Global news

South Korean artist Sung Hee Kim has licensed six of her artworks to Shanghai Fullmoon Network Technology Co, Ltd, an art company in Shanghai, China. Sung Hee Kim’s art posters are now being sold at Shanghai’s bookstores and landmarks including 1984 Bookstore, and Happiness Collection in Blackstone Apartments. The licensor, Sung Hee Kim founded a sole proprietorship in 2019 as a nationally registered artist. Her works vary from drawings and acrylic paints to digital prints and digital paintings. The six artworks licensed are all digital paintings created in 2020. It is her wish that the audience find their own light of happiness through her artworks. The licensee, Shanghai Fullmoon Network Technology Co, Ltd, signed the licensing contract with Sung Hee Kim as part of the Artoken Project - a global artworks digital copyright database of the Shanghai Fullmoon Network Technology Co, Ltd. This started in Shanghai in January 2021 and is in the process of expanding its online presence and broadening its distribution to other cities in China with more art products, starting with art posters. 1984 Bookstore located at the Former French Concession in Shanghai is the first bookstore that started to sell Sung Hee Kim’s art posters. The second distributor, Happiness Collection is an art themed bookstore in the Blackstone Apartments, which is the first luxury apartment block in Shanghai built in 1924 with bricks imported from the UK. Sung Hee Kim introduces her artworks in various ways to customers including an art rental service, art products, art fairs, and exhibitions. She has been registered at Opengallery since August 2020, which is an art rental service with the largest membership in South Korea. Her artworks are being continuously borrowed by the customers on a three-month basis. She is also transforming her artworks into diverse art products with her agent Young Woo Kim, a director of Characterline Inc, one of the leading marketing and management agents of Intellectual Property in South Korea. Her signature is a registered trademark which is also an essential part of her art products’ design. The art products were fist sold to the public at her exhibition, I chose to be Happy held in May 2019 at KT&G Sangsangnadang Gallery, in Seoul.

APC KIDS SECURE DEAL FOR ROGER

APC Kids, the children’s entertainment division of co-production and distribution group APC Studios, has secured a far-reaching deal with WarnerMedia for its 3D CGI animated comedy series Roger (78 x 7’). The deal includes exclusive pay tv rights and non-exclusive non-linear rights in South East Asia, Taiwan and Australia for WarnerMedia Kids brands, which include Cartoon Network and Boomerang. Aimed at kids aged 6-9, Roger has a unique 3D stop motion rendering look, and is produced by Je Suis Bien Content for France Télévisions. APC Kids holds worldwide distribution and consumer products rights for the series. Previous deals for the hit series secured by APC Kids include TV5 Québec (Canada), TV5 Monde (worldwide excluding Europe), Ceská Televize (Czech Republic), Jetsen Huashi (China), TVB (Hong Kong), Bein (MENA) and ETB (Spain). The series follows the lively adventures of a little girl, the carefree, joyful and occasionally perky Fatou, and a clumsy alien called Roger, on a tropical island. Roger is expected to air on Boomerang in Australia, South East Asia and Taiwan in Q4 2021. Moonbug Entertainment Ltd. and Amazon Kids+ are collaborating again on more content for kids starring the global sensation, Blippi. The two companies are creating a new, long-form episodic series called Blippi’s Treehouse, which will premiere exclusively on the Amazon Kids+ streaming service at a future date. “In just under a year, we have delivered on our promise to families around the world: bringing Blippi to more platforms, with new storylines, and even more great content,” said Andy Yeatman, Managing Director of the Americas at Moonbug. “Blippi’s contagious curiosity inspires kids everywhere to get excited about learning new things and we are thrilled by Amazon’s dedication to educational kids programming.” “We can’t wait for Blippi fans to get to know Blippi’s Treehouse and experience the Blippi they love like never before,” said Veronica Pickett, Head of Amazon Kids+ original series. “No one brings entertainment and education together for kids quite like Amazon Kids+ and our friend Blippi. We know the millions of Amazon Kids+ subscribers will love these new Blippi adventures.” Blippi started as an online live action, educational children’s show for kids ages 2-5 years old. In the few years since the show was first created, Blippi has become one of the world’s most popular preschool entertainers, with over 3 billion minutes streamed on Amazon Prime Video, more than one billion views on YouTube just last month and over 30 million dedicated followers.

