Category Archives: People

Call for prizes as Light Fund Channel swimmers announce silent auction

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With less than two months to go before two teams of six people brave the unforgiving waters of the Channel and race to France, the organisers of The Light Fund English Channel Relay fundraiser have announced plans for a silent auction to get the donations even closer to the £250,000 target – and readers of Licensing Biz can help.

On 16 May the auction site will go live and the link will be sent out on multiple platforms, then all you have to do is place your bids. Everyone in the licensing industry – brand owners, licensees, licensors and all who work with them – is invited to take part.

But of course, to get the impressive response the Light Fund is aiming for requires a fabulous selection of items to choose from – and the industry is already coming forward with prizes big and small including framed posters, limited edition books, tickets to major events, signed football shirts and much, much more.

Anyone who can help is urged to contact the organisers:

Tasmyn Knight / Tasmyn.Knight@hasbro.co.uk

Simon Gresswell / simon@sglp.co.uk

Anne Bradford / Anneb@Poeticbrands.com

Desirable items, event tickets, money-can’t buy experiences, rare souvenirs – anything worth bidding on is welcome. All prizes will be acknowledged on the auction website.

The big swim is scheduled to start between 30 June and 3 July at around 2am on a day when conditions are optimal and, as the date and the Light Fund target of £250,000 get closer, there are still many opportunities to sponsor this brave and slightly offbeat fundraising effort as well, of course, as being name-checked in a film at the 2022 Licensing Awards.

You can find out more about corporate sponsorship options here. And, of course, individuals are very welcome to donate via the event’s Just Giving page, where you can also follow the teams preparing for the big day. There’s also an Instagram feed and a Facebook page containing team photos and updates.

Team captain Stephen Gould says: “If there’s one industry that can supply desirable goods and services worth bidding for it’s the licensing industry. Let us know what you can offer and when. All of it is going to a fantastic cause and will be a great boost to the brave men and women swimming the Channel both by day and by night only a few short weeks from now. Our thanks to you all!”

The Light (Licensing Industry Giving Help Together) Fund was born when a group of like-minded people from the UK licensing industry came up with the idea to form a committee to help those less fortunate than themselves. The Light Fund is a registered charity, which raises monies to fund worthwhile charity projects that help children, women and men. Since its inception, back in 2004, The Light Fund has raised over £1.7 million and funded hundreds of different charity projects.

https://www.lightfund.org

Moonbug appoints Francesca Romana Gianesin as Head of Consumer Products EMEA ANZ

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Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. has announced the appointment of Francesca Romana Gianesin as Head of Consumer Products EMEA ANZ.

In this newly created role, Gianesin is responsible for driving the consumer products business across EMEA and ANZ. Her remit covers all Moonbug properties, including hit brands such as Blippi, CoComelon and Little Baby Bum.

Gianesin is an experienced international business executive with vast experience in the consumer products business. Prior to joining Moonbug she spent 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, where she held a variety of leadership roles across different business segments, countries and regions. Most recently she was Senior Vice President and Board Member of Disneyland Paris, where she oversaw all the Resort’s experiences and products. Prior to this, she was based in London, at the Disney EMEA headquarters, serving as Vice President Consumer Products for EMEA.

Gianesin started her career at Disney working as Vice President Consumer Products Italy and Vice President Retail, where she was responsible for driving commercial strategy, expanding businesses and seeking out new distribution opportunities across the business.

Prior to joining Disney, Gianesin worked in commercial roles for Johnson Wax, Unichips Group and Playtex.

“I am thrilled to be joining Moonbug at such an exciting time for the licensing and merchandise business. Our company is experiencing continuous growth as our brands are becoming firm favourites amongst EMEA audiences,” says Gianesin. “I am looking forward to working with the team in order to create high-quality, innovative and relevant products that will allow children across the region to interact with their favourite characters and expand their imagination.”

Simon Philips, Managing Director Global Consumer Products at Moonbug Entertainment, says: “Francesca has a wealth of relevant experience and expertise that I am confident will be invaluable for the growth of Moonbug’s Consumer Products business. Her role will play a key part in our continued rapid expansion. I am very much looking forward to her coming on board at such an exciting and important time in the Moonbug journey.”

Born in Italy, Gianesin graduated from La Sapienza University of Rome in Economics with a Master’s degree in Business Management. She lived in different countries in Europe and is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish. Gianesin is a champion for Diversity & Inclusion and has been ranked in the top Best Women Managers by Business People magazine Italy since 2008. She was also one of the first female leaders to sit at the Executive Committee of Centromarca, the Italian Consumer Brands Association, part of AIM.

Gianesin will be based in the Moonbug head offices in the UK working closely with the Moonbug licensing and merchandising team in the USA.

