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The Brand Informer launches online platform to ‘change the way brands sell and retailers buy’

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The Brand Informer Ltd has launched its new online platform, www.thebrandinformer.com, a service designed to connect retailers directly to brand owners, with the mission of ‘changing the way brands sell and retailers buy.’

The Brand Informer is bridging the gap between brand owners, licensees and retailers, and providing a place online for brands to connect with opportunities to support business growth and retailers to access brands.

The platform will enable brands to showcase their products, outline their core brand values and objectives, and provide a calendar of events that will allow retailers to forward plan. Brand owners’ products will be displayed in clear categories: such as product type which is sent direct to the retailer’s account where it can be viewed in real-time..

All brand owners will be verified, providing retailers with confidence against the threat of purchasing unlicensed products. Buyers will be able to search for products through option choice and filtering systems to enable them to find the specific product they are looking for.

The Brand Informer is the brainchild of founder Victoria Preston, licensing specialist having worked for brands including ITV, Williams F1, England Rugby, England Football, England Cricket and various Premiership Football Teams.

She said: “The Brand Informer is opening up a new way within the licensing industry. I believe by providing a place to support brands, big and small, and offering up to date information to retailers we will see great opportunities for both. I feel passionate in the potential of bridging the gap within the licensing sector to empower both brands and retailers.”

As part of the launch, Preston will be hosting a free course starting on May 17th, 2021 ‘Simplifying the Brand Licensing Buying Process’ helping brand owners and retailers on their own individual journeys. There will be three live workshops, covering how to simplify the buying process for your business.

The workshop is for all business sizes large and small as well as those who are just considering the possibility of licensing. www.goto.thebrandinformer.com

Mr Men and Little Miss to unveil two new characters during 50 Years of Mr Men documentary this weekend

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The countdown towards the grand unveiling of the two new Mr Men and Little Miss creations to be joining the cast of classic characters this year, has commenced, as Sanrio reminds the nation to tune in to the 50 Years of Mr Men documentary broadcast on Channel 4 this weekend.

The special feature, presented by Matt Lucas, will not only chart the history of the colourful little characters who changed the global publishing sector forever, but will also be used to unmask the two new additions to the Mr Men and Little Miss line-up this year.

Whittled down from the five proposed characters developed by Adam Hargreaves back in February, and voted on by more than 73,000 people, the two new characters will be joining the Mr Men and Little Miss family this September with the release of two new books, introducing them to a generation of children and parents across the world.

Meanwhile, the documentary, airing at 6pm on Sunday, May 16th, will showcase the evolution of the Mr Men and Little Miss cast, as well as their role in pioneering a new world of inclusivity and openness. The feature will explore iconic moments via the Hargreaves’ family story, artists, child psychologists, and super fans.

Behind the scenes, Matt Lucas will reveal the secret world of the artistic process, what it takes to brainstorm, draw, write, and animate new Mr Men and Little Miss characters for today’s world.

Green age waste ban | The Insights Family explores sustainability in the kids’ market

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This article appears in the Spring/Summer edition of ToyNews

With greater purchasing power comes greater social responsibility… or words to that effect. Undeniable though, is the increasing demand and interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness among target audiences. Here, The Insights Family’s founder, Nick Richardson explores the issue

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Figures from the latest Kids Insights data shows that over half of UK kids aged three to 12 have “a lot” of influence over the toy purchases their parents make. In addition to this, UK kids spend a collective £709m of their own money on toys and games in 2020.

However, children’s purchasing power has changed with growing interest in the environment.

Sustainability is becoming a way of life for many consumers as more people are choosing to buy greener, healthier, ethically sourced, and more environmentally sustainable products. Eco-friendly products accelerated their infiltration into toys in recent years and companies – the likes of Hasbro, LEGO, Mattel, MGA, Playmobil and Clementoni included – also understand that a clear and transparent environmental strategy can give them a competitive advantage while staying relevant.

This trend will increasingly affect families’ purchasing habits and toy brands are strongly recommended to emphasise their environment friendly credentials when planning their marketing campaigns.

