Market roundup

THE ITALIAN MARKETPLACE

Baby Shark is fast becoming one of the most well-loved preschool properties on the Italian market with developments on digital, TV and in retail as ViacomCBS Italy celebrates the opening of the first Baby Shark YouTube channel, plans it debut TV series and launches new consumer products lines across multiple categories. ViacomCBS Italy is focused on growing the property Baby Shark, owned by Pinkfong, across all platforms in the country. Since the launch of the famous Baby Shark Dance on YouTube, in November 2015, Baby Shark has literally conquered the world with now over 7.9 billion views to date. Today Baby Shark continues as an online phenomenon with its own YouTube channel dedicated to Italian families. Now accessible to Italian children in their native language, new content created by child education experts is uploaded each week, including nursery rhymes, number songs, lullabies, children’s classics, fairy tales and much more. With more than 2 million views, the channel is set to engage families across Italy with more storytelling, fun and learning opportunities. Beyond digital, ViacomCBS Italy plans to debut the highly anticipated TV series Baby Shark’s Big Show, late spring this year. Following the success of the special Christmas episode of Baby Shark in December, which generated +52% share growth in the broadcast slot (compared to the same range of the previous 4 weeks), it was time to bring families more of the loveable shark. This runs in parallel with the expansion of ViacomCBS Italy’s licensing and marketing activities around the successful property. An important online campaign was rolled out for Christmas 2020 in time for the baby Shark special, on major web and social media platforms, generating over 1 million contacts. Now the Italian ViacomCBS Consumer Products team is preparing for the launch of a new Baby Shark cross-category range for the entire 2021. The range will include over 15 collaborations with important players in toys, publishing categories, personal care and soft lines.

Leading Italian licensing agency and management consultancy Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) has continued to work with licensees throughout the pandemic. MDL’s CEO Maurizio Distefano explains why he believes the Italian licensing market will continue to be resilient. No-one would pretend that 2020 was a great year for Italian licensing, although as Maurizio Distefano, founder and CEO of Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) points out, it was looking that way until the February lockdown. However, as Distefano says, “Between March and June, we never stopped supporting our licensees and provided them with answers to their queries and digital support to keep them running.” From June, business resumed, with digital marketing activities making up for the lack of trade shows and

face-to-face meetings. Now, Distefano says, “Our main goal is to consolidate 2020’s results for entertainment properties and to launch new properties we now represent. We also aim to expand our target audience.” Which MDL has – notably with a growing portfolio of fashion brands. MDL recently announced the launch of a new e-commerce outlet to bring accessible fashion design and sportswear from talented young Italian stylist Filippo Laterza to an even bigger audience. It also announced the arrival of Premoli + Di Bella home linen and high-end pet-focused design collections, inspired by the work of creative directors Giovanni Premoli and Dario Di Bella. A strong line-up of music brands received a major boost recently through a partnership with Global Merchandising Services, adding some of the most iconic artists in music history to MDL’s brand portfolio: Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Backstreet Boys, Little Mix and Louis Tomlinson, to name only a few. The same partnership is also bringing multi-Michelin starred chef Gordon Ramsay to the Italian market. But MDL still retains its traditional strength in children’s entertainment – a key sector during lockdown. Russian children’s animated series Leo & Tig is about to enter the world of publishing in Italy via Fabbri Editori. An MDL partnership with digital media company Moonbug Entertainment, will make MDL the licensing agent in the Italian market for the global sensations CoComelon, Blippi and My Magic Pet Morphle. And then there’s the massive pre-

school hit Bing. Recent licences include Lubex for car accessories, Adriatic for beach toys, and Smoby for scooters and tricycles. Sevi (through an existing agreement with Giochi Preziosi), will develop wooden toys. And with Easter on the way there is of course an Easter egg partner. The Bing Dolfin Easter chocolate eggs have already been a best-seller this season. And MDL’s established hits remain popular – few more so than Masha and the Bear, one of the world’s most successful children’s series with licensees for every product category, ranging from Easter eggs to olive oil, from footwear to children’s masks, and from toys to publishing. Given this success, Distefano is surely right to highlight continuity. As he says, “The Italian licensing market is resilient despite the pandemic and the lockdowns that the Italian government has put in place. Licensees are eager to do business and consumers are willing to shop. It’s all about meeting demand and offer – either through online retailers or bricks and mortar.”