MEDIALINK TO LICENSE SESAME STREET IN CHINA

Sesame Workshop has named Medialink Group its licensing agent for the Greater China region including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Medialink Group will manage the brand licensing of Sesame Street’s consumer products, build retail relationships, and work with local licensees to create crosspromotional activations in the respective territories. With a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder, Sesame Workshop’s content is educational, impactful, heartfelt, furry, and fun. Sesame Street reaches 150 million kids worldwide, with programming in over 150 countries and 21.5 million YouTube subscribers. It has won a historymaking 204 Emmy Awards and was the first TV show ever to be awarded a Kennedy Center Honor. Today, Sesame Street in available on Tencent, BesTV, SiTV, Mampod and Ukids in Greater China, and generates $1.4 billion in worldwide retail sales of licensed products. “Sesame Street is everywhere kids are,” said Alvin Fu, Vice President and General Manager of Greater China for Sesame Workshop. “We achieve this by making our innovative video content available through TV and on-demand platforms and working with partners like Medialink to invite kids and fans of all ages to engage with our beloved characters through Sesame Street-branded consumer products and merchandise and interactive experiences.” “We are delighted to represent Sesame Street in Greater China. It is immensely meaningful for us to work with such a strong and trusted pre-school brand that shares a similar mission to ours. It is our great pleasure to work with Sesame Street,” said Ms Noletta Chiu, Managing Director of Medialink Animation International Limited and Medialink Cultural & Creative (Guangzhou) Limited.

PETS ROCK IN KOREA

Mr. Time, a global platform that enables the application of customized smartwatch face (watch design) from mobile, and Pets Rock, the British pop art brand famous in more than 80 countries all over the world, have collaborated on a range for Samsung watches. Pets Rock Korean agent Brandkind workshop, signed a deal with Mr.Time in 2020 and the company has released watch faces with two characters from Pets Rock through Mr.Time app in both iOS and Android for the global market on as well as releasing a case specially designed for Samsung Galaxy S21, Buds—wireless earphone—and Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch strap, . As part of their first marketing activity, the Pets Rock digital accessories are spreading quickly in the crowdfunding platform Wadiz, and three more of Pets Rock watch faces will be additionally released through the Mr.Time app this summer.

MOOSE EXPAND IN CANADA

Australian based Moose Toys has announced it will continue its global expansion, embarking on a hybrid direct distribution model in the Canadian market. Beginning Fall 2021, Moose will distribute directly in Canada offering a strategic selection of new brands, including recent Aussie mega-hit Bluey and the just announced Akedo – Ultimate Gaming Warriors. While Moose will be handling the distribution for some curated brands, the long standing and successful relationships with trusted distribution partners Imports Dragon and Red Planet will continue forward, ensuring Moose’s most popular toys will remain widely available. “We have seen great success in the UK, France and Germany, using this distribution model,” said Ben Dart, Chief Operating Officer at Moose Toys. “As we continue to increase Moose’s footprint and brand growth globally, we will use locally based teams to handle the strategic distribution of new brands, and solidify our position in the market. Over the last few years, the Moose Toys business in Canada has continued to grow much in part due to the tireless commitment of our partners Imports Dragon and Red Planet. We are looking forward to continued success with both organisations as we enter this new and exciting phase.” Initially, Moose will handle direct distribution of the Bluey toy line, for which the brand holds the global master toy license, Akedo, and another yet to be revealed new brand. All will be available at major retailers nationwide.

