Rainbow S.p.A.

September 24, 2009 World Screen
Iginio Straffi
CEO
 
 

What are some of your top properties for MIPCOM?

 

At the upcoming MIPCOM we will pitch the latest fourth season of Winx Club (all new 26 half hour episodes), the long awaited second season of HUNTIK: Seekers and Secrets, and the second season of Monster Allergy.
And most importantly, we are launching the hottest, brand-new TV series from Rainbow, PopPixie!! We will present the world premiere of the trailer and one full episode. The target audience is mainly 5- to 12-year-olds but PopPixie effectively appeals to a cross target of the whole family.
 
 

Why will these programs appeal to buyers?

 

All four of these titles have engaging story lines with a strong dose of comedy, exciting action and thrilling adventure targeting mainly kids from 6 to 12 years. Rainbow has proven to produce show in this genre that work tremendously well with children, as shown by their strong TV Ratings literally around the globe. For example, Huntik series 1 is now a top rated show across Europe, thanks to its exciting and original content where mystery and mythology together play an important role. Regarding PopPixie we are confident the new TV show will be very popular with children around the world thanks to its perfect mix of humor and magical adventures.  
 
 

What are some of the trends you’re currently seeing in this market?

 

With the current economic climate we are finding that buyers are, understandably, taking less risks and looking to do business with established companies with a track record for success. Also, more and more TV buyers are expressing a need to look at a property holistically, i.e. properties that can deliver results across all markets such as merchandising, publishing, toys, etc., and not just TV. Bottom line needs in a weak advertising market mean that TV buyers need to look at ancillary sources of revenue—whichis good news forRainbow since we definitely develop our programs with a multiplatform strategy in place.
 
 

What are your goals and expectations MIPCOM?

 

We will focus on signing PopPixie TV sales around the world (we already started the presales of the show to important networks in Europe with great results) and we will complete the TV plan of our other main properties. Specifically for Winx, we would like to secure its broadcast in the few territories left unsold. Additionally, we plan to increase our penetration in emerging Asian markets especially China and South America markets. For Huntik, we will also widen the broadcasters of the first season, and focus on sales of the series two.
 
 

What are your top priorities this year from a licensing perspective?

 

At the upcoming BLE we will present four properties from the Rainbow portfolio: Winx Club fourth season, Huntik: Secrets and Seekers second season, a brand-new TV show called PopPixie and Maya Fox – Tag your Life (our latest brand for the teenage target). The former three properties are TV shows but Maya Fox has started out as a very unique and successful editorial project.
Our priority this year is the presentation of the marketing plan we created for our new exciting property PopPixie, as well as other important projects on board for Winx Club season four and Huntik season two.
 
 

What is the appeal of these brands?

 

Rainbow’s philosophy has always focused on the creation of integrated projects: not only TV series, but multiplatform brands that are able to build enduring success in toy, publishing, apparel, DVDs, and all other key licensing categories. The importance is to create properties covering all media: from TV series to live shows and theatrical movies, in order to give to the licensees broad, all-encompassing support. Winx Club is a perfect example of this strategy and we have just completed a new synchronized marketing plan with the recent launch of its first MMO game all over Europe.
The other important mission that Rainbow has is to develop original and exciting content, always responding to the needs of the market and ideal for licensing opportunities. PopPixie, our brand-new property launching at BLE, is a perfect example, thanks to its mix of comedy and positive, feel-good themes that will inspire and empower its audience.
 
 

What are the key categories for these brands?

 

The licensing plan of our properties is targeted to cover all categories, creating value for the key elements of each property.
In the age of new technology, Rainbow is increasing its attention to the on line world, creating, both for Winx (already available) and for Huntik (available in 2010) an MMO game that will provide children the opportunity to be involved in the virtual life of their favorite cartoons 24/7.
More specifically for Winx Club, Rainbow is increasing its investment in the Fashion doll business, planning a coordinated launch of the new season 4 collections launching throughout Europe in October and selecting the best local toy partners in Europe to guarantee better distribution in each market.
As for our male-oriented property Huntik: Secret and Seekers, Rainbow is expanding its focus from toys to the publishing business with trading-card games, 3-D figurines and magazines distributed throughout Europe and supported by massive TV ad campaigns. For the brand-new property PopPixie we are developing a massive licensing plan that will cover many strategic categories, starting with toys (where prestigious partner Bandai is already working on creating a full toy line, i.e. action figurines, plush, play set, to name a few), publishing, apparel, fashion accessories, and videogames, all to be coordinated with the launch of the TV series.
 
 

What are some big picture trends in the L&M business?

 

As I mentioned before, today more than in the past, given the present economic situation, it’s strategically essential to create multiplatform brands. The market needs properties that cover all media platforms in order to create a successful licensing and merchandising business. This is what the licensees are looking for and what Rainbow manages to offer with their properties.
 
 

What impact is the downturn having on the L&M business?

In our specific case, we can honestly say that our properties have not been too badly affected by the downturn of the market. On the contrary, the Winx Club brand has actually shown an increase of its market share compared to the past, despite the general downturn in the market revenues. This unusual result is most certainly due to the constant investment Rainbow pours into its properties, always creating new marketing activities to support the brand and the licensees throughout the year.