Tag Archives: bRAND-WARD

Guru Studio appoints Bandai as UK distributor for True and the Rainbow Kingdom toys

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Children’s entertainment company Guru Studio has appointed Bandai UK as its UK distributor for a new range of toys inspired by the hit series True and the Rainbow Kingdom.

Guru Studio teamed up with previously announced master toy partner United Smile to bring the product line to market, which has already launched in select markets including Israel, the Philippines and in Australia at Target, with Big Balloon handling distribution.

In the UK, True and the Rainbow Kingdom continues to be a breakout hit on TinyPop, currently ranking as the #3 most-watched series on the free-to-air kids’ channel. In addition to all four seasons now streaming on Netflix, the official True and the Rainbow Kingdom YouTube channel is nearing 1 billion views.

Licensing agency bRAND-WARD has been handling licensing and merchandising, bringing on an impressive number of top licensees including Fashion UK, Aykroyds, Roy Lowe, Imagine8, Smiffys and Warner Music Group.

“After so much anticipation and pent-up demand from our fans, we’re excited to be working with Bandai to launch this unique line of toys that we know kids in the UK have been waiting for,” says Jonathan Abraham, VP of Sales and Business Development at Guru Studio.

Nic Aldridge, Managing Director at Bandai UK, comments: “We are absolutely thrilled that True and the Rainbow Kingdom has joined our growing preschool portfolio, with a strong range focused in the key subcategories and most popular play patterns. Initial reaction from the trade has been very positive. So, we are very excited to launch True and all her friends to the market later in the year.”

The toy range – to include figures, plush, dolls, playsets and vehicles – is set to launch in A/W this year.

ON Kids & Family appoints bRAND-WARD to build Petronix Defenders brand

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European studio ON kids & family, part of Mediawan, has appointed kids IP consultancy bRAND-WARD to develop a UK licensing programme for comedy-animation adventure series Petronix Defenders. 
The 52 x 13′ series is aimed at children from 4 to 7 years old. It is produced in association with the M6 Group (Gulli and M6Kid) and Super RTL, in partnership with the Chinese toy manufacturer and global media group Alpha, the segment leader in the Chinese market, and one of the main players in the toy market worldwide.

When the world’s wild animals are in danger, a team of young superheroes rush to their rescue: their backpacks are transformed into small animals equipped with incredible technology, and together they set off on ever more daring missions to help them.

The series’ environmental values and the empathy created by the characters address the current concerns of young audiences and their parents.

In addition to bRAND-WARD Services, ON kids & family is setting up an international network of experienced licensing agents: Gulli (France), Super RTL (Germany, Benelux and GAS), Planeta Junior (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Eastern and Central Europe), Megalicense (Russia, Ukraine), Lotus Global (Brazil and Latam), and Plus Licens (Nordic countries).

In the UK, Tiny Pop will be the free to air broadcast partner.

“Our L&M strategy is based on major exposure of the series on the best free TV broadcasters, to ensure our partner Alpha the best possible visibility from the beginning of the broadcasts,” says Erick Rouillé, SVP co-productions, Business Development, Licensing & Merchandising. “Our series is generating an enthusiastic response from our broadcast and licensee partners who are convinced of the project’s potential. Alpha will also be launching its toy line worldwide, outside of China, for Christmas 2023. Our organisation also relies on the strong local involvement of agents to whom we have chosen to entrust the exploitation of the brand in many territories.”

Jean-Philippe Randisi, co-founder of bRAND-WARD, adds: “ A superb series, featuring engaging characters, fantastic toys and a very compelling message, Petronix Defenders will take the world by storm in 2023 and beyond. We are proud to be able to join forces with ON Kids & Family to make this series a success in the UK.”

WildBrain CPLG to develop licensing programme across Nordic territories for Little Grey Fergie

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Farmyard Stories, the owner of Little Grey Fergie, and bRAND-WARD Services, the international kids IP consultancy, have appointed WildBrain CPLG to develop a licensing program across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland for Little Grey Fergie, the property created by Morten Myklebust and produced by Anne Thovsen.

Created in Norway, Little Grey Fergie is a live-action series for preschoolers telling the story of a Ferguson TE20 tractor who is not only alive, but also secretly set on helping on the farm where he lives. It has been a domestic success since its first airing on leading local broadcaster NRK in 1998, which was followed by the production of a TV series, movies, books, toys, merchandise, stage shows and a theme park. Little Grey Fergie has since then expanded its audience internationally with a popular YouTube channel engaging fans around the world.