The increasing penetration of smartphones and tablets among children is stimulating social activism while also driving eco-friendly product purchases. So-called ‘Greta effect’, named after Greta Thunberg following her “how dare you” speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, raised the awareness further.

There is also a large eco-influence coming from parents. According to our Toys & Games Global Report 2020, over a third of UK pre-school parents think that it is important for their children to take care of the environment – a year-on-year increase of 56 per cent. Over a third of parents hope to teach their child to take care of the environment before they have even reached their fifth birthday.

Brands have already started to work on producing eco-friendly toys, or at least use more recyclable packaging. According to our Kids & Family Industry Report 2021, 69 per cent of toy companies believe they can make a difference in the sustainability sector.

As a good example, LEGO is another toy manufacturer which has made substantial progress and commitments to change by 2030. The company introduced reusable plastics for bricks and is said to be considering the idea of a LEGO subscription service. In an effort to improve the brand’s sustainability, a rental service could reduce the fossil fuels required to make LEGO, all while keeping eco-conscious parents happy. LEGO is also making a switch towards paper bags instead of single-use plastics.

Meanwhile, Mattel introduced its own MEGA Biobloks at 2020 Nuremberg Toy Fair with the aim of reaching its 100 per cent recycled materials goal by 2030. Likewise, Clementoni revealed its Baby range made from 100 per cent recycled materials in January 2020 as part of its own sustainability push.

The same with Amazon, the favourite online shop of two million kids aged three to nine in the UK, has revealed plans to roll out 500 electric delivery vans in the UK as part of their Climate Pledge. From manufacturing to distribution, there are opportunities for corporations to make improvements to their sustainability practices to engage sustainable consumers.


What does this mean to you?

Brands need sustainability to be incorporated into long-term business strategies, with public transparency and accountability surrounding these targets, to show their loyalty and awareness.

We believe the brands that will succeed at appealing to the sustainable consumer will be the ones who make it straight-forward and rewarding for customers to change the way they consume, purchase, or behave.

Children’s influence on their parents and brands continues to grow every day. Therefore, understanding what attitudes kids hold in real-time and how this affects their purchasing decisions is a critical advantage for brands.

With the purpose to provide children, parents, and families with a voice to shape their worlds, The Insights Family is highlighting why brands need to pay attention to trends like this and carefully reflect on consumers opinion.

The Insights Family® has released its Kids & Family Industry Report 2021 where we have shown how companies are also responding to societal needs, with 64 per cent reporting their business decisions will be affected by a drive towards sustainability.

To read the Kids & Family Industry Report 2021 and learn more about the attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns of kids, parents, and families, and to get freemium access to The Insights Family® real-time data portal, please visit: https://try.theinsightsfamily.com/toynews

The Insights Family (formerly The Insights People), is a global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns. Every year the company surveys more than 362,100 kids and more than 176,800 parents.

Harry Potter weaves magic across ecommerce platform Spread Group as sales leap 70 per cent

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has been weaving its magic on the ecommerce platform Spread Group, helping drive UK licensing sales to a 70 per cent leap since the group extended its partnership with Warner Bros in December last year.

Increased demand for items – in particular the women’s hoodies range – themed around the Harry Potter franchise has fuelled a sales surge across the platform, with UK consumers ‘snapping up’ Hogwarts themed apparel. At the same time, another of Warner Bros’ leading franchises, Friends, has been subject to similar demand.

Annina Vettermann, licensing success manager at Spread Group, said: “We have been very surprised and pleased by the huge demand for women’s hoodies for both of these Warner Bros. brands. We think this is a gap in the market and fans have been happy to find merch they want to wear at Spread Group.”

Spread Group’s bestselling Harry Potter design is a gold Hogwarts coat of arms. This is closely followed by individual House hoodies. The most popular is Harry’s own Gryffindor (accounting for 40 per cent of sales). Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are vying for second place (22 per cent and 21 per cent respectively) and those ambitious Slytherins are not far behind either, on 17 per cent.

