rashford MBE on the Thrive programme. There was also the Summer Streets Festival engendered by the massive Beanotown sign (as tall as a giraffe and three buses long) installed in Dundee this Summer.
Beano produces the world’s longest running comic and UK’s best-selling annual. With the comic circulation growing for five consecutive years and the Beano Annual maintaining its position as the UK’s favourite, the brand boasts 84% brand recognition among children as well as 94% recognition among adults.
International Emmy nominated Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! remains in the Top 10 of CBBC’s linear brands and there have been more than 8.4m requests for the show on iPlayer over the last 18 months. Beano TV is thriving on Samsung Plus, reaching 70,000 viewers every month and YouTube continues to serve Beano fans with 800k views every month in the UK.
The Beano 85th birthday year will also celebrate anniversary milestones of other favourite Beano characters including the 70th anniversaries of Roger the Dodger, Minnie the Minx and the Bash Street Kids, while the Numskulls will be marking their 30th anniversary.
For more informations on the celebrations, visit beanostudios.com
