Pinkalicious Teams Up With Burger King For An Exciting New Promotion

Burger King launched its second Pinkalicious promotion in over 7000 locations on Monday, April 23. Customers will receive one of six Pinkalicious premiums including a Pinkalicious figurine with ring comb, a Pinkalicious Star Bright Wand, a Pinkalicious tiara, Pinkalicious journal, Pinkalicious friendship bracelets or Pinkalicious hair play barrettes, with any kids’ meal purchase.

Burger King will support the Pinkalicious promotion on BKCrown.com and include interactive Pinkalicious content featuring “pinkatastic” fun and games. Additionally, participating restaurants will promote the brand extension with a Pinkalicious BK CROWN™ box and a point-of-purchase display.

The Pinkalicious toys will be available at participating Burger King locations through June 3, 2012.

Check out aNb Media’s coverage of Pinkalicious’ latest licensing deal and to learn more about the Pinkalicious licensing program, please visit http://www.thinkpinkalicious.com/

Joester Loria Group’s View on Brand Extension

Branding Strategy Insider recently posted an interesting article explaining how brand extension can be considered both a friend and a foe. The article defines brand extension as expanding a property into new, adjacent categories with the ultimate goal of gaining the best financial return. The Joester Loria Group focuses on developing great brand extension for our clients and we understand the importance of closely aligning with the brand’s core values.

Branding Strategy Insider highlights My Dirty Jobs, a line of cleaning products inspired by Discovery Channel’s hit series. We are proud to have brokered this deal and delighted to see Brand Strategy Insider applaud the link between what the brand and the brand extension, saying “the fit between the well-known TV show and a line of cleaning products makes good sense.”

Read Branding Strategy Insider’s full article about brand extension.

Read the Joester Loria Group’s post about the My Dirty Jobs Line of licensed cleaning products.

Building A Brand Strategy with Pinterest

Pinterest, a rapidly growing social media application where users create virtual pinboards and communicate with others that share similar interests, recently claimed the title of the internet’s fastest growing social media website. Here at the Joester Loria Group, we view Pinterest as a valuable social media channel in building a brand.

Pinterest is an excellent example of how consumers interact with brands and branded product. For example, as the exclusive licensing agent for Pinkalicious, we have found countless themed parties centered around Pinkalicious products such as paper party supplies and dolls. Users share their ideas, photos, and comments about the products, allowing the site to act as a virtual focus group. Users also are given the experience of communicating directly with the brand.

Another Joester Loria Group client, Diet Pepsi, uses its Pinterest account to show product extension. Its boards display fan photos, recipes, and inspiration that is not directly linked to Diet Pepsi products but rather the lifestyle embodied by the Diet Pepsi brand. Pinterest allows users to connect with Diet Pepsi in a different way than traditional brand marketing.

We look forward to seeing Pinterest continue to grow and invite you to visit the following accounts:
http://pinterest.com/iampinkalicious/
http://pinterest.com/DietPepsiPins/
http://pinterest.com/worldericcarle/

Marketing Debate: Can Too Much Brand Awareness Be Damaging?

A recent USA Today article about brand awareness and trademarks raised some interesting questions about the effects of extremely high brand recognition. The article suggests that when a brand name is “genericized”, it can cause the brand to lose value. Examples include the iPad being synonymous with the tablet computer, Kleenex being used as the term for facial tissue and Band-Aid being used to refer to all bandages.

While high brand awareness is usually the goal of any marketing campaign, the article explains that it can also create issues when it comes to trademark law. The article gives the example of Bayer losing its trademark for aspirin in the 1920s and discusses what ubiquitous brands like Kleenex, Xerox and Band-Aid are doing to protect their brands’ trademarks.

However, some brands are shown to benefit from defining their industry. Two examples of brands that have benefited from their high brand awareness are Google and Apple.

At The Joester Loria Group, we recognize that brands have enormous value and that it is essential to diligently protect every brand’s integrity and equity.

Annual LIMA International Licensing Excellence Awards Nominees Announced

The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association 2011 Licensing Excellence Awards nominees have been selected, including several Joester Loria Group programs.

The Joester Loria Group is a proud supporter of LIMA and is particularly proud that programs we have developed for a number of properties, including Jeep, Care Bears and Animal Planet have been recognized with LIMA licensing excellence awards over the past decade. This year, we were delighted to see the following programs nominated:
Entenmann’s, the No. 1 sweet baked goods brand, is being recognized for its growing brand licensing program that expanded into new categories in 2011. Partnering with Parragon Books, an Entenmann’s cookbook launched on QVC and has gone on to top Amazon charts as the No. 1 book in the Baking section. Additionally, Entenmann’s bakeware hit the market with 50+ skus including a collection made especially for kids. Candle-Lite increased their national distribution of Entenmann’ scented candles, while new coffee licensee, White Coffee, is growing the Entenmann’s coffee business with new flavors and expanded retail placement. Dynamic consumer marketing support generated 34 million impressions through online advertising, morning show features and social media.