Meanwhile, the revival of 90s TV hit Friends has seen a rise in demand for its classic brand and images of the Central Perk gang. At Spread Group, sales of tote bags, hoodies and t-shirts have risen for both men and women.

Vettermann added: “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone, but we were delighted to see UK consumers being creative and taking advantage of these newly licensed designs. The strategic partnership has created exceptional results for the Spread Group and Warner Bros. partnership.”

Spread Group currently offers 14 Warner Bros. licenses, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Tom & Jerry, Looney Tunes and Superman, in a wide range of products, colours and designs.

The Spread Group side of the partnership covers design, marketing and production, a presence on the Spreadshirt marketplace, Amazon and eBay. This licensing deal made Warner Bros. one of Spread Group’s largest partners. Its consumers can now access over 1,500 Warner designs on the Spreadshirt marketplaces in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia as well as over 1,000 item positions on Amazon.com.

Stateside | Hit pre-school series Bluey makes play for costumes market with Disguise, Inc partnership

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Bluey, the hit children’s animated TV series from Ludo Studio and BBC Studios, is making a new play for the American costume and fancy dress market, thanks to a new partnership with JAKKS Pacific’s Halloween costume division, Disguise, Inc.

Under the partner, Disguise is set to design, market, manufacture, and distribute costumes and costume accessories for the popular animated property, starting this year. The new line will debut as a first-to-market launch at Walmart across the US.

Bluey is an Australian animation series that follows a six year-old Blue Heeler dog, who loves to play and turns everyday family life into extraordinary adventures. Aimed at pre-school children and their parents, the series champions the importance of unstructured play for enhancing children’s creativity and helping to develop their mental, physical and emotional resilience.

The series celebrates the joyful simplicity found in family life, role play, and imagination. A sensation with US audiences since its fall 2019 premiere, Bluey reached 16 million total views across Disney Channel and Disney Junior in Q4 2019.

“Bluey explores the important themes of family life, parenting and imaginative play. It has a huge fan base of preschoolers and parents that will be thrilled with our new line of Bluey costumes,” said Tara Hefter, EVP and GM of Disguise, Inc.

“Our new partnership with BBC Studios has created some exciting new additions to our 2021 line. We expect to see a positive reaction from fans and at retail this fall.”

Suzy Raia, VP consumer products and business development, BBC Studios, added: “Bluey is our fastest growing show in the US and we’re looking forward to this meaningful partnership with Disguise that will bring the Bluey characters to life with their high quality costumes and accessories.

“Bluey fans will now have the chance to dress up this Halloween and be a part of this sweet Blue Heeler family.”

MGM to launch first Stargate SG-1 strategy PC game in Slitherine partnership

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MGM has partnered with the digital strategy games publisher, Slitherine to develop and publish the first strategy PC game based on the popular sci-fi series, Stargate SG-1.

Called Stargate: Timekeepers, the title will pick up from the end of the seventh season of the Stargate SG-1 main plot to create an original story that takes place during the Battle of Antartica, in which Command Eva McCain and her team are tasked with supporting the SG-1 against Anubis’ fleet.

The aftermath of the battle sees Commander McCain and her squad face an epic adventure that spans multiple original locations, while players will travel through time and space to save civilians from the threats of alien lords, rescue their friends and allies from danger, and more.

Over the course of 25 years, Stargate has become a cultural hit, capturing the imaginations of sci-fi lovers and inspiring an audience of fans around the world.  The franchise includes three films, three TV series broadcast in 64 countries, an animated series, and a web series. More than 56 million Stargate DVDs have been sold to date, while the franchise has also found its way to graphic novels, games, and more.

“Working on an IP like Stargate is an honor and a testament to our continued effort to reach a wider audience,” said Marco Minoli, Slitherine marketing director. “We strive to capture players’ imagination by creating our own worlds or by forging experiences based on existing, influential franchises. We look forward to bringing Stargate: Timekeepers to life and creating a long-lasting legacy of Stargate strategy games.”

