Kids Marketing Report articles from January 2001

Kids Marketing Report archives from January 2001

Logo unveils its family car.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Danish toy manufacturer LEGO has joined forces with Johnson Controls, a leading US supplier of car interior systems, to develop the 'ultimate family concept vehicle'. The first prototype of the car interior - called LEGO InMotion - made its...

Tomy launches futuristic identity.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Tomy, the Japanese infant and pre-school toy manufacturer, unveiled a new corporate identity at Toy Fair 2001. The existing red logo has been replaced with a blue logo and the strapline 'Dream Energy' has been added. The colour blue was...

WARNER AXES STORES.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Warner Bros. Studio Stores is to close its head office at its flagship Regent Street store, which is relocating to Oxford Street. The new head office is likely to be in the Midlands due to lower rental prices. The company is also closing its...

DISNEY APPOINTS 141.(Disney Consumer Products' contract with advertising agency)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Disney Consumer Products has appointed through-the-line agency 141 to handle negotiating rights for third-party promotions for all its Disney characters. The promotions will be in areas in which Disney does not already have exclusive...

CEREAL-DAIRY ALLIANCE.(Kellogg and Mailer to launch Muller Corners with Kellogg's cereals, dairy snack)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Mailer and Kellogg have joined forces to launch a new dairy snack -- Muller Corners with Kellogg's cereals. The split pot range features Muller Corner with Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes, Frosties and Coca Pops.

ADAMS' EXPANSION.(Adams Childrenswear's contract with Sainsbury's)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Adams Childrenswear is building on its partnership with Sainsbury's with plans to introduce selected Adams clothing into a further 98 Sainsbury's stores this year. Adams has been trading within Sainsbury's Savacentre hypermarkets since August...

COCA-COLA IS ALIVE.(Coca-Cola's new non-carbonated fruit drink Alive)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Coca-Cola is launching a new non-carbonated fruit drink in the UK called Alive. The drink, which will launch in April, will be targeted at older children and teens. Mother has been appointed to handle advertising.

Action Man gets new look.(Hasbro's toy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Hasbro unveiled a new look for its leading action figure -- Action Man -- at Toy Fair 2001. As well as a younger, trendier, more beefy-looking Action Man, the range has been refreshed focusing on four key play themes including the new...

Hasbro is toy licensee for Bill & Ben.
January 1, 2001... BBC Worldwide announced at Toy Fair 2001 that it has appointed Hasbro as the UK master toy licensee for its preschool property Bill & Ben. The deal will see Hasbro produce and distribute a range of toys featuring Bill, Ben and their friend...

Rising mobile usage among young.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Virtually half of all 7-16 year olds now have a mobile of their own, according to the latest survey by NOP Family, a division of the NOP Research Group. The survey shows that ownership of mobile phones among this group has now reached 48%,...

Adults surf with kids for fun.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... The latest figures from Jupiter MMXI, a global Internet research company, show that parents are happy to show their children a range of sites when they are browsing with them on the web. Figures from December 2000 show that parents surfing...

mykindaplace sponsors Sky's Buffy.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... mykindaplace.com the leading teen girl portal, has signed a [pound]250,000 sponsorship deal for the fifth series of hit TV show Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The 18-part series will be shown every Friday at 8pm on Sky One, from 2 February...

atkidz supports energy message.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... atkidz.com, billed as the only web site that focuses specifically on the needs of 7-12 year olds, has been working with British Gas in support of its recently launched Think-Energy campaign, which aims to teach young children about how to save...

JAZZY TIE-IN.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... mykindaplace.com, the e-zine for teen gins, has also teamed up with Pepsi Chart to sponsor Jazzy Book's exercise books, which will be distributed to 600,000 children in UK secondary schools Lil-lets has renewed its sponsorship of the agony...

LEARN.CO.UK REVAMP.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Learn.co.uk, the online educational site backed by The Guardian, has been relaunched with a new design by eMCSaatchi.

SWIZZLE CLOSES.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Procter & Gamble has closed swizzle.co.uk, its teen girl web site, a year after its launch. The news follows the closure of the site's chatroom and bulletin board facilities towards the end of last year, after P&G terminated its partnership...

DIGGIT GOES ONLINE.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... GMTV and Walt Disney have joined forces to launch Diggit.co.uk, a web site to accompany the children's TV show.

ETOYS CLOSES UK SITE.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... eToys is to close its UK and European operations with the loss of 47 jobs.

SHOWCASE FOR SCHOOLS.(Walkers Crisps' Web site Walkers Showcase)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Walkers Crisps has created a web site that lets children showcase their schoolwork online. The site, called Walkers Showcase, is open to 34,000 UK schools -- with space allocated on the site for each school to exhibit work. Artwork, poems and...

FOOTY SITE FOR KIDS.(365 Corp.'s football site for children Footy365.com)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... 365 Corporation has launched a new football site for children called Footy365.com. The site provides news, video clips of stars demonstrating their skills and personalised fitness advice from Premier League experts.

LeisureDistrict offers edutainment.(online community serving UK children)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Steve Laitman highlights the need to act responsibly when developing kids' web sites It's a well known fact that kids feel more at home with new technology than their parents. For some adults, purchasing a new computer creates a real...

Kids' TV show Diggit moves onto web.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Chris Brock thinks personalisation is the key to Diggit's successful translation online When a kids' television brand is already successful and well established, expanding it into a new medium can present a whole range of concerns,...

LAMB CHOP IS COOKING.(Allsorts Licensing to license Lamb Chop TV program)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Allsorts Licensing is developing a licensing programme for Lamb Chop. Following the success of the original TV series, there is a new series in preproduction, which will feature a mix of animation and live action film. Licensing opportunities...

