Category Archives: Highlight

Hasbro extends Disguise Inc dress-up partnership to European and global market

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The North American fancy dress specialist, Disguise Inc, has renewed its licensing agreement with Hasbro to design and market Halloween costumes for the US and an expanded deal into Europe, for an additional three years. Commencing in 2021, the deal will span the likes of Transformers, Power Rangers, My Little Pony, and Hasbro Gaming.

On top of this, the newly acquired Entertainment One has granted Disguise Inc the rights to Peppa Pig and Ricky Zoom costumes, which will be brought into the company’s 2021 range. It marks the first time Ricky Zoom has entered the dress-up and costumes market.

“We are thrilled to secure such a meaningful partnership with Hasbro with rights to their entire portfolio of brands, and also with our first-ever global expansion with Hasbro,” said Tara Hefter, EVP and GM of Disguise Inc.

“Building on the success of our line of PJ Masks costumes, we will bring fun and innovation to Peppa Pig and the first Ricky Zoom costumes to hit the market. Disguise is proud of our long standing collaboration with Hasbro.

“This also marks us as being the only Power Rangers Halloween Costume licensee since inception. We look forward to our growing relationship with Hasbro and to bring these incredible characters to life year after year.”

Joan Grasso, VP, Hasbro Consumer Products, North America, added: “Disguise excels at bringing our brands to life with their high quality costumes and innovation. We’re excited to expand our partnership to include more regions and more characters from our growing portfolio of brands.”

Disguise’s Hasbro line of Halloween costumes and accessories hits stores in autumn 2021.

Sony Pictures CP details Cobra Kai product line-up as the series heads to Netflix this month

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Sony Pictures Consumer Products has detailed a comprehensive line-up of products and partners for the two-time Emmy nominated series Cobra Kai, just as the show prepared to enter a new dojo on August 28 when the first two seasons land on Netflix.

Spanning gaming, apparel, accessories, collectable toys, publishing, costumes, home goods, and more, select products are now available in the US, with additional products being released throughout the year and into 2021. The range will be found across major retailers including Amazon, Box Lunch, FYE, GameStop, Hot Topic, Spencer’s, and Walmart.

“We are super excited to bring the first two seasons of Cobra Kai to Netflix’s massive, global audience, with a third season on its way in 2021. We are taking the show beyond the screen and into the hands of consumers through a variety of merchandise offerings, and we are honored to have such a fantastic roster of licensees to help make that happen,” said Jamie Stevens, EVP, Worldwide Consumer Products, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“With even more help from our showrunners themselves who make sure we are staying true to the DNA of Cobra Kai, we’re confident that fans everywhere will be proud to show ‘no mercy’ for their fandom by sporting these epic show-themed products.”

This year, Cobra Kai is getting the gaming treatment with a new mobile game published by Boss Team Games coming this autumn, along with a new console game from Gamemill called Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, which launches October 27.

Bioworld has apparel including sleepwear, headwear, hoisery and accessories available now, while Contenders Clothing has launched its boxer briefs, hats, shirts, sweatshirts, and tanks. Funko’s action figures, phone accessories, backpacks, keychains, belts and buckles and hats are out now, as is the first in the comic book series from IDW Publishing.

NECA has launched a line of collectables, Party City has a Johnny Lawrence adult costume, and Spirit Halloween has a variety of adult costumes themed Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. Surreal Entertainment has water bottles, stickers, duffle bags, wrist and headbands, while Teespring has apparel and accessories.

The Araca Group has the official Cobra Kai store featuring apparel, home decor, and accessories, while Trends International has a line of posters to collect.

Sony Pictures Consumer Products is also taking Cobra Kai beyond the US with the following international licensee collaborations: Caprice apparel (Australia, New Zealand) and Ecell Global phone and tablet accessories (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the UK).

Mobile games publisher Exient wants to be the go-to partner for IP owners

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The independent mobile games publisher, Exient is looking to position itself as the go-to mobile games partner for IP owners in the games and entertainment space.

