Newly re-branded VIACOM NICKELODEON CONSUMER PRODUCTS (VNCP) has brought all their brands under one globally unified consumer products organization led by Pam Kaufman, President. The addition of Paramount to the Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central brands gives them the ability to build on their key strategy, offering the best product across categories and demos providing franchises for ‘Every Age, Every Aisle, Everywhere Around the World’.
2019 is targeted to be a strong year for Viacom International Media Networks Australia/New Zealand on and off the screen. *For the fourth year in a row Nick Jr. is the *number one subscription channel for kids 0 – 4 years old and third year at *number one against grocery buyers with kids 0 – 4 years old. Nickelodeon remains *number one for kids 5 – 12 years old and for the third year in a row the Nickelodeon network ranks *number one in the kids 0 – 12 years old sector. The Nick Play App saw **2.2 million PVs per month in 2018 and the Nick Jr. Play App, which launched November last year, is attracting on average 500 thousand PVs a week.
Mark Kingston, SVP International, Charlotte Castillo, SVP Global Franchise Marketing and Claire O’Connor, VP Retail Marketing and CP APAC are all attending the Melbourne Toy Fair this year to present their strongest portfolio to date.
Below we have summed up the highlights from VNCP’s diverse IP portfolio:
There is no bigger global pre-school property than PAW Patrol – it’s a worldwide phenomenon. PAW Patrol delivers 91% awareness for kids between 2-5 years and is on Nick Jr., Channel Nine and GO!, TVNZ, Stan, Fetch TV and Foxtel Go. It ranked number one in the NPD 2018 licensed pre-school toy category and topped the charts in DVD, publishing and many other categories.
Nickelodeon and Spin Master plan to continue investing in the franchise with new content, new characters and new product categories. This year the PAW Patrol universe is expanding with new themes in Series 6, with a total of 180 episodes, a strong new short-form strategy that ensures the pups will be seen everywhere, brand new packaging, styleguides and a new theatrical release confirmed for Q4 this year supported by major above the line advertising.
PAW Patrol continues to be on a roll!
Launching last August on Nick Jr., this show follows four best friend rescue birds, Swift, Penny, Rod and Brody – who are training to earn their wings at the Top Wing Academy. With the help of their mentor Speedy, and unique turbo charged vehicles and high tech gadgets, the cadets are assigned different missions to sharpen their rescue skills and help those in need while learning valuable lessons along the way.
Today, it is a Nick Jr. top five show amongst kids 2-5 years old and has been seen by 1.1 million people since launch. It’s also available on iTunes and Google Play. Hasbro are the global master toy partner and will be releasing in 2020. Penguin Random House leads global publishing and NBCUniversal is the global DVD partner.
Season 2 launches this August on Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.’s newest leading lady – Sunny Day is a 10 year-old master stylist who owns her own hair salon. The show’s curriculum is based in entrepreneurship with a play pattern rooted in hair play. The show launched last February and broadcasts seven times a week on Nick Jr. There are a total of 60 x 22’ episodes available.
Mattel is the global toy partner and will debut a great range of basic and deluxe dolls, playsets and role play toys this June in Australia and New Zealand. Lake Press will release novelty publishing and NBCUniversal will launch DVD’s.
Nella the Princess Knight has been picked up by ABC Kids to broadcast later this year and the second season premiered in September on Nick Jr. bringing total episodes to 120 x 11 minutes. Already a favourite amongst Nick Jr.’s audience, the show airs 19 times a week. There are new toys being released from Big Balloon, books through Lake Press and DVDs with NBCUniversal.
Since appearing on ABC Kids last year, Rusty Rivets has reached 3.7 million people. The show broadcasts daily on ABC and Nick Jr. and there are now seven online games and a dedicated website, RustyRivets.com. This is a great pre-school show all about creating, engineering, designing and inventing. Spin Master are the master toy partner.
The latest news on Shimmer & Shine is that Season 4 launched December 2018 and runs throughout 2019 starring beautiful Zahracorns, Dragons and out of this world sea creatures in Zahramayoceana. This is a hugely popular show on Nick Jr. reaching 1.5 million in 2018.
After nearly 35 years, the Turtles are known for reinvention and critics agree Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is its best reinvention yet. Rise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles launched October 1st on Nickelodeon and made its debut on ABC Kids last month. With a weekly prime time slot on Sundays at 9 a.m., the show has been a ratings success.