EPIK PRIME LAUNCH FIRST NFT ACTIVATION

Epik Prime, connecting brands and digital platforms to offer immersive digital experiences, recently announced an exclusive partnership whereby Gameloft will launch its first ever NFT activation powered by Epik Prime for an in-game tournament on Asphalt 9: Legends, the latest game in the Asphalt racing franchise, which recently crossed the 1 billion download mark across the series. Beginning July 5th, gamers were able to compete for exclusive trophies and an array of limited-edition digital collectibles (NFTs). Users were able to store and explore their NFTs inside of their Epik account. Epik’s blockchain-powered capabilities present a low-risk opportunity for brands to explore the NFT space by licensing their IP and creating unique digital assets for purchase. Epik has created a unique NFT solution whereby any brand can be featured in games. Epik and Gameloft for brands worked together to create this branded in-game experience. As their first foray into this technological partnership, Epik has opted to feature its own brand as the in-game advertising. This collaboration is an exciting event for the entire mainstream gaming and collectibles industry and a historic leap forward for the mass adoption of blockchain technologies. “Epik is excited to partner with the legendary Asphalt franchise through its latest game, Asphalt 9: Legends for the first Gameloft NFT activation,” says Epik CEO Victor David. Together we will clearly demonstrate how NFTs could be incorporated natively in-game to create new immersive digital experiences for players.” Epik will be making something possible which has never been done before – opening up entirely new doors for not just the blockchain industry, but for the gaming industry as well, allowing major gaming companies to engage with their audience in an entirely new way, sharing limited edition collectibles with its loyal fans and communities so that they can have something to take to their virtual homes, and hold onto, or trade, for years to come. Epik’s NFT platform optimizes the user experience by removing unnecessary latency associated with public blockchain transaction confirmations. By utilizing a hybrid on-and-off chain solution, whereby transactions (purchases, transfer of items) are conducted off-chain in real-time, Epik minimizes the frequency of on-chain transactions, thus incurring less gas and less energy usage for every transaction that occurs on the Epik system. The only time an on-chain transaction occurs is when a user transfers an NFT item out of the Epik system, such as onto a cold wallet or another marketplace. Additionally, Epik utilizes Huobi’s ECO Chain (HECO) HPoS consensus mechanism to ensure low transaction cost, low transaction delay, and high transaction concurrency to provide additional eco-friendly benefits. HECO Chain is an EVM-compatible public chain with an efficient and low-cost on-chain environment for DApps, smart contracts, and digital assets like NFTs.

LINE FRIENDS COLLABORATION

Line Friends has collaborated with Maison Kitsuné to globally debut the limited-edition Maison Kitsuné X Line Friends collection, featuring the globally adored Brown & Friends characters. Through this collaboration, Kitsuné, the signature Fox logo, is reimagined into an animated character for the first time ever, and the story of how Brown Meets Kitsuné in Paris is told through a new video content. With its unrivaled creative design capabilities, Line Friends has reinterpreted the brand essence of Maison Kitsuné’s Parisian lifestyle for this newest collection, which encompasses 62 types of clothing and 11 types of tech accessories, and stationery essentials. This epic limited-edition Maison Kitsuné X Line Friends collection became available for purchase on the official on- and offline stores of Line Friends and Maison Kitsuné from July 8.

MINECRAFT STICKERS

The new Panini official Minecraft Treasure Sticker Album is now available. With over 139 million people playing Minecraft every month and over 200 million copies sold worldwide, Minecraft is the best-selling video game in history. The collection of 256 stickers features special stickers which allow fans to see Minecraft videos through the Panini Collectors app. Fans can explore the Overworld, the Nether and the End; interact and create, play, enjoy the art and live the adventure!

