Media services company Larkshead Media has been appointed to manage UK licensing for hit animated CBeebies series Numberblocks by brand owner and creator Alphablocks Ltd. Larkshead will work with carefully selected licensees to bring appropriate merchandise to retail which reflects the brand’s ideals, with an initial category focus on toys, puzzles/games, cards, publishing and apparel, as well as partnerships and promotions with educational groups.
Larkshead will officially launch the Numberblocks licensing campaign at Brand Licensing Europe in London this October, at Blue Zoo Animation’s stand #F14.
“In my many years working with children’s properties I’ve found very few that bring together learning and fun as delightfully as Numberblocks,” said Clare Piggott, Director of Licensing and Merchandising for Larkshead. “Its potential, in entertainment, education and licensed output, is significant. I’m looking forward to developing Numberblocks into a long-term franchise that helps support children and parents learning together across many product categories.”
Numberblocks (30 x 5 min.), conceived by Joe Elliot and Blue Zoo with BBC’s Catherina McAllister and Michael Towner as EPs, follows a group of funny, friendly characters made out of counting blocks which represent numbers one to ten. Each character can magically transform into others by adding or removing blocks. It is regularly among the top-ten most requested shows on CBeebies iPlayer.
Creator Elliot said: “We are delighted to be working with Larkshead Media, a respected organisation with an excellent reputation in realising the potential of a wide variety of children’s properties. It certainly understands the potential of Numberblocks, a show that enjoys a strong following and has enormous long-term licensing potential across a wide range of categories.”
The series, already enjoying strong public recognition since its debut early this year, will get a boost this fall when The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) brings Numberblocks resources into UK classrooms to aid primary school math students and teachers.
