Entertainment One (eOne) today announced its first raft of UK licensing partners for its hit preschool animated superhero TV show, PJ Masks.
Launched on the 24-hour preschool Disney Junior channel in the UK during February 2016, PJ Masks is already proving to be a hit with both girls and boys aged three to six years. The show consistently features in the channel’s top 5 rated series and as a result, Disney Junior has increased PJ Masks airtime to multiple prime-slots daily Monday through to Sunday.
Now, to meet the growing consumer demand in the UK, eOne is currently gearing up to the launch of PJ Masks licensing programme, targeting boys aged four to six years. The roll out will be spearheaded by Flair’s Just Play division, which will distribute the brand’s master global toy line from February 2017. The initial range to hit shelves includes plush, vehicles, action figures and dress-up.
Entertainment One, head of UK licensing, Katie Rollings comments, “PJ Masks is quickly establishing a solid and engaged fanbase across the country with viewers being drawn to the show’s heroic characters, action-packed storylines and top-class animation. We’ve had a tremendous response to the property and we’re now delighted to be welcoming a top-tier line up of partners to the PJ Masks UK licensing programme who we’re confident will give young fans the best possible experience of the brand.”
The PJ Masks UK merchandise offering will then be significantly bolstered in AW17 as publishing and apparel merchandise debuts at mass-market UK retail. Leading publisher Hachette has been appointed as master publishing partner for the territory and is on board to produce an extensive line of publishing formats.
eOne has also inked a deal with Immediate Media for a standalone official PJ Masks 4-weekly kids’ magazine and additionally Redan is set to introduce PJ Masks content into its popular multi-brand Fun to Learn Favourites and Fun to Learn Friends magazines. Alongside publishing, the first partners signed in the apparel category are Aykroyd TDP, which will see the launch of kids’ nightwear and underwear.
Speaking of the toy range, GP Flair, MD, Simon Hedge said, “We have an extensive product line-up that we believe will perfectly emulate the action and adventure that is part of every PJ Masks episode. On previewing the collection, our retailers were keen to launch as early possible, hence the early spring release of the collection. To support this we are putting together a marketing strategy, targeting both boys and girls that will ensure awareness of the toy lines at its height from the moment the toys hit the stores.”
A global digital marketing strategy for PJ Masks is driving fan engagement through a dedicated content-packed website, plus Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels which are rapidly gaining traction. The licensor also released the brand’s first free app, Moonlight Heroes, globally in June 2016 which has notched up over two million downloads since its launch, of which 179K have been downloaded in UK. Bolstering the brand’s app offering, eOne will launch the first PJ Masks paid app Super City Run in multiple international territories at the end of November.
