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Microsoft unveils its next-generation console
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / INTERACTIVE / TVWith the seemingly infinite amount of entertainment devices swarming today’s living rooms, Microsoft is hoping to zero in on one. The company has announced long-awaited details surrounding Xbox One, an all-encompassing entertainment system that delivers games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype.
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McDonald’s, General Mills among Despicable Me 2 marketing minions
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / RETAILUniversal Partnerships & Licensing (UP&L) has accumulated a crop of global marketing partners – and an unprecedented US$250 million in total media value – in advance of the July 3 release of Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment’s Despicable Me 2.
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eOne takes all rights to YouTube animated hit Simon’s Cat
INTERACTIVE / TVThe pact is part of a strategy by Toronto-based eOne to expand into developing licensing programs for brands conceived in the non-linear space for a broader audience.
Penguin Children’s bolsters acquisitions strategy
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / PEOPLE MOVESAs Penguin Children’s UK gears up for new published properties of popular brands like Angry Birds, the company has promoted Richard Haines to the role of acquisitions and new business manager.
Kidscreened
- Lego majorly stretches its marketing wings in Times Square (Mashable)
- Meanwhile, Lego and Sony want to build a new era of video game-integrated toys (PC World)
- Broadcasters may have a new love for Twitter thanks to Amplify, which sends ads to viewers who are talking about specific programming (The New York Times)
- Why are CEOs supposedly such lousy managers?
Disney’s Dion Vlachos moves to Nickelodeon
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / PEOPLE MOVESFormer Disney marketing exec Dion Vlachos has joined Nickelodeon as SVP of retail sales and marketing, the position left open following Ron Johnson’s promotion in March.
Two-year-old Disney Junior UK brings Appisodes to two-year-olds
INTERACTIVE / TVDisney Junior’s growing Appisode offering, which combines interactive games with select channel shows, is extending to little hands across the UK. The young channel has become the UK’s number-one pay TV preschool destination, with ratings up 20%.
Kidscreened
- How Disney and Threadless are making magic together (Wired)
- Pink problems: A number of parents are going to new lengths to shield girls from gender stereotypes in toys (The Telegraph)
- Nielsen looks to smarten up its media tracking methods with the help of Jeopardy-winning Watson (Advertising Age)
- In the wake of the Xbox One announcement, what options are on the table for Sony and Nintendo? (CNET)
Justin Time gets more into books
CONSUMER PRODUCTS / TVGuru Studio’s Justin Time property is continuing to grow with a second book in the works from publishing partner Immedium that will be distributed across North America.
Santa and Monsters set sights on Licensing Expo
CONSUMER PRODUCTSLicensing and global brand management firm Evolution is in the midst of developing programs for Rubicon Group Holding’s Monster In My Pocket and Life and Adventures of Santa Claus brands.
marblemedia hires L.A. exec to expand US presence
PEOPLE MOVES / TVToronto-based multiplatform producer marblemedia has hired L.A.-based development exec Renae Garcia as its first director of US development and acquisitions.


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