ANIMAL PLANET GARDEN DECORATIONS TO DEBUT NEXT FALL

Discovery Communications recently announced an exciting new agreement with Cohesion Products for a line of Animal Planet-branded garden flags and banners. The new line is the latest addition to a robust assortment of Animal Planet lifestyle and pet product offerings. The deal was brokered on behalf of Animal Planet by The Joester Loria Group for the U.S. market.

The Animal Planet-branded flags will be available in two sizes, mini (12”x18″) and regular (28”x40″), and will feature various designs including holiday themes, photos of popular pets and more.  The line will launch at a wide range of retail outlets including home store chains, mass, mid-tier and department stores, direct to consumer sales catalogs, warehouse membership clubs, independent specialty stores and e-commerce sites. It is set to debut Fall 2013.

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of the Animal Planet flags and banners will benefit the principal partners of R.O.A.R (Reach Out. Act. Respond), Animal Planet’s national campaign, that together with leading animal organizations, leads the way in taking action and being a voice for animals.  We are proud to say that through proceeds from the sale of Animal Planet licensed merchandise, over $400,000 has been contributed to various animal organizations supported by R.O.A.R

The World of Eric Carle Trends Worldwide on Twitter

Annoying Orange’s All-Star Holiday Special

Last night was a special night for our client Annoying Orange with the premiere of the “Annoying Orange Generic Holiday Special” which aired on Cartoon Network.  This new special included several celebrity guests including Maria Menounos, Bret Michaels, Alice Cooper, and Weird Al Yankovic in fun skits and strange takes on well-known holiday songs. Weird Al, Bret Michaels, and Alice Cooper sing a “Holiday Mash-Up” while Maria Menounos flirts with Orange, much to Passion Fruit’s dismay.

Annoying Orange was created by Dane Boedigheimer and took the Internet by storm when it debuted on YouTube in October 2009. Since then it has quickly racked up more than one billion total views and more than 2.4 million YouTube channel subscribers. The popularity has also translated to more than 11 million likes on Facebook and four million monthly page views to the official Annoying Orange website. 

In June, Annoying Orange embarked on a new adventure with the debut of its animated television series on Cartoon Network, which has become an instant hit in the U.S., continually ranking amongst the top shows for boys its time slot. The series currently airs Monday at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT on Cartoon Network and is available for download through iTunes, Xbox, and PlayStation.

On behalf of leading entertainment management and production company, The Collective, The Joester Loria Group has expanded this hugely popular brand through a wide array of licensing partnerships in a variety of categories including toys, apparel, accessories, loungewear, electronics, candy, gift and books.

Wired.com, Tubefilter.com and MTV Geek blog also covered Annoying Orange’s All-Star Holiday Special.

Black Friday 2012

New Insights About Children’s Brand Preferences

With Black Friday and the holiday season quickly approaching, holiday shopping is top of mind for many consumers. Many shoppers will be searching for gifts for the children in their lives. An interesting study recently shed some light on the most popular brands among young girls and boys. 

Kidscreen recently reported on a new study called “Young Love”, conducted by the research firm Smarty Pants, that revealed some interesting insights about brand preferences among young girls. According to Smarty Pants, young girls are being drawn to brands like Lego and Batman that traditionally have been targeted to young boys. Smarty Pants asked a group of children ages six to twelve along with their mothers to rank 250 brands and Lego was the highest ranked brand among the girls in the study. The next highest ranking brands among the girls were Batman, Superman, and Cartoon Network. 

This study has interesting implications for brand marketing strategies for children’s products. At The Joester Loria Group, we see how true this study really is with Annoying Orange, considered by most a traditional boys brand.  However, we are finding that many girls and juniors are also big fans of the brand and are purchasing consumer products as well.

Cartoon Network Renews Annoying Orange

The Joester Loria Group is pleased to share that the Annoying Orange Cartoon Network series has been renewed by Cartoon Network.  The program, based on Dane Boedigheimer’s YouTube phenomenon, is the top-rated program for boys on Mondays and has been greenlit for another 30 – 11 minute episodes.

Annoying Orange has shown that it is a fan favorite.  For Cartoon Network’s 20^th birthday, a poll was run on CN.com asking fans which show they would like to join. The shows included Level Up, Total Drama, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Kids Next Door and The Annoying Orange.  Approximately 500,000 votes came in for this category and The Annoying Orange won with about 150,000 votes! Below is a link to the contest.

