Hoho Rights and licensing company Haven Licensing are flying high with the announcement of key licensees in Australia and New Zealand for the pre-school property Cloudbabies.
Big Balloon has been appointed as the toy partner, launching a variety of plush and toys, and Wildcard as the apparel partner for outerwear and sleepwear. Toys and Apparel will both launch into ABC Stores in September, joining the range of Penguin books and ABC DVDs, which are available now in ABC Stores across Australia. The launch will kick off with catalogue features from June and an in-store destination area in September.
Created by award-winning art director Bridget Appleby, Cloudbabies made its colourful debut on CBeebies in the UK last year and since its launch on ABC4Kids in Australia in January and TVNZ New Zealand in February, Cloudbabies has achieved an average reach of 295,000 or 28% of preschoolers in Australia each week¹.
“After a hugely successful debut on screen in Australia and New Zealand, we’re thrilled that Cloudbabies is building on its ratings success and securing key licensing categories in the region and have high hopes for the forthcoming product launch” says Helen Howells Joint Managing Director Hoho Entertainment.
Aimed at pre-schoolers, this enchanting series about four adorable, childlike characters teaches children about caring for others and the world around them and introduces them to the wonder of the sky and the concepts of day and night, sun and moon and rainbows and stars. In each episode, the colourful Cloudbabies jump on their Skyhorsies and begin their day’s work – making sure all is running smoothly in the sky.
Cloudbabies is animated by Studio Liddell in Manchester. Licensees already on board in the UK include: Vivid for master toy, Abbey Home Media for home entertainment, Penguin Children’s Books for publishing, Century for annuals, Immediate for magazines, Aykroyd/TDP for nightwear and underwear, MV Sports for wheeled goods and Hallmark for greetings cards.
¹ Source: OzTAM, metro consolidated data: ABC2 wks 1-21, children aged 0-4