 

 

 

Moonbug appoints Francesca Romana Gianesin as Head of Consumer Products EMEA ANZ

Posted on by

Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. has announced the appointment of Francesca Romana Gianesin as Head of Consumer Products EMEA ANZ.

In this newly created role, Gianesin is responsible for driving the consumer products business across EMEA and ANZ. Her remit covers all Moonbug properties, including hit brands such as Blippi, CoComelon and Little Baby Bum.

Gianesin is an experienced international business executive with vast experience in the consumer products business. Prior to joining Moonbug she spent 20 years at The Walt Disney Company, where she held a variety of leadership roles across different business segments, countries and regions. Most recently she was Senior Vice President and Board Member of Disneyland Paris, where she oversaw all the Resort’s experiences and products. Prior to this, she was based in London, at the Disney EMEA headquarters, serving as Vice President Consumer Products for EMEA.

Gianesin started her career at Disney working as Vice President Consumer Products Italy and Vice President Retail, where she was responsible for driving commercial strategy, expanding businesses and seeking out new distribution opportunities across the business.

Prior to joining Disney, Gianesin worked in commercial roles for Johnson Wax, Unichips Group and Playtex.

“I am thrilled to be joining Moonbug at such an exciting time for the licensing and merchandise business. Our company is experiencing continuous growth as our brands are becoming firm favourites amongst EMEA audiences,” says Gianesin. “I am looking forward to working with the team in order to create high-quality, innovative and relevant products that will allow children across the region to interact with their favourite characters and expand their imagination.”

Simon Philips, Managing Director Global Consumer Products at Moonbug Entertainment, says: “Francesca has a wealth of relevant experience and expertise that I am confident will be invaluable for the growth of Moonbug’s Consumer Products business. Her role will play a key part in our continued rapid expansion. I am very much looking forward to her coming on board at such an exciting and important time in the Moonbug journey.”

Born in Italy, Gianesin graduated from La Sapienza University of Rome in Economics with a Master’s degree in Business Management. She lived in different countries in Europe and is fluent in Italian, English, French and Spanish. Gianesin is a champion for Diversity & Inclusion and has been ranked in the top Best Women Managers by Business People magazine Italy since 2008. She was also one of the first female leaders to sit at the Executive Committee of Centromarca, the Italian Consumer Brands Association, part of AIM.

Gianesin will be based in the Moonbug head offices in the UK working closely with the Moonbug licensing and merchandising team in the USA.

 

 

 

Rainbow Productions MD Simon Foulkes takes on charity bushtucker challenge

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Simon Foulkes, managing director of Rainbow Productions, the UK’s official supplier of licensed children’s characters, completed the St Raphael’s Hospice’s first ever ‘I’m a Director… Get Me Out of Here!’ fundraising challenge which took place last month at the Old Ruts Rugby Club in Wimbledon.

Simon managed to raise £1,400, which will go towards supporting local families living with life-limiting illnesses.

Together with other team red “camp-mates”, Simon went head-to-head against team blue in a series of hilarious and stomach-churning challenges in the “jungle”. The directors took on bushtucker trials to raise funds for the hospice, and each one of them were pushed to their limits dealing with creepy crawlies and unusual food delicacies – including fisheyes, lamb tongues, vomit fruit smoothies and fermented egg-spresso martinis.

Simon Foulkes says: “It was a truly unique experience! I have to admit to being incredibly nervous the night before but the support from the rest of my camp-mates, friends and colleagues from Rainbow made the whole day utterly unforgettable. Collectively, raising just under £19,000 for St Raphael’s Hospice was the greatest achievement and even made slurping down the vomit fruit smoothie worthwhile – never thought I would ever say those words in a sentence!”

St Raphael’s Hospice has been providing expert hospice care for people in Merton and Sutton for over 30 years, free of charge. For more information, visit straphaels.org.uk

Rainbow Productions MD Simon Foulkes takes on charity bushtucker challenge

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Simon Foulkes, managing director of Rainbow Productions, the UK’s official supplier of licensed children’s characters, completed the St Raphael’s Hospice’s first ever ‘I’m a Director… Get Me Out of Here!’ fundraising challenge which took place last month at the Old Ruts Rugby Club in Wimbledon.

Simon managed to raise £1,400, which will go towards supporting local families living with life-limiting illnesses.

Together with other team red “camp-mates”, Simon went head-to-head against team blue in a series of hilarious and stomach-churning challenges in the “jungle”. The directors took on bushtucker trials to raise funds for the hospice, and each one of them were pushed to their limits dealing with creepy crawlies and unusual food delicacies – including fisheyes, lamb tongues, vomit fruit smoothies and fermented egg-spresso martinis.

