Market Round-Up

With 30 years of history, WildBrain CPLG Italy utilises its robust local market knowledge and expertise to connect the best brands with topclass partners. Previously known as The Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (now part of WildBrain), WildBrain CPLG Italy is one of 16 offices worldwide. The local team, which is led by Pau Pascual, VP Southern Europe, MENA & South Asia, continues to grow and has recently welcomed a new Commercial Director, Laurent

Fourcine, who brings a wealth of licensing industry experience to drive growth for the agency’s licensors in the region and continue the strategic evolution of the Italian office. WildBrain CPLG Italy has become home to a robust slate of classic brands, with an increasingly strong line-up of properties with rich heritage, as well as on-trend propositions. Many of these brands have become engrained in pop culture, including Peanuts and WildBrain’s Teletubbies, as well as Pink Panther, Mafalda, SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog among others. The Italian team continues to expand the licensing program for emoji® – The Iconic Brand and, in addition to the core brand, is working on the consumer productions extension of emoji® with new IP emojitown® – the digital-first YouTube series developed by WildBrain Spark. The series has achieved more than 100 million views and garnered 400 thousand subscribers globally in only eight months. Another important local focus is on the beloved WildBrain-owned brand and international phenomenon Strawberry Shortcake, which has brought joy to generations of kids for the last 40 years. Strawberry Shortcake is back with a cool new look and confident, savvy attitude for today’s kids in new animated series Berry in the Big City, alongside a master toy range from Moose Toys and an extensive franchise programme spanning apparel, games, publishing and more. The Italian team is also busy working on a cross-category programme for the iconic arcade gaming brand Tetris®, which has recently become part of the WildBrain CPLG Italy portfolio. Tetris is one of the most purchased video games of all time, with over 500 million games sold worldwide. In 2022, the first dedicated movie for the brand will be released on Apple TV+, which will tell the story of the game’s creation and star Taron Egerton. Tetris is also gearing up to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024. Another gaming IP in WildBrain CPLG’s local portfolio is Brawl Stars, for which the agency has already rolled out licensing programmes in key product categories, such as toys, personal care, back-to-school, accessories, gifts and loyalty promotions among others. Also in the entertainment space, WildBrain CPLG’s Italy team represents a range of popular shows originated from streaming platforms Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, such as Vikings Valhalla, Cobra Kai and The Boys, and is extending these offscreen through engaging licensing programmes for fans. Within its growing Corporate & Lifestyle property lineup, WildBrain CPLG Italy has had significant success with Harvard and Yale university brands, with the University of Southern California also recently joining the portfolio. The agency’s Lifestyle portfolio continues to welcome brands, including renowned artist Romero Britto, fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, automotive brand Motul and internationally renowned Swiss motorsport company, Sauber, which owns and operates the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen.

Business International Company

(B.I.C.), founded in 1972 by Oscar Massari and led nowadays by Claudio Massari, is one of the top independent licensing Agency in Italy. Through all these decades, B.I.C. achieved many successes, adapting and renovating its structure and business strategies in order to best satisfy the requests of a growing and challenging market. Currently B.I.C. manages the Italian rights for classic and editorial icons to lifestyle brands. With regard to classics, the French brand Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) is a famous icon of literature, with important values and well recognized all around the world. In 2021 the book written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was the fourth most read volume in Italy, its story and images are evergreen and very loved. 2023 will see the 80th anniversary of the first edition in the USA and many events will be expected all over the world. In Italy the next few months will see a lot of new collaborations, that will join the already existing partnerships with Montblanc, Moleskine, Adriano Salani Editore, Trucco Tessile (for

underwear and pajamas) and many others to follow. A new brand in B.I.C.’s portfolio is Paul Frank: born in the 1990s and whose icon is Julius the Monkey, it has evolved over the years into a globally licensed character brand recognized for its ironic humor and clever collaborations. It is still contemporary, with current key values such as gender neutrality, individuality and its link to pop & music culture and humorous lifestyle. At the moment in Italy, Paul Frank is in store through Scout and Gruppo Ambrocas (apparel), both creating fashion items for adults and kids. Another lifestyle brand managed by B.I.C. is UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). It refers not just to a university world and logo but it involves the California Dreaming way of life. With its reinvention, innovation, inclusivity, sustainability, optimism and sporting life, it goes beyond traditional collegiate product programs. B.I.C also continue to work with Don Oriolo, the world famous Felix The Cat creator, on his “Oriolo Paintings” and “Oriolo Guitars”. Finally in B.I.C.’s portfolio is Catsline, the fashion design brand for young women. It presents a refined world in which there is an elegant feline shadow, sweet and flexible, with French atmosphere and romantic backgrounds.

