Animation studio Aardman has announced the promotions of Alison Taylor to director, distribution and business development, and Rob Goodchild to commercial director. Taylor and Goodchild will be central to providing market insight, financing, distribution and licensing for Aardman’s portfolio of brands, which includes both its own IP and third-party properties represented by the company.
These newly created roles in the sales and marketing arm of the business form part of a departmental restructuring to consolidate all the studio’s sales, marketing and brand management expertise. Taylor, currently head of sales and acquisitions at Aardman, will be responsible for driving the financing, distribution and long-term content exploitation strategy for each brand as director of distribution and business. She joined the broadcast and development department in 2004, advancing through the sales team before being promoted to head of sales and acquisitions in 2016.
Taylor is responsible for global distribution of series such as Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time along with third party distribution for children’s properties such as Digby Dragon (Blue Zoo Animation) and Brave Bunnies (Glowberry / Anima Kitchent) across all content platforms. She also played an integral part in securing Aardman’s first original with Netflix, Robin Robin, with financing content for new and existing brands being a key part to her new role.
Upcoming Aardman projects include the recently announced Robin Robin, a half-hour, festive, musical tale coming to Netflix in 2021, and a Shaun the Sheep half-hour special also for Christmas 2021. Later this year, the studio will launch Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix Up, a brand-new AR immersive experience created in collaboration with Fictioneers backed by funding from U.K. Research & Innovation (UKRI).