MILANO DAY OF LICENSING SET FOR SEPTEMBER

The Milano Day of Licensing, set to take place at the Nhow Milano on the 16 September, will be a live event, and organisers MLD Entertainment have announced that all available spaces and pitches slots sold out before the end of June. This year sees a wider representation of non-domestic licensors wishing to be in touch directly with the Italian licensing community, like Pokémon, Acamar Films (which will host Milano Licensing Day Cake Party), Toei, as well as Chupa Chups, Smiley, and all the others who were already onboard on the last events. Brand Jam will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a dedicated area, “Brand Jam Collaboration Lab”, where the top licensed collaboration products will be showcased, and some “Collaboration Talks” with CEOs of brands like Timex, Imec, WakeUp Cosmetics will be held on “how licensed collaborations are helping brand building”. Retailers such as Terranova, Calliope, Tezenis, Calzedonia, Intimissimi have already confirmed their presence through the special service “Retail Delegations”, dedicated business matching session in groups of 3 to 10 retailers each. As with last year, all Covid-19 standards will be followed to ensure visitors and exhibitors the maximum level of safety (details on the website). For tickets and information, please follow this link: : https://mldentertainment.it/ eventi/milano-licensing-day/

EMOJI RENEWALS

The emoji company GmbH has announced the renewal of partnerships with best-in-class licensees across the apparel, accessories, health and beauty, and fabric categories. Brokered by its North American Licensee agent, Retail Monster LLC, emoji brand licensed product will continue for years to come from: ASO (bandages and first aid kits); American Marketing Enterprises Inc. and Briefly Stated Inc., divisions of Centric Brands LLC (sleepwear); David’s Textiles (fabric); Decopac (cake decorations); and Isaac Morris Limited, (apparel). Michael Connolly, Founder/CEO of Retail Monster, commented, “The emoji brand has proven universal, with emoji licensed products having become staples at across retail and e-commerce 365 days a year. Even in a year full of uncertainty, emoji - the Iconic Brand and our partners continue to deliver.” Marco Huesges, Founder and CEO of the emoji company, commented: “We have the strongest and most collaborative partners in the business. Each of these partners has been committed to ongoing innovation and new product development, and has had best-selling SKUs for years across retail. Coupled with our extensive portfolio of emoji - the Iconic Brand licensees, we remain confident the best is yet to come.”

9 STORY PARTNERS WITH RETAIL MONSTER

9 Story Brands has partnered with Retail Monster, a global brand extension company, to support its franchise, content and retail sales and marketing efforts for its growing portfolio of children’s brands. To kick off the partnership, Retail Monster is working closely with the 9 Story Brands team and leading US retailers to create bespoke retail programs for Karma’s World, 9 Story and Karma’s World Entertainment’s hotly anticipated property set to premiere on Netflix later this year. Based on a concept created by multi-award-winning American rapper, actor, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Karma’s World is a comingof-age story about a young girl finding her voice and using it to change her world. 9 Story Brands has already built out an impressive roster of licensees for the property, including global partnerships with Scholastic and Mattel, with additional partnerships to be announced soon. Retail Monster will also help support retail programs for key properties in the 9 Story Brands’ lineup, including Colorforms, Ladybird Lu, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum and more. “Retail Monster’s experience of driving successful retail programs in the kids’ space is unrivaled,” said Kyra Halperin, Co-VP, Consumer Products for 9 Story. “We are excited to collaborate on unique and innovative retail programs across our brands and offer additional retail support to 9 Story’s licensees.” “Retail Monster takes a great deal of pride in partnering with world-class licensors on franchise development and retail activations,” said Michael Connolly, CEO and Founder of Retail Monster. “Our team could not be more excited to support 9 Story as we work together to drive truly unique retail executions for Karma’s World and more!”