ETS Licensing, one of the leading independent licensing agencies in Italy, has always followed a strategy to build a portfolio of properties that can interpret the trendiest themes of the moment, with a balanced mix of evergreen icons, consolidated characters and new brands. The faceted universe revolving around food, is catalyzing the attention of an increasingly vast and transversal audience. In this context, ETS has just launched a partnership with Findus, a leading company in the frozen food sector, to transform Carletto, the chameleon that has since 1998 been the face of the Sofficini brand, into an Intellectual Property. “It’s showtime in the kitchen!” is the claim that summarizes the original interpretation of the food world proposed by Chefclub, the innovative digital cooking brand born in Paris in 2016 with the aim of transforming the kitchen into a space for sharing and entertainment while bringing everyone together, Chefclub has seen, in a short time, an exceptional growth of its community through the publication of funny video recipes on social platforms. There is a strong program of collaborations and licensing initiatives for Chefclub that includes a global partnership with Groupe SEB, for a complete range of pots, kitchen utensils and small appliances featuring Chefclub by Tefal, which was successfully launched last year internationally. New partnership agreements are also being signed in Italy. In September Vallardi publishing house will launch a cookbook with more than 80 original recipes. Digital properties, too, are important in the ETS portfolio. Year after year, Outfit7, the company behind Talking Tom has continued to move in the direction of a broad multi-channel presence for the property with the intent to increase contact opportunities and delivering a 360 brand experiences to its huge number of fans. For Talking Tom & Friends an ambitious program of licensing and merchandising has been globally activated which already includes more than 3,000 products launched and eight theme parks. Gamebud Talking Tom, the first “animatronic toy” in the world, recently launched by Huge! Play in partnership with Outfit7 and Epic Story Media. Among other product launches, Talking Tom and Talking Angela ice creams are coming this spring, developed by Incom Leone. Preschool property Cry Babies Magic Tears, that recently joined the ETS family, also has a strong connection with the digital world. The doll, from IMC Toys has successfully evolved by combining new toy collections with an animated series, exclusive video content, an app with interactive games and activities and a dedicated YouTube channel: Kitoons. The cute dolls were the most sold toys in Italy in 2021 according to NPD. They are also seeing excellent results for the collectible version Cry Babies Magic Tears, which has confirmed the property at number 2 in its category. Among the new brands from ETS, there is Oggy Oggy, an animated preschool series. Produced in CGI by

the French studio Xilam, with 156 episodes from 7 minutes in 2 seasons, available on Netflix from August 2021, the series will launch this year on free to air kids’ TV channels. The first season of the animated series, which debuted globally on Netflix in August 2021, from September 2022 will also land on television. A licensing program began with the partnership between Xilam Animation and Simba Dickie Group, the global Master Toy. The new collection, aimed at children aged 3 to 6, will be launched in autumn 2022 with a wide variety of product categories. Initially available in France, Italy, Germany and the UK, it will be extended to Poland and Spain in spring 2023 and subsequently expanded to other territories.

Maurizio Distefano Licensing

(MDL), success is underlined by its ability to successfully manage a portfolio of properties across a wide variety of brand areas. It has of course long enjoyed enormous success representing hit animated series like Bing, Bluey, ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, Gigantosaurus and Masha and the Bear. However, it has had a great response to its growing portfolio of fashion brands, like young Italian stylist Filippo Laterza and the Premoli + Di Bella brand inspired by the work of creative directors Giovanni Premoli and Dario Di Bella. Iconic cultural brands like LIFE, Asterix, ISA (International Space Archives) and La Gazzetta dello Sport are also managed by MDL in Italy as are some of the most famous bands and musical artists in history: Motorhead, Backstreet Boys, Whitney Huston, David Bowie, The Police, Pink Floyd, to name only a few. MDL also represents the incredibly successful teen influencer and content creator Charlotte M. Reinforcing the strong reputation MDL enjoys, recent additions to its portfolio include comic book legend Corto Maltese. Maurizio Distefano says, “It’s been a tough twelve months for the licensing industry but with hard work and attention to detail we have not only continued offering a first-class service to our valuable existing clients but we have also enriched our portfolio with some popular and iconic names. We’re delighted that this hard work has allowed us to retain our place among Europe’s elite.”

