Brand Licensing Europe 2018 - What a show!

Seems like weeks ago now that we visited BLE, but we are still excited from the buzz and opportunities that are following. Another day where everyone gets to talk about me all day and we really did have a lot of fun. Yay! The weeks after BLE are always busy with follow up meeting and talks with our agent and marketing team and it’s not until November that everyone will be back in the office full time to get on with the next phase.

Some highlights from the show and look.....there's a Pikachu
on Mummy's head.

It’s the third time we’ve attended BLE and this time we had some wonderful meetings and met some great people and we would like to thank those who took the time to meet with us and talk about licensing opportunities with Zuma the Dog going forward.

We’d like to tell you all about these meeting but unfortunately, bound by secrecy until contracts are signed. At least I can give you some highlights and thank those who met with us personally.

HIGHLIGHTS

We won! Yes, that’s correct. We won a prize from the Twitter competition leading up to BLE. It was very exciting going to pick up our personalised ‘Love Island’ water bottle from ITV Studio. The fact we’ve never seen an episode of Love Island didn’t deter us.

Dragging the boy around a big show like BLE, did make us stand out and it can be a little monotonous at time for him, but when we passed by the Sega stand (the boy being a big Sonic the Hedgehog fan besides me of course), we were delighted when Toby Rayfield handed the boy a Sega goodie bag. Totally made his day.

The characters are always the best part of BLE for us. Meeting them, hugging them and having our photos taken. I'm hoping that next year Rainbow Productions will have seen the light and realise they need my in their line up too.

THANK YOU

Martin Lowe from Roy Lowe &Sons Ltd. Always a pleasure to meet with Martin. Socks are a fun necessity and we love his ‘Keep it British’ philosophy.

Marcie Kubik from Emoji One. So friendly and fun to meet. Thank you for allowing us to show you our ideas for Zuma the Dog emoji’s and hope to see you again at future events.

Brain Smith from Popagami. We love your enthusiasm and working with you is always a pleasure.

Ruth Leonard and Johnathan Rose from Hello Communications. We loved meeting you………. finally. Your energy and ideas really bring live to Zuma the Dog’s brand philosophy.

Stephen Gomez from Ty Toys. What an absolute pleasure. We loved your passion for TY and positivity for Zuma the Dog. Thank you for your time and energy.

And finally……………….

Sarah Camp from Weird Lime. She worked tirelessly the whole time. Meeting with licensors, publishers, toy manufacturers, talking all things Zuma the Dog. Hustling, wheeling and do deals all for our benefit.

What a star you are!

We are already looking forward to next year and who knows, we might even have a stand of our own.

 Much Love

Zuma XX

BACK TO SCHOOL

Showering in Old Faithful, Yellowstone

Is it back to school or back to work for you? We’ve had a wonderful vacation time and had the opportunity to see various parts of the world. Now the mornings are beginning to feel colder and there’s a hint of autumn in the air and it really is time to get our heads down and get back to work. Or should I say Mummy needs to get back to work, while I lay around all day staring at her. Just making sure she is working hard enough while cracking the occasional whip. 

Holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa

There’s lots coming up over the next few months and after my recent re brand and new look there’s new people added to Team Zuma the Dog. We welcome Sarah Camp from Weird Lime who is now our marketing, PR and licensing agent, along with Ruth Leonard from Hello Communication who is also working on Team Zuma. I am personally looking forward to them spending most of their waking hours thinking of me and I’m looking forward to working with them.

This brilliant team have years of experience working with well-known character brands and bringing them to market and their first big mission will be representing Zuma the Dog and Brand Licensing Europe, to be held and London's Olympia on the 9^th to 11^th October 2018. They have some fabulous ideas for licensing going forward that I’m sure all of you in the business will love to see.

My suggestion (and take that as more of a cheeky Zuma nudge (possibly with teeth)) 😉 is to make your appointment to see the team sooner rather than later.  

See you there!

Much Love

Zuma XX

All Change Ahead for Zuma

It seems like forever since the last time I put paws to keyboard to update you on life as the muse of a kid’s brand, so much has happened, including moving countries. Yes, that’s right, I left the beach of my precious Guincho Beach in Portugal and swapped it for the mountains of Switzerland. Mummy said it was a good move for everyone and I get to meet new doggy friends and learn another language. Language is important for a multi-traveling dog like me, so now I find myself learning to woof German and living on top of a hill with fields and trees all around. The view across to a mountain is breath taking and I have funny four-legged neighbours that eat a lot of grass, who wear these large bells around their necks, ding-donging all day and make a kind of Moo sound. I’ve never seen such a funny looking creature, but they keep themselves to themselves and I’m happy to watch them all do their thing.

I’ve taken my time to settle in. It’s been a big change. I’m enjoying the long walks through the forest and there’s always something that catches my interest. New sounds, new smells and lots of new people. I had a little run in with an electric fence while on a bog walk down a mountain, but I'm ok. Something new to learn about. I think I’m going to like it here.

With all the changes with our home, Mummy seems to have still found time to work and she tells me she now has a sales agent who will be working alongside her and the licensing agent to sell our clothing range into retailers within the UK. She seems to be very happy about that. She’s busy working on the Winter 2018 collection, creating fun styles for you and these items will be in stores and online next winter to buy.

Can you imagine how exciting it is to see your own face on the T-shirt in the front window of a shop?

Until next time

Much Love

Zuma xx