Maurizio Distefano Licensing announces the arrival of Bluey toys in Italy

Maurizio Distefano Licensing, Italian agent for BBC Studios’ property Bluey, has announced the arrival at retail of new Bluey toys from Giochi Preziosi, the Italian distributor of master toy licensee Moose Toys.

Bluey toys are now available in large-scale retail shops and major toy shop chains across Italy.

Bluey has been a massive success in Italy on Disney+, Rai YoYo and YouTube, and this timely collection of toys inspired by the colourful world of the little blue heeler is a real treat for fans of Bluey, her family and friends.

The line includes 20cm plush toys of Bluey and sister Bingo and six sets of action figures, four of which consist of two characters from the animated series (Grannies, Cousins, Pool Time, Skateboard) and two of which highlight four characters (Bluey’s Family, Bluey’s Friends). There will also be two mini playsets (Bingo’s Playroom and Bluey’s Playground) and, of course, the Heeler 4WD Family Vehicle.

The promotion and launch of the collection have left nothing to chance – inside 70 Toys Center shops there is a dedicated shelf, with an eye-catching layout and logo and a luminous sign. Supporting the launch, the rich media plan will include commercials on all preschool target TV stations. There will also be an integrated launch plan on the social channels of both Bluey and Giochi Preziosi.

Bluey has enjoyed excellent results in terms of views, registering an incredible 10.38% share on RaiYoYo in the 4-7-year-old range, taking second place on the podium on RaiYoYo for total time spent and occupying third place for the most viewed series by children on demand on Rai Play.

Further confirmation of the extraordinary success of the little Aussie dog in Italy comes in the form of the many licensing agreements already secured by Maurizio Distefano Licensing. Several products will be launched in the market in the coming months. Multiprint will produce a collection of stamp sets inspired by the series, Dulcop will offer a range of soap bubbles dedicated to the characters and Diramix plans a sticker album. Grabo meanwhile will bring Bluey to its inflatable balloons, Halantex will bring out Bluey bedding, and finally Dolfin, looking to 2023, will sweeten the Epiphany with a dedicated selection of Epiphany stockings.

Maurizio Distefano says: “As soon as I saw Bluey, I knew that it had strong potential in the Italian market but even this may be an understatement. The success of the animated series in Italy has encouraged many Italian licensees to partner with the property already and this success looks like continuing for some while.”

 

Rainbow names Giochi Preziosi master toy partner for Pinocchio and Friends

Italian content powerhouse Rainbow and Italy’s historic leading toy company Giochi Preziosi have signed a partnership for the master toy line inspired by Iginio Straffi’s latest animated hit Pinocchio and Friends, already airing daily on Rai Yoyo.

Giochi Preziosi will initially distribute the line in Italy with a roll-out strategy that will bring action figures, dolls, playsets, and plush toys based on the show to the shelves starting next autumn, with the option of extending the agreement to other European countries and beyond.

Giochi Preziosi will invest significantly in the development of this new line, as well as in marketing and communication activities to support the launch and raise brand awareness.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Giochi Preziosi, a historic partner and Italian reference point for almost half a century in the toy sector,” says Rainbow’s founder and CEO Iginio Straffi. “Developing together the toy line for a series full of inspiring features like Pinocchio and Friends is a great opportunity and will bring a touch of freshness, colour and fun to the daily lives of our children.”

The toy category’s debut is eagerly awaited by fans of the show, an original adaptation based on Carlo Collodi’s timeless classic and created in high quality CGI animation. Targeted at 4–7-year-olds, Pinocchio and Friends debuted on Rai Yoyo last November and is among the channel’s most watched shows.

After its successful release in Italy, the series will land in the UK this year thanks to a partnership with the BBC, which will broadcast Pinocchio on the leading children’s channel CBeebies, before continuing overseas to Discovery Kids Latin America.

The partnership signed with Giochi Preziosi is part of a broad development plan for the Consumer Products sector inspired by the show, with licensees already confirmed including Mondadori, Ravensburger, Dolfin, Fashion UK and Ciao.

Giochi Preziosi’s chairman Enrico Preziosi says: “When I came across this opportunity, I didn’t hesitate – it’s always a pleasure to create product lines inspired by the great tales of our cultural and literary tradition, as well as to work with Italian companies such as Rainbow, with whom Giochi Preziosi has been building and consolidating solid partnerships for years now. I really appreciated Iginio Straffi’s take on the great classic Pinocchio. I think it is a contemporary, funny, ironic and educational series; it reinterprets tradition in a modern key, without losing the charm and core values of the original version.”