Simon Foulkes says: “It was a truly unique experience! I have to admit to being incredibly nervous the night before but the support from the rest of my camp-mates, friends and colleagues from Rainbow made the whole day utterly unforgettable. Collectively, raising just under £19,000 for St Raphael’s Hospice was the greatest achievement and even made slurping down the vomit fruit smoothie worthwhile – never thought I would ever say those words in a sentence!”

St Raphael’s Hospice has been providing expert hospice care for people in Merton and Sutton for over 30 years, free of charge. For more information, visit straphaels.org.uk

Licensing International announces partnership with BetterHelp

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Licensing International has announced a partnership with BetterHelp, offering a new series of benefits available to members just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month, which takes place in May.

BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counselling service, endeavours to make professional therapy accessible, affordable, and convenient, and has helped more than 2 million people to date. Offering a comprehensive Mental Health Program for organisations, Licensing International will join its roster of partners alongside other notable organisations using BetterHelp’s services, including TikTok, American Express, Greenpeace, and more.

Through this partnership, more than 1,200 members of Licensing International (and their staff) will now have access to:

  • Four complimentary sessions
  • Access to over 20,000 licensed therapists and professional counsellors
  • Flexible session scheduling through texting, phone, video and live chat
  • Help anywhere, with availability in 200+ countries and 56 languages

“The foundation of every company is its employees, and if those employees aren’t healthy both physically and mentally, it will affect the success and future of your organisation,” says Maura Regan, President of Licensing International. “It’s important to not only offer our members the proper resources to achieve this, but also the appropriate platform to have those conversations, which we have found in BetterHelp.”

Licensing International members can confirm eligibility and get started beginning May 5.

Lisle Licensing to rep food influencer Lillie Farrow

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Lisle Licensing has been appointed as the exclusive licensing agent for professional chef, mum of three and aspirational Instagram influencer Lillie Farrow.

The agency will represent Lillie in developing her brand and bringing to life her connection with young families, parents and foodies who are inspired by healthy eating, family connectivity, and a lifestyle that empowers strong physical and mental health.

Lillie started her career as a chef, and won the acclaimed Young Chef Award in 2011. However, as a mum to three young children, with a career and domestic responsibilities, she found it hard to combine a healthy personal lifestyle alongside feeding three young children. She joined Slimming World to lose weight and, having lost five and a half stone, started a blog to share her renewed love of cooking alongside her personal viewpoint on life as a mum.

Today Lillie has a following of more than 92k Instagram followers (increasing week on week), a website that delivers strong brand engagement, and partnerships that include the likes of Fujifilm, Tesco Food, Pyrex, Green & Black’s, and Osmo modern learning. Most recently she was a key partner in a live ‘Cooking and Lifestyle Show’ by Finish, alongside Bake Off star Manon Lagreve.

The appointment of Lisle Licensing sees Lillie embarking on a new journey, born from the blog which gave her a much-needed lifeline, and a vision to encourage her followers to “eat what you love, and look after your mind and body”.

Lisle’s initial licensing focus will be centred on publishing, which will aspire to Lillie’s loyal fan base, as well as kitchen tools for parents and children to use alongside one another, and healthy meal kits for babies, toddlers and families devised to make mealtimes fun and easy.

Francesca Lisle, MD at Lisle Licensing, says: “As a new mum myself, Lillie was someone that I could follow and take guidance from in areas I knew so little about and honestly found so daunting. Feeding your child with no experience is such a big thing, and you constantly worry if you are feeding them the right types of food, plus ensuring the rest of the family is fed.

“Lillie is so personable and down to earth, providing simple advice which resonated so well with me, I just knew there was a great opportunity for her to help new parents with her approachable style. We are already having so much fun with Lillie and her brand and can’t wait to share it with the wider market.”

Lillie adds: “I am so excited to be working with Lisle Licensing creating my own brand and product line. It has been a dream of mine to get more families and people cooking and I can’t wait to see my ideas and vision come to life.”

Fanbytes acquired by Brainlabs

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Fanbytes has been acquired by Brainlabs, one of the largest digital marketing agencies in Europe, the U.S. and APAC.

Since its inception in 2012, Brainlabs has grown to a team of 800 people across the globe, delivering work for brands including Formula 1, American Express and Mars.

Fanbytes’ founder Timo Armoo says: “Since starting this business with my two co-founders at university, we’ve been obsessed with becoming the best influencer marketing partner for brands wanting to reach a Gen Z audience, and joining Brainlabs means we can advance that mission in two ways.

“Firstly, we can now provide our services at a greater scale. With offices in the US, Canada, Brazil and Singapore, they’re the perfect partner to take our expertise global and grow a physical presence in these locations.

“Furthermore, as one of the best performance marketing agencies in the UK, we are especially excited to start introducing world-class performance marketing to all of our campaigns. We will now be able to combine the power of influencer marketing with the precision targeting of performance marketing.

