Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com.
Pantone’s 2019 color of the year is Living Coral, a “nurturing” hue that is meant to evoke “lighthearted activity” and “playful expression.”
Crayola brings children at Chick-fil-A restaurants aseries of five premium toys to encourage creativity and fun. The program is supported by a micro-site on Crayola.com and marketing support in the form of in-restaurant signage, drive-thru signage, and a mention on the Chick-fil-A website.
The world’s first NERF-dedicated family entertainment center has a home in Singapore’s Marina Square thanks to Kingsmen Creatives. The communication design and production group will open the experience in the second half of 2019 as part of an agreement with Hasbro to co-conceptualise, create, build, and operate multiple NERF experiences across Asia Pacific.
Hasbro and Imagine Resorts & Hotels will develop the first-ever Hasbro themed indoor water park and family resort. The resort opens by 2022 in a soon-to-be-disclosed location and will include themed hotel rooms, an indoor water park, themed entertainment, and food and beverage offerings.
Schleich opens its first standalone pop-up, a 200 sq. ft. shop in the South Park Mall in Charlotte, NC, home of its U.S. headquarters. The German toyco plans to expand the program into more malls through 2019.
Williams Sonoma and Bravo Media’s Top Chef get cooking with branded in-store events in New York, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Dallas, and Philadelphia.
Sequential Brands Group arranges a deal between Martha Stewart and BloomsyBox.com for a new subscription line of flowers. The initial collections are selected rose varieties and come in different sizes and gift options.
Warner Music Group’s Arts Music division and Sesame Workshop partner to re-launch Sesame Street Records in the U.S. and Canada in a multi-year deal. The catalog is available in digital streaming and download as well as CD and vinyl formats. This is the first time in over 20 years that new music from Sesame Street will be made available to the public under a consistent schedule of releases.
Lego pledges $100 million to Sesame Workshop to aid Syrian and Rohingya refugee humanitarian projects. Part of the money will be used to fund “humanitarian play labs” to heal the effects of stress and suffering as well as teach basics like the alphabet and numbers.
Forbes releases its list of the 10 top-earning YouTube stars who collectively earned $180.5 million this past year, up 42% from 2017. The magazine points to merchandise as an increasingly important revenue stream for these top digital stars, all of whom have at a line of their own.
- Ryan ToysReview: $22 million
- Jake Paul: $21.5 million
- Dude Perfect: $20 million
- DanTDM: $18.5 million
- Jeffree Star: $18 million
- Markiplier: $17.5 million
- Vanessa Gaming: $17 million
- Jacksepticeye: $16 million
- PewDiePie: $15.5 million
- Logan Paul: $14.5 million
Sports Edition
Showtime Sports and CBS Consumer Products launch an ecommerce brand dedicated solely to the premium network’s boxing franchise. The dedicated website is operated by The Ave and includes licensed products from Topps (digital trading cards), Bixler (rings and pendants), and others.
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association makes opendorse its official social media activation partner for U.S. Women’s soccer players. The agreement gives players access to their social media channels while allowing brand partners, sponsors, and licensees to tap into players and their agents and push approved posts through their personal social channels.
The National Hockey League (NHL) is getting a new expansion team in Seattle as the 32nd NHL Franchise for the 2021-22 season.
MGM Resorts and Major League Baseball (MLB) form an all-inclusive partnership agreement that combines the MLB brand with MGM Resorts and playMGM brands across league and team sponsorships, data usage in gaming, promotion across MLB-owned media platforms, and domestic and international activations at MLB events. The deal with MLB joins other recent deals MGM inked with the NBA and NHL.
The Overwatch League locks in a multi-year deal with sports merchandise platform Fanatics to provide the league’s fanbase with an omnichannel retail experience along with a “significantly expanded” assortment of products. The deal is the first of its kind between a major retailer and an official esports league. Both parties will work collaboratively to secure additional licensees in addition to Fanatics’ core production. In addition, Fanatics will establish a new global ecommerce and mobile shopping platform and operate on-site retail for all league events.
Esports retail and merchandise company We Are Nations partners with OpTic Gaming, Method, and Blast Pro Series to produce consumer products such as performance wear, fanwear, and accessories.