Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa is the newest member of
Just Play's popular
Hairdorables squad!
Beginning Saturday, June 1, the Limited Edition JoJo Loves Hairdorables dolls will be available at major toy retailers in North America. Each includes 10 surprises that capture JoJo’s bright personality and inspiring message to live “the sweet life.” Each of the new dolls comes dressed in an outfit from
Siwa’s D.R.E.A.M. Tour, which is currently in the midst of a 70-city trek across North America.
Geared toward kids ages 3 and up, the JoJo Siwa Hairdorables dolls also feature Siwa’s signature bow and side ponytail.
Kids and collectors looking to expand their Hairdorables collection can also be on the lookout for Hairdorables Series 2, which is in stores now. Additionally, Season 3 is on the way, with a fresh new assortment including new hairstyles with a “color, crimp, curl” theme.
JoJo, who's just celebrated her sweet 16th birthday, recently kicked off her first North American tour:
Nickelodeon’s JoJo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour. Presented by Party City and produced by Nickelodeon and AEG Presents, JoJo will be visiting over 70 cities. For tickets, visit
http://www.jojodreamtour.com.
There's no such thing as a bad hair day for Noah and the Hairdorables, the popular doll line from Just Play, created for girls aged 5-8. Each character in the stylish girl squad has a "Big Hair, Don't Care" attitude. Following the range's success, Just Play are introducing the
HairDUDEables, a line of six boy Hairdorables for fans to collect.
Nickelodeon superstar JoJo Siwa is a YouTube personality, singer, dancer, entrepreneur, social media influencer,
The New York Times bestselling author and star on Nickelodeon’s
Lip Sync Battle Shorties. Siwa connects with her fans through many channels: via social media she has over 9.4 million subscribers with over 2.1 billion views on YouTube, she has over 8.1 million followers on Instagram, over 425,000 Twitter followers, over 17.4 million followers on TikTok (formerly Musical.ly), and over 534,000 likes on Facebook; through her SIWANATOR club, which stands against negativity and bullying; through her global reach of consumer products including her signature bows, accessories, apparel, arts and crafts, cosmetics, home goods and party supplies; and with her hugely popular singles, “Boomerang,” which has been viewed over 682 million times and is RIAA certified platinum, “Kid in a Candy Store,” “Hold The Drama,” and “High Top Shoes”
Siwa will also take the stage at this year’s Nickelodeon SlimeFest--a two-day family-friendly music festival held in Chicago, Ill., at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 8 and 9--along with Pitbull, Bebe Rexha and T-Pain. Siwa helped kick off Nickelodeon’s inaugural U.S. SlimeFest last year, where she performed in front of over 24,000 fans.
Siwa recently won her third Kids’ Choice Award for “Favorite Social Music Star.” Her previous Choice Awards include “Favorite Viral Music Artist” in 2017 and “Favorite Musical YouTube Creator” in 2018. She also performed at Kids’ Choice Mexico 2018.
In November, Siwa released her first EP, D.R.E.A.M. The Music, featuring four new songs: “D.R.E.A.M,” “My Story,” “Everyday Popstars” and “Only Getting Better.” The music video for “D.R.E.A.M.” was released on Siwa’s YouTube channel and to date has garnered over 40 million views. Just last month, Siwa dropped her latest single, “Bop.” The accompanying music video has already accumulated over 4.4 million views on her YouTube channel.
In 2016, Nickelodeon and Siwa entered an exclusive licensing partnership to develop a line of consumer products inspired by Siwa. Categories span toys, apparel, accessories, consumer electronics, Halloween costumes and more. To date, over 50 million JoJo Bows have been sold. Siwa’s consumer products are available internationally, including the UK, Canada, Australia and Mexico.
Siwa launched her first animated shorts series,
The JoJo & BowBow Show Show starring Siwa and her furry best friend BowBow, during Fall 2018, and a
second season is now in development, slated to debut later this year. She also works alongside Nick Cannon in Nickelodeon’s hit competition series
Lip Sync Battle Shorties. She has also appeared on various Nickelodeon live-action series including
School of Rock and
The Thundermans. Siwa performed a medley of hits at
Nickelodeon’s 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards, including her triple-platinum smash “Boomerang.” She also won two blimps for Favorite Viral Music Artist in 2017 and Musical YouTube Creator in 2018. Last summer, she performed at
Nickelodeon’s 2018 Kids’ Choice Awards Mexico.
