eOne Unveils Theatrical Releases for Peppa Pig in the UK and Australia

Entertainment One (eOne) will debut Peppa Pig theatrical releases in Australia and the UK on March 16 and April 7, respectively. eOne unveiled the first UK teaser trailer and film poster this week. Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience offers nine new Peppa Pig episodes, which will feature interactive entertainment, including new versions of nursery rhymes.
 
In Australia, the theatrical release of Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience: Peppa’s Australian Holiday will be the property’s first big screen debut in the country. It will be led by a four-part Australian special. To promote the film’s release, eOne partnered with the Australian Tourist Board for promotional Peppa Pig photo shoots at Australian landmarks Hickson Bay Wharf Reserve and Taronga Zoo.
 
Following closely behind the Australian release, Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience will be screened nationwide in the UK. It will be led by new episodes. The release will include special appearances from new characters. Additionally, a collection of London- and Australia-themed Peppa Pig merchandise will be released at retail in the spring across categories including toys, accessories, and publishing.

Barnardo’s Launches Teletubbies Partnership

Leading children’s charity Barnardo’s is launching a new partnership with the Teletubbies.  Next year Barnardo’s hopes shoppers and fundraisers will raise valuable funds for vulnerable children.
 
From April 2017, shoppers will be able to buy special Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po limited edition merchandise from Barnardo’s shops across the UK to help support disadvantaged children in the UK.
 
The Teletubbies, who are celebrating 20 years of big hugs in 2017, will also be supporting the Barnardo’s Big Toddle, the largest annual fundraising event for under five year-olds, which is marking its 20^th birthday too.

The Fred Rogers Co. Names Paul Siefken as President and CEO

The Fred Rodgers Co. named Paul Siefken president and CEO, effective January 1. Currently vice president of broadcast and digital media, Siefken succeeds longtime company president and CEO Bill Isler who is retiring from the company.

Before joining The Fred Rogers Co., Siefken spent nearly 10 years at PBS, most recently as director of children’s programming. Prior to that, he managed sponsored promotions and media relations as well as produced interactive content for Cartoon Network.

Mattel Enters Agreement with CPLG

Mattel has entered an agreement with CPLG, as its appointed licensing agent for Balkans, CIS, Baltics, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia.
 
Starting from January 1^st 2017, CPLG will cover theses key territories looking after Mattel Core Brands and HiT brands including Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder.
 
“As we continue to expand our Mattel footprint across markets and ignite momentum with our properties, we are very excited to partner with CPLG to represent our brands in the emerging territories of EE and to further our expand our growing portfolio of consumer products in these markets,” explains Diana Sakellarios Mattel Consumer Products - Emerging markets Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Luk Internacional to Launch SpacePOP Across Spain, Portugal, and Italy

Genius Brands International licensed the content distribution, licensing, and merchandising rights for SpacePOP to Luk Internacional in Southern Europe, including Spain, Portugal, and Italy. The brand will launch next year.

“SpacePOP has become a tween sensation in the U.S., and we intend to replicate its success across Southern Europe by bringing on board best in class media, licensing, retail, and promotional partners to drive the growth of the brand,” says Paco Gratacos, president of Luk Internacional S.A.

SpacePOP is comprised of over 100 serialized adventures featuring original music woven into a narrative that follows five teenage princesses who disguise themselves as musicians and form a band while they secretly plot to vanquish an evil Empress who is seeking to enslave the galaxy. SpacePOP offers a colorful blend of music, fashion, beauty, friendship, and intergalactic adventures.

NBCUniversal Brand Development, Affliction, The Buckle Inc. Partner for a Fast and Furious Apparel Line
 

NBCUniversal Brand Development, Affliction, and The Buckle Inc. (Buckle) partnered to launch a lifestyle apparel collection for young adults inspired by the Fast & Furious franchise.  Select products from the Fast & Furious by Affliction Collection are available now, exclusively in Buckle stores and on buckle.com. The complete line will debut nationwide early next year, tied to the release of the new film, The Fate of the Furious in April.

Deer Little Forest Appoints Icon Licensing as Russian Agent

Koko Rose Media has announced the appointment of Icon Company, Ltd. as its licensing agent in Russia and CIS for Deer Little Forest, an arts & lifestyle brand created by Jo Rose.  The latest partnership brings Koko Rose Media’s global licensing network to a total of 27 countries across three continents.
 
Maria Tkachenko, CEO of Icon Company commented, “We’re very enthusiastic to start our cooperation with Koko Rose Media and Deer Little Forest. We were attracted by the brand’s unique style and its development story from greeting cards to a distinct brand for both preschool and arts & lifestyle. Moreover, the idea of a band of woodland friends will be clear to our kids and parents, and we see great potential in our territories for development, starting with picture books and paper products to toys, apparel, confectionery, BTS and other products.”
 
Lisa Hryniewicz, Managing Director of Koko Rose Media added, “We are delighted to partner with Icon Company in Russia and Eastern Europe, countries that are a natural fit for Jo’s charming and artistic designs. Icon’s experience and ingenuity in developing Arts & Lifestyle brands in this important market make them the ideal partner for Deer Little Forest.”

