Pocoyo

ORIGIN: The series is based on an original idea.

DISTRIBUTOR: ITV Studios serves as the global distributor, excluding Spain, Portugal, Italy and Latin America, which are handled by brand owner Zinkia Entertainment.

CREATORS: David Cantolla, Luis Gallego and Guillermo García Carsí.

TV SHOW: This multi-award winning CGI-animated television series brings children into the bright and exuberant world of Pocoyo (which means “little me” in Spanish), an inquisitive and fun-loving 3-year-old boy and his animal friends, Elly (the elephant), Pato (the duck) and Loula (his pet dog).  Narrated by British actor and comedian Stephen Fry, Pocoyo is packed with music, dance and humor, and encourages children to “learn through laughter.” There are two seasons of Pocoyo, for a total of 104 7-minute episodes.

“Pocoyo is a unique and innovative brand designed for gender neutral toddlers—appealing equally to boys and girls—and the concept, characters and storytelling can easily cross cultural boundaries," says Maria Doolan, managing director of brand and business development at Zinkia Entertainment. "The series is visually stunning with simple, clear and interactive storytelling at the heart of each episode with a blend of humor and learning, which mimics toddler development, language, imagination, curiosity and repetition. The major strength of Pocoyo lies in its core values. The brand embraces a universe of human values, promoting a philosophy of curiosity, openness, interest, understanding, tolerance, respect and love.”

To view a video of Pocoyo, click here.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Kathryn Hart, Anne Brogan and Jonathan Doyle.

MAIN BROADCASTERS: In the U.S., Pocoyo airs on Nick Jr. (seven days a week at 4:25 p.m.); PBS stations across 80 percent of the U.S.; Univision’s Planeta U (Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m.); and Discovery Familia.

TV SALES: Pocoyo airs on leading terrestrial and pay-TV channels in over 100 countries worldwide, including ABC (Australia), Televisa (Mexico), KI.KA (Germany), RAI (Italy), M6 (France), ITV1 (U.K.), TVE (Spain), Disney Channel (Scandinavia, Baltics, Pan-Asia), Boomerang (Spain, Andorra), Nick Jr. (U.S., France), BTV (China) and Channel 5 (U.K.), among others.

MAJOR TOY LICENSEES: In the U.S., Bandai America, the master toy licensee, debuted the Pocoyo toy line at Toys ”R” Us in fall 2010, which included the Bump n’ Go car; Squeeze n’ Play Plush; bath figures and Pocoyo Water Taxi and an assortment of mini plush of Pocoyo and friends. Additional toys from Bandai America will be released in spring and fall 2011, including Pocoyo Swiggle Traks, which is a flexible track system with multiple, easy configurations that encourages imagination and creativity for preschoolers and taps into the playfulness of the television series; Swiggle Wheels, a motorized vehicle, which propels itself within a never-ending circular track for continuous fun; and Push Along Vehicle that can be used as a stand-alone vehicle or with the entire Swiggle Traks system. 

OTHER PRODUCTS: In the U.S., NCircle Entertainment released the “Meet Pocoyo” DVD in 2010 and will release a new series in 2011, including “Super Pocoyo,” “Here’s the Party,” a Halloween special called “Boo!,” “Dance Pocoyo” and “Positively Pocoyo.” Other toy categories are in development and Zinkia is pursuing additional licensees in the U.S. Also, an iPad app, “Coloring with Pocoyo,” was recently released, and additional applications are being developed for release in 2011. And, following the success of the first Pocoyize app, which allows users, either online or via the iPhone, to create and personalize their own Pocoyo-style avatar, a series of new apps is being developed. Over 10 million people have been Pocoyized to date using the website; the iPhone app has also received some 550,000 downloads, in addition to being a top five seller in both Spain and Japan.

“Our online initiatives have been instrumental in the building global awareness for the brand," Doolan explains. "We have experienced some of our most impressive growth figures with our online initiatives and are continually exploring new opportunities to extend the brand in the digital world. Some of our recent growth figures since June 2010 include the Pocoyo YouTube Channel, which has received 350 million hits worldwide with a 169-percent increase. Pocoyoworld.com has attracted over 11 million unique visitors—a 144-percent increase. The official Facebook page has over 280,000 fans—a 152-percent increase and the authorized Pocoyo blog, available in English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish, has attracted a total of 4 million unique visitors—a 100-percent increase. We will continue this year to put a lot of effort into creating unique experiences across these platforms for our fans.”

Internationally, Pocoyo has a broad range of licensed product available. This varies from market to market and includes toys, DVDs, apparel, video games, back to school, healthy food and beverage, stationery, accessories, home décor, baby care, promotional & kiosk, as well as an exclusive jewelry line.

“In addition to the Bandai toy line that includes plush and educational toys, we have had a lot of success internationally with our musical toys, back-to-school products and series of books,” Doolan notes. 

STRATEGY FOR ROLLOUT: “With the broad television platform that has been secured for Pocoyo in the U.S., our focus with leading partners Bandai America and NCircle Entertainment is primarily on securing 100 percent distribution of merchandise nationwide,” says Doolan. “We are in advanced discussions with many potential licensees for key categories and have been focusing heavily on significantly expanding our reach online by creating, for example, new and exciting applications that meet the needs of consumers today.”

“Pocoyo is more about learning how to learn by encouraging kids to discover the world around them," Doolan continues. " Pocoyo represents an aspirational ideal by creating the kind of world parents would love their kids to experience and discover, and one they will want to share with family and friends. Pocoyo fosters the value of friendship, a core component in the brand positioning and we work to reflect that value across all the content and product. In 2011 we are working closely with our broadcast partners to develop numerous 360-degree marketing initiatives that will incorporate retail initiatives, on-air advertising and online brand awareness."