aNb Media, Author at aNb Media, Inc.

Strong Opening for Total Home & Gift Market in Dallas: Buyer Attendance Up 17%

Dallas Market Center announced that its Total Home & Gift Market opened with a 17% attendance increase for the first two days compared with last January. The attendance increase was notable for attracting retailers and interior designers from across the U.S. and internationally, with the strongest growth coming from the western US. “We are thrilled with the strong opening of our January show,” said Cindy Morris, president and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “You can feel the energy of new and returning buyers with strong open to buy that have come to Dallas for the newest products, grand openings of more than 30 showrooms, and the expanded Temps. We are expecting traffic to remain steady throughout the weekend and into next week.”

OOLY and Kids for Peace Encourage Children to Take Action and Create Kindness

The week of January 22, 2024, twenty million children will unite and perform a billion acts of kindness thanks to the global non-profit organization Kids for Peace and its annual Great Kindness Challenge happily sponsored by OOLY, the whimsical and colorful arts, crafts and school supply brand. Created by Kids for Peace in 2012, the mission of The Great Kindness Challenge is to prevent bullying and foster connection, inclusion, and compassion. More than 40,000 schools worldwide will partake, in all 50 states and 115 countries. Special kick-off events and fun activities will take place in Carlsbad, CA, where The Great Kindness Challenge originated 13 years ago.

Zigazoo and iHeartMedia Launch Commercial Partnership, Highlighting the Power of Youth Music and Media

Zigazoo Kids, the proprietor of the renowned social networks Zigazoo (for 13+) and Zigazoo Kids (for anyone under 13), has announced a strategic collaboration with iHeartMedia, America’s leading audio company. Under the new agreement, the two industry leaders will explore synergistic opportunities between iHeartMedia’s extensive portfolio of music and podcasting and Zigazoo’s content from the biggest stars of the next generation. Additionally, iHeartMedia will launch an expansive national campaign across its multiplatform audio network, spanning broadcast radio, podcasts, digital, social, and live events to bring further awareness and propel Zigazoo’s social networks to the next level. This multi-million-dollar marketing investment in Zigazoo solidifies iHeartMedia’s commitment to the platform’s growth and innovation.

Nelvana and Toikido Officially Greenlight 2D Animated Children’s Series Piñata Smashlings Based on the Hit Roblox Gaming IP

Nelvana, a world-leading international producer, distributor, and licensor of children’s animated and live action content, and Toikido, an innovative London based entertainment company specializing in digital design and toys, announce the highly anticipated greenlight of Piñata Smashlings, a new 2D animated children’s series (26×11). The series is available for international sale and already has confirmed placement with YTV in Canada. This comedic adventure, tailored for kids age six to nine, complements previously unveiled Piñata Smashlings shorts currently streaming on Nelvana’s ‘Keep It Weird’ YouTube channel, with more shorts to launch soon.

Miraculous Seasons Six and Seven, Plus Three Specials Acquired by Disney Branded Television

ZAG, the award-winning global independent animation studio, and Method Animation (Mediawan Kids & Family), announced today that Disney Branded Television has acquired seasons six and seven of the globally renowned series, Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, as well as three original animated specials. The new season and specials will be available on Disney Channels worldwide, then on Disney+ globally thereafter. The announcement was made by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG, and Julien Borde, President, Mediawan Kids & Family.

International Buyers Return at First Three HKTDC Trade Fair Series in 2024

The 50th HKTDC Hong Kong Toys & Games Fair, 15th HKTDC Hong Kong Baby Products Fair and 22nd Hong Kong International Stationery & School Supplies Fair concluded successfully at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The four-day physical fairs attracted some 83,000 buyers from 135 countries and regions and saw international buyers return, a promising start for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) trade shows this year.

2023 VETTY Awards Recognizes Marketing Excellence in Animal Health Care Worldwide

The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) has announced the winners of the 2023 VETTY Awards, an international awards program dedicated to recognizing marketing excellence in the animal health care industry. This year’s award winners demonstrated the best in advertising, public relations, digital, social, design, events, promotions, educational materials and other projects developed to promote animal health care industry contributions to keep animals everywhere healthy. Veterinary industry nonprofit and for-profit organizations and agencies around the globe were invited to submit their projects for consideration during the 2023 awards program.

Toy Monster International Hires Michael Ciminera as President of North America

Toy Monster International (TMI) have hired former Bandai exec Michael Ciminera to take on the Leadership position of President of North America (USA & Canada). Working between NJ and TMI’s recently set up Bentonville hub, Michael Ciminera will oversee Sales, Business Development, Operations and Retail Marketing for the US and Canadian markets across the Toy, Licensing and Homewares divisions of The Monster Group. He reports into the Founder Nir Pizmony.

Amuse Animation Inks Broadcast Deals in LATAM, Canaries and MENA

Amuse Animation, a pioneering digital-first animation studio, has sold a slew of its animation series to TV Azteca and Guest Choice for Latin America, RTVC in the Canaries, and MBC for the Middle East and North Africa. The deals signal Amuse’s definitive move into distributing content starring the studio’s animated preschool heroes to mainstream broadcast channels.