The brand will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023 and the new licensing program will be a big step towards familiarising kids beyond Norway with Fergie and its values: honesty, frugality, kindness and playfulness.

Anne Thovsen, CEO and Producer at Farmyard Stories, says: “With a strong platform for Little Grey Fergie on YouTube, families around the world want to know more about our tractor and its friends. It is therefore with great enthusiasm and joy that we enter this collaboration with WildBrain CPLG which will help us extend fans’ experience of the brand”.

“Our expertise in bringing character brands to life through consumer products programmes makes Little Grey Fergie an exciting addition to our preschool entertainment portfolio,” says Jenny Strehle Ilic, Commercial Director Nordics, WildBrain CPLG. “We see great potential and are looking forward to growing his happy presence amongst kids and families in the Nordics.”

Gigantosaurus stomps into the European dress up sector in Smiffys partnership

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Smiffys is bringing the cast of the popular children’s CGI animated series Gigantosaurus to the dress up and costumes space thanks to a new partnersip with Cyber Group Studios and the licensing agency Brand-Ward.

Characters Rocky, Bill, Tiny, and Mazu will each find themselves receiving the dress up treatment in a new range that will launch in time for World Book Day next year. The range will be distributed across Europe.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Smiffys to build on our award-winning children’s licensed costume portfolio with these adventurous characters,” said Dominique Peckett, director at Smiffys.

Bruno Danzel D’Aumont, international licensing and marketing vice president at Cyber Group Studios, said: “Smiffys is a talented company and well recognized in its market. I am proud that Gigantosaurus will be part of the range and I am looking forward to seeing children wearing the costumes of their favorite dinosaurs characters around Europe.”

The partnership was forged by the licensing agency, Brand-Ward Services who has been tapped to help grow the property’s presence across the European consumer products space.

Trudi Hayward, co-founder of Brand-Ward, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Smiffys across Europe in the dress up category, as they are an extremely dynamic company that has established distribution across Europe and we are all very excited to be working with them on Gigantosaurus costumes which will launch in time for World Book Day 2022.”

True and the Rainbow Kingdom lands Warner Music deal for singles and album releases this year

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Brand-Ward Services and Guru Studio, a leader in children’s entertainment, have detailed a major new collaboration with Warner Music for the popular preschool animated series, True and the Rainbow Kingdom.

The new deal will see Warner Music launch its first True and the Rainbow Kingdom single later this month, which will then be followed by additional singles and albums throughout 2021. It follows the release of TRUE: Tunes, the franchise’s first album which was released by Guru Studios last year. The album garnered over 100,000 streams in the first 30 days.

Warner is expecting to see similar success with its own singles and album release this year.

“There’s been incredible demand for True products and content from kids and parents all over the world,” said Jonathan Abraham, VP of sales and business development at Guru Studio. “This is the first of many announcements we have coming up for True products.”

Trudi Hayward, co-founder of Brand-Ward Services, said: “We are delighted to be working with Warner Music on such a musically inspired show. Fans of the show will be able to sing along to their favorite True tunes, which can be as entertaining and engaging as watching the show.”

True and the Rainbow Kingdom is produced by animation powerhouse Guru Studio based on the artwork of FriendsWithYou, and is executive produced by world-renowned artist Pharrell Williams. The series first launched on Netflix in 2017, and has since become a ratings hit around the world.

Following the successful launch on Tiny Pop in April 2020, the demand for the hit preschool series continues to grow. On AVOD platforms such as YouTube and YouTube Kids, True and the Rainbow Kingdom has amassed a sizable audience with over 525 million views and over 2.7 billion minutes watched.

In the UK consumer products are getting ready to launch for True and the Rainbow Kingdom, with soon to be announced global partners, licensees and retailers launching products later this year.

Bullseye scores Nintendo and PlayStation games deal with digital developer Sabec

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The video games developer, Sabec, has signed a new partnership with Bulldog Licensing to create a series of digital games for download across the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, based in the British gameshow, Bullseye.

Sabec is considered a leader in its field of developing games for licensed brands and its own IP, having worked with leading global entertainment brands like Hasbro, MTV, and Wiley Publishing as an approved Nintendo, PlayStation, Microsoft XBox, Apple, Roku, Samsung, Oculus, and Google developer.

Bullseye, meanwhile, is a much-loved British gameshow that first made its appearance in 1981 to reach is peak audience figures of 19.8 million on Boxing Day 1989. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the brand continues to hold a place in the hearts of the British public. In fact, when Sky Challenge relaunched the gameshow in 2006, it quickly became the channel’s top rating show.