Robert Marick, executive vice president, MGM Global Consumer Products and Experiences, said: “We’re thrilled to work with Slitherine to bring a new Stargate PC game to market, and provide fans the opportunity to experience the Stargate universe well beyond TV and movie screens.”

 Stargate: Timekeepers is a Real-Time-Tactics game developed by Creative Forge Games, an independent studio based in Warsaw, Poland, makers of Phantom Doctrine and Hard West.  The game will release on PC distribution platforms.

MGM now joins a growing roster of licensing partners to have worked with Slitherine in the games space, who has published a portfolio of award-winning titles for consoles, smartphones, and tablets. The publisher has previously worked with the likes of NBC Universal, Games Workshop, Sony Pictures, BBC, Osprey, and more.

The LEGO Group unveils F.R.I.E.N.D.S Apartment Set complete with Janice minifigure

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Ready? Altogether now: Oh. My. God.

It’s official. The LEGO Group has just detailed the launch of the new LEGO F.R.I.E.N.D.S Apartments Set, a 2,048 brick set that allows fans to recreate their favourite scenes from the now iconic Warner Bros. sitcom.

Setting the scene of some of TV comedy’s most memorable moments, the build features both Monica and Rachel’s, and Chandler and Joey’s New York apartments, as well as – quite possibly – TV’s most famous adjoining hallway.

The new release from The LEGO Group follows the success of the LEGO Ideas Central Perk set released in 2019 and arrives complete with features and props – including the moment Monica put the Thanksgiving turkey on her head, and the one where Joey and Chandler had only a canoe as furniture, as well as the episode in which Phoebe’s dollhouse went up in flames.

Other accessories from the show include the Poking Device; Gladys, Phoebe’s creepy art piece; the cheesecake that falls on the floor; Pat the Dog; the chick and duck, and more.  The set also gives fans the real sense of the original filming studio with set lights and allows them to display both apartments either separately or linked together with the hallway.

The set also arrives with new minifigures of the gang in some of their most memorable outfits; Rachel’s iconic plaid skirt; Ross’ too tight leather pants; Monica in an apron; Phoebe in a classic floral look; Chandler in a suit and loud designer tie; and Joey wearing all of Chandler’s clothes.

And for the first time ever, Janice will also feature as a minifigure in a classic over-the-top gaudy outfit.

Anderson Ward Grubb, LEGO Set Designer said: “Following the success of the LEGO Ideas Central Perk set, we wanted to develop another tribute to this iconic TV show with a focus on the famous apartments. We worked directly from production photos of the set as well as watching and re-watching a lot of episodes so we could capture as many iconic moments as possible.

“One fun challenge was figuring out how to represent some aspects that change over the course of the show that appear in some episodes and not in others. I am looking forward to seeing if the eagle-eyed fans will spot them.”

LEGO The Friends Apartments set is available exclusively for LEGO VIP members from May 19th and from LEGO Stores and www.LEGO.com/Friends-Apartments from June 1st, 2021.

’80s animated series The Raccoons makes play for retro and environmentalism licensing

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The Raccoons is the latest animated property to be jumping the decades and making a play for the retro licensing space, helping fans and viewers who grew up with the show put to rest that fundamental question: what on Earth kind of aardvark is Cyril Sneer anyway?

First created in 1985, the animated TV series followed the day to day life of three raccoons: Bert, Melissa, and Ralph as well as their friend Cedric the aardvark and his greedy businessman father, Cyril. For two decades, the series engaged the imaginations of families across 180 countries.

Today, The Raccoons has tasked The Point. 1888 with bringing to market a raft of new branded products in accessories, babywear, socks, gifting, plush and more as the retro revival trend continues to gather pace among millennial and Gen Z audiences today.

With a wealth of entertainment brands already on The Point.1888’s books including Moomin, Molang and Moon & Me, The Raccoons is another significant win and comes just one year after the agency was appointed by 75 year old children’s brand Moomin to support its comeback and raise its brand licensing game.