Headed up by Dave Hawkins, the firm has success over the last 12 months with the self-published Lemmings Puzzle Adventure. It had previously built its business providing work-for-hire services on IP such as FIFA, Angry Birds, F1, and more.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled a new corporate brand identity, bringing its Sad Puppy and Donut labels under its new Exient Publishing banner. It is now expanding its headcount across offices in the UK and Malta to support the development and publishing of self-funded mobile games based on IP from the worlds of games, TV, and entertainment.

Exient already has several titles lined up for 2021.

Donut Publishing will remain as a legal entity in the UK in order to service existing titles, however all new titles will be published through Exient Publishing going forward. In addition to development roles, the company is focusing its recruitment on marketing, user acquisition and community management to support its publishing activities.

“The success we’ve experienced with Lemmings Puzzle Adventure has given us the confidence to double down on our publishing activity, so bringing everything under a single Exient Publishing brand was the next logical step in our evolution,” said Exient COO Nusrat Shah.

“We have a pipeline of self-funded projects for 2021 based on really exciting IPs and we’re keen to work with IP holders and brands interested in taking their properties to mobile platforms.”

Banijay appoints new chief commercial officer to oversee its major licensing push

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Banijay has appointed a new chief commercial officer in the form of Owain Walbyoff to be based in the firm’s London unit in a newly devised role that will span licensing, merchandising, gaming, gambling, and music. Walbyoff will take up the position as of September 1st this year.

Walbyoff has spent almost 20 years working across sales and management in the licensing, media and technology space. In his most recent role in the technology industry, he oversaw licensing, R&D partnerships, and marketing activity, working with brands like LVMH, and Formula 1. 

In 2018, Walbyoff provided consultancy to ITV, helping with strategy and business development across its gaming, gambling, and app portfolio. He also worked with the licensing team on its vast IP offering. Prior to this, he was managing director for Endemol Shine Group’s global licensing business. There he took care of sales and operations for gaming, gambling, licensing and merchandising across its 20-country-strong footprint. 

Reporting to Banijay’s COO, Peter Langenberg, Walbyoff will now devise and execute the group’s overarching licensing strategy and will manage all teams across merchandising, brand licensing, gaming and gambling, and music.

Peter Langenberg said: “Owain has an incredibly strong track-record in the commercial space. With a CV spanning multiple genres and industries, he brings a wealth of knowledge across all disciplines and, having inked a number of stand-out deals in his career, we have no doubt he will be invaluable in strengthening our IP monetisation efforts moving forwards.

“As we build one of the world’s largest content catalogues, we were after a strong entrepreneurial and commercial mind to lead in this area and in him, we have found just that.”

Walbyoff added: “In some ways, it feels like a return and in others, a new, exciting adventure. With an abundance of world-renowned, commercially viable assets, a healthy pipeline of new IP and the most talented combined team, I feel privileged to be leading this department through its next phase.

“Historically, this portfolio has already performed incredibly, so let’s see where we can take it to next.”

The Banijay portfolio which Walbyoff will now represent comprises Masterchef, Deal or No Deal, Peaky Blinders, Temptation Island, Survivor, Tipping Point, Big Brother, Operation Triunfo, Simon’s Cat, Mr Bean, The Biggest Loser, Ready Steady Cook, Black Mirror, Miss France, Eat Well for Less and Crystal Maze.

Australian sleepwear brand Peter Alexander celebrates Father’s Day with Sonic the Hedgehog

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The Australian sleepwear brand, Peter Alexander has launched its first Sonic the Hedgehog branded men’s and boys’ collection, thanks to a new partnership with the home of the iconic video game, comic book, and TV series character, SEGA.

In a partnership brokered by SEGA Brands’ Australian and New Zealand licensing agent, Merchantwise Licensing, the new on-trend sleepwear collection features Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles across a range of men’s t-shirts, trunk pants, baby onesies, boys and junior boys pyjamas, men’s waffle PJ pants, scuffs, and 3D Sonic slippers.

“Sonic the Hedgehog continues to be a truly global franchise spanning games, film, TV, animation, merchandising, mobile and major brand partnerships so following its recent big screen action-adventure comedy release this year, it was perfect timing for the dads and sons range to launch in Peter Alexander – ahead of Father’s Day in Australia and New Zealand,” said Merchantwise Licensing’s general manager of licensing, Kerryn McCormack.