It’s original web series still continues to entertain with over one billion YouTube views while the licensing partnerships around the Annoying Orange brand continue to expand worldwide.   The Joester Loria Group is the exclusive licensing agent for the brand in North America and Canada and has brokered deals for Annoying Orange toys, apparel, accessories, loungewear, electronics, candy, gift and books; Annoying Orange products can be found at retailers nationwide.

The Eric Carle Museum Celebrates Ten Years With A Special Exhibition

November 10th marked the ten year anniversary of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and to celebrate this milestone, the museum installed an exhibition called Iconic Images: Ten Years of Collecting for The Carle, which will draw on its permanent collection of more than 10,000 illustrations.  This special exhibition is on display through March 10, 2013 and features works from William Steig, Ludwig  Bemelmans, Maurice Sendak, Leo Lionni, Margot Zemach, Arnold Lobel, Ashley Bryan, Eric Carle, Rosemary Wells, Jerry Pinkney, Mo  Willems, and Jules Feiffer. Many iconic characters will be represented including Babar, Shrek, Frog and Toad, and Madeline.

Chief curator Nick Clark believes that this exhibit will help highlight the craftsmanship of children’s book illustrations.  “When you look at original art you are looking at the hand of the artist and can see the subtlety of the work,” Clark explains. “Museums around the U.S. are starting to recognize that children’s book illustration, which is so beautifully crafted, can draw in a young audience of art lovers. After all, for most children, picture-book art is the art they love first.”

The exhibit kicked off with a weekend of events that included an opening reception, a book signing and a shopping bazaar.

The mission for The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is to inspire a love of art and reading in young children through picture books. It is the only full-scale museum of its kind in the United States and it highlights the cultural, historical and artistic significance of picture books and their art form. Additionally, the museum provides educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy. Over the past ten years, more than half a million guests, including 30,000 school children, have visited the museum.

The museum is located in Amherst, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit the museum’s website: www.carlemuseum.org.

The Joester Loria Group congratulates The Eric Carle Museum on their tenth anniversary!  We’re proud to work with The World of Eric Carle as their exclusiveworldwide licensing agent.

Pepsi Ups the Ante for Next “X Factor” Winner

Our client Pepsi is adding additional benefits to the already lucrative prize package it provides for the winner of the hit television show “The X Factor.” Besides a $5 million recording contract with Sony, Pepsi will also help the winner produce and record their first track and an accompanying video that will air during the Grammy Awards on February 10.

While last year’s winner was given the opportunity to appear in the brand’s Super Bowl commercial, Pepsi chose to leverage its association with the Grammys for this season’s winner. Pepsi has strong ties to the music industry and frequently supports and promotes musical artists through strategic marketing partnerships, so the Grammys were a natural extension for Pepsi’s “X Factor” program.

The Hollywood Reporter recently shared the news about Pepsi’s latest “X Factor” plans.

Pepsi’s association with “The X Factor” is a great example of a brand marketing partnership that fully and organically reflects the brand’s personality and attributes.  Pepsi has an authentic and long-nurtured association with the music industry and its collaborations with “The X Factor” and The Grammys further reinforce this relationship.

The Joester Loria Group and Hurricane Sandy

· The Kellogg Company announced a $500,000 donation to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts to The Red Cross and Feeding America through both monetary and food donations.

·Discovery Communications offered a  special website to track the storm.

·Animal Planet launched a new Facebook page with the goal of reuniting pets lost during Hurricane Sandy with their owners.  The new Facebook page is called “Hurricane Sandy Lost and Found Pets” and it has over 19,000 supporters, a number that is rapidly growing.

·Pepsi pledged $500,000 to the American Red Cross’ disaster giving program and $250,000 to Feeding America’s disaster relief fund.

New Insights About Social Media’s Effects on Moms’ Purchasing Behavior

Child’s Play Communications recently conducted a study about how social media influences the purchasing decisions of moms. The study revealed that toy and apparel purchases are the category most influenced by a social media recommendation. Child’s Play surveyed 1200 moms who are active in both social media and blogging.

Another interesting insight from the survey is that 92% of moms have made a purchase based on a social media recommendation and the study found that blogs are the social media platform with the most potential to influence purchases. According to the survey, moms are now spending less time on Twitter but more time on Facebook. The survey participants also indicated they are experimenting with newer social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram.

A full recap of the survey is available from Kidscreen.

At The Joester Loria Group, we realize the growing importance of social media marketing as an integral part of any successful brand licensing program. Moms are an important demographic for many of our clients including The World of Eric Carle and Kellogg’s.  One of the ways we engage with this important demographic is by building a community where moms can share ideas and information and where we are able to offer our fans and followers activities, product information and giveaways.  We also are partnering with mom bloggers on reviews, giveaways and Twitter parties.