Aquafina, known for being the No. 1 bottled water in the United States, is nominated for its line of hydrating lip care based on Aquafina’s brand positioning of purity and hydration. Created under license by Added Extras, the line includes 16 SKUs of lip balms available in a variety of flavors, formulated to provide superior protection and hydration. Aquafina lip balms are distributed in more than 35,000 doors across multiple retail channels including Specialty, Drug and Supermarket chains, Dollar chains and Mass and over 80 million units have been sold since launch.

Pottery Barn, known for great design for the home, introduced The Eric Carle Collection by Pottery Barn Kids in 2011. The 2012 LIMA awards recognizes the collection of unique children’s bath, bedroom and nursery products featuring classic and iconic imagery of Eric Carle’s work and translating it into playful designs that evoke the beauty of his much beloved illustrations. With over 40 skus, the collection includes personalized bath towels, embroidered quilts, shower curtains, shams and bedding sets, sold in-store, in-catalog and online. Pottery Barn Kids’ supported the products with exceptional in-store and direct to consumer marketing programs.

LIMA members, please remember to cast your vote for the 2012 International Licensing Excellence Awards and we hope that you will consider these outstanding brands.

Mythbusters Announces Refreshed Line of Science Activity Kits

Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated series, MythBusters has a refreshed line of science activity kits that will debut at Dallas Toy Fair 2012. Mythbusters is credited with making science cool again, and the activity kits, manufactured by Poof®-Slinky®, inspires young minds to interact with science and learn while having fun. This deal was brokered by The Joester Loria Group on behalf of Discovery Communications.

Visit the official Mythbusters website here: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/mythbusters/

GameMill Entertainment Introduces Silverlicious Game for Nintendo DS

GameMill Entertainment has launched the Silverlicious game for Nintendo DS based on the Silverlicious story from the best-selling Pinkalicious children’s book series. The title is Gamemill’s second Nintendo DS game in the Pinkalicious franchise, following on the top selling Pinkalicious game.

Following the enchanting storyline of Silverlicious written and illustrated by Victoria Kann, Silverlicious the game lets players set out on an adventure as Pinkalicious, who has lost her ability to taste anything sweet. Players aim to help Pinkalicious regain her sweet tooth as they practice kindness, good manners and helping others in need. Silverlicious the game is an imaginative and fun way to drive home the importance of kindness and good manners.

Silverlicious the game is available now in retail stores nationwide for the Nintendo DS™ hand-held system for $19.99. Developed by First Playable, Silverlicious for Nintendo DS is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB.
For more information about GameMill’s line of products, please visit: www.game-mill.com.

Read USA Today’s piece on the Silverlicious game for Nintendo DS here:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/story/2012-04-08/silverlicious-pinkalicious-video-game/54081696/1

Illustrator of The Year Nominations for Eric Carle and Victoria Kann

The Joester Loria Group would like to congratulate Eric Carle and Victoria Kann for their nominations for Illustrator of the Year by The Children’s Book Council. Eric Carle is nominated for his book, The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse and Victoria Kann is nominated for her book, Silverlicious the 4th title in the Pinkalicious franchise.

Art is at the core of both the World of Eric Carle and Pinkalicious licensing programs. The distinctive imagery and memorable stories leap off the pages of the Pinkalicious series of books, and have inspired a full collection of licensed product, most recently expanded to scooters, ride-ons and tricycles. Eric Carle, the recipient of over 70 awards over his remarkable career, has inspired a successful global collection of licensed products based on his books with a focus on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The Children’s Book Choice Awards is the only national book award that is chosen by children, teachers, booksellers and librarians. Winners will be announced live during the Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala on May 7th, which kicks off the start of National Children’s Book Week.

Poppy Cat and Lazy Town Join NBC

NBC has welcomed British sensations Poppy Cat and Lazy Town into its programming family. Beginning July 7, 2012, Sprout will program a three-hour pre-school block featuring both series that will air on NBC, reaching over 110 million homes. Both Poppy Cat and Lazy Town address the developmental needs of 2-5 year olds and promote learning in fun, innovative ways through their lovable characters’ adventures. The series will now be brought into more than 110 Million US homes.

Kiddieland Toys Launches Pinkalicious Ride-ons

Kiddieland Toys is launching a collection of Pinkalicious ride-ons, scooters and tricycles featuring the popular Pinkalicious character and the distinctive art from the bestselling book series, Pinkalicious, written and illustrated by Victoria Kann.

Since 2006, Pinkalicious has inspired and entertained millions of children with her creative imagination and magical adventures, and now fans will be able to create their own adventures with the Kiddieland Toys Pinkalicious line. Products include a ride on, tricycle and scooter. Prices will range from $39.99 to $69.99.

The Kiddieland collection adds to the successful Pinkalicious sporting goods licensed product that includes girls bicycles, skateboards and protective gear from Kent and girls skates from Streetflyers. The Joester Loria group is the exclusive licensing agent for Pinkalicious.