By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Licensees will find Brand Licensing Europe a good opportunity to approach Dr. Seuss for new licenses, as the brand plans a major CP expansion.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is already one of the world’s top licensors and has been a leading children’s entertainment company since 1993.
The company has turned Dr. Seuss’ whimsical drawings and clever poetry into a multi-billion dollar enterprise. Over the past two and a half decades, Dr. Seuss Enterprises has built a formidable reputation by inking hundreds of licensing deals in virtually every category and ramped up its global entertainment presence with several projects in development at the world’s most respected studios and publishers.
This year the estate and literary licensor is planning a major expansion with partner WildBrain CPLG. For Brand Licensing Europe, Dr. Seuss Enterprises will be represented on the WildBrain CPLG stand B161.
“At the 2022 Brand Licensing Europe, Dr. Seuss Enterprises will continue to celebrate the importance of literacy and creativity with the roll out of new product lines, programs, and initiatives, as well as growth of their entertainment and content portfolio,” the company said. “From expansion within several categories including entertainment, food and toys, you’ll get an exciting look ahead at all the places Dr. Seuss Enterprises is going!”
With Licensing Expo still visible in the rear-view mirror. Dr. Seuss Enterprises says it has set its sights on signing key new deals in Europe at the BLE, which runs from Sept. 20-22 at the ExCel London.
Dr. Seuss Enterprise sent TLL the full list of available licensing categories, as well as some of the more recent deals they’ve signed since Expo.
Here’s a brief rundown of what Dr. Seuss Enterprises will be showcasing at Brand Licensing Europe:
Expansion of Overall Merchandising Program
After a successful year growing the hugely popular brand in cross category deals, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and WildBrain CPLG plan to further grow the licensing program across the full portfolio of properties, around the following categories:
- Toys & Games
- Food & Beverage
- Accessories
- Infant & Baby
- Luggage and Travel Accessories
- Health & Beauty
- Seasonal Confectionery
- Back to school
Campaigns
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is building out campaigns around some of the most popular characters and titles heading into the end of 2022 and 2023 including:
- Dr. Seuss’s Birthday – In March 2023, Dr. Seuss Enterprises will celebrate reading and all things Dr. Seuss with the annual Dr. Seuss’s Birthday program that brings together over 45 million children, educators, and parents. The Cat in the Hat was reported as a favorite bedtime read in the UK earlier this year as part of National Storytelling Week (Jan. 29-Feb. 5) and is annually one of the top choices for children’s dress up during this time period in the UK for World Book Day.
- The Lorax – Dr. Seuss Enterprises continues to work with eco-friendly partners to bring the earth loving Lorax to fans, as well as expand The Lorax publishing program to include new books featuring the Lorax for all ages.
- Oh, the Places You’ll Go! – Year after year, graduates find inspiration and take advice from the classic Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, which continues to be a top graduation gift year after year and is the number one selling Dr. Seuss book in the UK and Europe. Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ growing annual program for the book includes partners across all categories, such as Hallmark, Loungefly, Bioworld, Hybrid, and more.
- Grinch- Everyone’s favorite loveable, but grumpy, character The Grinch continues to delight fans and dominate retail every holiday season. Dr. Seuss Enterprises continues to bring on world-class partners and develop impactful retail programs featuring characters from the popular book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
New and Expanded Partnerships:
Heading into the end of 2022/ beginning of 2023, Dr. Seuss Enterprises already has some exciting deals and plans queued up with category leading and award winning partners including:
- Hershey’s – Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Hershey’s are continuing their partnership that began in 2021, brining two iconic holiday brands together – The Grinch and HERSHEY’S KISSES. 2022 will once again feature the Grinch, other characters from the popular book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and the sweet treat of HERSHEY’S KISSES Milk Chocolate with Grinch Foils.
- International Delight – This leading coffee creamer brand will be spreading cheer and delight to mugs everywhere with their festive line of Grinch coffee creamers featuring one brand new flavor – gingerbread cookie dough- and two classic favorites – peppermint mocha and frosted sugar cookie.
- Tonies – In 2021 Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Tonies announced a partnership with their first debut on the platform being The Cat in the Hat. The Cat in the Hat Tonie will feature original audio productions of Dr. Seuss’ most iconic characters and stories, including The Cat in the Hat, The Cat in the Hat Comes Back andThere’s a Wocket in My Pocket. Additional titles will be unveiled in the coming months.
