COME INTO MY W RLD Wissper is proving to be a real hit for Milkshake! and is one of the preschool block’s top-viewed shows. The first consumer products for Wissper have just come to retail with toys leading the way. Publishing will follow soon with a full CP roll out across autumn and winter.
W
issper, aimed at girls aged 3 to 7 years, centres on a little girl with a very special talent for communicating with animals. Wissper lives with her family in an average house but, due to her loving connection to nature, she is able to travel to five different natural worlds from magical portals in her home. Using her special gift, Wissper listens to the problems of all sorts of creatures and helps her new animal friends find solutions.
ABOVE: Wissper doll from Simba Dickie. BELOW: The Milkshake website has Wissper games and activities.
Wissper launched at the end of 2015 on Milkshake! and is now one of the top-viewed shows on Milkshake!, regularly taking the top spot. In December 111,000 kids tuned into an episode of Wissper, the highest average audience that month. Season two of the series launches in early 2018 with 26 new episodes which will introduce new characters and new worlds for Wissper to explore. In the meantime, 26x 4min shorts, ‘Wissper’s Animal Wonders,’ will launch online, to keep awareness of the property high with audiences. “Wissper ticks a lot of boxes as an educational show for preschoolers,” says Marianne James, VP commercial partnerships, consumer products and experiences, Nickelodeon UK and Ireland. “In every episode Wissper is asked to help with new challenges, which she does by exploring different solutions by choosing an animal friend with the right skill to help her.” Master toy partner, Simba Dickie, released the first toys to market earlier this year, with Toys R Us having an exclusive on the range until early April. At the centre of the product offering is the 22cm Wissper starter set doll, which comes with a Peggy
WISSPER
figure (Wissper’s best friend) and accessories such as the panpipe which Wissper uses to access the magic worlds. Coming later in 2017 will be Bastei Media’s publishing range, as well as apparel. “The show has a high licensing and merchandising potential and there’s also a very strong educational element; children learn a lot about animals and their environments from the show,” says Marianne. “We know from research that entertainment with an educational aspect is something that parents value in a preschool programme.”
HERE COME THE TOYS “Wissper is our biggest preschool launch this year and we have high hopes for the range, with a full 360⁰ marketing support programme including heavyweight TV,” says Mayur Pattni, Head of Marketing and Licensing, Simba Smoby. “The range includes mini figures, dolls, playsets, role play and plush. The reaction we got from retailers during Toy Fair was really positive with comments praising how strong the range looked to the animation, where we were told by one key retailer ‘it’s like the characters have walked out of the screen and onto the shelf’.” ABOVE: The Wissper 2 in 1 Forest Playset from Simba Dickie.
A SPECIAL NICKELODEON PUBLICATION
27_Wissper_v2.indd 27
27
02/05/2017 12:24