King Features Syndicate is celebrating the recent expansion of its licensing division to support extensive growth across its stable of IP into new categories and territories worldwide.
The company has seen significant advancement across major categories in the past few years, including gaming, publishing and location-based entertainment.
Gaming has been a priority category for King Features in recent years, resulting in a slew of partnerships including Wargaming, which is set to expand later this Independence Day as Popeye the Sailor Man returns to the free multiplayer naval combat game World of Warships.
An action game from Art of Play will star The Phantom, while casino slots have also been developed with Aristocrat. Additional recent partnerships include the launch of online slot games for Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician from Cristaltec and for Popeye from Lucky Games; Cuphead-themed Nintendo Switch controllers from Cidaverte Spa; and Cuphead gaming accessories from collectables company YouTooz.
King Features will continue to explore new partners for traditional and interactive video games, as well as lottery, casino, online slots, mobile games and in-game marketing collaborations.
Meanwhile, the company has partnered with Born Licensing to broaden its IPs reach in promotions. April saw Popeye kick off a partnership with American sausage maker Johnsonville, featuring in its latest national commercial. Looking ahead, King Features is currently seeking partners for Popeye in the boating insurance and consumables categories.
Licensing Expo (21-23 May) will see King Features debut a new trend guide for Popeye as the character celebrates his 95th birthday, while there will also be a new sizzle. The first trend guides for Flash Gordon (celebrating 90) and The Phantom will also make their debut at the show.
“We are incredibly proud of the work our team has done to open new categories and territories as we work to super serve fans of our properties across the globe,” commented Carla Silva, svp and gm, global head of licensing at King Features. “As we grow our team with some of the industry’s leading experts in their categories, I am confident that our legendary brands will continue to prove their truly limitless potential.”
In addition to its own stable of IP, King Features is also celebrating growth for the Moomin brand, with an offering of US licensing and retail partnerships.
New domestic deals for Moomin span categories including apparel and accessories, plush, stationery and more, while the brand is also poised to expand its pilot programme with Barnes & Noble from 20 stores to more than 300 later this year. King Features is also preparing to debut the first deals for global girls’ empowerment brand, Rebel Girls, which joined the company’s roster in December 2022.
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