WildBrain CPLG’s news from Italy includes the arrival of the Peanuts brand to WildBrain CPLG’s Italian portfolio earlier this year. WildBrain CPLG assumed representation of the property following an agreement with BIC Licensing, which had managed the brand for over 30 years in Italy. The Peanuts characters were first created in 1950 by Charles M. Schulz and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Now, with a consumer awareness of over 90 percent and more than 17 million fans on social media, the brand enjoys high resonance not only in the United States but also throughout Europe and Asia. Snoopy and the Peanuts gang are hugely popular in Italy. The core target for Peanuts is very broad amongst fans who appreciate the iconic status of the characters. Increased global awareness of the brand is also being driven by new Peanuts content on Apple TV+, created by WildBrain CPLG’s parent company, WildBrain. This February, Apple TV+ debuted the new animated series The Snoopy Show, following on last year’s debut of Snoopy in Space. On the consumer products side, Peanuts has an extensive international licensee base, including many collaborations in Italy, such as Zara and Zara Home, Oysho, Pull & Bear, Puma, Benetton, Iceberg and Original Marines, many of which are long-term partners. On the classic brands side, Mafalda also recently joined WildBrain CPLG’s Italy portfolio. Mafalda was first illustrated in 1964 by Argentinian cartoonist Quino. Her comics have sold over 50 million copies worldwide, while her character is one of the most loved on Facebook with over six million fans. Mafalda already boasts several important licensing partnerships with companies such as Clementoni, Salani, Sabor, Foto Edizioni and Akena.Another classic brand in the spotlight in Italy is Pink Panther, the evergreen icon that has inspired countless collections in the fashion world [SS1] thanks to its sophisticated and glamorous style. Among the most recent partnerships is Tezenis, which just launched a line of apparel, underwear and sleepwear for adults and children in all stores and online, and Original Marines, which has created a F/W 2020 collection with dedicated window displays, in-store activations, an influencer campaign, as well as new products which are planned for the S/S 2021 season. Continuing in the world of brands, in the lifestyle category, there is emoji - The Iconic Brand, one of the most influential and well-known brands in the world that boasts over 1,000 licensing partnerships. It is an extremely contemporary brand, universally appealing to every target and product category, and provides the largest icon library in the world with over 20,000 emojis. WildBrain CPLG has several partnerships for emoji in Italy, including with Puma, Clementoni, San Carlo and Dolfin. On entertainment brand side is Topo Gigio, the character created in 1959 by Maria Perego. Starting from October 5, 2020, a new animated series began airing daily on Rai YoYo. The series has enjoyed great success among YoYo’s young viewers, confirming itself as one of the most popular programs on the channel. The licensing programme WildBrain CPLG is creating around the property is also growing and many licensees have already launched the first wave of products into the market, including master toy partner Giochi Preziosi, as well as Gribaudo, Play Press, Hopplà, Bauli and Clementoni. Finally another well-known character around the world is Sonic the Hedgehog, which this year celebrates its 30th Anniversary. After the global success of the first feature film in 2020, a second movie is coming to theaters in Spring 2022. Also in 2022, a new animated series, Sonic Prime, co-produced by WildBrain and SEGA, will air on Netflix worldwide. Sonic boasts an extensive cross-category licensing programme around the world, including recent collaborations with Puma and Lego.