With an underlying message of conservation and environmental protection running throughout the series, The Point. 1888 has already added nature charities and forests to the brand’s licensing strategy.

Olivia Wiggett, The Point.1888’s Associate Commercial Manager, said: “The Raccoons is such a wonderful, nostalgic brand that resonates with so many people across the world. We are so delighted to be working with the amazing team at The Raccoons, and can’t wait to start bringing the brand to life in the licensing space. Not only that, but because The Raccoons are such a perfect fit for nature charities and forests, we have added this to their strategy.”

Kevin Gillis, President of Run With Us Productions, added: “The Raccoons have had the honour of having a strong and environmentally-conscious fan following in the UK since Bert Raccoon first moved to the Evergreen Forest. As we recognize the growing critical importance of understanding our fragile global eco-system, we look forward to working with The Point 1888 in connecting with and supporting our many loyal and invaluable fans.”

Product development and marketing plans are now underway and The Point.1888 will be commencing talks with potential licensees and retailers in the next few weeks.

Little Brother Books welcomes LOL Surprise, Barbie, and Fortnite to the annuals roster

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LOL Surprise, Barbie, Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft will each be expanding their presence across the children’s Annuals market, thanks to a bolstered new portfolio of titles to launch from Little Brother Books.

The UK Annuals publisher is preparing to launch a range of six new titles this spring/summer, which will include three Fun, Play and Learn titles hitting shelves this May, featuring the popular toy brands LOL Surprise and Barbie. The pair will be joined by World of Dinosaurs.

This season will also see the launch of three Ultimate Gaming Guides, including GamesWarrior’s Ultimate Guide to Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft.

All six titles will feature new content created exclusively by Little Brother Books and will each be priced at £5.99. The series will go on sale this mlnth across Amazon, TJ Morris, Sainsbury’s, Smyths Toys, and other book retailers.

Little Brother Books believes that high visibility at retail is key to driving impulse sales and has been successful in placing 1000s of dedicated FSDU/POS in major retailers over recent years.

Matthew Reynolds, MD at Little Brother Books, said: “Our mid-year Annuals and Gaming Guides launching this season are testament to our success in refreshing this market and I’m thrilled that we have six titles to delight parents and children alike this summer with six of the hottest properties in the market.

“Despite 2020’s challenges, Little Brother Books once again dominated the Annuals market, and we retained our position as the number one publisher in this sector for the third consecutive year with unrivaled distribution for our leading brands.

“2021 is shaping up to be even more successful with other major retailers coming onboard, as well as exciting new brands joining our portfolio.”

Brands In taps Plastichead Music’s Tim McDonald to lead new Brands In Merch division

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Leading licensed apparel fashion licensee, Brands In, has created a new division within its business, to be known as Brands In Merch, which will support the growth of the last 12 months, as well as its ongoing European and UK expansion.  

Established with its own entity, Brands In Merch serves as both a wholesale stock programme and Print on Demand business, enabling independent and e-commerce retailers to sell new properties and artists without having to commit to holding large volumes of stock at any given time.  

The division will initially focus on building new key accounts and distributors across the Brands In area footprint, forge new and sustainable relationships, as well as maintain the strong partnerships already in place. Many of these have been established, based on Brands In’s ability to manage its supply and delivery cycle working with locally sourced product and speed-to-market. 

To lead the Brands In Merch business, group MD Rick Lowe has brought in Tim McDonald, who joins from Plastichead Music Distribution where he worked for seventeen years and most recently held the  role of Head of Merchandise and Sales. 

With a background in both sales and retail, as well as having worked in both the UK and USA, McDonald understands how to achieve customer requirements, as well as being able to secure new collaborations and partnerships. In his new role as general manager of Brands In Merch, he will be responsible for the day to day running of the business and delivering upon its ambitious growth plans. 

Lowe said: “We are thrilled to have secured the calibre of talent that Tim brings to Brands In Merch. He’s been quietly working away with us for the last couple of months and we are excited with the activity and planning that’s already bubbling away within the new company.  We look forward to sharing some of these first successes in the coming weeks.”