January 2012

Hit Partners for Bob the Builder App

Hit Entertainment has partnered with BigPlay Studios, a developer of game, education, and book apps, for the launch of Bob the Builder: Muck’s Train to Trouble for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, available in Apple’s App store this week. This marks the first app release for the Bob the Builder brand.

Bob the Builder: Muck’s Train to Trouble is an interactive reading experience, which also features painting activities, video clips, and games. Every page includes narration, character voices, custom animations, and easy-to-read words with highlighted text.

With this first Bob the Builder app, Hit Entertainment adds to its iOS apps portfolio, which includes apps featuring Thomas & Friends, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam, and Barney.

About the Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair

The HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair kicked off Monday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The fair, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), runs through Thursday, January 12. Three complementary fairs—the Hong Kong International Stationery Fair (staged by HKTDC and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd.), the Hong Kong Baby Products Fair, and the HKTDC Hong Kong International Licensing Show—are also running concurrently with the toy fair.

The 38th Toys & Games Fair is welcoming first-time participants from Greece, Macau, Russia, and Ukraine. Group pavilions are bringing together companies from the Chinese mainland, India, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and Thailand. Other highlights include the World of Toys Pavilion, a new Animal Kingdom product zone, the return of the Eco Toys Display Zone, and the Brand Name Gallery, which boasts a record 80 exhibitors—30 percent more than last year. The Hong Kong Toys Conference looks at the latest safety directives from the European Union and the U.S.

This post was originally written by Elizabeth A. Reid and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

Sun-Mate Announces Slew of New Licenses for Entertainment Brands

Sun-Mate Corporation has obtained a number of licensing rights to a broad spectrum of entertainment brands, including Star Wars, Spider-Man, Power Rangers, WWE, the recently announced Hello Kitty and KISS joint branding, and the fashion art brand Public Zoo.

For Star Wars, Sun-Mate will develop ATM machines, arcade-style games, tabletop games, and guitars based on the brand.

Spider-Man and other Marvel Heroes, including Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor, will be featured among keyboards, drums, ATM machines, and other activities being developed by the company for U.S. consumers. Sun-Mate will also develop various Power Rangers-branded pinball game machines, which will incorporate Power Rangers’ themes of fitness, responsibility, teamwork, and helping others.

Countdown to Toy Fair: Identifying Your Communications Objectives

First in a series of posts on preparing for the annual trade event

By Julie Livingston, director, business development and accounts, Child’s Play Communications, New York City

Toy Fair is a month away, and for many toy and youth entertainment companies, the annual event is an important media platform that can help drive brand awareness and buzz for hot items throughout the year. With approximately one thousand media representatives from around the world in attendance, how will your company or brand garner the attention it deserves? Following are tips and information collected during the six years I served overseeing public relations for the Toy Industry Association and Toy Fair, as well as serving toy and youth entertainment industry clients as a PR professional.

1. Prioritize your communications goals and objectives. For example, is it a new product line review you want the media to see? Or, do you have a hot item you want to hype to help drive holiday orders? Do you have an announcement about a licensing agreement or strategic partnership? Identifying your primary goals and objectives will provide a framework for all related activities, including any responsibilities that you want other communications personnel or a public relations agency to handle.

Innovation First International Launches Moshi Monsters Bobble Bots

Innovation First International is launching Bobble Bots, a new brand and product line. As part of the launch, the company has joined forces with Mind Candy, the brains behind the Moshi Monsters brand, for the debut of Bubble Bots Moshi Monsters. The line will hit store shelves across Europe and North America this spring.

The line of bobblehead mini robotic pets and customizable play sets will feature the patented Hexbug Nano vibration technology. Moshi Monsters will be brought to life in their own customizable environment. The initial assortment of Bobble Bots Moshi Monsters will include 24 battery-operated collectible Moshlings and a variety of configurable, 3-D “dollhouse” replicas of the streets, yards, buildings, and houses found online in Monstro City. Every product will include secret codes to unlock digital assets in the online world. The products will be showcased (by appointment only) at London Toy Fair, Nuremberg Toy Fair, and New York Toy Fair.