Atlantyca Entertainment report that Geronimo Stilton has been honored by being appointed the Cultural Ambassador and Special Museum Mediator for the Brescia Museum Foundation. The famous Editor of the Rodent’s Gazzette will be playing the leading role in the new, innovative museum App-Game designed for use by the Brescia Museum Foundation, and developed by Way Srl. The historic and artistic content of the App will be handled by Fondazione Brescia Musei’s educational services with the creative adaptation, Stilton-style, will be managed by Atlantyca. With Fondazione Brescia Musei, Geronimo Stilton will, for the first time, be the lead character in a digital museum APP-Game, a new idea established for the art world. The project, based-on a new concept and modelled on cultural offering was established because of the desire to experiment with new digital languages by creating an interactive, educational game. In

the various museums belonging to the Brescia Museum Foundation, children will take part in a treasure hunt where Geronimo Stilton himself (appearing in augmented reality form) will provide the clues required to solve the challenging puzzles. Geronimo Stilton has always championed causes embodied with cultural experiences for children, thanks to his ability to communicate in a fun way positive values and educational content that might otherwise be difficult to convey to young audiences. Now, thanks to the Brescia Museum Foundation project, this commitment will also be renewed in 2021 involving both families and schools, as it will also be possible to access the App through the multimedia interactive whiteboards used in classrooms. In fact, the App-Game aims to encourage the involvement of different types of audiences, from schools to the general public, including foreign tourists, thanks to the English version of the App. This App-Game will also be central to projects focused on combatting educational poverty. It is scheduled for release in summer 2021. The Brescia Museum Foundation’s pilot project brings Geronimo Stilton together with several top historic venues and museums including Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Santa Giulia and the Archaeological Park and Brescia Castle. Since 2017, the project has been part of a number of partnerships between Geronimo and other important museums: the Mudec in Milan, the Prado in Madrid, the Galata in Genoa, the Leonardiano in Vinci, the Civic Museum Foundation in Rovereto, the Archaeological Park of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, the Archaeological Park of the Campi Flegrei. The Geronimo Stilton book series, published in Italy by Edizioni Piemme, has become a global phenomenon with 170 million books sold worldwide and 3 animated series co-produced with Rai Fiction and distributed to over 130 countries.

Team Entertainment are working on four key brands in Italy – The Day Henry Met, Pure Norway, Carte Blanche and Coconut Dragon. The Day Henry Met is a TV Show airing on RAI Yoyo day – during lockdown four episodes were aired twice each day. Team Entertainment has launched the first 4 hard cover books and a sticker book by De Agostini. Further product categories are in negotiations in the areas of apparel and accessories and toys. Pure Norway is a Nordic brand inspired by Norwegian nature. It is designed for people with an active lifestyle and is a totally sustainable brand - environmentally friendly with recycled materials and responsible production through ethical labour + 1% of all turnover is donated by the Pure Norway foundation to help clean up the oceans around the world. The brand is gender and age neutral and has already inspired many companies around the world who have become partners launching in the markets a variety of products from leisure bags and leisure accessories, to shoes, outdoor apparel lines , home textiles, and a line of aluminium bottles! Team Entertainment represents the brands in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece), Turkey and Israel Carte Blanche is a very successful brand in northern Europe and beyond with plush, gift and greeting cards, 30 years of history, hundreds of Style guides, over 90 licensees and 40 distributors. The brand has a wide array of partners around the world including Russia, US, South Korea and China.

Team Entertainment represents

Carte Blanche in Italy and Malta and although the various lockdowns have slowed down work they have had a very positive reaction from potential partners particularly in the core areas. Finally, Team Entertainment are licensing Coconut Dragon. The property comprises two TV series of 52 episodes each as well as two movies and a wide ranging publishing program through Enaudi Ragazzi who have sold more than half a million copies.

