Line Friends partners with Universal to launch Minions x Brown & Friends collaboration

The internationally celebrated character brand, Line Friends, has partnered with Illumination and Universal Brand Development to unveil its Minions x Brown & Friends collection, a new line-up of products that will feature the Minions’ Stuart, Kevin, and Bob alongside Line Friends’ own Brown and Sally.

A collaboration long over-due, early reaction among Millennials and Gen Z has – understandably – gone viral, as the first glimpse of Brown and Sally dressed in the signature Minions’ get up of overalls and goggles ignited the imaginations of its core audience the world over.

 Launched as part of the collaboration between these two powerhouse brands, the Minions x Brown & Friends collection consists of fashion and tech accessories ranging from AirPods cases to phone grips to canvas tote bags, as well as to golf accessories and camping gear. Collection items are anticipated to hit a record-breaking sellout worldwide.

The Minions x Brown & Friends collection is available for global purchase on the official on- and offline stores of Line Friends in countries and regions including Korea, the US, Japan, and China, from July 22. Line Friends is also slated to drop big surprises of digital contents, including Line messenger stickers and Instagram AR GIFs for this collaboration, sparking viral sensation among Millennials and Generation Z.

“With our unrivalled creative capabilities, Line Friends once again captures the hearts of Millennials and Generation Z across the world with this collection jointly collaborated with long-standing partners Universal Brand Development and Illumination,” said the Line Friends team.

“We anticipate that this phenomenal collaboration between Brown & Friends, originally created for use as Line messenger stickers, and the beloved Minions will stir up fun and excitement for fans worldwide.”

WildBrain CPLG signs popular mobile gaming IP Brawl Stars in latest Line Friends deal

WildBrain CPLG has secured a multi-territory representation deal for the popular online mobile game, Brawl Stars, with the brand’s global rights holder, Line Friends. The deal marks an existing partnership between the two that covers the Line Friends characters brands, Brown & Friends and BT21.

WildBrain CPLG will now represent Brawl Stars across the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Iberia, Benelux, Nordics, CEE, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine with a licensing programme aimed at fans of all ages. Key target categories will include apparel, accessories, toys, homewares, and stationery.

Brawl Stars is a multiplayer online battle-arena and hero-shooter game with multiple game modes. It was originally created and produced by the Finnish mobile game developer, Supercell, and provided the foundation for a global partnership with Line Friends to exploit all opportunities for the Brawl Stars IP. This includes licensing, content creation, and merchandise production.

The game first launched in 2018 and has since generated a significant user base in Europe with over 280M downloads.

Maarten Weck, executive vice president and managing director at WildBrain CPLG, said: “We’ve established a very successful partnership with Line Friends across their beloved character brands, so it’s fantastic to extend the relationship and welcome the hugely popular Brawl Stars to our portfolio.

“The game has an impressive footprint across Europe, which will provide a solid foundation as we assemble a compelling cross-category consumer products programme for fans and gamers. We already have a number of exciting deals in the pipeline, so watch this space.”

WildBrain CPLG signs raft of UK and European partners for Line Friends’ Brown & Friends

WildBrain CPLG has secured a raft of new European deals on behalf of the Line Friends brand’s Brown & Friends, an off-shoot IP that features the brand’s signature characters Brown, Choco, Cony, Sally, and others.

Blueprint Collections has signed up with the IP for a stationery range, Gund will develop new plush lines, Kokomo is working on a health and beauty collection, Misirli is developing its signature socks, and Poetic Brands is readying a collection of daywear and nightwear.

WildBrain CPLG – which represents Line Friends across Europe and in the UK – has also struck up partnerships with Portico Design for calendars, and Zak Designs for melamine. For France, WildBrain CPLG has secured a deal with Undiz for an underwear and nightwear range, and in Switzerland with Confiland for confectionery.

The new products have already started to roll out at retail and will continue to launch throughout the year, joining Line Friends’ existing global deals with Funko and Uniqlo.

Additionally, Atomic10 has been appointed as the PR agency for Line Friends in the UK. The agency will work with influencers and media partners to support licensees’ product launches and expand Line Friends’ fan base in the market.

John Taylor, VP Northern Europe and managing director UK and France at WildBrain CPLG, said: “Instantly recognisable, the Line Friends and Brown & Friends characters have quickly become part of Gen Z and Millennials’ daily lives internationally.

“We’re excited to be expanding the brand’s European licensee base with bold new products which are ideal for fashion conscious fans, and having Atomic10 on board in the UK will provide invaluable support as we get the word out to tweens, teens and young adults in the market.”

These new partnerships follow Line Friends’ recent win at the Licensing International Excellence Awards 2020, where Brown & Friends was named the Best Digital / App / Video Game Brand.