Bulldog Licensing announces licensing and broadcasting growth for Odo
Bulldog Licensing, one of the licensing industry’s leading agencies, has announced continuing licensing growth for Odo, the lovable little owl with BIG ideas, whose adventures are already a hit on Channel 5’s pre-school service Milkshake! in the UK and have now been sold to broadcasters around the world.
Odo is also spreading his wings in the world of licensing – beginning with publishing. The first two English-language book titles from Pan Macmillan launched in March, and a further two titles will publish later this year.
The first two titles – Odo ‘Super Owl!’ and Odo ‘The Egg’ – invite children to join Odo and his friends in their adventures at Forest Camp in warm and funny picture book stories that help to build self-confidence and empathy in pre-schoolers, just like the TV show.
Based on the brand’s core values of tolerance, acceptance and gentle lessons in social justice, the books in this new series include a special spread at the back with reading tips for parents and carers, as well as offering questions and prompts to encourage conversation about the books, the characters and key themes.
‘Super Owl’ has already been very well received by the pre-school audience – notably as part of the Milkshake! Mornings live book readings for kids at Parkdean Resorts, the UK’s largest holiday park operator. Readings of the books will also be featured in an upcoming season of Story Den on Milkshake!
With consumer interest in the property growing fast, the UK licensing programme for Odo is now well under way, with a number of best-in-class partners appointed. They include Poetic Brands (apparel), RJ Bags, Roy Lowe (character socks) and Rainbow Productions (children’s characters for commercial events). And, of course, there’s the Master Toy partner, Wow Stuff, a byword for innovation and an award-winning partner to Tier One brands. The licensing programme is also beginning to roll out in key international territories.
The Bulldog-managed licensing campaign is building on the growing popularity of the beautiful 2D-3D animated series for pre-schoolers in which a little owl at the Forest Camp for Young Birds learns about friendship and self-belief among a diverse and delightful group of feathered creatures.
Season one airs on weekdays on Milkshake! in the UK. Season two is currently in development. Internationally, Odo has been sold to 145 countries and a large number of major broadcasters including Kika (Germany), RAI (Italy), ABC Kids (Australia), Canal+ (France), MiniMini+ (Poland), Warner Discovery (Latin America), Tencent (China), Knowledge Kids & TVO Kids (Canada) and many more. The show is already delivering very strong ratings across all the key channels on which it has launched.
Sophie Yates, Brand Manager at Bulldog Licensing, commented: “Warmth, humour and very engaging characters are combined with themes of creativity, imagination, kindness and friendship in this winning and delightful TV series. Odo is enjoying a very strong response from broadcasters and viewers – and we have no doubt this appealing and original character will be equally popular with licensees.”