Founded by Gianfranco Mari in 1973, DIC 2 is the oldest licensing agency in Italy. For the last 26 years, the company has been led by Gianfranco’s son Douglas. Over the years, the company has moved away from entertainment brands to focus on classic characters, brands and special projects. Today, there are a number of key brands in their portfolio including Nina and Other Little Things, an Italian property for which DIC 2 controls all the worldwide rights and which in few years has been licensed and distributed all over the world. DIC 2 and Nina have been the very first Italian company to be nominated for an International Licensing Award in 2018. Despite the pandemic DIC 2 has licensed Hot Topic in USA and Spreadshirt in EU + UK for Print-on-Demand products and Kashow in China for a promotion in three Malls.

In 2020 DIC 2 secured a Love Is…. license with DSquared2 for luxury apparel, a license with Faliero Sarti for high-end luxury scarfs, a license in China for Print-on-Demand products and a collaboration in 2021 with MC Saint Barth. Three new licenses have been closed on Sarah Kay, one in the UK for adult coloring books and two in France for publishing and calendars DIC 2 has also secured a worldwide deal for Route 66 wines with a prestigious award winner winery, distributed in the best wine shops, restaurant and hotels. The R66 wine collection has also become a sponsor of the Blues Foundation in the US thanks to a partnership with the singer Tony Moore and other Hollywood celebrities. Four years ago the company has also launched a Youtube division to help companies correctly approach Youtubers and develop Youtube campaigns with kids influencers. Several companies including Lisciani, Quercetti, KochMedia, Dynit have used DIC 2 services to create successful influencer marketing campaigns. DIC 2 also offers consultancy in the fashion and videogame markets helping licensees and brand owners to connect and do business.

ETS Licensing is a leading independent Italian agency specializing in the management of licensing rights. With a history of success in the management of major franchises, such as Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, ETS has built a large portfolio of constantly evolving licenses to effectively target different age groups, from preschool to teen, up to adults and kidults, combining content from television and digital entertainment. ETS has also entered into an important strategic partnership with Discovery Italia to manage licensing related to the brands of non-kids FTA TV channels and to network programs. Among the brands coming from the digital world, Gallina Puntolina has an important role. It appeared in Brazil in 2005 with videos of pre-school nursery rhymes that have become a phenomenon throughout Latin America. The property recently landed in Italy with a fun animated series broadcast on Frisbee TV channel. ETS has just started an ambitious licensing program and is ready to expand it to the rest of Europe. Another interesting property with digital origins is Talking Tom and Friends who first appeared 10 years ago with an innovative game app. After the launch of over 20 new apps and countless digital content, with billions of downloads and views all over the world, Tom and his friends have also landed on TV with an animated series, broadcast in Italy on K2 and Frisbee with very positive audience data. Among other brands that have recently joined the ETS team there are also the s comic puns by Pera Toons, which have become very popular on Italian social networks with almost 3 million fans. This is now a series of books and more products are planned. A further new entry is Chefclub, the innovative cooking which in 2020 has grown on social media globally, reaching a averages 62 million monthly views and 20 million unique viewers across all social platforms. Among the licenses related to animated series for children, Nefertine on the Nile is about to launch. This is an original animated series that tells the adventures of a little girl from Ancient Egypt. The first season is scheduled to air from May on Rai Yoyo. Additional preschool properties in the ETS portfolio include Mimi Pet Pals and Oggy and the Cockroaches. Finally, a further key brand is Pippi Longstocking. Since last year and until December 2021 Pippi is the spokesperson for the international Pippi of Today campaign born from the partnership between the Astrid Lindgren Company and Save the Children.

Funwood Media are promoting Tiny & Tony, the animated series featuring a baby elephant and a baby hippo that debuted in Italy on DeaJunior in April. Tina & Tony consists of an animated TV series 52 episodes of 5 minutes each and it is produced by the Russian company Riki Group. In Italy the brand is managed exclusively by Funwood Media which holds the television rights, as well as licensing and merchandising rights.

