Month: July 2020

The first season of the animated series Kit^n^Kate arrived in Italy in July on Amazon Prime Video which makes possible to watch the animated series at any time of the day. The series is airing also on Rai YoYo, the most popular children’s channel in Italy.

Kit^n^Kate’s licensing program in Italy is managed by the agency Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL), which, even before the airing of the series, had successfully closed the first licensing agreements.

 

Kit^n^Kate, a production of Cyprus’ Toonbox Animation, tells the story of Kit and Kate, young brother and sister kitties who love playing together, having fun together, helping those in need, and learning to deal with life’s obstacles.

 

Season 1 of Kit^n^Kate features a series of social-emotional adventures in which the kittens take off on fantastic adventures inspired by the things they find inside their magical toy box. Whether they are on Blueberry Island, at a school for wizards, or baking a cake for the Squirrel Princess, the kittens always find themselves at a dead-end, but with the help of a mysterious stranger (who happens to be Mom or Dad in disguise), the kittens figure out for themselves what they did wrong and get a chance to go back in time and try again.

 

Kit^n^Kate has already been dubbed into 27 languages and is currently being broadcast by leading TV-channels and digital platforms in territories around the world including: USA, Canada, Russia, Finland, Italy, MENA, Benelux, Eastern Europe and Africa. Currently, the American English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian versions of the series are available on Amazon with the Polish language version about to be launched with the help of Toonbox’s trusted partner Janson Media.

The creative duo Giovanni Premoli and Dario di Bella, together with Ferribiella Spa, a company of Italian excellence with high positioning in the pet market, announces the closed licensing deal for the production and the distribution of a design line dedicated to pets under the brand PREMOLI + DI BELLA. Maurizio Distefano Licensing is the agency that manages the Licensing projects for PREMOLI + DI BELLA and that made the deal happen.

 

The Pet Collection, signed by the two creative minds, will be in perfect harmony with all the other PREMOLI + DI BELLA collections; a style dedicated to Italy and to art, a tribute to creativeness and to Italian design, where accessibility will be the keyword and Art de Vivre the personal DNA, features that move and that incite the PREMOLI + DI BELLA brand. Never trivial and always ready to step up their game, the two creative minds were able to stand out by bringing to the market their own style, which expresses with great simplicity and creativity the Italian life style in the world.

 

“There’s nothing more intimate than the love that we feel for our little animal-friends” –  say Giovanni Premoli and Dario di Bella, “the idea of making something beautiful that can not only be appreciated by pets, but at the same time becomes a cultural element for the owners is the most exciting part. We’ve always dreamed to create a Pet line that could communicate in an open way with design and with home décor, that could perfectly blend with the domestic environment becoming a furnishing element. Today all this becomes reality”.

 

Carmen Avonto, managing director of Ferribiella, states: “The understanding with Dario and Giovanni was completely spontaneous, we agreed immediately on the values that  are core of our company, a family that perceived the importance of the animal world and that has been the protagonist, since the beginning, of this Pet world aiming to discover and experiment innovative, beautiful and functional products.”

 

Michela Marchese Patti, CEO of Maurizio Distefano Licensing agency, that manages the Licensing projects for PREMOLI + DI BELLA and has managed this deal, says: “We are so excited to represent the brand PREMOLI + DI BELLA, that thanks to the volcanic creativity of Giovanni and Dario, is able to create high positioning projects in all Life Style categories. It will be very stimulating to see Ferribiella’s excellent products such as kennels, coats, bags, leashes and much more, with the two creatives’ refined taste in Italian design. This collection will be Ferribiella’s pride for its high position among our successful case histories”.

 

Thanks to the efficient product distribution system, the PREMOLI + DI BELLA Pet collection will be present in the most exclusive Pet stores starting from September 2020, passing both through a selected distribution network of about 2,000 points of sale, and online.