Following a sensational year in 2021 as Pokémon celebrated its 25th anniversary, 2022 is gearing up to be just as exciting for the iconic evergreen brand in Italy. With a raft of exciting special projects and collaborations launching throughout 2022. Following the sell-out success of Poste Italiane’s first collection of exclusive, limited edition Pokémon philatelic folders, a new series launched in February to celebrate Pokémon Day. The four numbered, limited folders of just 2,000 each contain two postcards dedicated to Pokémon in the cities of Bologna, Palermo, Turin and Venice, franked with the respective city stamps, with one also stamped with the special “Anime Collection” postmark. Priced €12, they are available from post offices, in the Spazio Filatelia and online at filatelia.poste.it. An innovative collaboration with leading Italian luxury fashion house Iceberg Junior saw a collection of 20 garments for children launch in early 2022. The range includes t-shirts, dresses, hoodies, sweaters, sweatpants and shirts and is available in multibrand boutiques and e-commerce across Europe and US. TPCi and Kinder have teamed up again to launch the delicious Kinder Maxi Surprise for Easter 2022. The Pokémon-themed 220gr chocolate Easter egg is dedicated to “Teens” and it includes exclusive surprises (mobile phones accessories), featuring some of the most loved characters such as Pikachu, Gengar and Bulbasaur. A QR code in the egg invites Pokémon fans and their families to a fun game on Applaydu, the Kinder app with augmented reality. Products are available only in Italy and France. Pokémon has also teamed up with Salati Preziosi for a special food promotion covering all major Italian hypermarkets and supermarkets from January. Branded crisp packets featuring Pikachu and friends are available in different formats and all with an exciting Pokémon themed in-pack gadget. Now established as highly successful in apparel, Pokémon secured two new licensing partners in the Softline category last year to cover the Italian and Spanish markets. Kicking off the new deals is Sun-City who are set to launch apparel and accessories collections for boys and girls and adults, available in mass market and specialised retailers and via wholesalers throughout Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, J. Brand International is on board to launch a strong softline programme (including t-shirts, sweatshirts, pyjamas, underwear and sweatpants) for kids and adults. The apparel and accessories collections will be available in fashion retailers and online in Italy. With a plethora of further exciting activity in the pipeline, 2022 looks set to be another epic year for Pokémon.

Santoro has built up a formidable presence and reputation in Italy with its iconic brand Gorjuss. Despite the adversities faced with the coronavirus pandemic and multiple lockdowns, Santoro has continued to gain momentum in the Italian market, an already key territory for the brand. The unassailable relationships between Santoro and its Italian licensees have ensured that innovative licensed products have

continued to flood the Italian market, proving again Italy’s instrumentality in Santoro’s success. In the past year, Santoro spanned myriad product categories with its Italian licensees, seeing Balocco produce Gorjuss mini pandoro tins for Christmas and Gorjuss eggs at Easter, selling over 130,000 pieces for the latter - a remarkable 30% up on pre-pandemic sales, whilst Italian chocolate manufacturers Witor’s have signed for Santoro’s Mirabelle and will hit shelves in 2023. Gorjuss continues to occupy a major presence in Italy’s kiosk channels with DeAgostini launching Gorjuss collectable tins containing scented clays in February, having already enjoyed success with three campaigns of Gorjuss figurines, selling in excess of 2.5 million pieces. Panini S.p.a have also been instrumental in this channel, recently launching their metal tag collectible series following multiple successful sticker campaigns. Apparel and accessories continue to be busy categories for Gorjuss with licensees such as Benetton, J Brand International, Gabbiano S.p.a. and Santoro Italia all developing exciting products for 2022/23. In order to further expand its Gorjuss presence in Italy, Santoro is delighted to be attending Bologna Licensing Trade Fair 2022 where they look forward to connecting with new and existing licensees. Santoro’s book publisher Pon Pon Edizioni will be showcasing their wide portfolio of titles developed during lockdown. This includes their Gorjuss series “Books to Dream With” featuring 3 large format illustrated books If I Were.., Like A Dream… and Turn The Card…, as well as the beautiful Romantic Stories. Pon Pon have also developed a stunning range of smaller books including The Answer’s Book, 5 minutes For You, Travel Book amongst many others. Children’s publishing is an incredibly rich vein of licensing for Gorjuss and Santoro expect to see ample developments for its Italian audiences in the forthcoming year. Indeed, Santoro have occupied an immense brand presence in Italy and expect to see their numbers continue to increase in 2022. With Bologna on the horizon, Santoro hope to tie up valuable new licensing collaborations, connect with their longstanding contacts and begin taking Gorjuss to even greater heights in Italy.

Maria Romanelli’s Team Entertainment report a number of new projects and extensions to existing ones. The Day Henry Met – Series 4 has been completed and is now airing on Rai Yoyo with a large audience share. The property is being presented to new potential licensees in the apparel and accessories areas now that trade shows are finally back live – MICAM, MIPEL, MIDO – and positive interest has been expressed. Classic brand Nici has a new distributor and an Italian company is now on board– Borella Orso Mago. Team Entertainment also report interest in Carte Blanche and Coconut Dragon – the star of two television series and two movies. The company has also finalized a worldwide deal with an author of a new project which will see Team Entertainment getting involved in the production of a TV Series, distribution and all the Licensing activities. The project is The Wings of Amelia which an initial 26 x 13 minute of live action and animation aimed at the preschool market. Amelia has a positive attitude, a natural tendency to help other in funny and intriguing ways. She is always ready to come to the rescue of children who need a hand in solving a problem, and she can always count of her magic friend X21 and his superpowers! In Amelia’s world everything is “different”, inclusive, multicultural and in harmony with the environment. Maria Romanelli said, “This is an absolute charming, unique, special TV series and property. We are finalizing the co-production table with a very important international partner, an historic Animation Studio in Italy for the preproduction and a very strong interest from many countries in Europe and beyond.”