“We look forward to continuing to expand Sonic’s presence in both countries and rolling out further great licensing campaigns for the brand.”

LEGO partners with Tongal and turns to fans to build new content through LEGO World Builder

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The LEGO Group has partnered with the content creation platform Tongal to launch LEGO World Builder, a new story-development platform that allows the LEGO fan community to develop stories, shows, and more, with direct access to the LEGO creative team itself.

Powered by Tongal’s technology, LEGO World Builder connects a worldwide creator community to the LEGO Group, who can then incubate ideas, collaborate, give feedback, and option or buy the rights to new concepts. The community is open to anyone over the age of 18, who can then pitch their own stories, or team up and collaborate on story worlds with other fans, writers, animators, and designers.

Each year, thousands of creatives send the LEGO Group original ideas for new content and stories. LEGO World Builder is wholly dedicated to empowering this type of creativity. The platform will also include challenges from the LEGO creative teams, where fans can share their own spin on existing LEGO IP.

“The LEGO Group is known for innovation. As early adopters of open platforms, they have shown true leadership in engaging those who love their products throughout the creative process,” said James DeJulio, Tongal co-founder and CEO. “They were one of the first organizations to adopt Tongal and our creative community, finding success developing and producing content on the platform, and now they have a dedicated environment to take it to the next level.”

The LEGO Group has been leveraging Tongal and its virtual production capabilities since 2012, working with their global creative community to produce video content across social and into streaming.

“As our partner for many years, Tongal has provided us a way to engage with our creative community and LEGO World Builder is an extension of that,” said Keith Malone, senior director of content development at the LEGO Group. “We are privileged to be a brand that stands for creativity not only with our incredible products but also with the experiences we create for our fans. We hope the next Ninjago or LEGO Masters could come from this collaboration.”

Creators can go to worldbuilder.tongal.com to join the community, explore worlds and start creating.

Nick Jr, Acamar and Aardman among licensing line up for Play at Home Fest 2

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Dr Gummer’s Good Play Guide is putting the final preparations in place for the second installment of the virtual family festival, Play at Home Fest, this weekend. Following the success of the inaugural event in May this year, major players from the licensing space are headlining the upcoming event.

Nick Jr. is bringing its Blue’s Clues and You! and PAW Patrol, to feature alongside the likes of Acamar Films, Dreamtex, and HarperCollins with Bing; Rainbow with 44 Cats and its party licensee Amscam, while Aardman will be returning to host a Shaun the Sheep model making workshop.

Also joining this weekend’s line-up are Sylvanian Families, Aquabeads, Geomag, Drumond Park, Trends UK, The Essential One and EasyRead Time Teacher. The event, which was created to make the world a more playful place during the COVID19 pandemic, will be accessible to families worldwide on Saturday 29th August. 

Two virtual stages will be streamed live to living rooms, gardens, campsites, holiday cottages, and anywhere else where children aged eight and under and their families are during the Bank Holiday weekend. 

The event will be hosted by up and coming kidfluencer, Sisi from Sisi’s World, star of West End Musical, Matilda, and daughter of TV presenter Nigel Clarke. She will be guiding and entertaining children and their families during the Bank Holiday weekend. 

The first Play at Home Fest accrued an incredible 71,000 views and was streamed into the homes of 14,000 families, with social media impressions reaching 750,000 on Good Play Guide channels alone. 

“We were blown away by the success of the first Play at Home Fest, and it was a no-brainer to bring families together again for more fun during this period when playful experiences are needed more than ever,” said Amanda Gummer, founder and CEO of Dr Gummer’s Good Play Guide.

“I’m really pleased to have been able to support some amazing brands during a period when marketing and promotion has been particularly difficult, while also bringing fun and play to the forefront for consumers. The calibre of the acts signed up again for this weekend’s event shows just how beneficial this initiative has been for all involved.”