Licensing Works! Secures Apparel License Deal with T-Line Design for Intellivision Productions

Licensing Works! brokered a new deal for client Intellivision Productions Inc. that awards T-Line Design the right to manufacture and sell key categories including T-shirts, sweatshirts, underwear, swimwear, and headwear. Initial product offerings include a mix of elevated Intellivision designs along with nostalgic over-washed game box cover art. 
 
The new designs will be shown to retail buyers beginning January 2 and initially exhibited by T-Line in February during MAGIC in Las Vegas. Licensed territories include the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Help for Heroes Line Launches at Tesco

Help for Heroes (H4H), the charity providing direct, practical support for wounded, injured or sick Service Personnel, Veterans and their loved ones, has launched a new line of personalised Help for Heroes Christmas decorations which will be on sale online at Tesco Direct from 8^th December.
 
The decorations —12 Christmas tree decorations and a special Santa present sack, all featuring Bryn Parry’s Christmas-themed Hero Bear illustrations — can each be personalised with the name or names of the recipients or buyers.  For every personalised Help for Heroes product sold by Tesco, 100% of the profit from these lines will be donated directly to the charity.
 
Help for Heroes’ relationship with Tesco — which extends from staff fundraising to ranges of co-branded products —has to date raised over £1.6 million for the Charity. The supermarket has stocked H4H-branded Eggs for Soldiers, Branston Bigger Baked Beans and Alf Turner Sausage and Bacon, as well as Tesco own-label Help for Heroes Bacon and Sausages. Tesco also supplies 17 products in the Help for Heroes Personalise Me range through Tesco Direct, including customisable mobile phone covers, note pads, mugs, water bottles and more.

Q Pootle 5 Buzzes into Primary School

Alien Q Pootle 5 and his creator, award-winning children’s author and illustrator, Nick Butterworth, visited Withycombe Raleigh Church of England Primary School on Friday. The visit follows a national schools competition which ran in October as part of a partnership with World Space Week UK.
 
The competition, which was designed to encourage young children to have a greater interest in space, asked schools to create a new friend for Q Pootle 5. Chloe Dudman, a seven year old from Exmouth, won for the character ‘Professor Fred’.

The school was treated to a full day of entertainment from Nick Butterworth including interactive shows – with live drawing, stories and a behind-the-scenes peek at how Q Pootle 5 jumped from page to screen, costume character appearances and a signing.

PGS USA Secures Multiple Partners for ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks

PGS USA has brought multiple partners on board Bagdasarian’s ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks licensing program.  Signed partners include such familiar names as Simon & Schuster (Publishing), Isaac Morris (Apparel), Hand Craft (Underwear), Betesh (Bedlinen), Franco Manufacturing (Homeware), MZB (Fashion Accessories), CPS (Gift and Collectibles), Lil Anglers (Fishing Kits), Rhode Island Novelty (Party Goods), Cardinal (Puzzles), Spirit Halloween (Costumes), and Bare Tree Media (Digital Apps).  These signings follow the announcement earlier this year of a licencing partnership with Mattel (Toys).
 
The all-new and already top-rated CG-animated show is greenlighted for four seasons, a total of 104 half-hour episodes, and is currently airing on Nickelodeon weekly.  The series offers a fresh look at the classic adventures of Alvin, Theodore, Simon, and the Chipettes.  It is created, written, and directed by Janice Karman, who, along with her husband Ross Bagdasarian, own and voice the Chipmunk franchise.  Together, they produced a hit 80‘s TV series and four blockbuster Chipmunks movies.

Kitson co Announces Acquired Global Trademark Rights of Kitson

Kitson co (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku Tokyo; Fusahiko Yoshino, President, the operation will be handle by Crown Creative), has acquired global trademark rights, including Japan, for “kitson”, the upmarket boutique store founded in Los Angeles, from Winter Harbor LLC in USA. 
 
Kitson co has appointed Alpha Esse as master licensee for the Territory of Japan.

TIA to Host Global Market Research Sessions on India and the U.S. at Toy Fair 2017

The Toy Industry Association (TIA) will unveil its latest global market research during several  “Knowledge Network” seminars presented at the 114th North American International Toy Fair. The presentations will include a session on India, taking place on Sunday, February 19th, and one on the United States, taking place on Monday, February 20th.  The seminars will provide attendees with in-depth market analysis to help toy companies expand their businesses.
 
India is a rapidly expanding geographic area for the toy industry with the world’s highest percentage of children at 29% of its population. By 2020, India will be the third largest consumer market behind the United States and China.
 
The presentations build upon TIA’s repertoire of in-depth global market research. Last year’s sessions on the U.K. and Canada were a resounding success among Toy Fair attendees.

A feature of the Total Licensing Weekly Report is the Employment section - this includes 'Jobs Available' and 'Jobs Wanted'. So if you have a position in your company that needs to be filled, or you yourself are looking for employment opportunities, don't hesitate to send your information to:

Becky becky@totallicensing.com
or
to our general mailbox subscriptions@totallicensing.com

JOB POSTING

Crayola Is Seeking an Experienced Manager, Outbound Licensing. Located at Crayola Corporate HQ, Easton, PA

The ideal candidate will possess experience within either Toy AND/OR Publishing licensing experience.
 