As part of a new and innovative content strategy, Nickelodeon recently announced their second deal with Netflix and its Nickelodeon Studios division to produce an original, animated feature film based on Rise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Additionally, the second television series is well under development and set for broadcast this September. HeadStart and Planet Fun launched toys late last year across Australia and New Zealand and Showtime debuted the brand new costumes at the Big Bash cricket around the country in January. Lake Press have just signed on for publishing together with existing licensees, Caprice, Hot Springs, Bensons, Hunter Leisure, Hunter Products, Zak and Engelite.
Nickelodeon is commemorating 20 years of SpongeBob SquarePants, who has reigned as the number one kids’ animated series on TV, generating a universe of beloved characters, pop culture catchphrases and memes, theatrical releases, consumer products, a Tony award-winning Broadway musical and a global fan base.
The “Best Year Ever” kicks off in July with the premiere of “SpongeBob’s Big Birthday Blowout,” and leads up to the Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies theatrical, The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge, coming Q3 2020. New global master toy partner Alpha Group will debut a brand-new line of toys, collectibles, plush and novelties, and for the first-time ever, SpongeBob toys that incorporate Nickelodeon Slime.
Nickelodeon transformed the influencer business with social media sensation JoJo Siwa and made her an international idol. With over 2.1+ billion views on YouTube and 33 million fans, JoJo’s star continues to rise.
Last November, JoJo announced her first American tour, and it was an instant sellout. 2019 will be bigger than last year for JoJo with her Sweet Sixteen in May. Her celebrity status continues to grow with appearances on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon and Kim Kardashian’s daughter North a big fan of her bows, which have now sold more than 50 million at the last count. Her popularity shows no signs of slowing down. In the US, JoJo’s range of products for Target and Walmart are number one selling items, and Nickelodeon are seeing year-on-year growth across all key categories.
JoJo understands her fans better than anyone and is committed to continuing to build her brand for the long term.
MTV is the number one profiling TV network in Australia for P13-39 and in 2018 reached a massive 82% of their target audience. On more platforms in Australia than any of its local competitors, MTV has the largest combined social media following. With over 31.3 million video streams, digital engagement is up +21% year on year.
MTV is the number one global youth brand and the voice of the current generation. MTV wowed both fans and critics alike with the 2018 launch of MTV Unplugged Melbourne, marking the first time the iconic music franchise has even been filmed in Australia. Other Australian productions on the horizon include a completely re-imagined version of TRL in March and reality TV juggernaut Teen Mom later in 2019.
Insights show that fans relate the MTV brand to trend-forward fashion, with a strong desire for unique, statement-making products. Capitalizing on the current logo craze are high profile collaborations with Marc Jacobs, Moschino x H&M and Fyodor Golan, as well as ready-to-wear programs with Forever 21, American Eagle and ASOS.
MTV is truly in the midst of a creative renaissance.
First launched in 1997, the twenty-second season of Comedy Central’s irreverent and hilarious animated satire South Park debuted in the US in September last year. Revolving around four boys – Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny and their bizarre adventures in and around Colorado this series remains steadfastly contemporary and continues to garner fans far and wide.
With new styleguides, DVDs and toys, South Park is very much back in vogue.
The addition of Paramount’s library of properties to the VNCP portfolio builds on Merchantwise’s already successful licensing and promotional deals. VNCP have a creative team dedicated to staying on top of the latest trends. Incorporating retro themes and nostalgia will be a big opportunity.
Added to all of this and to drive maximum awareness across the VNCP franchises, the on-ground events adjacent business continues to flourish and grow. VNCP’s real world experiences reached more than 1.5 million Australian kids and families with this number set to grow in 2019.
VNCP have got every age and every aisle covered!
*Source: OzTAM, e.TAM, National STV Panel, Cons+7, 06:00-19:59, 01/10/2017 – 30/09/18, STV channels only. **Adobe Omniture Site Catalyst, Australian and New Zealand Traffic only. Oct 2018 – Jan 2019 ***Linear TV Source: OzTAM NatSTV Panel, Cons+28, 2018, 0200-2559. Digital Source: Adobe Analytics, 2018 vs. 2017, Australian Traffic. Vod Source: OzTAM VPM, 2018 vs 2017. *Measurement & Reporting improved in 2018.**