NEW RAFT OF EURO PARTNERS FOR PEANUTS

WildBrain CPLG has secured a new wave of European partners for Peanuts. Brokered on behalf of Peanuts Worldwide, the latest collection of deals sees ranges launching across fashion, accessories, homewares and gifts for both children and adults. In addition, WildBrain CPLG is expanding its representation of Peanuts with Nordic representation rights being added to the agency’s existing remit from 1 July 2021. WildBrain CPLG’s Benelux team has inked deals with partners, including: Dutch beachwear brand Shiwi (Luxor Fashion Group) for a Spring/Summer 2021 collection targeted at boys, girls and men; Eastpak for a collection of Peanuts backpacks and travel bags, launching worldwide in July; and Leomil for a girls and women’s footwear range, set to roll out across Europe in Spring/Summer 2022. Additionally, WildBrain CPLG’s Germany, Austria and Switzerland team continues to extend its PUMA partnership with a second collection of kids’ footwear, apparel and accessories inspired by Peanuts launching worldwide in July 2021, following a successful first collection in Spring 2021. The premium pet food brand PLATINUM has also been signed for a promotional deal, featuring Snoopy as its brand ambassador for a digital marketing campaign across Europe. In Spain, Andres Gallardo has launched its second handcrafted Peanuts collection, Dime Que Me Quieres has recently debuted a handmade artisan jewellery range and Zara Home has introduced a new line of babywear, towels, homeware and accessories at its stores and website worldwide. In Greece, Giovas is set to launch bags and accessories in a new back-to-school Peanuts collection. For the UK, new Spring/Summer apparel collections have launched from existing partners, including the baby and kidswear brand Cribstar and the adult fashion brand Vintage Supply. In addition, childrenswear brand Lil’ Cubs, as well as candle company Flamingo Candles, have both debuted their first Peanuts ranges. For Italy, WildBrain CPLG’s local team has secured a deal with MyBeautyBox, which saw the monthly makeup subscription service’s June mystery box dedicated to Peanuts. Long-term Italian publishing partner Foto Edizoni is adding Peanuts comic strips to its monthly crossword magazine and is also launching its first bi-monthly Peanuts themed kids and teen crossword magazine. WildBrain CPLG’s France team has secured deals with Parisian fashion design studio Sandro, which saw the recent worldwide launch of a Peanuts men’s capsule collection, and also with local fashion brand Cyrillus for a baby and children’s collection. In Central and Eastern Europe, MPTECH has been signed for stationery and back-to-school items with the first collection launching for back-to-school 2021. Tara Botwick, Senior Director, Territory Management EMEA for Peanuts Worldwide, said: “A key part of our Peanuts brand strategy is ensuring we’re continually innovating and reaching our fans in unique ways. This latest wave of licensees and distinctive new collection launches promises to offer consumers of all ages some really fun and creative ways of engaging with Snoopy and the gang.” Maarten Weck, EVP and Managing Director at WildBrain CPLG, added: “The timeless Peanuts brand continues to prove its enduring popularity among a broad range of consumers, retailers and licensees across Europe and beyond, as demonstrated by these latest product ranges from both new and long-term partners. With the European licensing programme continuing to diversify and gain further momentum, it’s also fantastic to extend our remit and represent the brand across the Nordic market, which offers significant potential for additional growth.”

DREAMTEX SIGN AMONG US

Boutique bedding specialist Dreamtex Ltd has partnered with entertainment company Toikido on a licensed homewares collection for the globally popular social deception game Among Us. Dreamtex will be launching Among Us themed bedding, blankets, towels and cushions later this year to celebrate and reflect the style of the smash-hit, spaceship survival game, featuring the 2D cartoon character graphics along with classic phrases and words from the game. “The sell-in so far has been phenomenal with orders already covering the majority of Dreamtex’ customer base,” Anthony Duckworth, MD of Dreamtex Ltd, comments. “Among Us is already proving to be one of our biggest success stories. It is a must-have brand that can only get stronger through 2021 and beyond, and we will endeavour to maximise all retail opportunities with our innovative approach to product development and design. We are delighted to be working with the team at Toikido and excited to have added Among Us to our growing portfolio of gaming brands. We know that Among Us merchandise is in high demand and we are thrilled to be playing our part in the game’s licensing story.” “We are delighted to bring Toikido & Dreamtex together on this project. Dreamtex’s quality, design, sourcing, and ethical standards are phenomenal, as is their passion for Toikido’s vision for the Among Us brand,” commented Darran Garnham, Founder Toikido.