Domenic Bettini Playview
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Playview Brands Welcomes Domenic Bettini as New Director of Business Development

Playview Brands, a leading toy company with a growing portfolio of esteemed brands and licenses, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Domenic Bettini as its new Director of Business Development. With over 20 years of success in growing brand revenues and market share, Bettini will play a pivotal role in driving Playview Brands to new heights. Domenic Bettini’s new role complements Playview Brands’ increasing scope of fun with their NERF license renewal, new partnership with entertainment franchise Minecraft, upcoming My HeroMail, and jigsaw lines, including KI Puzzles. Bettini will spearhead Playview’s efforts to identify and capitalize on new business opportunities for their roster of renowned brands.

Alma's Way PNC Grant
Entertainment News
Fred Rogers Productions Secures PNC Foundation Support for Alma’s Way

Fred Rogers Productions has been awarded a PNC Foundation grant to support Alma’s Way, its newest PBS KIDS series, through PNC Grow Up Great, the multi-year, bilingual early childhood education initiative that helps children from birth through age 5 develop a passion for learning that lasts a lifetime. The $1.3 million grant from PNC Foundation to Fred Rogers Productions supports the development of Alma’s Way engagement activities as well as ongoing support for “Be My Neighbor Days,” the signature community outreach initiative for Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Falcon's Beyond Falcon’s Creative Philippines, Inc Nasdaq Bruce A Brown growth
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Falcon’s Beyond Names Toni Caracciolo as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Branding

Falcon’s Beyond Global, LLC, a diversified global entertainment, consumer experience, and technology enterprise that accelerates intellectual property (IP) activations concurrently across physical and digital experiences, announced that it has named Toni Caracciolo as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Branding, reporting to company President Simon Philips. In this newly created position, Caracciolo will advance the strong momentum Falcon’s has established over the past year as the company launched multiple projects, initiatives, and experiences across its three core business units: Falcon’s Creative Group, Falcon’s Beyond Destinations and Falcons Beyond Brands. Her deep travel experience is particularly relevant to the planned future growth of Falcon’s Beyond Destinations. Through this division, earlier this year, Falcon’s opened both Falcon’s Resort by Meliá | All Suites Punta Cana and the adjacent Katmandu Park | Punta Cana, the first theme park of its kind in the Caribbean, together offering a unique “resortainment” hospitality experience. 

Adopt Me Creative Kids
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Creative Kids Group Launches Product Line with Uplift for ‘Adopt Me’

Creative Kids Group, a leader in the innovation of kids’ toys and arts and crafts, launches a product line with the highly popular online game Adopt Me! The popular pet adoption game with more than 33 million plays will have Creative Kids licensed consumer products grace the shelves as soon as this Fall.  Delivered by Uplift Games, Adopt Me has been enjoyed by over 400 million players through the Roblox platform. With more than 300 pets to raise and play with, the Adopt Me experience creates a family-friendly environment where players can build and decorate houses, adopt pets, and create their own fun, social experiences. 

MEGA Pokémon TOTY Toy Foundation
Events News
The Pokémon Company International Continues its Support of the Toy Foundation with TOTY Awards ’23 Vision Sponsorship

As the toy community approaches an exciting season, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) has announced its continued support for The Toy Foundation ahead of the highly anticipated Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards by signing on as a Vision Sponsor for the acclaimed event. The company also announced its third annual donation to the Foundation in support of its critical mission to deliver the extraordinary benefits of play to children in need, which aligns with TPCi’s overarching goal of improving the lives of children and supporting social equity. The donation will fold into The Pokémon Company International’s recent pledge to commit a minimum of $25 million USD to philanthropic organizations dedicated to said goals over the next five years, which includes The Toy Foundation as a long-term strategic partner.

Barbie A Touch of Magic
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Mattel’s All-new Animated Series Barbie: A Touch of Magic Debuts September 14

Mattel, Inc (NASDAQ: MAT) announced that Barbie is returning to Malibu with all new adventures – and a bit of magic – with the brand new animated series, Barbie: A Touch of Magic, premiering September 14 on Netflix. As Barbie “Malibu” Roberts and Barbie “Brooklyn” Roberts forge new friendships and embark on mystical adventures at the shore, they soon discover that magic and fantasy fill every corner of their world. While enjoying life by the beach in Malibu, Barbie and Barbie stumble upon a mysterious baby horse and work together to find where their new friend came from. It soon comes to light that the mysterious little horse is Peggy, a baby Pegasus, sent to Malibu on a mysterious mission. Barbie and Barbie must look to their friends and family to help keep their new friend safe from the clutches of Rocki, a magical being with her own mystical agenda. Featuring all-new original music, Barbie and Barbie find the magic in the world around them in Barbie: A Touch of Magic.

Sean Dorrington Piñata Smashlings
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Toikido Names ‘Sean Does Magic’ Brand Ambassador for Piñata Smashlings

Toikido, the London-based entertainment company on the cutting edge of digital design and toys, has named the internet’s most followed magician, mega influencer Sean Sotaridona, aka “Sean Does Magic,“ global brand ambassador for its buzzed-about new in-house IP, Piñata Smashlings. Sean Does Magic’s animated character officially enters the Piñata Smashlings Roblox game today as its newest Smashlings character. Having first discovered his love for magic at the age of 6 by watching YouTube videos, Sean Does Magic has since become renowned for performing card tricks and other illusions, cultivating an online community of over 30 million followers, captivated by his kind, generous, and inspiring personality and unique storytelling capability.

Pet Hotel WildBrain
Entertainment News
WildBrain Partners with Tencent Video and Miaow’s House as Exclusive Distributor of New Animated Series Pet Hotel

WildBrain, a global leader in kids’ and family entertainment, has partnered with Tencent Video and animation studio Miaow’s House as the exclusive worldwide distributor outside of mainland China of the new animated series, Pet Hotel (26×11’). Produced by Tencent Video and Miaow’s House, Pet Hotel is aimed at kids aged 7–9 and follows the hilarious antics of Lili the dog, Bubu the guinea pig and cats Nai Nai and Vicky as they welcome new animal friends to their home at the Pet Hotel. Unlike other hotels, the Pet Hotel—which has been converted from an old grocery store—is filled with high-tech inventions created by the pets’ caregiver and hotel owner, Robin—from massage tables to automatic feeders! The animal buddies and their young owner face various quirky customers and their wacky pets every day, giving rise to numerous entertaining stories.

ZAG Miraculous Ghostforce
Events Licensing News
ZAG Exhibiting at Licensing Brazil with Miraculous “Stronger than Ever” & Ghostforce

Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG will exhibit at LicensingCon Brazil for the second year running to showcase its brands and highlight the growth of ZAG in the region. Brands include the globally popular property Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, a co-production with Grupo Globo. Also to be presented is the animated CG action-comedy series, Ghostforce, available across Latin America on Discovery Kids, and also on SBT in Brazil from August 19, 2023. ZAG will share its brand plans for the properties at an exclusive summit and cocktail on the first night of the event.