 

 

New licensing opportunities for hit animation Bluey as it launches in Italy and Greece

Produced by Ludo Studio and co-commissioned by BBC Studios and ABC Children’s, the much-loved global-hit animation Bluey will make its free-to-air debut on 27 December in Italy on Rai Yoyo, the public broadcast service’s preschool channel. The series will also air on ERT in Greece.

BBC Studios will also launch a new Italian language YouTube channel in January 2022 featuring clips and bonus content from the series.

Master toy partner Moose Toys will lead the product launch this coming Easter with their highly successful toy range via their distributor Giochi Preziosi. Other products from partners including global publishing partner Penguin Random House will follow. Maurizio Distefano Licensing was recently announced as BBC Studios’ licensing agent for Italy.

In Greece, Bluey will air on public broadcaster ERT, with transmission dates to be confirmed shortly. BBC Studios are in the process of finalizing the appointment of Partner Plus to act as licensing agent for Bluey in Greece and Cyprus. Giochi Preziosi will also handle distribution of Moose Toys in Greece and Turkey.

This marks further expansion in EMEA for the award-winning animation which has recently launched on free-to-air TV in Ireland, Denmark, Sweden and France. Bluey is also available on YouTube in French, Spanish and Danish and English with more than 950,000 subscribers.

The series follows Bluey, a six-year-old Blue Heeler dog who loves to play and turn everyday family life into extraordinary adventures that unfold in unpredictable and hilarious ways, bringing her family, friends and community into her world of fun.

Bluey has won the hearts of kids and parents around the world since it first launched in Australia in October 2018, and has quickly become a global hit.

In Australia, Bluey is the number one kids show on broadcast television in 2020 and is the most-watched series ever on ABC iview. In June 2019, BBC Studios struck a global broadcast deal with Disney to premiere Bluey in all territories outside Australia, New Zealand and Greater China; it now screens in over 60 countries.

In the UK, it was the most viewed show on CBeebies in August and is also available on Disney+. In the US, across Disney Junior and Disney Channel in Q2 2021, the show was the #1 most watched TV series with kids ages 2-5.

Bluey has also won multiple awards, such as the International Emmy Kids Award in the prestigious Preschool Category in 2020, and its second AACTA Awards for Best Children’s Program that same year. The accolades continue in 2021, with Bluey winning four Kidscreen Awards in February.

Bluey is produced by multi-Emmy award-winning Ludo Studio for ABC Kids Australia, co-commissioned by ABC Children’s and BBC Studios, and distributed internationally by BBC Studios outside of Australia.

Bing-le bells: Pre-school IP lands major Italian toy retail presence this Christmas shopping season

Acamar Films’ flagship pre-school property, Bing, is to be a big presence across Italy this Christmas, thanks to the implementation of a marketing strategy throughout the region’s largest toy and retail stores, spearheaded by the Italian licensing agent, Maurizio Distefano.

The aim is to strengthen the Bing property and the consumer awareness around it both in-store and online throughout the key trading period.

Kicking off the strategy, leading Italian toy retailer Toys Center has set up new branded shelf areas dedicated to the popular pre-school series. With over 90 locations participating and with some areas including a light-up display, the concept will make it easy for consumers to make their Bing purchases this season.

Bing will also have a significant branded area at Toys Con Te, starting at the retailer’s newly opened location in Rome Tiburtina. Bing will then roll out across the retailer’s best-performing locations. 

On top of this, and through a collaboration with Bing’s master toy partner Giochi Preziosi, 157 Bing-branded bay areas have been created for Italy’s main mass-market retailers, including Carrefour, Finipier, Conad, Bennet, and Mondadori.

As Bing’s presence continues to grow in stores, the hit pre-school show’s e-commerce footprint is also expanding. Toys Center and Acamar Films recently collaborated on a dedicated Bing shop-in-shop on the Toys Center website. Various Bing products are now available to purchase via a direct link on Toys Center’s home page.

Acamar Films has also launched an Italian Bing Store on Amazon which was recently highlighted in a successful paid media campaign ahead of Amazon Prime Day on October 13th to 14th.

The series is currently number one on Rai Yoyo’s RaiPlay app and is the most watched series on DeA Junior. Pre-school fans have also been treated to the release of two new episodes on Rai Yoyo this November, including a Halloween episode and the Nicky Nicky episode.

In addition, as part of Acamar Films’ multi-platform distribution strategy, the Italian Bing episodes (together with various educational games and activities) are available to stream and download through the recently launched Bing app called Bing: Watch, Play, Learn, and on the official Italian YouTube channel.

The YouTube channel today boasts an average of 30 million views each month. Bing is also available on TIMVision’s on-demand platforms and on Amazon Prime Video in Italy.