Bulldog Licensing’s consumer products programme for the brand features an internet scratch card game from Camelot, and a spot on Cosmic Concept’s pub quizzes. The agency has been working closely with licensees to create strong collections of apparel and leisurewear, toys and games, and housewares.

“Bullseye is the perfect fit for digital gaming,” said Rob Corney, MD, Bulldog Licensing. “The show’s format is loved nationwide and is a firm family favourite, so we’re thrilled to have Sabec on board to bring the experience into people’s homes with innovative gaming concepts.”

Trudi Hayward, co-founder of BRAND-WARD Services Ltd, who brokered the deal, speaking on behalf of Sabec, said that Bullseye is a perfect fit for Sabec and console games, because darts is becoming increasingly more popular.

“Bullseye has such heritage in the UK, we know the game will be a sure fire hit, not just the fans that remember Bullseye but the younger generation who enjoy darts too,” she said.

Brand-Ward tapped to develop Germany’s Bibi & Tina for global audiences

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The licensing agency and consultancy firm, Brand-Ward has been brought on board to develop a strategy to launch the German children’s brand, Bibi & Tina to a global audience.

Owned by Kiddinx Media GmbH, a leading name in distribution and marketing for children’s audio plays and books, kids’ music, animated features, and apps, Bibi & Tina began life in Germany as a radio play spin-off of the Bibi Blocksberg brand. It was quickly developed into a TV series for ZDF as well as a range of audiovisual productions.

It follows the adventures of Bibi, a girl with special powers, her best friend Tina, and their horses Sabrina and Amadeus. Over its 30 year history, Bibi & Tina has become a major brand in the German market with over 20 million storytellers sold to date, 5.6 million videos sold, a number one soundtrack album, and 1.7 million books shifted.

The IP has been on air with 54 episodes on TV for the last 13 years, a live action series on Amazon Prime, and four feature films. Bibi & Tina has embraced the digital age with 105 million streams per month across all major platforms. 

The brand is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2021, and Kiddinx has launched the 100th episode of the radio play in January. 

Holger Küchler, managing director at Kiddinx, said: “Internationalization has become a priority for our brands. We are pleased that we have found a committed and professional partner in Brand-Ward who will be accompanying us on this journey to bring a smile to every child’s face.”

Karl Blatz, head of international business development at Kiddinx, added: “Bibi & Tina always stood for equality and sustainability. These core values have been with the brand for thirty years and are now more important than ever before. We truly believe that Bibi & Tina provide captivating entertainment that children won’t be able to get enough of.”

Jean-Philippe Randisi, co-founder of Brand-Ward, said: “Quietly and discreetly, Kiddinx has created over the last decades, a number of gems for children with an incredibly enduring success. Bibi & Tina is a favourite brand for kids there, and we are delighted to help Kiddinx fulfil their ambition of making it part of kids’ lives not just in Germany but around the world.”

Brand-Ward named UK and Ireland licensing agent for pre-school IP Pikwik Pack

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The UK-based licensing agency, Brand-Ward, has been tapped to represent Guru Studio’s latest pre-school series, Pikwik Pack across the UK and Ireland, with a focus on consumer products including toys and games.

The licensing firm already represents Guru Studio’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom and will now add Pikwik Pack to its remit as it looks to build a licensing portfolio for the IP across apparel, housewares, accessories, publishing, party decorations, and live events.

“After a successful premiere on Disney Junior in the US and Treehouse in Canada, we’re excited to partner with Brand-Ward to lead Pikwik Pack’s expansion into the UK and Ireland,” said Jonathan Abraham, VP of sales and business development at Guru Studio.

“The team at Brand-Ward are industry veterans that have brought expertise and strategic planning to the forefront of all our deals. We will be announcing our broadcast partners for the UK and Ireland shortly.”

Trudi Hayward, co-Founder of Brand-Ward Services, said: “We are delighted to be extending our relationship out with Guru Studio and to be working with them on their delightful new property Pikwik Pack. Deliveries and awaiting for those special packages has become a very big part of our lives during this last year with lockdown, so Pikwik Pack could not be more topical right now.”

Pikwik Pack debuted on Disney Junior US and Treehouse Canada late last year, with new episodes continuing to air throughout 2021. The series will be rolling out worldwide later this year with broadcasters such as Super RTL (Germany), Canal Panda (Portugal), HOP (Israel), Minimini+ (Poland), and more.

In the US, the series is represented by Licensing Street, with Playmates Toys (master toy) and Scholastic (US Publishing) already on board.

