TOTAL LICENSING
It’s All About the Experience... As we hopefully emerge from the worldwide pandemic, there is no doubt that we won’t be returning to the ‘norm’ as well knew it, and trends that may have begun have certainly been accelerated – not least in traditional retail. Experiential licensing is immersive and growing, and the fact that so many are tapping into this speaks volumes for where we can see the future of licensing – keeping brands and IP in front of consumers. Experiential brand extensions are going to be key to the growth of the market. Travel with American Girl American Girl and educational travel provider Academic Travel Abroad recently launched a new immersive travel program, American Girl Vacations. Designed for American Girl fans and their families, the first two vacation packages are inspired by two of the brand’s iconic historical characters: Nanea Mitchell, a Hawaiian girl growing up during wartime in 1941; and Rebecca Rubin, a Jewish American girl growing up during the peak of the
immigration period in 1914. The fully guided educational trips will take place in December 2021 and explore the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, and Manhattan, New York. Each vacation package features curated events and activities that bring the American Girl character stories to life in a culturally authentic and unique way. “American Girl has been celebrating girls and girlhood through engaging experiences for more than 35 years,” says Jodi Goldberg, head of content development for American Girl. “Through American Girl Vacations, we’ve combined the wonder of travel with the magic of storytelling to provide a fascinating glimpse into the worlds of our beloved characters. The personalized experiences inspire children and adults to discover more about the world around them, while making memories to last a lifetime.” “Travel is a life-changing experience for young people, and we have woven American Girl’s core values of kindness, tolerance, confidence and resilience into these trips,” said Chase Poffenberger, ATA Executive Vice President and a mother of two daughters. Academic Travel Abroad (ATA) is a 71-year-old, DC-based educational travel company, and creates immersive and experiential travel programs for organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution, The New York Times, and National Public Radio. Enjoy nature with Peter Rabbit The Peter Rabbit brand team at Penguin Random House UK (PRH) have launched Peter Rabbit: Friend to Nature, a new annual campaign aimed at encouraging children and their carers to enjoy being creative in nature during the summer. Laura Brand has been engaged as an ambassador for the campaign, to create and present a series of filmed tu-
torials. These fun, nature-based activities will be shared every Friday in July to provide parents with ideas and inspiration to enjoy the great outdoors with their little ones this summer. In addition, a series of classroom activities and learning resources have been developed for KS1 school children with Puffin. These will be hosted online and mailed to 37K primary teachers in the UK and made available to key English language-speaking territories. Izzy Richardson, Director Owned Brands at Penguin Random House said: “During her lifetime, Beatrix Potter was a pioneering conservationist who was passionate about the natural world. So who better than Peter Rabbit to champion the joy that spending time in nature can bring? Peter has an authentic connection to nature and this mid-year campaign will enable us to reach families with meaningful and engaging content beyond Easter. Friend to Nature is perfectly timed to drive awareness of our newly relaunched website, the first in a refresh of all of our Peter Rabbit digital platforms.”
91