2021 is an important year for Panini as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. Panini’s first brand collaboration goes back to 2006 with Adidas and in the last 15 years several companies have been added to this list. In recent years the company has explored different products categories such as school, toys, gifts, food and fashion. For 2021, Panini are starting with the launch of a new Panini Style Guide that will be officially presented to partners during an online workshop. Spring 2021 will see the launch of several Panini branded products. Fashion is important. Sem Manifatture have signed the third Tematico x Panini adult collection. Centex Spa will produce its first Panini Collection that will be exclusively distributed by Sonnybono stores around Italy. The new range includes tees, sweat sets, Polo t-shirts with the use of the iconic Panini bicycle kick and the famous slogan “Celo Celo Manca”, for both kids and adults. On the food side, the Panini Easter Eggs produced under license by Italian company Icam Spa went on shelves in mid-March.

On a totally different note is a brand new collaboration with an Italian company in the home décor world, a sector never explored by Panini up to now. The details of this collaboration will be released soon and products will be available worldwide started from mid-May. To complete the scenario, Panini partners with Franco Cosimo Panini for back to school, Bioworld Int., Copa Football for apparel & accessories, Mondo Spa for footballs, Coro Marketing for 3Ds promotions, Butterfly Effected for devices’ themes. Bavaria Media is Panini’s exclusive representative agency for Germany and Benelux. Non-exclusive agencies are CPLG for Spain & Portugal, Kopa Licensing for Colombia, Mexico, Perù and Chile and Vertical Licensing for Brazil.

RAI’s licensing arm continues to grow programs for key broadcasting properties including Paddington, Moomin Valley, Alice & Lewis, Il Collegio, Fumbleland, Molang, Wolf, Pirata e Capitano and Paf il Cane. Series two of the CG-animated series of Paddington comprises 52 x 11 minutes and is being broadcast on Rai Yoyo targeting children aged 3 to 6. Each episode opens and close with Paddington writing to Aunt Lucy from Windsor Gardens as he tells her what he has learned about life through the day’s new exciting adventure. ? Moomin Valley is a Finnish-British animated series, an adaptation of the classic Moomin books and comics by writer-illustrator Tove Jansson. It is created using new techniques in 3D CGI. Season 1 of the series is currently on Rai Yoyo and comprises 26 x 22 minute episodes, targeted at children aged 5 to 8. Alice & Lewis is coproduced by Mobo and Blue Spirit. Alice & Lewis takes inspiration from the classic Alice in Wonderland stories and the key characters are Alice, a six-year-old girl, and her friend Lewis a rabbit who lives in Wonderland.. Targeted at children aged 4 to 6, season one which comprises 52 x 11 minute episodes will begin airing on Rai

Yoyo in September. Il Collegio is a reality show now in its fifth season. The show stars 20 teenagers who are transported back to the past in an old-fashioned boarding school (in the 5 previous seasons the program took place in 1960, 1961, 1968, 1982 and 1992) where they will live an educational experience completely different from their daily reality. Students have to deal with strong discipline and a behavioral expectation that nowadays is totally outdated. They have to study without Wikipedia, without smartphones or without a TV, computer and music running at the same time. A successful entertainement program, the series aired on Rai 2 with over 10% of total share and 37% on the target under 34 years old, and a web phenomenon with over 287 millions of views (YouTube + Rainplay). Created by JB Productions, Fumbleland is a hybrid series – a mix of animation and live action with a strong emphasis on virtual reality. The episodes of Fumbleland describe the adventures of a class of children struggling with the fumbles (spelling mistakes) that they generate at school. In each episode, during a spelling test, a fumble appears from a child’s notebook and immediately takes off for the virtual world of Fumbleland: the teacher and child’s avatars follow him there, where the child manages to find the error. The series is targeted at early school years and is broadcast on Rai Yoyo. Molang was born in 2010 from an idea of a Korean student who created him as an “emoticon” for the web. In a very short time, millions of clicks, downloads, views and shares generated a “phenomenon”. In 2013, French production company Millimages created the animated series for Europe and since then it has been broadcast in more than 200 countries around the world. In Italy, the show comprises 52 x 3 minute episodes and airs on Rai Yoyo. Based on Orianne Lallemand books , illustrated by Eleonore Thuillier, and published in more than 20 countries, the Wolf (Lupo) series is co-produced by Rai Ragazzi with Movimenti Production, Samka Production and Making Prod.

