THE WORLD OF TARA DUNCAN

The Tara Duncan animated series is making a real impact in France – one that will soon extend into licensing. The first episodes of this new series arrived on the Disney Channel France in early 2022. The first run of 26 episodes will appear later this year on both Disney Channel France and Gulli. In other territories broadcasts of series one are under way or soon to take place, with plans for broadcasting in APAC, Canada, the Middle East and Africa well advanced and a strategy soon to be announced for Latam.

First published in 2003, the Tara Duncan books tell the tale of an ordinary girl from Earth with extraordinary powers.

Since 2003, the magical adventures of Tara Duncan, written by Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian, have amazed millions of young readers around the world – a series that comprises 15 novels published in 27 countries. The books were a hit from the early 2000s regularly topping French bestseller lists.

The animated series uses state-of-theart, 3D CGI motion capture technology, more than 170 artists and advanced innovations to deliver an experience like no other.

Tara Duncan boasts a large, diverse and engaging cast of characters, led by very Tara, along with her friends. In 2015 Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian decided she wanted to bring her characters to life in a new 3D animated se- ries. She created the Princess Sam Entertainment Group with the purpose of exploiting the intellectual properties of her literary saga and, through film-making division Princess Sam Pictures, using state-of-the-art technology to take the tale to another level.

As Tara Duncan transitions from publishing phenomenon to screen success the next step is to develop a licensing campaign.

As a result, Laurent Taieb has been bought in to manage this phase of the brand strategy as the property evolves from books and TV in the coming months to the development of licensed consumer products.

Already multiple attractive design elements have been developed for the Tara Duncan campaign to offer opportunities across such categories as toys and games – including fashion dolls, plush, action figures and roleplay.

In addition, a video game is being developed to take advantage of the show’s strong visual appeal. Playsets will be another important category. However, stationery, home textiles, apparel, fashion accessories, beauty & personal care, food & beverages, gifts and more are also being lined up.

In 2022, the first season of Tara Duncan arrived on the Disney Channel and Gulli in France, marking the debut of Princess Sam Pictures in the world of major animation companies. Sophie is now working on the second season of Tara Duncan.

FRANCE LICENSING DAY... ...AND COBRANDZ

March saw two major events for the French licensing community – The France Licensing Day and Awards on March 9 and, later in the month on March 30 and 31, the latest edition of Cobrandz.

The inaugural France Licensing Day and Licensing International Awards took place in paris on March 9, providing an opportunity to bring together licensing players in France for a day of meetings and networking and an evening of celebrations. The event program included an evening drinks reception and the announcement of the 2022 Licensing International France Awards.

A major part of the day was given over to a keynote address and B2B meetings with over 40 exhibitors and participants including Asterix, Dreamcatcher Licensing, Le Petit Prince, Paramount, Netflix, Millimages, Hasbro, Mattel and TF1 amongst others.

The event was organised by BLE/Licensing Expo organisers Informa, together with Licensing International’s French office and took place at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. The day concluded with an Awards ceremony celebrating the best of French licensing.

The keynote address which opened the event was Primark’s France’s Lugdivine Mambert – celebrating Primark’s 10 years in France, and Disney’s Ali Sana – celebrating Disney’s centenary - who discussed how leveraging wellknown and loved brands can drive in-store footfall and experiences.

The French Awards comprised thirteen categories including a number of licensee awards as well as promotional and experiential awards.

In terms of properties, La Patrouille de France won the Lifestyle, Corporate or Celebrity brand; Naruto from Mediatoon won the Entertainment Brand of the year; and Warner Bros Consumer Products won the Licensor/ Agent of the Year against stiff competition from Le Petit Prince Licensing, The Pokemon Company and Universal Products and Experiences.

The Cobrandz show takes place on March 30 & 31, 2023 at the Grande Crypte in Paris.

The format of the event remains unchanged from last year: a panel of exhibitors (rights holders and agents) representing more than 1000 brands can meet qualified visitors (licensees, retailers, manufacturers, agencies), alongside a programme of conferences and seminars.

The Cobrandz show is an opportunity for visitors to meet brands and rights holders over 2 days via appointments, and discover the best marketing activation content. The event is focused on content & brands : brand content, partnership, collab, cobranding, copyright & licensing. All of tyhese will be highlighted in different sectors - entertainment, celebrities, music, publishing, cinema, lifestyle, arts, sport, heritage and more.