Haven transforms Sydney’s Darling Square into Hello Kitty Town

This month, Darling Square in Sydney officially launched Hello Kitty Town, an immersive street festival paying homage to the worldwide phenomenon Hello Kitty & Friends. In partnership with Haven and Sanrio, Hello Kitty Town will be housed at Darling Square until April 29 and will feature themed food and drink offerings and an outdoor art exhibition featuring works by some of the world’s best known illustrators.

Food retailers across the precinct have joined in the fun, creating Hello Kitty themed menu items. Ume Burger has a Bad Badtz-Maru cheeseburger and white peach soda, Toastie Smith will have five limited edition toasties adorned with Hello Kitty ham bows, Bubble Nini Tea will have KeroKeroKeroppi Matcha and Hello Kitty Strawberry Yoghurt Crush teas and Auvers Dining have a suite of dishes including the Lazy Egg Burger based on fan favourite Gudetama. More limited edition food items will be dropped weekly.

The festival has been curated by Eddie Zammit and produced by Authority Creative. Spread throughout the Darling Square precinct, an outdoor art exhibition sees some of the world’s most well known graphic designers, illustrators and street artists add their signature flair to a lovable character from Hello Kitty & Friends. Artists include UK cartoonist, writer and illustrator Gemma Correll; DXTR, a Berlin based artist and illustrator; Melbourne based large-scale mural painter Justine McAllister; Australian artist Travis Price, who is Hello Kitty’s featured artist for the festival, and more.

Hello Kitty merchandise is available to purchase in the precinct from various retailers and includes limited edition plush toys, wallets, cosmetics and even Hello Kitty hand sanitiser. The full list of activities and activations will be announced in the coming weeks and more information can be found at www.Darlingsq.com/hellokittytown

For licensing enquiries on Sanrio in Australia and New Zealand, contact Diana Markezic at Haven Global: diana@havenglobal.com 

Boat Rocker Studios taps Haven for Dino Ranch licensing programme in Australia and New Zealand

Boat Rocker Studios is strengthening the licensing presence for its popular animated pre-school series, Dino Ranch across Australia and New Zealand, with the appointment of the leading Australian agency, Haven.

The award-winning licensing agency will be actively seeking partners across a wide range of categories for the new series, drawing on its more than 25 years’ experience of delivering brand extension programmes for high profile properties.

Haven’s appointment has been made to coincide with the launch of the 3D animated Dino Ranch series on Disney+ in Australia this month, following its successful premiere on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW in the US in January. The show currently ranks as the number one US cable series among children aged two to five, while the official Dino Ranch YouTube channel has reached 5.14 million views and 2.8 million unique viewers within just nine weeks of launch.

Tom Punch, founder and managing director, Haven said: “We’re delighted to be working with Boat Rocker on this dynamic new series. It’s so fresh, diverse and relatable – there’s nothing else quite like it and we know that audiences across Australia and New Zealand are going to be as excited as we are with Dino Ranch.”

Dino Ranch, created by Matt Fernandes of Industrial Brothers and produced by Industrial Brothers and Boat Rocker Studios, is full of dino-driven fun and allows young viewers at home to discover the thrill of ranch life while navigating the great outdoors. It also introduces preschoolers to problem solving, the foundations of forging life-long friendships, strengthening family and community bonds.

Kate Schlomann, EVP brand management and content marketing, Boat Rocker Media, said: “We’re very pleased to announce that Haven are saddling up for Dino Ranch licensing in Australia and New Zealand. Their vast knowledge and experience of these key territories, coupled with the immense appeal of our unique and thrilling new show, should soon round up a whole herd of great new licensees across multiple categories.”

Spin Master taps WildBrain CPLG, Tycoon and Haven for global licensing efforts

Spin Master has entered into strategic agreements with three international licensing agents in order to build out consumer product campaigns across its portfolio of brands, including Hatchimals, Bakugan, Toca Life, Zo Zo Zombie, Etch A Sketch, and Tech Deck.

The global toy company has tapped WildBrain CPLG for EMEA, Tycoon for Latin America, and Haven for Australia and New Zealand.

These international licensing agents will work with Spin Master to initiate and drive licensee activity across apparel, accessories, back-to-school, food and beverage, gift and novelty, health and beauty, home décor, party goods, publishing, seasonal, sporting goods and promotional partnerships.

Global licensing efforts are already underway for Bakugan, Spin Master’s ninth television series, complete with an innovative toy line, card game and mobile app.

The licensing program leverages the key attributes of the brand – battling, gaming, and collectability with a style guide based on anime-styled art, building on the brand’s rich heritage and adapting to a new generation of fans.

In 2019, Spin Master unveiled the significant licensing potential behind Toca Life with a back to school programme at H&M featuring a fashion collection for both girls and boys. The capsule collections combined the characters of Toca Life with fashion by channeling the spirit of the game.

Based on its successful performance, the collaboration will be further expanded on in Spring 2020. With over 13 million downloads of Toca Life, there exists an exciting pipeline of global opportunities.

“Evergreen global properties combined with new IP have established Spin Master as a leader in content creation, toy development and franchise building,” said Juli Boylan, vice president of franchise development and outbound licensing at Spin Master.

“We are thrilled to join forces with WildBrain CPLG, Tycoon and Haven, all with stellar reputations and proven track records in their respective markets. Each share our entrepreneurial spirit and are sure to accelerate our global licensing efforts by bringing our brands, characters and stories to consumers in new and unique ways.”

“Spin Master is globally known for its innovative toys and brands and we are excited to be aligning our complementary skills and expertise across these core properties, seeking fresh new opportunities to grow their presence with both new and established fans worldwide,” added Maarten Weck, executive vice president and managing director, at WildBrain CPLG.

The news arrives just as Spin Master celebrates another successful London Toy Fair this year, where the firm was recognised at the annual Toy Industry Awards with a slew of wins, presented by the BTHA and the Toy Retailers Association.

In a ceremony held on the first day of the London Toy Fair, Spin Master was named Global Supplier of the Year and PAW Patrol Pre-School Range of the Year for a second year in a row.

Additionally, the BTHA named Spin Master’s newly launched DC toy Batman 12inch Deluxe Figure with Rapid Change Utility Belt as one of the ‘Toy Fair Heroes’.

“It’s a great honour for Spin Master to once again be recognised with these important industry awards, a true reflection of our team’s dedication to both product innovation and partnerships,” said Ben Gadbois, Spin Master’s global president and COO.

“Spin Master is committed to continuous innovation and we are excited to unveil our 2020 line up that is sure to encourage creativity and ultimately make life more fun.”

“We’re delighted to be recognised at this prestigious industry event, an amazing start to another new year in this fantastic industry,” said Hedley Barnes, general manager Europe. “In addition to accolades for our brands, it is wonderful to be acknowledged for Spin Master’s part within the global toy industry, something we take pride in achieving.”