GENERAL SUMMARY: Creates strategic direction for active licensee base and negotiates new partnerships within assigned categories to achieve growth objectives.   Directs tactical execution of licensed product lines from concept/line plan through commercialization.  

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Manage existing licensees in assigned categories: 
  • Evaluate licensee’s quarterly marketing, retail and financial forecasts to ensure licensees on are track to meet established contractual obligations, royalty payments and forecast goals.
  • Organize and run licensee orientations, business reviews, semiannual/quarterly line reviews, and brain storm sessions.
  • Address specific licensee performance issues
  • Negotiate renewals on a timely basis
  • Provides input for annual departmental budget and plan
• Ensure licensees develop seasonal lines in time for internal seasonal review and develop documents and presentations to communicate licensee’s initiatives to internal Crayola departments
  • Set trend direction and make recommendations for new product entry
  • Direct category research and product concept testing as needed with the consumer insights team
  • Work with creative and product development on design and creative direction for licensed product and packaging
  • Responsible for managing licensee press releases, cross marketing and promotions
  • Ensure adherence to internal approval process (i.e. safety, quality, financial, legal, content, creative, consumer activation, consumer affairs etc.) and assist in resolving issues.
• Negotiate new licensed strategic partnerships for assigned segments in conjunction with established category strategies
  • Research, secure and develop new licensees building upon the success of existing segments in order to achieve predictable, profitable and sustainable growth
  • Negotiate deal terms including: grant of rights, royalty rates, guarantees, projections and business plans

• 7 years’ experience in licensing or consumer marketing work for a CPG company.
• Bachelors’ degree preferred

 
To review the full job description and to apply: www.crayola.com/careers
Click on search all jobs and look for Req ID 406BR

JOB POSTING

Senior Creative Designer
Location: North East (Gateshead) 
Salary: Competitive

We are looking for an talented Senior Creative Designer to join our team here at Blue Kangaroo in the UK... You must be a creative thinker and understand everything about Character Licensing and Brands. Work independently but also as part of a team. You will work on the biggest and best known brands in the Licensing world, everything from packaging refreshes to creative pitch decks to inspire creative thinking. An outstanding knowledge of all Adobe programs goes without saying and the ability to take work from concept to final artwork is essential.

If you think you have what it takes to make a difference within our talented and dedicated team then please contact us. t: +44 (0)191 490 9449.
 

JOB POSTING

Licensing Executive

MGL (www.mgllicensing.com) is one of the world's leading Art Licensing companies based in South West London (SW14) and is now seeking a dynamic licensing executive to join their team.

The primary responsibilities of the role are to deal and manage existing clients, as well as identify, develop and negotiate with new licensees. Categories include stationery, cards, gift and table top.

The role will also include visiting and exhibiting at trade shows both nationally and internationally.

Some experience in licensing or image libraries is essential.
For more information on the job role, please send CV and cover letter stating your present salary to studio@mglart.com

JOB POSTING

Licensing Director
 
Company: A leader in fashion accessories for both licensed/private label for adults and children. 
 
Job Qualifications: Looking for an experienced Licensing Director that can work with all major film studios.  Good communication and organizational skills needed. A team player in a fast-paced environment. Must be Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint proficient.  Mac experience is a plus.
 
Job Description: Serve as the primary point of contact for day to day business with licensors. Spearhead category strategies, partner relations, and negotiations to maximize brand efficacy and build growth opportunities for licenses.  Play a key role in forecasting.  Solicit new brands, licenses and trends to secure the company’s high ranking in the business.
Provide sales updates and sell through information to the licensors on a monthly/weekly basis.  Mentor and manage coordinators, providing industry and business guidance.
 
Work Environment: This is a very fast-paced, team-orientated business casual environment. 
 
Contact: Please send resume to Blicensed@gmail.com

JOB POSTING

Executive Seeks New Challenges
 
I have 8 years experience of working for a large London Publishing house licensing book content to third parties. I am looking for a role which utilises my skills in negotiation and relationship building and can develop my experience within the licensing field. Having licensed book content to a wide variety of customers from national Newspapers to international Publishers I would relish the experience to work in a new industry, licensing new content to new clients.
 
I realise that a move across from traditional publishing may mean a step down from the managerial role I was in before. I'm enthusiastic to work in a new industry and feel my skills are easily transferable and am happy to look outside licensing roles also.

caroline_crofts@hotmail.com
 

JOB POSTING

Sunrights Inc. Seeks a Licensing Coordinator
New York
 
Sunrights Inc. is an entertainment rights management company operated by one of the top advertising agencies in Japan, Asatsu DK, and the trading conglomerate Mitsubishi Corp. Located in New York City, Sunrights directly manages the development of intellectual property globally outside of Asia.  Properties include B-Daman and Beyblade Burst.
 
Please submit your resume to recruit@sunrights-inc.com.
Only candidates chosen for the interview process will be contacted.

 

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