Brand-Ward named UK and Ireland licensing agent for pre-school IP Pikwik Pack

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The UK-based licensing agency, Brand-Ward, has been tapped to represent Guru Studio’s latest pre-school series, Pikwik Pack across the UK and Ireland, with a focus on consumer products including toys and games.

The licensing firm already represents Guru Studio’s True and the Rainbow Kingdom and will now add Pikwik Pack to its remit as it looks to build a licensing portfolio for the IP across apparel, housewares, accessories, publishing, party decorations, and live events.

“After a successful premiere on Disney Junior in the US and Treehouse in Canada, we’re excited to partner with Brand-Ward to lead Pikwik Pack’s expansion into the UK and Ireland,” said Jonathan Abraham, VP of sales and business development at Guru Studio.

“The team at Brand-Ward are industry veterans that have brought expertise and strategic planning to the forefront of all our deals. We will be announcing our broadcast partners for the UK and Ireland shortly.”

Trudi Hayward, co-Founder of Brand-Ward Services, said: “We are delighted to be extending our relationship out with Guru Studio and to be working with them on their delightful new property Pikwik Pack. Deliveries and awaiting for those special packages has become a very big part of our lives during this last year with lockdown, so Pikwik Pack could not be more topical right now.”

Pikwik Pack debuted on Disney Junior US and Treehouse Canada late last year, with new episodes continuing to air throughout 2021. The series will be rolling out worldwide later this year with broadcasters such as Super RTL (Germany), Canal Panda (Portugal), HOP (Israel), Minimini+ (Poland), and more.

In the US, the series is represented by Licensing Street, with Playmates Toys (master toy) and Scholastic (US Publishing) already on board.

Poetic Brands brings Gigantosaurus into its baby, children’s wear and accessories fold

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Poetic Brands has added the award-winning children’s IP, Gigantosaurus to its growing baby, children’s wear and accessories division. The move marks a new partnership between bRAND-WARD Services and Cyber Group Studios, brokered by Riverside Brands.

Targeting children aged three to six, Poetic Brands’ Gigantosaurus collection is due to include a range of children’s apparel, outerwear and swimwear, as well as luggage. The collection is inspired by the popular Gigantosaurus, and the case of characters, including Rocky, Bill, Tiny and Mazu.

Written by Jonny Duddle, published by Templar, and sold to 300,000 units in the UK alone, Gigantosaurus follows the adventure of four dinosaur friends who are trying to avoid the Gigantosaurus while playing in the forest. 

In 2018, the story was adapted into an CGI-animated TV series by Paris and Los Angeles-based producer and distributor, Cyber Group Studios. The popular CGI-animated programme, currently airing its first season on Disney Junior worldwide, Tiny POP (UK) and on other major broadcasters, is also available on Netflix and Disney +.

In addition, the series has just been commissioned by The Walt Disney Company and France Télévisions for seasons two and three and by Super RTL (Germany) for season two. 

Gigantosaurus has also been adapted into a video game. Developed by Cyber Group Studios and published by Outright Games, Gigantosurus the Game was launched on March 27th, 2020.

In addition, Jakks Pacific Inc introduced a Gigantosaurus toy range in the US in Q4 last year and Templar will have 40 new TV tie-in books published over the next three years in the UK. Many more categories will be announced and are in discussion for launch in 2021.

Anne Bradford, director, Poetic Brands, said: “Gigantosaurus was actually the first licence that we signed for our Baby and Children’s wear division which was a significant moment for us! Although extinct, dinosaurs will never go out of fashion, and this has already been a really fun collection to start creating and sharing at retail.

“With a huge following across boys and girls, we are looking forward to sharing the collections and providing everything for pre-schoolers from tee shirts and joggers, to puddle suits and jackets. We have also just found out that Gigantosaurus will be one of the 12 featured book titles for World Book Day 2021, so now is the perfect time to speak to us and create some amazing product for spring.”

Trudi Hayward, co-founder of bRAND-WARD Services Limited, added: “We are delighted to be partnering Poetic Brands, as they are a great company to work with and Cyber Group Studios has been delighted with their interpretation of Gigantosaurus on their range of clothing products, and will look forward to seeing lots of children wearing their favourite dinosaurs when the product launches early next year.”  

Ash Holman from Riverside Brands, concluded: “Poetic Brands has a best in class retail distribution network, and we are in the midst of some very exciting joint launch plans. Fans of the show will love to wear the product that will be available on shelves early next year.”