Leading the licensing program expansion is Fashion UK, which has been appointed as apparel partner for Peppa Pig with plans to debut a wide range of kids daywear and swimwear in addition to adult nightwear, daywear and underwear which launch at retail from spring/summer 2019.
“Everyone at Fashion UK and Global Licensing is extremely proud and excited to have been appointed as the new Peppa Pig daywear and swimwear licensee from the 1st January 2019,” said Patrick Bailey, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Fashion UK, Global Licensing. “Peppa Pig is a most highly trusted preschool brand and to now be a licensee and able to work with the eOne team to help to ensure Peppa’s continued growth and success, is truly fantastic.”
Also jumping on board are Alfred Franks & Barlett for sunglasses, Dreamtex for wallpaper, Original Candy for shaped lollies, Great British Teepee Company for playhouses and luggage, Enesco for gifting and limited-edition figurines for the anniversary year, Evode Group for apparel and bedding, and Pez for candy. Other partners continue to extend and deepen their offerings, and eOne is strengthening its ties with Yoplait for snacks and retailers Marks and Spencer and Next for apparel.
“It’s an incredible achievement that 15 years on from its initial broadcast, Peppa Pig remains as loved by children now as it has ever been,” noted Katie Rollings, the Senior Vice President (SVP) of licensing for the U.K. at eOne Family & Brands. “The property has continued to welcome new partners and we’re excited about the new lines that Fashion UK and our other licensees will be producing. We look forward to creating more unforgettable memories for her many fans with the exciting events we have planned next year.”
Anchoring the anniversary celebrations will be a nationwide theatrical release of Peppa Pig: Festival of Fun! beginning Friday 5th April 2019. Continuing to encourage little ones to interact and sing along, the format is designed as a gentle introduction to the cinema, offering fans 10 never-before-broadcast episodes. This includes a two-part festival special and episodes that will introduce new characters, plus exclusive interactive live-action content filmed especially for the release. There will also be live events and location-based entertainment formats, as well as a variety of retail and product initiatives.
Brand partnerships for the year-long Family Celebrations schedule include party themed plush and figures from Character Options, an “Ultimate Collection” of 50 books from Penguin, magazine anniversary specials from Redan, special edition figurines from Enesco, new partyware from Gemma and Fashion UK party themed apparel, with more soon to be announced.
Peppa Pig’s charity collaborations will also ramp up towards the 15th anniversary. eOne will strengthen its partnership with Save the Children by including the brand in the charity’s annual Christmas Jumper Day celebration (Friday 14th December 2018). This year, Paultons Park is creating an exclusive Daddy Pig Christmas jumper as well as exclusive Peppa and George Christmas jumpers available from Amazon Fashion. Ravensburger are also introducing a Christmas themed puzzle, and all the items carry a donation to Save the Children. Plans to accelerate activity for next year’s Muddy Puddle Walk in May are also underway, in addition to the annual Tommy’s Splashathon in summer 2019 with eOne actively seeking retailer partnerships to support these events.
To support the widespread Peppa Pig activity and keep the brand fresh, eOne has made a longstanding commitment to new content. Brand new episodes began airing in 2017 and will continue through to winter 2022.
“Peppa Pig never slows down,” added Rollings. “In fact, our partners are coming up with more imaginative and creative ways to bring the brand to life than ever before. As we usher in her 15th year, we will continue to support Peppa Pig and its associated product ranges with wide-ranging activations at retail, new content, live events, brand partnerships and the in-house expertise that has helped Peppa Pig become such a beloved household name around the globe.”
eOne is bolstering the brand abroad as well, with a Peppa Pig movie co-produced with Chinese distributor Alibaba Pictures set to debut in early 2019, and Alpha Group appointed as master toy partner in the region. New Peppa Pig licensing programs have recently kicked off in Japan, India, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Mongolia.
The brand remains highly resilient in the U.K. market, and eOne reports strong performance across all areas this year:
- Character Options’ core toy lines are achieving strong sales at retail with sales uplift of 7% in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, and there has also been a strong first half of the year (H1 2018) in secondary toy categories for partners such as HTI, MV Sports, Trends and puzzles from new licensee, Ravensburger.