Hasbro extends representation deal with WildBrain CPLG to cover CEE and Turkey

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Hasbro has extended its agreement with the sport, lifestyle, and entertainment licensing agency, WildBrain CPLG to cover both CEE and Turkey. The move is an extension of the deal it had with the firm, naming it the Hasbro sub-representative in the Nordics and Benelux regions as of January 1st this year.

Under the agreement, WildBrain CPLG will now represent Hasbro’s merchandise, publishing, promotions, and short-term location based entertainment business across Benelux, Nordic, CEE, and Turkey regions.

“We are moving our direct business to an agent model in CEE and Turkey as both regions have tremendous growth potential for our consumer products business,” said Marianne James, vice president of Hasbro Consumer Products in EMEA. “We believe that the strength of WildBrain CPLG to cover Benelux, Nordic, CEE and Turkey will allow us to scale our efforts in a meaningful way.

“WildBrain CPLG will develop our strong portfolio of brands such as Nerf, Monopoly, Play-Doh, and My Little Pony.”

Maarten Weck, executive vice president and managing director at WildBrain CPLG, added: “We are very pleased to extend our geographical footprint to represent Hasbro in CEE and Turkey, where we see tremendous opportunity for their leading family brands.

“The addition of these new markets to our remit strengthens our strategic relationship with Hasbro and gives us even more opportunity to synergise our European efforts, without losing the local touch.”

Edutainment Licensing named worldwide distribution partner for kids’ nature series Hooray Hippo

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Edutainment Licensing has been named the worldwide distribution partner for the animated series Hooray Hippo, a newly developed series from Caters Media Group that combines 2D animation with real life footage to teach children about landscapes and animals.

The series has been developed for boys and girls in the pre-school and early year age group. It is Hooray Hippo and her friend Billy the bird who travel the world using captured footage of animals in their natural habitats, filmed by top wildlife videographers, while reeling off fun facts to help children understand the world they live in.

The show will help them learn about different environments and how they might differ from their own, to identify animals and make observations about their characteristics, and to spot differences and similarities between animal species and where they live.

With offices across four continents, Caters Media Group helps power global publishers across digital, social and TV platforms with video, photo and text media. It is also dedicated to producing and sharing, original, engaging content for millions of fans across its own brands, such as Hooray Hippo, Life on the Edge, Deep Blue Discovery, Storytrender and Pawsome Pets.

Genius Brands appoints Jessica Brinder as its new VP of international distribution

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Genius Brands International has appointed former Corus Entertainment sales executive, Jessica Brinder, as its new vice president of international distribution. The move arrives as Genius Brands continues to grow all areas of its business, including with the launch of its Kartoon Channel, and plans for further content in the pipeline.

In her new role, Brinder will oversee global content sales from Genius Brands’ catalogue of children’s programming, including flagship properties, Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama, along with the upcoming Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzengger, and new content produced under the Stan Lee Universe banner.

Lindsay Brown, who serves as director of international sales, will report to Brinder.

“This is an exciting time to be at Genius Brands as we continue to build our content portfolio, and I welcome Jessica to our team to help drive our content sales efforts around the world,” said Genius Brands’ chairman and CEO, Andy Heyward.

“We now have 100 per cent distribution of the Rainbow Rangers series in the Western Hemisphere and are expanding further internationally, as well as further product roll outs this year; our Llama Llama Netflix Original series is in season two with product on shelf; we have forged a new and important partnership with Alibaba group on our forthcoming Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; and we have created the Stan Lee Universe banner, which will be generating a lot of new content over the next few years.”

Brinder said: “I am thrilled to work with Andy and the team at Genius Brands as we continue producing ‘content with a purpose’ for global distribution.

“We have a diverse catalog of enriching and entertaining programming with new original content coming down the pipeline, and I look forward to working with our broadcast and platform partners worldwide to bring our unique offerings to young audiences around the world.” 

 Brinder joins Genius Brands from Kickstart Entertainment in Canada, where she served as vice president of business development. She previously worked for over five years for Corus Entertainment, most recently as a senior sales manager of global distribution at Nelvana, managing the distribution of content in key territories around the world and overseeing the strategic direction and team of the global VOD business.  Brinder will be based in Toronto.