New agent Block 12 will feature Simon’s Cat at Licensing Expo China, 25th – 27th July in Shanghai.
Global content creator, producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group announced the appointment of agent Block 12 to oversee licensing opportunities in China.
The multi-year deal from Endemol Shine China, will see Block 12 explore licensing categories including toys, FMCG, apparel and publishing in the region. Block 12 will also manage the Simon’s Cat social media accounts and shopping mall events for the brand in China.
Globally successful animated comedy series Simon’s Cat celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, marking a decade since award-winning illustrator, animator and director Simon Tofield uploaded the first Simon’s Cat animation, Cat Man Do, to YouTube.
The digital comedy series has gone on to amass over 4.75 million subscribers and more than 980 million views on YouTube with 5.9 million fans on the official Facebook Page and over 765k followers on Instagram.
The Simon’s Cat brand extends into a number of successful global consumer offerings across gaming, publishing, stationary, apparel and giftware including an apparel launch in Primark stores across Europe; nearly 2 million books sold in 30 countries; digital stickers for iOS and Facebook (75+ million downloads to date); and mobile games including the recently launched endless runner Simon’s Cat Dash, and last year’s release Simon’s Cat Crunch Time which has topped 8 million downloads globally.
“Simon’s Cat is very attractive to young customers because it’s born online. This also makes the brand outstanding in our catalogue.” says William Tan, Managing Director of Endemol Shine China, “We believe that Block 12 is a reliable partner in ACG brand licensing. Also, we have a great expectation that Simon’s Cat can be a new beloved brand in China.”
Orion Wang, Founder & CEO of Block 12 expects that both parties will surprise the market with Simon’s Cat. “I believe that Block 12 can be a good bridge between foreign IPs like Simon’s Cat and customers in China.”
Fans of the brand can shop for Simon’s Cat ranges at the bespoke online shopping destination https://shop.simonscat.com/ in partnership with Star Editions which features a range of customised giftware, homeware, art and apparel.
In the U.S. it was recently announced that industry-leading licensed manufacturer, Isaac Morris Ltd. will develop apparel, accessories, homeware and collectibles launching in U.S. retail and online stores in 2018, and caseable licensed products will launched licensed smartphone, tablet cases and device skins globally Q2 2018.
Simon’s Cat will be featured at Block 12’s booth 2-1E22 at the upcoming Licensing Expo China July 25-27 in the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai.
