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THE BIG INTERVIEW: WILDBRAIN CPLG
Last year saw stalwart of the licensing agency landscape, CPLG change its trading name to WildBrain CPLG, reflecting a unified and closer alignment between the agency and WildBrain’s other business units. LSB catches up with Maarten Weck, evp and md, to find out what this means, how it has coped during the COVID-19 lockdown and what the remainder of 2020 could look like.
Inset: The team at WildBrain CPLG has an “unparalleled wealth” of brand building know-how, says Maarten. Below: The agency has extended its EMEA agreement with Spin Master to include additional IP such as Bakugan. Centre right: Cleaningtechnology brand Kärcher has been added to the Lifestyle portfolio.
Call of the Wild
T
he past year has brought about some significant changes in the world of WildBrain CPLG. With the ceo of its parent company, Eric Ellenbogen realising the company would benefit from a unifying brand, first up was the name change, bringing it in line with the WildBrain family and underlining its close working relationship with all of the company’s business units. Management changes have seen promotions for John Taylor and Pau Pascual to vice presidents of Northern Europe and Southern Europe respectively, while the introduction of the
Above: WildBrain owns a majority stake in the Peanuts franchise. Inset: The multi-territory renewal with Perfetti van Melle included Chupa Chups.
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LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2020
new WildBrain CPLG Lifestyle division - headed up by Victoria Whellans - has given dedicated focus to the corporate and lifestyle properties within its portfolio. Maarten Weck, evp and md of WildBrain CPLG, explains to LSB: “Our team has made significant strides in synergising the efforts of our licensees and retailers across Europe, but it felt there would always be some differences in management style and priorities. By splitting Europe into two management regions, we feel we are better equipped to realise this and grow our offering within Europe. “I believe this synergy equips us to think global and act local – ‘glocal’ as we like to call it. The wider WildBrain organisation is now much more joined up than ever before and we are seeing the benefits of that every day.” Earlier this year also saw Steve Manners stepping into the role of vp business development across the WildBrain Spark (the digital kids network and studio) and WildBrain CPLG units, marking the first hybrid management position for the company. Maarten believes that the new structure makes WildBrain CPLG much better equipped to be real brand builders. Indeed, the company has continued to build on the success it enjoyed in 2019 in key territories, firming up its portfolio in the first half of 2020. It has extended its deal with Hasbro to include the Nordics and Benelux markets, taken on representation of YouTube superstars Vlad & Niki in