“We’ll still be maintaining our focus on influencer marketing and providing more insights and value for marketers trying to understand the ever-changing Gen Z landscape.”

For more information visit fanbytes.co.uk

 

LMCA and Stobbs partner to deliver brand licensing service offering in Europe

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International brand licensing agency LMCA is expanding its global footprint in Europe by entering a unique partnership with Stobbs, a Cambridge-based brand-focused law firm with an extensive international client base.

LMCA, which is headquartered in New York with regional offices in Asia and Latin America, announced the partnership with Stobbs as a pillar in its global expansion.

“This is a very exciting alliance, coming in LMCA’s 35th anniversary year,” says Ciarán Coyle, CEO of LMCA. “The combination of LMCA’s global strategic brand licensing capability and Stobbs’ extensive trademark and IP service provision will deliver a comprehensive and compelling offering to both new and existing clients of both organisations.

“This is all about enhancing the services we provide our clients globally. Stobbs is at the cutting edge of holistic and strategic brand management, with its breadth of capabilities addressing all brand-related issues, including trademark portfolio management, online brand enforcement, anti-counterfeiting solutions and brand valuation. We are proud to be partnering with them.”

Julius Stobbs, Founder and Principal of Stobbs, adds: “I am thrilled to be partnering with LMCA, an agency with wide-ranging experience and expertise in building global brand licensing programmes that support long-term brand growth.

“As part of the range of functions that make up Intangible Asset Management, a key capability is in brand extension, and how clients can leverage their highest value asset not just for pure commercial gain, but also as a mechanism to strengthen and protect the brand itself. Our partnership with LMCA will further build our global capability in brand extension and in Intangible Asset Management and we look forward to discussing the associated opportunities with our clients.”

Esther Jolley, currently IA Director at Stobbs, will lead the new initiative in Europe as Managing Director, reporting jointly to Coyle and Stobbs. Jolley, an expert with 20 years’ involvement in the brand licensing industry, has extensive experience on both agency and licensee sides of the business, working with some of the world’s leading brands including Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Hershey’s and Harley-Davidson.

The new partnership will have offices in both Cambridge and London, UK.

Magic Light Pictures supports global growth with three promotions

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Multi award-winning Magic Light Pictures, home of The Gruffalo, has announced a series of promotions across its brand and licensing departments.

Aidan Taylor-Gooby has been promoted to Head of Licensing, leading Magic Light Pictures’ successful licensing business. In his new role Aidan will oversee commercial activity across licensed consumer products, brand partnerships and live experiences globally.

As well as focusing on the continued growth of Magic Light’s evergreen Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler titles including The Gruffalo, he will lead the roll-out of the preschool ratings hit Pip and Posy, currently broadcasting daily on Milkshake! and Sky Kids.

Aidan joined Magic Light in July 2017 from Modest Management, where as Brand & Licensing Manager he developed award-winning licensing campaigns for global music acts One Direction, Little Mix, 5 Seconds of Summer and Olly Murs. Aidan began his licensing career at Banijay Kids, creating consumer products partnerships for preschool properties Waybuloo, Mister Maker, Little Princess and Tickety Toc.

Alex Sanson is promoted to Senior Brand Manager. Since 2013 Alex has worked across product development, licensing and marketing for the Gruffalo family of brands. Alex has worked with major partners such as Eden Project, Yorkshire Tea, Kew Gardens and The Royal Mint. She will continue to develop Gruffalo partnerships with Merlin Entertainments, Forestry England, Arla Big Milk and Twycross Zoo.

After the enormous success of Superworm last Christmas, the fourth most-watched show on Christmas Day, Alex will build on her work with BBC One for the launch of the animated specials.

Bridie Gibbs takes on additional responsibilities as Product Development Manager, responsible for all product development and approvals across Magic Light’s portfolio. Bridie joined Magic Light in March 2018 from Santoro, where as Product Development Executive she worked across high-end gift and lifestyle products, including fine art brands such as “Gorjuss”.

Leaving the Magic Light team is Brand Director Daryl Shute. After sixteen years with the company, Daryl decided the time was right to explore new opportunities. As Brand Director, Daryl oversaw the growth of the Gruffalo brand both in the UK and internationally, developing and delivering a licensing and brand engagement strategy for sustained long-term growth and successfully building the in-house licensing team.

Martin Pope and Michael Rose, Joint Managing Directors at Magic Light, said: “Daryl played an immense role in the growth of Magic Light over 16 hugely successful years and we will be forever grateful for his tremendous contribution. We absolutely respect his desire to explore new opportunities, but he will be greatly missed.

“We’re delighted that the team and strategy Daryl has built are all in place for continued growth in the years ahead, and look forward to Aidan, Alex and Bridie stepping up and enjoying the challenge of their new roles.”