Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Welcomes An Eric Carle Classic

The Joester Loria Group is delighted to share that Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has welcomed an Eric Carle classic story into its program. 1,2,3 To The Zoo was selected to be part of the literacy program which donates books to children in need and fosters their love for literature.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library launched in 1996 to benefit the children of East Tennessee, by providing them with books, regardless of their family’s income. Over the years, the organization has grown significantly and has mailed nearly 40,000,000 books to children in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. For more information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library visit: http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/

Eric Carle’s books have been a mainstay in childhood literacy for over 40 years. In addition to the books, the World of Eric Carle consumer products, including its toys and games, provide parents with learning tools designed to promote early childhood development. For more World of Eric Carle fun and activity for parents and children, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/theworldofEricCarle

Eric Carle also mentioned this exciting news on his personal blog.

Women In Toys Evening Of Licensing Recap

Last week, Joanne Loria, Chief Operating Officer of The Joester Loria Group, was invited to be part of the panel at Women In Toys’ licensing network event. The event featured women from a variety of perspectives in licensing, which made for an excellent evening. Christie Scofield of Icebreaker Entertainment and the team from Jakks were among the other panelists. Joanne offered insights from her 20 plus years of experience in licensing and merchandising and shared her thoughts on the industry today.

Women In Toys is an organization that seeks to provide a professional networking base for women working in the toy industry and promotes the achievements of these women. The Joester Loria Group is honored to have been a part of this informative licensing event.

Joester Loria Group Brokers New Licensing Deal Between Johnsonville Sausage and Monogram Food Solutions

The Joester Loria Group has brokered a deal for its client, Johnsonville Sausage, and Monogram Food Solutions to produce an expanded line of Johnsonville branded ready-to-eat meat snacks. Under the licensing agreement, Monogram will market and produce Johnsonville Deli Bites, Bacon Jerky and other innovative meat snacks.

Monogram will soon start producing the Johnsonville Deli Bites in a variety of flavors including Original, Salami, Beef varieties, and Applewood Smoked Bacon Jerky. Johnsonville Deli Bites and Bacon Jerky will be available in select grocery retailers and convenience stores nationwide beginning this summer. The new Deli Bites will be available in six-ounce packages with a suggested retail price of $3.99 while the Bacon Jerky will be offered in three-ounce packages with a suggested retail price of $5.99.

Monogram is also developing additional meat snack offerings. All of these new snacks will reflect Johnsonville’s tradition of providing high-quality products made with premium cuts of meat.

The World of Eric Carle Takes Center Stage in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune recently posted a rave review of Mermaid Theatre Nova Scotia’s production of “A Brown Bear, A Moon and A Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle.” The show is playing at Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre through May 27th and is presented by the Chicago Children’s Theatre. The play brings some of Eric Carle’s iconic characters to life through puppetry. Eric Carle’s theatrical productions are performed around the world, recently completing a successful run in London’s West End and scheduled to travel to Singapore later this year. Mermaid Theatre has sold over 1.5 million tickets to Eric Carle live shows.

Learn more about “A Brown Bear, A Moon and A Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle.”

Read the full review from The Chicago Tribune.

Mountain Dew Introduces Exclusive Green Label Snapback Cap

The Joester Loria Group has partnered Mountain Dew with lifestyle brand Diamond Supply Co. and hip-hop artist Mac Miller to create a new Mountain Dew Green Label Exclusives limited edition cap.

The Mountain Dew limited edition snapback cap, designed by Mac Mill and Diamond Supply Co.’s creative team, will be sold exclusively on Karmaloop eStore site starting on May 28th. Check out the a Mountain Dew video featuring Mac Miller highlighting the partnership, by visiting Karmaloop.com and clicking on the product.

Read more about Mountain Dew’s latest brand extension on LicenseMag.com.

