Rocket Licensing will be at BLE this year
Brandora Editorial Staff - November 2021Rocket Licensing prepares impressive range of brands for BLE
Encompassing some of the nation’s most loved brands, along with some new favourites, there is something for everyone on stand C141
Rocket Licensing is readying its exciting portfolio of brands ahead of the industry reuniting following almost two years apart at Brand Licensing Europe from 17th to 19th November, 2021 at ExCel London.
Consisting of seasonal must-haves like The Elf on the Shelf®, timeless classics like Beano and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, movie and TV picks from MGM including Legally Blonde, Rocky and Vikings Valhalla, and more recent additions to UK preschool picks such as Yakka Dee and Kiri and Lou, there really is something for everyone on the Rocket Licensing stand, C141.
As we hurtle towards the festive season, there really is no stopping the world’s most-loved elf. Now firmly established as part of a family Christmas, The Elf of the Shelf is the third most popular Christmas tradition, ahead of watching Christmas movies. With 2.8 million worldwide social media fans and followers, there is sure to be great excitement ahead of the brand’s first ever appearance on British TV, with Netflix (is likely to) screening the animated movie, Elf Pets: Santa’s Reindeer Rescue, this Christmas.
A new Netflix partnership with the Lumistella Company with a global original deal will further help to confirm The Elf on the Shelf as a global evergreen brand. 2020 was the biggest year yet for the core product, with sales increasing by over 20%. With almost 20 licensees on board, there will be a wide range of exciting new lines hitting shelves over the coming weeks, including family pyjamas from Aykroyd & Sons, bedding from Dreamtex, Top Trumps cards from Winning Moves, an Elf on the Shelf magazine from Signature Publishing, and much more.
Almost 85 years since its launch, the Beano Comic and Annual delivered a fantastic ABC in 2020, averaging sales of 45,644 during the year, an increase of 9% YOY. Cheeky Dennis is also the star of two animated TV series, which have been watched on CBBC more than 29 million times since launch. The Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed series has a share of 10% for 9-12 year-olds, with an average audience of 33K.
Rocket has instigated a number of innovative experiential partnerships for Beano, including an Easter event with Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Palace - Beano Dennis and Gnasher Birthday Bonanza; Dennis-themed rides in Gulliver’s Theme Park resorts; Dennis and Gnasher Unleashed! Escape rooms in partnership with Dobbies; and Dennis the Musical and Beano immersive theatrical experience. Rocket’s licensed product portfolio comprises of a range of popular apparel, health and beauty, party, and more, with fresh inspiration for 2022/3 in the form of a brand new style guide including seasonal themes.
Eric Carle’s classic tale of The Very Hungry Caterpillar was recently awarded the Best Classic Licensed Property at the Licensing Awards 2021. The board book is the number one selling children’s board book in the UK, and a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar is sold every 15 seconds, amassing worldwide book sales of more than 54 million. The brand recently launched a new style guide and assets for licensees with a wealth of new material for consumer products. With regular seasonal book launches throughout the year too, there is constantly new activity to keep the brand fresh and engaging.
Rocket is currently working with a wide range of licensees on new product for 2022 covering a number of categories including, apparel, gifting, homewares, educational resources and more. Meanwhile, innovative new partnerships with the likes of Deliveroo are reaching millions of consumers and reinforcing the brand values among children and parents alike.
Educating children through fun for 25 years, Horrible Histories now has over 30 million copies in print in 38 languages. An international live show, attractions and experiences, an award-winning TV series, feature film and successful merchandising programme across categories has ensured the brand has 75% awareness in the UK. New audiences are growing constantly, including over 36 million engaging with #horriblehistories on TikTok.
There is several new publishing launches planned for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022, keeping the property fresh in the minds of its audience of children aged eight and over. Rocket Licensing’s experiential partnerships have bought Horrible Histories to life, working with Warwick Castle, Tower Bridge Quay in London and more, while the stage shows continue to delight fans. Consumer products span games and puzzles, dress-up, gifting, food and beverage, apparel and more, with plenty of exciting new lines planned for the coming months.
