Winner of 2009 License! Global ‘Licensing Challenge’ award
The MIPJUNIOR Licensing Challenge was this year won by Franco And Formula Fun, a pre-school animated series from UK producer Formula Fun Entertainment.
Presented by “mother, author and creator” Marina Nicholas, and positioned to support father-son play, the show was developed with licensed toys in mind from the start.
The Hive, from Monumental Productions, Picture Production Company and Lupus Films, was awarded second place for its cute child-friendly bee character designs and aggressive licensing strategy.
Four other properties offered stiff competition. Geronimo Stilton, produced by Moonscoop (France) and Atlantyca Entertainment (Italy), rates well, but the judges queried the assertion that its licensing and marketing (L&M) would appeal equally to boys and girls.
Manon, from Cyber Group Studios, France, also rates well, with a strong green message and good pre-sales. But judges were concerned that the L&M of the last two entrants – The Happets from Anera Films, Spain, and Fuss Farm from Electric Circus, South Korea – might not be targeted at the right age groups.
The jury of L&M experts included Lisa Licht of Hasbro Studios, Jennifer Richmond of JAKKS Pacific, Neil Ross Russell of BBC Worldwide and Ignio Straffi of Rainbow.
The session was chaired by Simon Philips of Marvel Animation and moderated by co-organiser Tony Lisanti of License Global!
Filed under on 06/08/10