Tim Collins and Ingrid Selberg on board to manage interest for toys and publishing.
Preschool show Pablo – which follows the adventures of a five year old boy with autism – is now looking to make in-roads into the licensing space.
To help manage growing interest within the toy and publishing sectors, Paper Owl Films – the Belfast-based company which owns and produces Pablo – has appointed Tim Collins of The Brand Director and Ingrid Selberg, md of Ingrid Selberg Consulting.
The show launched in the UK and Ireland on CBeebies and RTEJr last autumn and has gone on to headline children’s TV schedules on international networks such as Universal Kids in the US, Canada’s CBC, Australia’s ABC and Discovery Latin America.
Pablo has also been sold to China, Korea, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden, the Middle East and Africa, and worldwide on Netflix.
Series two is currently in production, with 104 all-new episodes due to air from autumn 2019.
The eponymous Pablo uses magic crayons to create an imaginary Art World populated by animal characters which help him turn life’s little challenges into great big adventures.
“The unprecedented audience feedback and viewing figures have confirmed that Pablo has enormous universal appeal,” said Grainne McGuinness, Pablo creator and director of Paper Owl Films. “Every child loves Pablo, whether they identify with him themselves, recognise a sibling or friend or classmate in him, or just think he is terrific fun.”
Grainne continued: “Pablo’s tremendous popularity has already been driving enquiries from within the licensing sector and so we have appointed Ingrid and Tim to advise on who to work with and to manage the right strategic partnerships for Pablo.”
Tim and Ingrid added: “It was love at first sight when we saw Pablo which we believe has huge potential to appeal to all children as well as offering something unique for children who think differently.
“The glorious visuals, endearing characters, warm humour and stories with universal appeal, make this a brand for everyone. Our initial focus is with toys and publishing to establish the merchandising programme for launch later in 2020.”
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