- Redan’s Peppa Pig Bag-O-Fun magazine has seen a year-on-year increase of +10.93%. A total average sale of 85,455 makes it not only the No. 1 best-selling magazine in the pre-school sector, but also in the whole of the children’s sector. In addition, a second magazine title, Fun To Learn Peppa Pig, has reported a year on year increase of +3.44%.
- 2018 titles from publishing partner Penguin have also performed at the top, including sparkly Mother’s Day release I Love You, Mummy Pig (25k copies sold in seven mos.; No. 5 on pre-k charts); lift-the-flap book Peppa Pig at the Zoo (26k sold since May); and Peppa’s Magical Unicorn (37k copies sold since June, No. 1 on pre-k chart).
Peppa Pig began in the UK as a five-minute children’s animated TV series that was first broadcast on Channel 5 in 2004. The TV show is now seen globally, including on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels around the world, including in the UK, Ireland and the USA. In China, the beloved television series made a strong broadcast debut in June 2015 on national broadcaster, CCTV and is now available on multiple leading VOD platforms including Youku, IQIYi and Tencent, where the show has accumulated over 45 billion cumulative views.
Peppa Pig is created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, produced by Astley Baker Davies Ltd, and airs on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels and blocks around the world.
In additional Peppa Pig news:
- Hot on the heels of being on the receiving end of a winning trophy, with eOne’s Peppa Pig winning Best Licensed Classic Property Award at The Licensing Awards, the company rewarded its licensees with some special awards on Thursday 20th September 2018!
Character Group, Redan Publishing, Penguin, Kinnerton and Ravensburger were among the licensees feted at the 2018 Peppa Pig Partner event at which the winners of all of its annual licensee awards were presented.
As eOne gears up for Peppa Pig’s 15th anniversary next year, there was a definite upbeat tone to the well-attended meeting with updates, insights and future plans shared for this evergreen property.
A highlight of the afternoon was a panel discussion, led by series producer Phil Davies, involving Harley Bird, the voice of Peppa Pig, Sarah Ann Kennedy, the voice of Miss Rabbit and Morwenna Banks, the voice of Mummy Pig (pictured below).
The lasting message of the event was… ’If you jump in muddy puddles, you must wear your boots’!
The big winners of the Peppa Pig Partner Event were:
- Licensee of the Year – Hardlines: Redan Publishing
- Licensee of the Year – Softlines: William Lamb Trademark
- Range of the Year: Kinnerton
- Most Innovative Product: Penguin
- Most Collaborative Licensee: Paultons Park
- Newcomer of the Year: Ravensburger
- Best Marketing Campaign: Vitabiotics
- Outstanding Contribution Award: Fierylight
- Lifetime Achievement: Character Group
-- Ambitious online retailer Character.com recently hosted a week-long Peppa Pig promotion and takeover!
Running between Monday 17th-Sunday 23rd September 2018, the offer gave anyone who buys an item from the retailer’s Peppa Pig range an exclusive £5 voucher to use on their next order at Character.com.
Alongside the on-site promotion – which includes a fun ‘Peppa style’ Character.com logo – the retailer ran daily competitions on its social media channels in partnership with eOne. Followers had the chance to win prizes including a trip to Peppa Pig World.
New additions to Character.com’s Peppa Pig range include a dress featuring Peppa’s magical unicorn, plus hoodies, tees and full outfits.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with eOne for such an incredible promotion,” Stephen Hewitt, md of Character.com, told Licensing Source. “Peppa (and George) really is an evergreen licence for us that year after year attracts a new audience and is loved across the globe.
“We expect this promotion to reach even more Peppa Pig fans and increase awareness and sales of our new Peppa Pig range.”
Licensing Source also recently chatted to eOne’s evp of global licensing, Andrew Carley about BLE, Peppa at 15 and what’s to come!
Which preschool brands will you be showcasing at BLE?
At BLE 2018 we’ll be showcasing our hit preschool brands Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom. We’re also very excited to be presenting a new preschool property at the show this year called Ricky Zoom.
Can you run through how the licensing programmes for each are shaping up?
