Rainbow heads to Licensing Expo with a selection of brands from their portfolio including Winx Club, Mia & Me, and the brand new series GON.
Rainbow will be presenting a selection of major kids’ brands from their portfolio on their stand 151 at Licensing Expo.
Two of the key assets of the company that have ensured their success are creativity and flexibility. Using valuable research in to the market trends for kids, Rainbow keep their properties fresh and appealing; a preview of the brand new season six of Winx Club and a presentation of the second series of Mia and Me will be available at their stand 151.
Rainbow also has a new animated series’ in production for 2015/2016 season that will be announced soon.
Leading the way is Winx Club, the global phenomenon that is one of the most successful girls’ properties of all time. Comprising over 130 animated episodes and two feature-length movies that mix 2D animation and CGI, Winx Club follows the adventures of a group of young fairies and combines action and adventure with comedy. The series and brand is always evolving and has successfully overcome generational changeover issues to become a truly evergreen property. To keep the brand fresh and modern, a new Winx TV series is brought out every two years or so, with the latest planned for release in 2014 to co-incide with the property’s 10th anniversary. The brand has massive appeal to girls aged 4-10 and boasts over 500 licensees across a multitude of categories; fashion is a particularly strong sector, through partners including Benetton and Sisley Young, and Rainbow’s internal fashion department has developed three distinct style guides to support licensees.
PopPixie is the surreal comedy adventure set in Pixieville - a quirky and eccentric place where pixies, gnomes and all manner of magical animals live happily and peacefully together, although the mischievous elves are always waiting to stir up trouble or play practical jokes! The show first hit screens across the world in 2010 and has enjoyed very strong ratings since; although it is aimed at boys and girls aged 5-9, PopPixie appeals to the whole family thanks to hilarious gags and positive feel-good themes. Globally, more than a hundred licensees are on board across categories including publishing, food, stationery, fashion and accessories.
Huntik: Secrets & Seekers is the action-adventure series that is a huge hit with boys aged 6-12. The show combines history and culture with modern characters as it transports its audience across the globe to explore beautiful cities and epic locations, recalling classical legends and stories that are rooted in European tradition and mythology. A major TV ratings success, Huntik: Secrets & Seekers has also been designed as a multimedia brand that features an App, a digital board game and an MMO game, whilst licensees have been attracted by the high collectability value of the characters in the series.
Mia & Me is the sumptuous production that chronicles the adventures of 12-year old Mia in the magical land of Centopia and mixes live action with CGI animation. Broadcasters worldwide have already snapped up the property and thanks to an exciting mixture of friendship, magic, imagination, action, adventure and mythical creatures, it offers everything that kids love in one amazing show! Mia & Me is a top rated show across Germany, Northern Europe, Benelux and Italy and has won a host of awards. The range of strong characters makes the brand perfect for collectibles, whilst master toy licensee Mattel will be launching an extensive toy range next year.
GON is a brand new series for kids aged 4-8 - produced by Daewon Media and distributed exclusively across Europe by Rainbow - that follows the adventures of a little dinosaur who survives the extinction of the rest of his kind to inhabit a prehistoric world of bears, raccoons, rabbits and other animals. GON’s baby-like temperament and determination to do nothing else but play, sleep and eat provides a richly comic narrative that is a hugely popular with kids. The brand offers considerable opportunities for licensees across sectors such as toys, games, wheeled toys and sporting goods.
Source: Rainbow
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