From
Kidscreen:
Nickelodeon’s race against the CP clock
The kidsnet is focusing on categories with short timelines to capitalize on YouTuber JoJo Siwa's small window as a core teen.
From Mickey to SpongeBob, the kids consumer products space has long been driven by animated content. But times change, and kids are relating to live-action IPs like never before. Let’s take a look at three examples of industry players navigating this trend. First, a bold adaptation of one of the most popular gaming properties of all time. Second, several live-action films based on animated properties from the world’s biggest IP owner. And lastly, an exploration of influencer culture from a broadcasting and licensing heavyweight. Taken together, the three approaches give us a glimpse into a whole new dimension in the licensing world.
Today is the final part of our three-part series on how the kids entertainment industry is turning to live-action to take advantage of new licensing opportunities.
For Nickelodeon and its push around teen influencer JoJo Siwa, the object wasn’t to extend an already iconic property from animation to live action, but to build an entire program around a real person.
Launched in 2017, JoJo’s CP program boasts more than 230 partners globally, including Spin Master, Cra-Z-art (arts and craft), Just Play (toys) and Jay Franco (bedding and home). More than 50 million of her signature bows have sold worldwide.
“It has been mind-blowing,” says Kristi Wasmer, SVP retail development, Viacom Nickelodeon consumer products.
When the Nick team first approached the YouTuber, JoJo was a 14-year-old dancer with a bubbly personality, a hefty social media following (currently 9.6 million YouTube subscribers), an anti-bullying message and a penchant for candy.
David Chustz, SVP of global creative for Viacom Nickelodeon consumer products, says the first objective was to decide what categories to consider. “As a dancer, we could see how leisure-type apparel would work,” he says. “Her love of sweets also informed our color palette.”
Starting with softlines also helped to quickly get products onto shelves, meeting initial demand and capitalizing on JoJo’s relatively small window as a core teen.
“You have the ability to move faster with lifestyle categories,” Wasmer says. “With apparel, retailers turn stock over every four to six weeks. For toys, it’s twice a year.”
Also propelling the program’s success is JoJo’s Closet, a rapid-rollout program with Target and apparel licensor Mad Engine that started in fall 2018. Its items live on dedicated shelf space and rotating endcaps.
Outfits in this line tend to have a premium price point compared to the rest of the program. For example, a flip sequin rainbow bomber jacket retails for about US$36, more than a simple T-shirt or accessory. However, they also carry the cachet of being aligned with JoJo in real time since they’re tied to clothing she wore at recent events (like the Nickelodeon Teen Choice Awards).
While there is still a delay between when JoJo debuts an outfit and when it’s available for purchase, Wasmer’s team is working to shorten the timelines. “We are trying to program looks that we know she will wear in the future so the timing can sync up better,” she says.
Of course, banking on the long-term viability of a program built around a teenager is inherently risky. After all, people age and change, and more than a few young stars have faltered.
To mitigate at least part of this risk, Nick created a series of five-minute animated shorts featuring JoJo and her dog called The JoJo & BowBow Show Show (six x five minutes), which is also getting the full CP treatment. Chustz’s creative team is designing toys and figures that feature a likeness from the animated shorts.
As online personalities exert more power, Wasmer predicts that Nick’s approach to the IP, with its time-sensitive exclusives and stylized adaptations, will likely inform future offerings.”With the influencer space popping right now at retail, there is a lot of interest in these types of programs,” she says. “It really is opening the eyes of the market.”
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More Nick: Pitbull, Bebe Rexha, JoJo Siwa and T-Pain to Perform at Nickelodeon's U.S. SlimeFest Music Festival, June 8-9, 2019!
Sources: The Toy Insider, The Toy Book; Additional source: PR Newswire.
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