Peppa Pig continues to be one of the top performing preschool properties in the world and now has over 1,000 licensees globally. The property continues to perform well in the UK, with sales uplifts from 2017 – which is impressive for a brand that’s been in the market for 14 years, in a very difficult retail climate. The reaction to the brand in China has been incredible. The first of many Peppa Pig World of Play indoor play attractions will launch from Merlin in Shanghai in autumn 2018 before rolling out to Dallas, Beijing and New York through to 2019. We’re gearing up for the brand’s 15th anniversary celebrations in the UK and Australia 2019, which will be marked throughout the year with lots of exciting plans including a nationwide theatrical release, brand new touring stage show, new episodes, top tier partnerships and retail events, in addition to further expanding our product ranges in new and existing categories.
2019 also marks the ten-year anniversary of Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom and Fiery Light Productions will be bringing back the popular live stage show for a tour of 45 theatres across the UK and Ireland from February 2019.
PJ Masks has swiftly become a leading preschool property in multiple territories and broadcast ratings have soared thanks to a growing slate of FTA and VOD partners. The global licensing programme has enjoyed exceptionally strong sales led by Just Play’s master toy line with products now available through multiple partners across a wide range of licensing categories in most markets which will further expand in 2019. Series 2 launched on air earlier this year to strong ratings and there will be lots more exciting adventures in series three and series four offering a fresh pipeline of content through to 2021.
Will there be any new launches or sneak peaks of upcoming brands?
We will be introducing our new property, Ricky Zoom, to partners at the show for the first time. The show is set in a town called Wheelford which is populated by motorbikes, led by our hero Ricky Zoom, and we think it will be a big hit with preschool boy audience. It has obvious licensing potential because the characters are vehicles, which we know is a popular play pattern for this age group, and the narratives also show them facing relatable preschool challenges which a broader preschool audience can enjoy.
We’ll also be introducing new elements for all our brands, including Peppa Pig, which has a very on-trend festival theme running through the content and marketing plans for 2019, and PJ Masks which will be inspired by new content coming through in series three.
What major trends have you seen emerging in the preschool space over the course of 2018? As a brand owner, how have you reacted to them?
Traditional bricks and mortar retail globally is facing significant pressures with the UK probably experiencing more change than many other countries, margins are being eroded and consequently there is an increasing focus on non licensed/generic product.
However, the preschool segment, while not escaping unscathed, remains a strong performing category. In order to sustain the interest it’s now imperative that licensors look at every consumer touch point and help to enhance that experience.
Traditional TV remains the key platform for driving preschool awareness, however, all licensors now think beyond that. Our YouTube team is now creating opportunities to help drive traffic to retailers and retail events as well helping to support our licensees with highly targeted marketing campaigns. We also complement our traditional animated content with spinoffs on you tube that features fans enjoying content and product such as toys in a relatable environment such as a bedroom or living room.
Experiential has become the buzz word over the last couple of years and covers a myriad of experiences. Whilst most people tend to think of stage shows and theme parks we have opened a host of mixed interactive experiences that enable the consumer to truly engage with the characters. Overall It’s a rapidly changing environment with a very tough retail climate, however licensors have never had so many opportunities to directly engage with the consumer on so many levels.
How important is BLE for you for showing preschool brands?
BLE gives us the opportunity to meet with partners and retailers in a very concentrated period of time and is a great way of generating new leads. I hope that our growing slate of properties demonstrates our commitment as a licensor and our ability to champion high quality original content and nurture that into long-term evergreen properties. Beyond our own portfolio, the show is always a useful gauge of what’s going to be big on the licensing agenda in the year ahead.
What messages do you want to convey to licensees and potential licensees at BLE?
That we have a growing and evolving portfolio that reflects the needs of consumers and retailers and each property presents a strong proposition for long term, well supported sales in product lines that parents and children will love. We continue to invest in the brands and our own internal structure, which has also grown to reflect that evolution, to ensure that marketing and product development keep the properties fresh and strong year after year.
What would you most like to achieve for your preschool brands from this year’s show?
As a business, eOne Family & Brands has a reputation of creating high quality, original programming that can sustain successful properties. We hope that our partners will be inspired by the new content and marketing plans for Peppa Pig and PJ Masks and that the show gives Ricky Zoom a good launch platform to kickstart the licensing plans.
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More Nick: Peppa Pig Live: 'Peppa Pig's Surprise' to Tour the USA During Fall 2018 [New Dates Added]!
Sources: Animation Magazine, TVKIDS, Kidscreen, Toy World Magazine.
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