Pocoyo, the popular multi-platform children’s entertainment brand from Zinkia Entertainment, will expand its presence at retail nationwide, offering Pocoyo DVD titles from NCircle Entertainment at new retail outlets Kmart and 7-Eleven, as well as Redbox video kiosks.
Press Release from Zinkia Entertainment
Madrid, Spain (May 24, 2011) – Pocoyo, the popular multi-platform children’s entertainment brand from Zinkia Entertainment, will expand its presence at retail nationwide, offering Pocoyo DVD titles from NCircle Entertainment at new retail outlets Kmart and 7-Eleven, as well as Redbox video kiosks.
“NCircle has been a phenomenal partner in building a strong brand presence for Pocoyo in the U.S. home entertainment marketplace, and we are delighted to continue the expansion of the brand nationwide with these significant retail partnerships,” commented Maria Doolan, Managing Director, Brand and Business Development, Zinkia Entertainment.
“We are very excited by the positive responses we are receiving from retailers on the Pocoyo DVD releases,” said NCircle’s Senior Vice President and General Manager Debbie Ries. “It’s clear to us that this brand’s performance in the U.S. is going to surpass our expectations.”
Among its new retail partners, Kmart and convenience store chain 7-Eleven introduce the Meet Pocoyo DVD in May. And in June, the May 3rd DVD release “Let’s Party” will be included in Redbox kiosks.
Existing retail partners continue to expand their Pocoyo line, adding new DVD titles:
Toys”R”Us stores will feature Let’s Party! in June in its new release fixture; while Fun and Dance and Pocoyo and Friends continue to have out of department placement with the Pocoyo toy line from Bandai.
Safeway will carry Meet Pocoyo starting from June. The grocery chain first stocked Super Pocoyo in January and February 2011.
Albertsons/SuperValu stores will feature Meet Pocoyo this summer, and continues to offer Meet Pocoyo and Super Pocoyo DVD titles.
Kroger Southwest stores continue to carry all of the Pocoyo DVD titles in NCircle’s dedicated in-line space with special signage.
Nordstrom, the upscale department store chain, continues to offer all of the Pocoyo DVD titles upon street release dates, most recently stocking the Lets’ Party DVD release.
Additionally, Walmart features Meet Pocoyo, in its check lane program; and Sears also carries the brand.
Ingram Entertainment, a leading wholesaler of home entertainment products, continues to provide heavy support to all of the Pocoyo DVD titles through its category management program. Ingram maintains Pocoyo DVD products among a wide variety of outlets ranging from mom and pop rental stores to national chains.
NCircle has also included Pocoyo DVD titles in its latest initiative with Video Products Distributor (VPD), another leading home entertainment wholesaler, and Recorded Books, an educational and professional publisher, whereby select NCircle DVD titles are offered to libraries nationwide at a special discounted rate.
More about POCOYORecognized as a global hit property, POCOYO has tallied more than 400 million hits on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/pocoyo) and has amassed more than 27.5 million content downloads from the official POCOYO website (www.pocoyo.com) since the CGI animated television series first debuted in the UK in 2005. Currently licensed for airing in over 150 territories worldwide, POCOYO has earned a host of international accolades including the prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) for Best Animated Preschool Series, three Pucinella Prizes at Italy’s Cartoons on the Bay Festival and Best TV Series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.
POCOYO’s corresponding online virtual world, Pocoyoworld.com, has attracted more than 11 million unique visitors, enabling children and care-givers to share a host of fun and educational activities with their favorite POCOYO characters. In addition, the Pocoyize application, which allows users to create their own POCOYO-style avatar, complete with personalized hair style, skin and eye color and clothes, has proven to be a huge hit both online and via iPhone® with approximately 11 million people Pocoyized to date. The Pocoyize iPhone application has received an impressive 550,000 downloads in the United States alone, in addition to being a Top 5 seller in both Spain and Japan.
About NCircle EntertainmentNCircle Entertainment specializes in the sales, marketing and distribution of quality children’s and family entertainment content. Backed by a multi-billion dollar company, NCircle Entertainment has the resources to compete with the major players. As an independent focused on a particular genre, they are able to customize their approach to maximize the opportunities for the rights holders, the retailers and ultimately the consumers. For more information on Ncircle Entertainment, visit www.ncircleentertainment.com.
About Zinkia EntertainmentThe Spanish-based company Zinkia Entertainment, which specializes in the creation and management of entertainment brands for the international market, is primarily involved in the animation business, creating quality content for the audiovisual market as well as interactive content for multi-player console and online games. Look for Zinkia Entertainment at booth 1856 during Licensing International Expo, June 14-16, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
