EGMONT Animated By New MovieStarPlanet Acquisition
June 13, 2012, London, U.K., - Egmont Kids Media, the UK’s leading specialist children’s publisher for babies to teens, has announced a worldwide partnership (excluding USA) with MovieStarPlanet for both book and magazine publishing. MovieStarPlanet is a fun and secure place where tweens can participate in a virtual world with their own personalised movie star avatar. Users work together with their friends to create animated movies, and based on the popularity of their animations, the avatar will be able to get a taste of the movie star life and will be awarded virtual fame and money. They can have fun shopping, dressing up, playing games with friends and sharing and reviewing each other’s movies.
Emma Cairns-Smith, Licensing Director, Egmont UK, and lead negotiator on this acquisition project said: “This is a very exciting acquisition for the Egmont Kids Media group, who recognise how important digital worlds are becoming in the lives of our consumers."
Currently, the site has 45 million users across 11 countries, and MovieStarPlanet have projected the site will have over 80 million users by December 2012.
Content will be created through Egmont’s Creative Centre and will publish in the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Poland. Autumn 2012 will see the launch of an All About MovieStarPlanet magazine and MovieStarPlanet: The Official Guide, an essential handbook packed with tips and insights on how to create your own avatar, a poster and lots of stickers, plus dos and don’ts to creating your own virtual world within the MovieStarPlanet website.
David Riley, Managing Director, Egmont Publishing Group said: “Our publishing will bring the virtual world of MovieStarPlanet to life, helping to deepen fans’ engagement and involvement. The handbook and magazine will be the must-have guides for MovieStarPlanet fans.”
Mikkel Vejlgaard, Chief Marketing Officer at MovieStarPlanet adds:
“We are very excited about this opportunity to work with such a strong partner as Egmont who sees the same great potential as we do in bringing our game and community to life in the ‘real’ world. Our large and loyal user base will no doubt be just as excited of the chance to explore the unique MovieStarPlanet experience in new ways. The partnership kickstarts a major licensing programme for MovieStarPlanet rolling out across the globe.”
About Egmont UK
Egmont is the UK’s leading specialist children’s publisher for babies to teens, inspiring children to read through more than 30 million award-winning books, magazines, ebooks and apps each year. We’re proud to be home to many of the world’s favourite stories and best-loved authors, illustrators and characters such as Michael Morpurgo (War Horse), Andy Stanton (Mr Gum), Enid Blyton, Julia Donaldson, Lemony Snicket, Michael Grant (Gone series and BZRK), Winnie-the-Pooh, Tintin, Mr. Men, Thomas & Friends, Fireman Sam and Ben 10.
Egmont UK is part of the Egmont Group which was founded in 1878 and owned by the Egmont Foundation, a charitable trust dedicated to supporting children and young people. It is Scandinavia’s leading media group and Europe’s largest children’s publisher telling stories through books, magazines, film, TV, music, games and mobile in 30 countries throughout the world.
For further information please contact:
Sheelagh Cullinan, Marketing & Business Development Manager at Beanstalk on 020 7572 0857 or at sheelagh.cullinan@beanstalk.com
Beanstalk is the exclusive global licensing agent for MovieStarPlanet.