Genius Brands Bolsters Marketing Team

Genius Brands International has appointed Jamie Buono-Sikorski to the role of VP of marketing.

In her new position, Buono-Sikorski will be responsible for driving brand awareness across all of the company’s properties. She will also spearhead marketing efforts for Genius Brands’ latest children’s property, Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, which will be supported by a comprehensive consumer products program, currently in development.

Genius Brands’ IP catalog includes the preschool brands Rainbow Rangers, season two of which is currently airing on Nick Jr. with a consumer products retail launch this fall and holiday, and Llama Llama, starring Jennifer Garner, with season two debuting on Netflix in November and an upcoming product line debut at retail. Additional brands in the company portfolio for which Buono-Sikorski will develop marketing strategies include Baby Genius, Warren Buffett’s Secret Millionaires Club and Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab, as well as the Genius Brands Network, which is available in over 80 million U.S. television households.

Prior to joining Genius Brands, Buono-Sikorski served as VP of brand marketing at Brandable, where she led the brand strategy and product development activities within the toy, home and personal care categories, during which time the company experienced triple-digit year-over-year growth. She also served as director of brand marketing and global development at Bandai America, overseeing product marketing and development for Power Rangers toys, which exceeded $100 million in annual sales.

Previously, Buono-Sikorski served as senior brand manager at MGA Entertainment, where she developed the brand identity for Little Tikes Baby from inception. She also served as a global brand manager at Spin Master, contributing to the growth of PAW Patrol, with Spin Master becoming a top-ranked growth company in the preschool category.

“Jamie brings an impressive track record across a number of highly successful consumer product and entertainment properties. In particular, she played an important role in the PAW Patrol launch at Spin Master where she helped grow the brand to become a commercial hit in the children’s retail marketplace,” stated Andy Heyward, chairman and CEO of Genius Brands. “While at Bandai, Jamie also managed the brand marketing for the billion-dollar revenue generating Power Rangers…one of the most successful children’s brands of all time. We are thrilled to add Jamie to our accomplished team of executives leading the growth of our business and look forward to her contributions in the coming years as we continue to roll out our brands into the global marketplace.”

“What drew me to my new role at Genius Brands was the opportunity to play an integral part in building brand awareness for the company’s IP portfolio, including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama, as well as work with Andy and the Genius Brands team to bring these brands to market,” said Buono-Sikorski. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands out there, like PAW Patrol and Power Rangers, and I see similar commercial potential in Genius Brands’ IP.”