Annoying Orange’s Latest Brand Extension: Real Annoying Gummies and Fruit Snacks

The Joester Loria Group is continuing to add new product categories for The Annoying Orange and are very pleased to announce that the license for Annoying Orange fruit gummies and snacks has been granted to Sunrise Confections, a division of Mount Franklin Foods. The Annoying Orange Real Annoying Gummies and Fruit snacks made their debut last week at the NCA Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago.

The Annoying Orange Real Annoying Gummies and Fruit Snacks include five flavors: orange, punch, apple, lemon, and grape and are available in snack pouch and theater box sizes with packaging that features both everyday and seasonal designs.

This exciting news comes on the heels of Annoying Orange announcing its latest cast member, Toby Turner, who is set to join the television series that will premiere on Cartoon Network this June.

Thanks to Global License Magazine, The Licensing Book, and Cynopsis Kids for sharing Annoying Orange’s latest licensing announcement.

Social Media Marketing Showdown: Pepsi vs. Coke

Econsultancy recently launched a weekly series in which they will compare two household brands’ Twitter and social media marketing efforts. Last week, they put our client Pepsi up against their competitor Coke.

The article points out that both Pepsi and Coke are beginning to focus their overall marketing efforts on storytelling and content creation across all channels including social media. However, Pepsi was first to shift their focus to storytelling through social media channels with its Refresh Project in 2010. Pepsi is also focusing on video content and therefore utilizing Facebook and YouTube more than Twitter since it’s not as visual as other social media platforms.

The article describes Coke’s Twitter account as more of a customer service tool since they mainly respond to customers’ Tweets while Pepsi continues its storytelling on Twitter by sharing interesting brand content. Additionally, Pepsi’s Twitter content more clearly reflects its brand’s tone and voice. Econsultancy points out that Pepsi often shares non-branded content that Pepsi brand fans would be likely to enjoy.

The Econsultancy article is also accompanied by an interesting infographic that compares the brands side by side. Based on a number of factors, Econsultancy declared Pepsi the winner of the showdown. Check out the full article and the infographic about the brands.

New Client Alert: Kellogg

Kellogg Company, the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of snacks and frozen foods, has appointed The Joester Loria Group as the exclusive licensing agency for US and Canada.

The Joester Loria Group has been tapped by Kellogg to develop and execute a strategic licensing program for the world’s leading breakfast brands, in categories including housewares, home goods, apparel and select food brand extensions.

Joester Loria Group will represent a wide variety of Kellogg brands including Apple Jacks, Cheez-It, Eggo, Froot Loops, Honey Smacks, Keebler, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Special K, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and Rice Krispies, as well as its extensive archive of art and characters dating back to the 1920’s. The iconic characters include Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, the Keebler Elves and Snap, Crackle and Pop.

Thanks License! Global Magazine for sharing the news last week.

Annoying Orange Television Series Welcomes Toby Turner

The Annoying Orange web series is now set to premiere as a primetime television series on Cartoon Network this June.

Annoying Orange, the YouTube sensation created by Dane Boedigheimer, is one of the top 10 most watched YouTube channels with more than 2 million subscribers and over 1 billion views. Now, Annoying Orange is extending its media platform with a television series scheduled to debut on Cartoon Network in June 2012.

Toby Turner has joined the cast as the human character, Nerville, a night shift maintenance manager at Daneboe’s market. Turner, known to YouTube subscribers as Tobuscus, is a YouTube star in his own right with more than 1.7 million followers.

The Joester Loria Group, Annoying Orange’s exclusive licensing agent, introduced Annoying Orange consumer product in Holiday 2011 and is readying a fresh squeezed collection of apparel, toys, electronics, publishing, accessories and, of course, delicious fruity gummies and confectionery for Holiday 2012 and beyond. Stay tuned for more news as the excitement builds around the Annoying Orange and the kitchen crew.

For more information about Toby Turner joining the Annoying Orange cast visit:
*Tubefilter
*Cynopsis Kids
*Cynopsis Digital
*Multichannel News
*B&C
*Animation Magazine