The animated series comprises 78 x 7 minute episodes aimed at children aged 4 to 7. Pirata e Capitano is a further Millimages series that airs on Rai Yoyo and is now broadcast in over twenty countries around the world. Pat the Dog (Paf Il Cane) is an animated children’s television series created by Patrick Ermosilla for Canal+ and Rai. It is based on the mobile app game Space Dog by Sylvain Seynhaeve. The series is about Pat the dog’s adventures as he tries to save his owner Lola from trouble. The series airs on Rai Gulp and comprises 78 x 7 minute episodes.

Inspired by the world of the social networks, apps and web icons, 21 special characters were born, each one with its own personality, style and attitude. In an increasingly globalized and connected world, where men have become almost spectators, a virtual universe has grown and evolved and The Gkrs are the modern avatars of peo-

ple’s digita beings. They embody the most striking aspects of the web and each character has got its own soul and interacts with others with a new slang, synthetic and quick, understandable by everyone who wish to share its magic. The Gkrs are iconographic beings that reflect the world wide web and are connected together by a common sharing spirit, The Gkrs use web slang to talk with each other , it is the language of the network which by nature must be fast, smart and concise as a Twitter post. This particularity makes the scenario from the point of view creative very large, both from the point of view of graphics but especially by the communication side. Examples include LOL (laughing out loud), OMG (Oh My God), GR8 (great) etc.

The Animation Band has been working in the Italian audio-visual sector since 1996. The company specialises in the production of high-quality animation series in 2D and 3D for children, teenagers and young adults. In its many years of activity, The Animation Band has developed, produced and coproduced a large variety of shows with major European broadcasters. The company offers an extensive portfolio of Italian animation titles ranging from 2 to 12 years old, including famous Italian animation brands such as Lupo Alberto, La Stefi, Spaghetti Family and Ulysses, which are popular on a multigenerational basis. The company has recently finished a new animated series co-produced with Italian national broadcaster RAI called Girls of Olympus, which will air on the broadcaster’s kids channels. The series is a 2D action fantasy drama, based on the best-selling book saga by Mondadori. The books have been published in 14 countries and sold around 150,000 copies in Italy alone The story revolves around three first-year high school students: Sid, Luce and Hoon. Sid is a fencing ace, Luce knows the secrets to winning a boy’s heart, and Hoon is simply a genius. The sudden appearance of a ruthless enemy, bizarre powers rekindled, rivers of tears turning to crystals and a messenger from a distant world cannot be merely coincidental. Sid, Luce and Hoon learn that in ancient times they were the goddesses Artemis, Aphrodite and Athena, who fled from Olympus to escape the wrath of Ares, the god of war. Ares is still after them in order to gain possession of the twelve stones whose divine powers will allow him to unite Olympus and Earth under his savage command. The Animation Band is now beginning to sell the series overseas and is working to develop a licensing program as they hold all the merchandising rights for the series.

Starbright Licensing reports that Sanrio and footwear giant Dr. Martens teamed up to celebrate both their joint 60th anniversaries. As a result of the success, the brands have once again teamed up for a collaborative capsule. This time around, the range features fan-favorite characters from the Sanrio family including Keroppi, My Melody, Badtz-Maru and Hello Kitty‘s signature red bow. The Hello Kitty and Friends graphic has been translated into the classic 1460 boot, enhanced with two sets of laces arriving in red or white hues. The platform Jadon boot is also available, as well as the low-top 1461 silhouette which features graphics all over in teal, yellow and pink colors. The Sanrio x Dr. Martens Hello Kitty and Friends collection launched in early March.