MGM is readying the launch of Vikings Valhalla globally on Netflix from Q1 2022. The style guide is ready for licensees and features a unisex approach with a specific colour for each Viking clan. Rocket Licensing has already signed GB Eye for posters and gifting, Winning Moves for games and puzzles and Ecell for mobile accessories, with more on the way for this much-anticipated continuation of the Vikings saga.
Also from MGM, iconic movie, Rocky continues as one of the nation’s favourites, and has new content on the way in the shape of Rocky vs Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut, featuring 40 minutes of new footage, music and a new story angle. Keep Punching: The Present Meets the Past will also launch in November.
Creed III is also coming in November, along with new video games, keeping the brand fresh. Meanwhile, pop culture phenomenon, Legally Blonde is back with Legally Blonde 3 in the pipeline, alongside a new mobile game from Playside Studios and a live concert running globally from 2021 to 2024.
Released in October 2021, the highly anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic seminal sci-fi tome, Dune, from Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, has had a huge result at the box office. This epic action-adventure drama, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, features an all-star cast including, Oscar® nominee Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Oscar® nominee Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Oscar® nominee Charlotte Rampling, with Jason Momoa, and Oscar® winner Javier Bardem, with a screenplay from Jon Spaihts and Villeneuve and Oscar® winner Eric Roth. With a diverse licensing programme already in place, Rocket Licensing is excited to see the new lines rolling out for Dune.
Also from Legendary Entertainment, in partnership with Netflix, is the highly anticipated sequel to the film Enola Holmes. Based on the acclaimed book series, Enola Holmes is a fresh spin on the Sherlock Holmes legend, bringing a whole new female/YA audience to this iconic world of Victorian mystery. Millie Bobby Brown stars as the brilliant, rebellious, and super-sleuthing teen sister of Sherlock (Henry Cavill) in this thrilling new crime-fighting adventure movie franchise. Enola Holmes became one of the most-watched original Netflix films of all time, with an estimated 77 million households choosing the film over its first four weeks of release! The sequel is forthcoming.
King of the big screen, Godzilla is a $2.1 billion franchise boasting over 35 films, with two of the top ten highest grossing monster movies of all time. The brand has a 90% consumer awareness and is loved by a huge spectrum of fans from around the world.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, consumers will be treated to yet more exciting new content ahead of the big 70th anniversary celebrations in 2024, including a continued rollout of Japanese Godzilla content, which has so far never been seen outside of Japan. There will also be more exclusive content on the official social media accounts, expanded custom content for the official YouTube channel, and the reintroduction of the Hanna-Barbera Godzilla series. UK licensees cover apparel, accessories, gifting, collectibles, and more.
One of the most trusted brands in the world for the past 130 years, Kodak enjoys immediate brand recognition worldwide throughout more than 110 countries. With a rich design history and assets, Kodak is the ideal brand for a wide range of lifestyle consumer products. The property partnered with Knickerbocker this year and a whopping 70% of the product sold out in the first 48 hours of launch.
With season 3 in production for launch in 2022, CBeebies favourite, Kiri & Lou has performed exceptionally well for its first two seasons on the channel, and sits in the top 15 for animated titles, with a programme average of 103.000 for first runs, and an average audience share of 27% for children aged 0-6. Rocket has partnered with Immediate Media for magazines, while Scholastic is on board in Australia and New Zealand for activity and colouring books.
The preschool favourite, Yakka Dee, airs daily on CBeebies and regularly holds the number one slot on iPlayer. The YouTube channel, which launched in 2019, has 611k subscribers, and has enjoyed over 387 million views. There is a huge amount of noise about the property on social media and Rocket Licensing is looking forward to launching the consumer products programme.
Rob Wijeratna, joint MD, Rocket Licensing, commented: “We have an amazing portfolio to bring to BLE this year and after two years away, we’re really excited to meet the industry again and update them on the great things happening at Rocket Licensing.”