Ink Group and Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) close the agreement with Pon Pon Edizioni for the bimonthly magazine dedicated to the animated series ZAFARI

The animated series ZAFARI, on air every day on Rai YoYo and available in streaming on Prime Video and Rai Play, now also arrives in Italian kiosks thanks to the agreement signed by Ink Group and Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) with Pon Pon Edizioni.

 

Thanks to Pon Pon Edizioni, it will be possible to find all the adventures of ZAFARI in kiosks, in a bimonthly magazine made of stories, games, stickers and gadgets attached to each issue. Everything is marked out by the unmistakable colorful style that distinguishes the series, giving little fans the chance to play and have fun with their favorite characters.

 

ZAFARI, by Ink Group, is a CGI animated series produced by ZAFARI Holdings and distributed by NBC Universal/Dreamworks that tells the story of a group of magical animals living together at the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro, where they learn from each other, go on adventure and have a lot of fun, despite their differences. The series promotes Diversity and Inclusion. The differences between the characters are what makes them unique and special each and one of them, for instance the protagonist Zoomba is a baby elephant born with zebra stripes.

 

“ZAFARI is growing steadily in the licensing world,” says Maurizio Distefano, President of MDL “in particular, we are excited about this collaboration with Pon Pon Edizioni that gives the chance to have fixed appointments with ZAFARI’s adventures and lets them arrive at fans homes boosting their awareness throughout Italy.”  

 

Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) announces the acquisition to manage the licensing program of the historical and popular Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

La Gazzetta dello Sport was founded on the 3rd of April 1896, initially printed on green paper, but from the 2nd of January 1899 its pages became pink toned, one of its distinctive features today. Over time the newspaper constantly raised its awareness among the Italian audience, with a 360° information coverage of national and international sport. La Gazzetta dello Sport is by far the most widely read newspaper in Italy and is followed all over the world. Among its main readers are young people, which makes it accessible to anyone, the pink door through which reading newspapers becomes part of Italians habits.

The quality and the completeness of Gazzetta’s journalistic information makes it the most influential sport newspaper, a bible to millions of passionate fans. Always in line with technology, it knew exactly how to reinvent and evolve itself covering the communication on the net, on mobile devices and on the different social media platforms, sharing all the updated news and scoops (the Facebook page boasts 2 milion Likes).

Thanks to the deal signed with the MDL agency, the must-have of the Italian culture in sports is now available for new licensing projects. Apparel, accessories, sports equipment and promotions are some of the categories where this property can offer unmissable licensing opportunities. “We believe that this represents a great opportunity for licensees.”, says Maurizio Distefano, President of MDL: “Sports have always played a dominant role among the Italian public and La Gazzetta dello Sport has kept fans interest alive and, thanks to its high awareness, it certainly leaves room for new licensing ideas and initiatives.

The Photographic Archive of LIFE, the Most Famous Illustrated Magazine of Photojournalism in the World, Boasts Highly-Acclaimed Photographs.

 

LIFE, the modern, avant-garde and world-renowned magazine, enters the Italian licensing market thanks to Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL). The magazine’s iconic pictures can now be licensed for Consumer Products collections.

 

Since its first issue on November 23, 1936, LIFE has been the most respected source and collection of photojournalism in the world. Its photojournalists immortalized some of the most significant events of the 20^th century including celebrities, history, fashion, sports, cinema and nature. The magazine covers a wide range of topics with a consistent mission: “To see LIFE; To see the world; To eyewitness great events…”

 

The images of its archive are iconic, they depict both everyday life and epic moments that made history, a real window of the world seen through the eyes of the photographer. LIFE is an archive of human experiences and perception of great artists of the world and its iconic images have withstood the test of time.

 

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with LIFE. It is undoubtedly an icon of strong impact and great potential in the Italian licensing market” says Maurizio Distefano, President of MDL. “With its archive of timeless images, it gives licensees the opportunity to use sophisticated photographic art, which can express itself in the best way in the product lines, giving them a style of high perceived value.”