Page 6 - Toy&Hobby Magazine Aug-Oct 2020

LICENSING NEWS
FROM INSIDE THE LICENCE
IN BRIEF
◗ COLES UNVEILS NEW COLLECTIBLES
Coles has partnered with Australian author Andy Griffiths and illustrator Terry Denton on its new collectible campaign.
Moving away from toy collectibles, the business is offering pocket-sized books from the award-winning Treehouse book series.
Similar to many other collectible campaigns, Coles will give customers a pocket-sized book for every $30 spent.
Coles CMO Lisa Ronson said that Coles is thrilled to partner with a much-loved Australian literary duo.
“We wanted to find an engaging and sustainable way to bring joy and hours of entertainment to Aussie households. Our research found that while 83% of Australian households frequently encourage children to read, only 22% frequently purchased books for kids to read,” she said.
Bluey books crack
1 million copies sold
PENGUIN Random House announced in June, that one million Bluey books have been sold
in Australia.
The highly-popular children's series created
by Queensland-based Ludo Studio, has gone from strength to strength in recent years, gaining licensing partnerships with Moose Toys, Wahu, Bonds and Disney alongside Penguin Random House (PRH).
According to PRH, the first three Bluey titles, which launched in November 2019, were
the second-, third- and fourth-highest selling Australian children’s books in 2019.
In May, Bluey: The Beach was awarded the 2020 Australian Book Industry Awards' (ABIA) Book of the Year - the first time ever in the history of the ABIAs that a children’s picture book has won the award.
Eight Bluey titles have been in the Top 20 on Bookscan including Bluey: The Beach; Bluey: Fruit Bat; and, Bluey: Time to Play! A Sticker Activity Book. ❉
NBCUniversal and Foxtel team up for month-long channel
◗ SESAME STREET REACHES 50 SEASONS IN AUSTRALIA
Sesame Street premiered its 50th season in Australia on 11 July.
Started in the height of the civil rights movement and the war on poverty in America, Sesame Street was founded to answer a simple question: could television help prepare less advantaged children for school?
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, the show has reached children and families in more than 150 countries and has aired in 70 languages.
The 50th season in Australia began with a special episode that explored 50 years on the Street and aired on ABC Kids.
Trolls The Beat Goes On! poster 6 TOY & HOBBY RETAILER AUGUST / SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020
NBCUNIVERSAL and Foxtel teamed up in an Australian-first to launch a DreamWorks pop-up channel for the month of June.
The partnership offered all Australian Foxtel residential customers access to DreamWorks content dedicated to kids and family entertainment.
Launched on 01 June, the channel was available to customers until 30 June and featured properties such as Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny and Turbo Fast.
NBCUniversal International Networks and Television Distribution ANZ MD Chris Taylor said that the business was thrilled to launch the channel in Australia.
“We were excited to be able to extend our partnership with Foxtel to offer Australians the pop-up channel with 24-hour access to some of the best-known DreamWorks franchises and characters, bringing the magic of adventure and imagination to our screens.
“We couldn’t think of a more fitting time to be able to give Australians their fix of premium kids and family entertainment while isolating at home,” he said. ❉