Category Archives: Highlight

Ryan’s World game ‘Ryan’s Rescue Squad’ coming to PC and consoles next year

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Outright Games and pocket.watch have teamed up for new video game Ryan’s Rescue Squad, coming to consoles and PC in 2022. The game is based on global kids’ phenomenon ‘Ryan’s World’, whose YouTube channels receive over 1 billion views per month from over 48 million subscribers..

The side-scrolling platform adventure features two-player local co-op travel across slime-filled planets to rescue Ryan’s friends, who have been captured by the evil Dark Titan and his wicked allies Robo Combo and Packrat.

This announcement follows the first ever Ryan’s World FanFest real-time live streaming event that took place on Saturday 27 November. The stream was free to view globally for all of Ryan’s 30M+ fans and was an interactive event featuring puzzles and challenges, photo booths, downloadable content and Voice-Activated Emojis.

Ryan’s Rescue Squad will be released next year on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, XBox Series X, XBox One and PC.

 

SODA Makeup teams with Disney for Frozen II and The Little Mermaid cosmetic collections

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Cruelty-free cosmetics brand SODA MAKEUP has announced its latest collaborations with Disney’s Frozen II and The Little Mermaid.
The Frozen II collection is inspired by “the golden, autumn leaf-speckled forests of Arendelle and the white-capped mountains of Elsa’s Winter Castle”, and features cool-toned snowflake-inspired shades fit for an ice queen. The range comprises a selection of pressed and liquid highlighters; a highly-pigmented eyeshadow palette, featuring both warm and cool tones; pressed shimmers and volumising mascara, among other products.
The Little Mermaid collection, inspired by Ariel’s underwater kingdom, features a rosy liquid cheek stain, long-wearing eye pencils, glittery lip gloss and a face palette.
Makeup fans are encouraged to show off their looks using the hashtags #showyourself and #exploretheocean.

KIDZ BOP and Carter’s get together for the Ultimate Holiday Party

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KIDZ BOP, the #1 music brand for kids, and children’s clothing company Carter’s are teaming up for the Ultimate Holiday Party.

The content is available to view on KIDZ BOP’s YouTube channel, where kids can sing and dance along to KIDZ BOP holiday hits and join the KIDZ BOP Kids as they show off their favourite festive outfits from Carter’s, share their holiday traditions, make holiday cards, decorate cookies, and more.

The KIDZ BOP & Carter’s Ultimate Holiday Party is available to watch here.

Since its inception in 2001, KIDZ BOP has sold more than 22.5 million albums and generated over 6.5 billion streams, and has had 24 Top 10 debuts on the Billboard 200 Chart. The music franchise is expanding internationally and currently records in five different languages.

Carter’s, Inc. is the largest branded marketer in North America of apparel and related products exclusively for babies and young children. The Company owns the Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh brands, two of the most recognised brands in the marketplace. These brands are sold in leading department stores, national chains, and specialty retailers domestically and internationally, and through more than 1,000 Company-operated stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and on-line at www.carters.com, www.oshkosh.com, and www.cartersoshkosh.ca.

BLE online event starts tomorrow

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There’s just one day to go until the start of the BLE follow-up online event.

The perfect place to kickstart productive conversations and gain new knowledge in preparation for a successful year ahead, the digital event runs from 30 November – 1 December. Over 170 brand owners are taking part, and there will be some familiar names from the show floor as well as some additional big brands like Mattel, Bavaria Sonar Licensing and Pokemon that can only be met with virtually.
Log on to view 33 content sessions recorded from the live show, including the live Keynotes and Retail Lounge talks, 13 educational Licensing U sessions and new exclusive on-demand content.
With 1,000+ meetings booked already, calendars are very quickly filling up so reach out to the brands you want to meet with now to avoid disappointment.
Register now to take part by clicking here.

Brands In teams with Next/Lipsy for Christmas jumpers

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Brands In is once again supporting Christmas Jumper Day (Friday 10 December 2021), and has created a range of festive Disney Mickey and Minnie sweats to celebrate the popular seasonal event.

The newly launched official Disney lines are available exclusively at Next/Lipsy and are available in a variety of sizes for all the family. As part of Brands In’s new partnership with Next/Lipsy, the Christmas Jumper range can be personalised with the wearer’s name, with an RRP starting at £25. Printed in the UK, all personalised orders will be delivered within seven days of ordering.

