7 minute read
Cover Story: Rainbow
It’s been another outstanding year for the Italian content powerhouse Rainbow. Not only has their evergreen brand Winx Club been a transformational success from an 18-year animated production to a modern-day live action teen success on Netflix, Fate: The Winx Saga, but also firmly rooted itself in the world of global art for consumer product transitioning, as well as having another pre-school hit in the making. Beyond the magical fairies’ Winx brand global ratings success as a Netflix liveaction series, there’s a reborn classic story, produced in CGI animation, which Iginio Straffi has brought back to life for a new generation of young children, Pinocchio and Friends. In less than a year it’s become a ratings hit in both Italy (Rai YoYo) and the UK (CBeebies), with licensing partners supporting the brand following signings of master toy partners in both markets. Sustainability continues to sit at the forefront of the licensing industry and Rainbow’s animation production,
Summer & Todd Happy Farmers,
continues to gain traction with broadcast and licensing partners. Lastly, two independent artistic licensing brands are also making waves in Rainbow’s licensing portfolio; Lucia Heffernan and Jack Ottanio are both renowned in their own fields of artistic expertise, with Rainbow taking the helm at guiding their brands beyond canvas and into consumer products that appeal to consumers across the world. Let’s catch up on each brand and learn more about their growth and licensing successes this year. Over the past eighteen years the original Winx Club brand has become an IP which has not only maintained a global appeal with today’s young children who want to follow the stories of the much-loved fairies, but also retained an unprecedented level of popularity with the original fan-base who were there at the beginning and stayed loyal as they grew into young adults, and the Winx storylines themselves developed. Those fans remain as dedicated today as they were back in 2004 and helped secure Winx Club as one of the most successful children’s properties of all time; this was clear from July’s celebrations at the renowned Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, where a stunning screening event and celebratory party took place for long-standing fans and celebrities, with countless influencers joining the exclusive programme, and plenty of online buzz and content generation. This is hardly surprising, given that Winx Club continues to be distributed in more than 150 countries, and has racked up 8 animated TV series, 2 original animated series co-produced with Netflix, 3 animated feature films, countless live shows, and international musical events in its 18-year history. And this doesn’t include the new liveaction series, Fate: The Winx Saga. The global Winx brand is supported by a robust and ever-evolving licensing strategy, managed by Rainbow for both the live-action series and the original animated series, and aligns with the broadcast successes to sustain fan loyalty. Even before the new live-action series, Fate: The Winx Saga, burst onto the screens of Netflix subscribers in January 2021, Rainbow had already worked to re-strategise its licensing programme for the brand: for the young adult audience who grew up alongside the fairies, and also today’s young audiences, there is now a dual licensing strategy which focuses on both the Young Adult target (the original brand-fans), and today’s new fanbase who are growing up with the series eighteen years down the line. For the young adult target strategy, the licensing programme focuses on fashion apparel and make-up with colourful and magical palettes which align with the world’s most famous fairies. The younger licensing strategy remains loyal to the original licensing programme and a focus on apparel, accessories, dress-up and stationery. Fans of the new live-action series Fate: The Winx Saga are naturally drawn towards the young adult market alongside fans who grew up with the original animated series. The live-action Fate: The Winx Saga, premiered on Netflix in January 2021 in 190 countries and fast became one
of the most watched teen series of the year. Before the end of the first season, a second one was announced and premiered on 16th September ‘22, with eight new episodes, new storylines and of course, cast members we’ve not met before. Following the announcement of the new YA core target licensing strategy, Rainbow onboarded a partnership with fashion franchise Bershka, part of the Inditex Group in 2021 but also with brands such as Hot Topic, and Dollskill. The launch of Fate: The Winx Saga and its resounding success also led to the development of exciting deals for Rainbow as it was named global exclusive CP licensor of the brand. A stunning make-up range launched on 1st September 2022 as part of a new partnership with NYX Professional Makeup to create a collection inspired by the Netflix series. It features a pigmented 10-color shadow palette with three ombre blushes, designed after the main character, Bloom Peters’ notebook she uses throughout the series; six lip glosses infused with micro-duo chrome pearls, each shade representing a different fairy power and a highlighter duo with a cloud-like, putty consistency, resembling fairy dust. There are a lot of deals coming up, as the Winx brand’s licensing appeal goes from strength to strength, with the strategically managed programme led by Rainbow. The Winx Club Official Store is the latest news from Rainbow. The online shop developed and managed by Rainbow offers exclusive products ranging from apparel and lifestyle, through to collector toys, setting new trends in the Winx Club iconography with dedicated style guides and limited editions, shipping worldwide. https:// winxclubshop.com/it Apart from his fairies, Iginio Straffi, the founder of Rainbow and creator of its evergreen Winx brand, has always aspired to revitalize the much-loved timeless and classic novel about the wooden toy who always wanted to be a boy, Pinocchio. As an original Italian story, it’s only natural that a modern-day adaptation came from a well-respected producer of children’s content who also grew up in Italy. Iginio Straffi had long envisaged to set the classic in modern times and create new adventures and locations, as well as new characters (such as Freeda, the pirate doll who becomes one of Pinocchio’s greatest friends) and storylines that appealed to today’s global young audiences. Pinocchio And Friends’ success was anticipated by 2021’s premieres at Giffoni Film Festival, at ITTV Los Angeles, Lucca Comics and Games, and the 78th edition of Venice Film Festival where Iginio Straffi and the costume character were greeted with rapturous applause. Produced by Rainbow in collaboration with Rai Ragazzi and Indian top-quality partner Toonz Media Group, the series has achieved exceptional ratings on RAI YoYo in Italy and CBeebies in the UK, with the next broadcast partner to launch being Discovery Kids across Spanish-speaking markets and Latin America in early 2023. As the show expands and reaches new audiences globally, it was also named the “Best 3D Animated Series” at ANN Animation Express in Mumbai. Master toy licensing partners, Giochi Preziosi (Italy) and Flair GP (UK) both have ranges launching in Spring/ Summer 2023 with a roll-out strategy which includes playsets, action dolls and plush; Giocchi Preziosi will invest significantly in the development of this new line, as well as in marketing and communication activities to support the launch and raise brand awareness. A raft of Italian and UK partners have already signed up to the imaginative world of Pinocchio including Mondadori, Ravensburger, Dolfin, Fashion UK and Ciao, all assuring a great start to a licensing programme that will no doubt grow as a result of BLE meetings, as well as Toy Fairs in both London and Nuremberg in early 2023. Amongst the news, Rainbow has also acquired two new important licenses revolving around the creative arts. The Group is representing Lucia Heffernan and Jack Ottanio, two internationally renowned artists with very different styles that transfer easily into the consumer products landscape and will appeal to lovers of the modernist art movement; those who enjoy taking a quirkier and more humorous outlook on conventional art with animals will embrace Lucia’s passion for the natural world; meanwhile Jack’s vision for an insight into today’s world of pop-art will translate into vibrant consumer products campaigns. Both brands have licensing growth, particularly in home textiles, ceramics, and lifestyle with a 2023 market focus on European markets. Lucia’s work will be showcased during an exhibition that starts in September, ends in October, and takes place in Rome, Italy, with 40 original exhibits on display that are inspired by her love for the animal world; this will be supported with a merchandising area for the duration of the exhibit and Lucia attending the vernissage. An online shop also launches in September to cater for visitors to the the event, but available for worldwide shipping.
