Art Ask Agency has announced a major launch of its Brandalised licensing program, which it is carrying out in partnership with UK-based licensee Park Agencies. The Brandalised collection – a pun on the word ‘Vandalized’ – features clothing with designs taken literally from the streets, in the form of graffiti art work created by enigmatic artist Banksy. Art Ask says the collection is launching this week with the Polish fashion retailer Medicine, across nearly 1000 stores in Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus and online. The collection now has 27 SKUs available, ranging from T-shirts and hoodies, socks and denim jackets to tailored shirts for men and women. The designs are based on the most famous of Banksy’s Graffiti artworks, gathered from the streets of the largest cities across the world. The licensing… . . . read more
New CEO at Sambro International
The popular toy manufacturer and distributor, Sambro International Ltd., has appointed Paul Blackaby as its new chief executive officer, as he looks to “lead the team through its next stage of development.” Blackaby joined the Sambro business in February 2020 as chief financial officer, bringing with him many years of experience in both the manufacturing and consumer goods sectors at a senior level. “I am completely delighted to be given the opportunity to lead this fantastic business and terrific team through its next stage of development,” said Blackaby. “There has been some great work undertaken in recent years which we will harness and build from; we are all excited about Sambro’s future.” The award-winning toy and novelty company, based in Manchester, England, recently announced that it was assessing growth opportunities… . . . read more
Centennial in Deal for Specialty Magazines and Books
North Equity LLC, a venture equity firm that owns and operates over 15 media properties, has agreed to terms with Centennial Media to produce special interest magazines and books for Popular Science and SAVEUR. Centennial, a leading book and magazine publisher that specializes in richly illustrated publications, will produce six single-topic, Special Interest Publications (SIPs) for Popular Science, and three for SAVEUR, in 2021. They will also publish two children’s books for Popular Science to bring kids the fascinating science behind everyday topics and engage them in STEAM subjects. The parties plan to expand their program in 2022 to include some of North Equity’s other enthusiast brands such as The Drive, Field & Stream, Domino, and Outdoor Life. “Centennial Media is the best partner to help us create a diverse… . . . read more
Boat Rocker’s Dino Ranch Lassoed by Disney
The highly rated kids show Dino Ranch from Boat Rocker Studios has been snapped up in a deal with Disney+ that will see the program air in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand starting in April. The show takes dinosaurs from Jurassic Park to a Jurassic farm, with a cute assemblage of dinosaur steeds that has already premiered for audiences on Disney Junior and DisneyNOW in the US and Canada in January. Dino Ranch was an almost instant hit with kids on Disney Junior in the US, ranking as the #1 US cable series among Kids, Boys and Girls 2-5 since launch, notes Boat Rocker. Among Disney Junior repeats, Dino Ranch also ranks #1 with Kids, Boys and Girls 2-5. Also available on DisneyNOW and VOD, Dino Ranch has… . . . read more
LOL Surprise Joins the Digital Fun With ROBLOX
Two giants of the children’s play industry have combined forces in a licensing deal between the gaming platform ROBLOX and the toy franchise LOL Surprise. LOL Surprise Official Party will launch on Roblox’s social gaming platform on April 2, according to a statement to The Licensing Letter from MGA Entertainment. “This past year has found parents discovering new ways to get their kids to play,” said Aram Atamian. “With that, one of America’s top toy properties LOL Surprise is joining forces with top digital gaming platform ROBLOX – creating a relationship with the 1st Doll World of Roblox on a global level. Through these two leaders in toy/play coming together, billions of fans can now discover a more immersive and shared gaming experience.” As a lead up to the LOL/ROBLOX… . . . read more
Spotify Removes K-Pop Songs in Licensing Debacle
If you’re a big K-pop fan with a Spotify account, you’re probably not too happy today. Thanks to a breakdown in licensing talks, songs from some of the world’s biggest K-pop stars have vanished from Spotify’s music library after talks between the streamer and Korean distributor Kakao M hit a brick wall. Some of the acts affected include many of Korea’s most popular acts, including Seventeen, MonstaX, Mamamoo, (G)I-DLE and IU. The issue was first noticed on March 1 (Korean time) as Spotify users around the world first noticed that many K-pop songs were no longer available to them on the platform. Some artists’ entire catalogs disappeared without warning from Spotify, while other artists saw some of their songs remain. Later the same day Spotify announced that its licensing agreement… . . . read more
Tetris Waffle Maker Shows You Should Play With Your Food
Lisle Licensing takes the Tetris brand forward in 2021 The video game property Tetris and their UK-based licensing agent Lisle Licensing have launched a slate of new deals, including one for a hilarious new Tetris waffle maker from Fizz Creations. Apparently, someone with a love of trapezoids realized waffles are just a lot of tasty Tetris shapes packed together, and decided to produce a waffle maker that punches out the individual shapes. No more can you mother tell you to stop playing with your food. “We’re all about fun and novelty at Fizz Creations, so are excited to partner with Tetris to launch the waffle maker,” said Zoe Ryan, Marketing Manager at Fizz Creations. ” added Tetrimino shaped waffles … what’s not to love!” Lisle Licensing says they’ve kicked off… . . . read more
Under Armour Slashed Sponsorships in 2020
The sporting gear company Under Armour has been shedding sponsorship deals over the past year, and now we know how deep the cuts have gone. Under Armour Inc. released its annual report in late February, which shows the company slashing its sponsorship spending by an astounding 47 per cent in a single year. The cuts reduce Under Armour’s spending on sponsorships from $679.1 million in 2019 down to $361.6 million in 2020. Under Armour’s CFO David Bergman explained the move on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call, saying it’s all about getting more bang for the marketing buck. “That allows us to have a bigger war chest, to be nimble on a marketing front going forward and making sure we’re deploying that marketing in the areas of highest return,” Bergman… . . . read more
Carley Leads Global Licensing at BBC Studios
BBC Studios is getting serious about licensing, and has promoted veteran exec Andrew Carley to the newly created role of Director of Global Licensing. The move will see Carley empowered to create and manage a long-term strategy which, among other projects, will include opportunities for the BBC’s highly successful pre-school show Bluey. “The BBC has long been synonymous with high quality children’s programming,” says Carley. “To be given the opportunity to use my experience to help build a long-term global licensing program around such fantastic programming, including ‘Bluey,’ is hugely exciting. ‘Bluey’ has many of the rare attributes associated with evergreen global preschool success stories. With that potential comes the opportunity to build on its success and cement BBC Studios’ position as a global player in licensing and consumer products.”… . . . read more
Special Report: The Future of Hasbro
By Gary Symons TLL Editor in Chief The ‘Play and Entertainment’ conglomerate Hasbro has for the first time outlined its future plans in a live investor event, and as expected, the news will be game changing for the company and for its licensing partners worldwide. Sit down and grab yourself a coffee or tea, because it’s a LOT. At the core of the announcement, Hasbro has outlined its “strategic growth drivers” for the near and medium term, and has unveiled new product segments aligned to these drivers. In other words, the company is restructuring, and it’s doing so in ways that it feels will better prepare Hasbro for a rapidly changing environment. The new financial reporting segments are: Consumer Products, including toys and games; Wizards of the Coast (Wizards) and… . . . read more