Sue Stanley, Licensing Director at Brands In, says: “The popularity of Christmas jumpers continues to grow and the fact that we can now provide a locally sourced personalisation licensed Disney Mickey and Minnie range for customers within a week to UK addresses demonstrates our ongoing ability to be nimble and offer a best-in-class service.  The 2021 festive personalised Disney lines are high in quality with superior print technology, and we’re thrilled to have secured the range exclusively online with Next/Lipsy.”

Spin Master, Mattel and more come on board for Pitch Smarter Conference

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Ryan Beaird, Event Director of the Brands & Retail UK 2022 screening conference, has announced more major global character and entertainment brands have come on board for the inaugural event. The Brands & Retail UK ‘Pitch Smarter’ Conference, sponsored by Fabacus, will take place British Library on the 20 January 2022 from 9am till 6pm.

Joining Bulldog Licensing, ViacomCBS, Hasbro, Moonbug Entertainment, BlueZoo Rights and Acamar Films are Mattel, Spin Master, Penguin Ventures, Warhammer (Games Workshop), MGAE, SEGA and Activision, with only a couple of brands left to be announced.

The event is free for licensees and retail buyers to attend and full registration is now open at www.BrandsRetail.eventbrite.co.uk

Major character and entertainment UK licensees who have signed up to attend include: Amscan, Aykroyd and Sons, Blueprint Collections, Blues Clothing, Brands In, Brecrest, Cooneen, Dennicci, Danilo, Dreamtex, Character World, Character.com (Retail Buyer), Event Merchandising, Golden Bear, Lowe and Sons, Immersive Everywhere, Pyramid International, Rainbow Designs, Rubies, TDP, ToyTopic, Poetic Brands Vtech and Winning Moves.

To round off the day [6pm to midnight] there will be an event party at the exclusive Ivy Club. Anyone booking tickets before 1 December can take advantage of a special early-bird rate of £55; after that, tickets cost £75 each.

Drinks, canapés and bowl food will be served in the glamorous Loft of the Ivy Club. “I’m also putting on karaoke for the more ‘expressive’ types in the Licensing industry,” says Ryan. “And as the event is in January and it will be cold, I will be organising coaches from the British Library to the Ivy Club.”

The booking site is now live for Retail Buyers and Licensees only to attend – details can be found on the event website, brandsretail.uk.

For more information contact Ryan.Beaird@BrandsRetail.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fanattik wins best Family Business at the Business Masters Awards

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Fanattik, the pop culture specialist, is ending 2021 on a high, winning a Business Masters award at a ceremony held in Manchester earlier this month.

The gift and collectibles company, a licensee for Hasbro, Universal Studios, Microsoft, ViacomCBS and others, supplies all levels of European gift retail. The award crowns what has been a hugely successful year for the boutique gift supplier, which is also in the running for a Gift of the Year award with its SpongeBob SquarePants premium bottle opener.

“At the start of this year we moved into Fanattik HQ, launched our Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering collections as well as doubling our office team,” says Anthony Marks, M.D Fanattik. “Next year is going to be equally a whirlwind year as we pick up the keys to our second warehouse in February and have plenty of anniversaries to get our teeth into, such as 40 years of E.T. and Knight Rider as well the blockbuster that will be Jurassic World Dominion, which we are a also a gift licensee for.”

The Fanattik team was out in force to pick up the business award, and it was the first time many of them had been out together since winning Northwest Business Of The Year, organised by the Federation of Small Business, just prior to the pandemic.

Fanattik will be visiting London, Nuremberg and New York Toy Fair as well as the Las Vegas Licensing show. Retailers wishing to join the Fanattik family on their fan-focused journey are invited to email hello@fanattik.co.uk

 

Poetic scores with NFL at Missguided

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In its latest collaboration with leading online ladies wear retailer Missguided, Poetic Brands has created a range of NFL apparel targeted at young women.

The new range encompasses a wide offering of products based around some of the key teams in the NFL, including the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers, combined with Missguided branding. Products include varsity jackets, sweatshirts, shorts, leggings, mini dresses, crop tops, T-shirts, co-ord sets, jumper dresses and cardigans.