LICENSEES FOR HOOBS.(Jim Henson Consumer Products' contract with Tomy UK and Egmont for TV program for pre-school children)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Jim Henson Consumer Products has signed Tomy UK as master toy licensee and Egmont as master publishing partner for its new pre-school property The Hoobs. The show launched on 15 January on Channel 4 supported by a major press and advertising...

HULK HITS BIG SCREEN.(production of Incredible Hulk film)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Marvel Enterprises has confirmed that there's to be an Incredible Hulk film. It has recently signed up Ang Lee (previous work includes The Ice Storm and Sense and Sensibility) to direct the film. No cast has been announced at the moment but...

ANGELA ANACONDA IS TOP.(TV program for children)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... BKN reports that there's now a total of 65 x 30 minute episodes of Angela Anaconda and that it is now the number one show on Cartoon Network in the 5-8 and 8-14 age categories.

HASBRO IN APE DEAL.(contract with 20th Century Fox as toy licensee for The Planet of the Apes movie)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... 20th Century Fox has recently signed Hasbro as master toy licensee for its major summer blockbuster, The Planet of the Apes. Initial toy lines will be shown exclusively at the New York Licensing Show. The film is due to be released in the UK in...

GRANADA ACQUIRES ITEL.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Granada Commercial Ventures has recently announced that it has acquired Itel whose intellectual properties included Fetch the Vet, Dog and Duck and Albie. Fetch the Vet is tipped for licensing success in 2001 in the preschool category with a...

The Lampies -- a big year ahead.
January 1, 2001... Ken Kemp looks at 2001 licensing plans for The Lampies For any new readers, a brief summary of the story so far. In September 2000, my company Character Marketing Solutions was appointed to manage the licensing programme for new children's...

Promotional give-aways have value beyond their ability to drive sales.
January 1, 2001... Mary Aiken argues that meeting the developmental needs of children in different age groups can play a vital role in the creation of successful in-pack premiums Kellogg's with its stickers, trading cards and plastic figurines and Walkers...

From books to TV and back again...(UK children's book publishers to license TV companies to produce animated films based on children's books)
January 1, 2001... Ian Downes on the evolving relationship between kids' book publishing and licensing The businesses of children's character licensing and children's publishing have always been closely related, and in lots of ways intertwined. This...

Rising volumes and falling prices for the UK's leisure software market.(year 2000)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Big increase in sales of software for games consoles, with PC games faring less well New figures released by the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) and ChartTrack reveal UK sales of video games and other leisure...

Good pharmaceutical design - helping children help themselves.
January 1, 2001... Richard Rees explains how good design can encourage kids to take their medicine Whether it's a mainstream product like Calpol or an intensive regime of injections, pharmaceutical companies are wising up to the fact that, where kids are...

Brands need to understand mindset of echo-boomers in order to survive.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Patrick Meyer explains how companies can win over the brand adopters of the future Have you thrown open the front door to your brand? Is there a whole new generation of consumers getting ready to come into your franchise -- setting the...

Pre-teens and early teens favour adult shows.(UK)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Soaps top the list of viewing preferences -- in this case, an episode of EastEnders The children's age group of 10-15 year olds marks the transition from younger viewers to teenage viewing. So what programmes do 10-15 year olds watch? ...

COCA-COLA GB.(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Alive teen fruit drink Coca-Cola is launching a teen-targeted fruit drink called Alive. An above-the-line campaign will support the launch. Design: Not available Advertising: Mother PR: In-house

G2K PROMOTIONS.(advertises South Park-branded range of meat products)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... South Park -- Chef's Premium Collection meat products G2K Promotions has marked its entry into the premium meat products marketplace with a new South Park-branded range. As well as burgers, sausages and breaded chicken products under...

GLAXO SMITHKLINE.(launches Oxy Dots, skincare product for teens)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Oxy Dots medicated teen skincare Glaxo SmithKline has extended its Oxy medicated teen skincare range with Oxy Dots -- transparent antibacterial patches -- aimed at 11-16 year aids. Metallic packaging features a clock to illustrate the...

KELLOGG.(launches Real Fruit Winders children's fruit snack)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 1, 2001... Kellogg's Real Fruit Winders children's fruit snack Cereal giant Kellogg is entering the fast growing fruit snacks sector with the [pound]6m launch of a new product targeting 6-12 year olds. Real Fruit Winders -- flat strips of...

MCVITIE'S Penguin Flipper Dippers.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... biscuits McVitie's has extended its Penguin brand with Flipper Dippers -- flipper-shaped Penguin biscuits with a chocolate and vanilla dip. Single and triple packs will be available. A [pound]3m TV advertising campaign will support the...

MCVITIE'S Mini BN.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... children's biscuits McVitie's has extended its children's BN biscuit brand with a miniature version. Mini BN feature the same 'smiley' face as the original biscuits. They come in individual rolls and four-roll cartons. A [pound]3m press...

SAINSBURY'S Blue Parrot Cafe.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... children's food Sainsbury's is launching a range of healthy food for children aged 5-11 from 18 March. The Blue Parrot Cafe range comprises 250 products ranging from fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh pasta to yoghurts and jumbo fish...

CUSSONS.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Carex for Kids children's antibacterial handwash Cussons has relaunched its Carex for Kids antibacterial handwash in a bid to encourage kids to wash their hands more regularly. A major advertising campaign is planned for 2001. The move...

KIMBERLY-CLARK.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2001... Kotex sanitary protection Kimberly-Clark is relaunching its Kotex sanitary towel brand in a bid to attract a younger audience. The product range has been repackaged to feature a 'red dot' in the 'o' of the Kotex logo in line with...