Rainbow Preps New Teen Brand

LORETO: Ahead of the Licensing International Expo, Rainbow has unveiled plans for a new girl-skewing brand for the 13-to-17 set, called Maya Fox: Tag Your Life.

Created by Iginio Straffi, the CEO of Rainbow SpA and creator of Winx Club, and Silvia Brena, a journalist and former director of Cosmopolitan Italy, the fashion-based property is intended to appeal to 12- to 20-year-old girls, with a focus on 13- to 17-year-olds. Set in contemporary London, the property focuses on a fashion-forward young woman who can speak with the dead. The brand began as a full-length novel, printed in Italy by Mondadori, Italy’s largest publisher, and will soon be distributed by other leading publishers in Europe. Maya also exists as a monthly magazine. A multiplatform plan for the property includes four further novels, a monthly fashion comic magazine and a dedicated web blog. 

The four new novels will revolve around Maya and her world of friends, romance, music, and psychic talents. The first has been released in Italy. This year it will roll out to Latin America (including Brazil), Spain and Portugal by Grupo Planeta, to France by Univers Poche and to Germany by Carlsen. The other three novels will be published in Italy between 2009 and 2010.