Popular toy brand to harness WildBrain's
expertise in content production and brand management to grow global
engagement with kids and parents
LONDON, Nov. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - WildBrain, a leading
digital kids' network and studio, has been appointed to produce
original content based on the hugely popular toy brand, The Irish
Fairy Door Company, and to manage the YouTube and Facebook strategy
for the toy brand. The Irish Fairy Door Company is an award-winning
direct-to-consumer brand, based in Ireland, which celebrates the magic of
children's belief in fairies through toys, imaginative play, fairy
stories and fun online activities. The miniature fairy doors that
are the flagship product of the brand are enjoyed by children in
almost 1 million households worldwide.
Under the agreement, WildBrain will manage The Irish Fairy Door
Company's YouTube channel on its network, and produce short-form
content designed to engage and inspire children with the magic of
The Irish Fairy Door Company's brand, including an original
animation series and live action videos that bring the fairy world
to life. WildBrain's social media team will also assume management
of The Irish Fairy Door Company's Facebook page and advertising
campaigns, to engage with parents and extend the brand's audience
to new viewers and consumers worldwide. In addition, WildBrain's
parent company, DHX Media, is working with The Irish Fairy Door
Company to develop additional strategies to grow the toy brand on
other platforms, including potential long-form content.
"The Irish Fairy Door Company team have achieved a remarkable
feat already, by building a consumer products business around a
smart toy idea that has captured the imaginations of a generation
of children in Ireland and
beyond," said Jon Gisby, Managing
Director, WildBrain. "We love The Irish Fairy Door Company concept
for the WildBrain network on YouTube, and will be using our
expertise in Facebook management to reach and engage parents. We
look forward to working with The Irish Fairy Door Company team to
leverage WildBrain's platform to grow this brand further on the
international stage."
"Everyone at The Irish Fairy Door Company is thrilled to be
working with WildBrain and the DHX Media team to bring the magic of
fairies and imaginative play to a global audience," said
Niamh Sherwin Barry, Co-Founder and
Director of The Irish Fairy Door Company. "The move to live action
and animation is something that we have been working on in the
background for quite some time and we are delighted to be able to
collaborate with WildBrain and make this announcement today.
Combining the amazing skills at WildBrain in building global
audience engagement, with our ability to make a real difference to
the playtime and wellbeing of children will make the magic come
alive even more through live action and animation on YouTube and
other platforms. We look forward to building a truly global brand
that we can all be proud of. We are just so excited about what's to
come!"
About WildBrain
WildBrain is an industry leader in the management and creation
of preschool and children's entertainment content on platforms such
as YouTube, Amazon Video Direct and others. WildBrain's branded
YouTube network is one of the largest of its kind, featuring more
than 110,000 videos for over 600 kids' brands in up to 22
languages. The WildBrain network, which has over 50 million
subscribers, generated over 129 billion minutes of watch time
across 25 billion views, from July
2017 through June 2018.
Connecting kids' content owners with advertisers in the Advertising
Video-on-Demand (AVOD) space, the WildBrain network features
popular third-party brands such as Fireman Sam, Curious George,
Shopkins and Ben 10, as well as much of DHX Media's world-renowned
library of 13,000 half-hours of kids' and family content, including
Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, Inspector
Gadget, Degrassi, Yo Gabba Gabba!
and many others. WildBrain Studios also specializes in the creation
of new, original content for its network, such as animated and
live-action shorts; toy-play and stop-motion videos; preschool
counting and alphabet videos; nursery rhymes and more. WildBrain is
a wholly owned subsidiary of DHX Media (TSX: DHX; NASDAQ:
DHXM).
About The Irish Fairy Door Company
The Irish Fairy Door Company is a children's toy and multimedia
company based in Dublin, Ireland
that creates magical experiences and imaginative play for children.
The company brings magic to children through direct sales and
distribution channels in Ireland,
the UK, USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New
Zealand and the Middle
East, through its core fairy related product range,
anchoring on a Fairy Door that is
the gateway to Fairy Valley. Through the magic of the company's
play and wellness related product lines, children can register
their fairy's name online, which subsequently unlocks regularly
updated content to continue the magic. Exclusive stories, play
ideas and messages are delivered from Fairy
Valley via email, the website and an app. The new Worry
Plaque and The No More Worries Kit have also been incredibly
successful products with the fairies taking children's worries away
all over the world. Statistically, every second child in
Ireland now has a fairy door in
their home and the Irish Fairy Door Company is now competing
strongly in the international toy market. The company was formed in
Ireland in 2013 by Niamh Sherwin Barry and Aoife Lawler with their husbands Oisin and
Gavin, and has grown significantly with the addition of experienced
media, technology and product specialists to the team.
Disclaimer
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" under
applicable securities laws with respect to DHX Media including,
without limitation, statements regarding the activities of
WildBrain under the agreement with The Irish Fair Door Company and
the business strategies and operational activities of DHX Media and
its subsidiaries. Although DHX Media believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such
statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on
information currently available to the DHX Media. Actual results or
events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results or events to differ materially from current expectations,
among other things, include risk related to the ability of DHX
Media to execute on distribution and other licensing arrangements
and other factors discussed in materials filed with applicable
securities regulatory authorities from time to time including
matters discussed under "Risk Factors" in DHX Media's most recent
Annual Information Form and annual Management Discussion and
Analysis, which also form part of DHX Media's annual report on Form
40-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These
forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and DHX
Media assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new
events or circumstances, except as required by law.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-irish-fairy-door-company-appoints-wildbrain-to-produce-original-content-and-manage-youtube-and-facebook-strategy-300753805.html
SOURCE DHX Media Ltd.