- Cribstar – Beloved clothing brand Cribstar has been nominated for a 2022 UK Licensing Award for their adorable Grinch toddler apparel range. The 2021 range was so successful that a new range will follow this year. They also launched an adorable Cat in the Hat themed range around World Book Day.
- RMS – RMS is developing a line of bespoke Grinch games, puzzles, and DIY craft activity kits to keep kids entertained all throughout the holiday break.
- Crème d’Or – Holiday confectionery at its finest! Fans will delight in seasonal chocolate and candy novelties including a Christmas cracker filled with milk chocolate coal and a chocolate slab with jelly hearts.
- Danilo – This award-winning partner is developing a collection of Grinch stationery including greeting cards, gift packaging, and advent calendars.
- Erve – Boys and girls daywear, nightwear, underwear, hosiery, and swimwear will be developed by Erve across all the favorite Dr. Seuss characters including The Cat in the Hat, Fox in Socks, Horton, and the Lorax.
- Revolution Beauty – After debuting a global line of I Heart Revolution x Dr. Seuss cosmetics in the beginning of 2022 featuring top characters from the books Fox in Socks, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The Cat in the Hat, Horton Hears a Who, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, and Green Eggs and Ham
- H&A – Nothing will have you feeling ready for your holiday parties like H&A’s range of Grinchy bath and beauty accessories, including a whipped body souffle and Who Hash fizzer dust!
- Aquarius – Bringing their brilliantly inventive puzzles and games to the UK for Christmas family fun!
- Apparel – Apparel continues to be an incredibly strong category for The Grinch brand seeing retail traction grow year on year with UK licensees Brand Alliance, Fashion UK, BCI and Cooneen and Misirli. Across Europe DTR agreements with H&M and Reserved as well as lines with the likes of Lefties have hugely grown the category further across Europe.
In addition to the growing CP program, the Dr. Seuss brand says it is continuing to grow its digital, publishing and experiential portfolio.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is stepping into the spotlight and bringing the magical Dr. Seuss world and its characters to life with new entertainment and content deals including:
- Warner Brothers Animation – The Cat in the Hat feature film will kick off the new Dr. Seuss movie slate in 2024, followed by Thing One and Thing Two in an original feature length animated adventure in 2026. Bad Robot Productions has been tapped to adapt Oh, the Places You’ll Go! for the big screen with J.J. Abrams and head of motion pictures Hannah Minghella as producers on the film and visionary director Jon Chu, set to debut in 2027.
- Netflix and Dr. Seuss are partnering to develop a slate of animated preschool series inspired by the incredible, treasured stories and characters of Dr. Seuss. This preschool line-up will introduce concepts of foundational learning and also explore themes of diversity and respect for others – while focusing first and foremost on fun and engaging stories, all with the distinctive visual style and rhythm and rhyme of Dr. Seuss.
- Netflix’s Green Eggs and Ham – Warner Bros. Animation’s hit Netflix series Green Eggs and Ham premiered a second season on April 8, 2022.
- The Dr. Seuss Experience – Dr. Seuss Enterprises has been working with Kilburn Live since 2019 on The Dr. Seuss Experience, an immersive and interactive attraction that brings the iconic author’s famed books to life. The attraction first debuted in Canada in Toronto and then shifted to the United States with stops in Houston, Chicago, and Denver.
- Seuss Studios – Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Random House Children’s Books will launch Seuss Studios, a line of books for early readers by new and emerging authors and illustrators who will create original stories inspired by Ted Geisel’s (aka Dr. Seuss) unpublished sketches and illustrations. Seuss Studios books will be geared towards readers ages 4 to 8. Additional details on the inaugural list will be announced later this year.
- The Jim Henson Company – Dr. Seuss Enterprises recently partnered with The Jim Henson Company to bring Come Over to My House, a new television puppet-led docuseries, to fans.
- Dapper Labs – Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Dapper Labs partnered to create Seussibles – NFTs that taps into the joy of a digital collective experience while building community amongst fans.
Remember TLL Prime Members can use Licensing Sourcebook to find and reach out to the licensing contacts for Dr. Seuss Enterprises, and most other licensing companies in the world.
If you’re not a TLL Prime Member, you can learn more by reaching out to Andrea Stowe: andrea@plainlanguagemedia.com