BEVERLY HILLS, CA--(Marketwired - April 06, 2017) - Reaching an audience of over 50 million in the U.S. and launching a successful nationwide mass retail campaign in 2016, Genius Brands International, Inc. "Genius Brands" (NASDAQ: GNUS), continues the momentum for its popular music-driven YouTube series, SpacePOP, by broadening the retail program for the entertainment lifestyle brand. Expanded product collections from key licensing partners are set to debut this year and new licensing, retail and promotional partners have signed on board to reach the brand's enthusiastic and ever-growing fan base. Additionally, the Company has greenlit the development of season two of the animated SpacePOP series to premiere this year.
"When we began developing SpacePOP, we asked ourselves if we could launch an entirely new IP that drives the sale of merchandise from an all-digital launch, and given the response from retailers and fans around the country, the answer is yes! We are exactly where we should be, and our metrics are, in fact, comparable to where brands such as Monster High were at the same point in their life cycle," explained Andy Heyward, Chairman & CEO, Genius Brands. "We have partnered with best-in-class manufacturers, retailers and promotional partners, and YouTube has allowed us to reach our audience in a way that might not have been possible with a traditional distribution strategy. We are extremely proud of our achievement with SpacePOP and are eager to reach an even wider audience as we continue to build the program, creating new products and content and expanding into the international marketplace this year."
Genius Brands premiered SpacePOP in June 2016 on YouTube, garnering over 15 million channel views and 45,000 subscribers to date. Following the digital content launch, a merchandise program quickly rolled out in the U.S. with approximately 20 manufacturing partners who collectively developed over 100 products across publishing, beauty, apparel, accessories, consumer electronics, toys and more for debut at mass retailers nationwide, including Toys"R"Us, Claire's and Kohl's. Genius Brands also expanded the reach of the SpacePOP series via digital platforms, including Toon Goggles, PopJam, BatteryPOP and the Kid Genius Cartoon Channel on Comcast, as well as on OTT platforms, such as Amazon, Apple, Roku, and Google, bringing the combined audience reach to nearly 50 million U.S. households. Additionally, nearly 50 million impressions were achieved through strategic partnerships with Six Flags Theme Parks, Dippin' Dots, Chuck E. Cheese, Girls' World and Storybird, as well as through a robust influencer campaign.
In 2017, Genius Brands plans to significantly broaden the retail reach of SpacePOP with products available at Target, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Hudson News and Spirit Halloween, as well as launching a new direct-to-retail program with Calendar Club's Go! retail stores nationwide; an expanded Claire's program at additional locations; and continued support by Toys"R"Us. Current licensing partners, including Madame Alexander, Canal Toys, Taste Beauty and KidDesigns, will expand their SpacePOP collections, and the Company has recently signed two new licensees, Paper Punk (3D arts, crafts) and Video Bomb (music content creator) with additional partnerships in the works for new categories, including bedding, compounds, activities, stationery and more. To support the new retail launches this year, Genius Brands is developing a comprehensive marketing campaign that will feature a national promotional partnership with Zumba Kids.
On the international front, Genius Brands will expand the SpacePOP footprint this year in Europe and Asia with media and/or retail launches planned in the U.K., China, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