The new collection follows on from Poetic’s recent NFL collection of menswear for high street retailer Primark, and builds on the apparel specialist’s partnership with the brand.

Over the past 100 years, NFL has become a key part of US culture and has established itself as the most popular spectator sport in the United States. The popularity of American Football has spread worldwide, providing a huge fanbase throughout the UK, so much so that international games are now played each year in leading London venues.

Elliot Matthews, managing director at Poetic Brands, commented: “We’re really thrilled with the NFL x Missguided collection as it’s perfect for the target audience, with relaxed yet stylish options to suit all tastes. NFL is a great brand to work with as its diverse branding and individual team graphics mean it can be applied to designs for a wide variety of consumers and work brilliantly across each one.”

Rock legends Queen partner with Johnny Hoxton for bespoke jewellery range

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Legendary rock band Queen have partnered with Hatton Garden-based jewellery designer Johnny Hoxton to create two limited-edition, bespoke pieces. A 9-carat gold ring and a solid sterling silver chain and ‘Q’ pendant will be available to purchase exclusive to pop-up store Queen – The Greatest on Carnaby Street, which celebrates the band’s historic five decades of music.

Renowned jeweller Johnny Hoxton is known for his cool, fresh and disruptive designs. Drawing inspiration from underground pop culture iconography, his jewellery blends genuine craftsmanship and nods to street culture, so partnering with one of the world’s most visually iconic bands seemed a perfect fit.

This limited-edition Johnny Hoxton collaboration is the latest ‘Queen – The Greatest’ drop, as part of November’s Art & Design Month in store. Merging well recognised Queen iconography with Hoxton’s craftsmanship and aesthetic, each of the made to order pieces in the collection are true statement pieces. Made up of a solid sterling silver chain and ‘Q’ pendant of the Queen The Greatest emblem and a solid 9 carat gold ring engraved with the word ‘QUEEN’- the pieces retail at £145 and £245 respectively and are available now.

“I’m very privileged to have had the opportunity to be involved as a creative contributor to the celebration of one of the most influential bands of my generation,” says Johnny Hoxton. “I can only hope that my humble input does some justice to this beautiful legacy.”

Queen – The Greatest was launched to celebrate the band’s historic five decades of music. Created in partnership with Bravado, Universal Music Group’s merchandise and brand management company, the pop-up store is designed to take you on a visual journey through one of the world’s most iconic bands’ contributions to music, culture and fashion. The shop features limited-edition music releases, new product drops and exciting fashion collaborations, with each month of its three-month stint having a different theme: Music, Art & Design and Magic.

Queen The Greatest’  is at 57 Carnaby Street, London, W1 until January 2022.

MGA Entertainment joins forces with Dentsu Inc. for Pui Pui Molcar toy line

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MGA Entertainment, the fastest growing and biggest privately held toy company in the US, has announced a long-term agreement with Dentsu Inc. for the master consumer products licensing rights to Pui Pui Molcar, a Japanese stop-motion short anime series produced by director Tomoki Misato.

MGA will develop a robust line of Molcar toys that will launch in summer 2022 and are expected to be the next big merchandise trend for the year and beyond. The latest new Japanese IP to release this year, Molcar is a popular anime series that currently airs on YouTube, TV Tokyo and Netflix and has been viewed over 36 million times. Popular in Japan, Europe and North America, the addictive episodes detail the adventures of guinea pig characters who have been transformed into vehicles powered by human drivers and are filled with humour and emotion. Pui Pui Molcar is a global sensation already and the new line of toys will continue to captivate kids and millennial adults worldwide with fantastical elements perfect for immersive play or collecting.

Isaac Larian, CEO and Founder of MGA says: “MGA Entertainment is proud to partner with Dentsu, Inc. and bring innovation, digital dominance, world class performance, and distribution to this collaboration. Every property MGA has launched has been an uber success – and Molcar will be too.

“In addition to its core Molcar toy line, MGA will develop a robust and unique licensing programme featuring best-in-class industry leaders across home, apparel and accessories, electronics, and gaming. Both the Molcar toy and licensed products are slated to be sold at all major retailers in summer 2022.”

The MGA family includes award-winning brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Little Tikes, Rainbow High, Bratz, Na! Na! Na! Surprise, Baby Born Surprise and Zapf Creation. Visit www.mgae.com for more information.