SMALL DOG’S BIG ADVENTURE INTO THE TECH WORLD

 

ZUMA THE DOG DIPS A PAW INTO AR
 

Bertish and Company Ltd, the creator and owner of children’s character brand Zuma the Dog, is thrilled to announce their new partnership with US augmented reality tech company XR Goods, bringing their new branded merchandise into the world of wearable tech.

This new partnership will bring Bertish and Company’s character Zuma the Dog to life with a 2D animation of their dog character, which can be accessed through a scannable logo on their specially designed apparel collection. The AR platform is designed without the need for heavy downloads onto devices or email logins, keeping it light and easy to enjoy and once scanned a welcome page will pop up and the user will then be able to play a game with Zuma. The narrative is still under development, though the team do know the story will be age appropriate, have an educational theme, and give the user a complete immersive experience with Zuma, including the opportunity to be photographed with him. 

“We are beyond excited for this project and Zuma the Dog’s future in media entertainment,” said Samantha Bertish, brand creator. “Wearable tech is something I have had a keen interest in for many years and this project answers our question of how best we can combine children’s media entertainment and apparel in an easy, affordable and fun way. We also look forward to developing this AR experience into other Zuma the Dog product catagories.” 

As Bertish and Company continue to push Zuma the Dog’s message of tolerance, anti-bullying, and diversity education into the world, this cutting-edge balance between fashion and technology can help get their message across in exciting ways that relate directly to their core audience. Still in animation development stage, Bertish and Company expect to see it’s first wearable tech available to buy before the end of 2022 and invite retailers to contact the brand with their interest to stock this exciting new range in their stores.

The project also includes Bertish and Company’s joint venture company Zuma the Dog and Friends Edutainment Ltd, where all the new character IP is held for their forth coming animated series and other children’s media entertainment. These characters will be developed into AR characters for wearable tech as the Zumaverse expands. 

And finally, for licensees who want to collaborate with Zuma the Dog on new products please contact Brand Manager Sarah Camp at sarah@contagiousmediagroup.com

Much Love

Zuma XX

via GIPHY

It's Anti-bullying Week.

Bullying and gender stereotypes are precursors to larger social issues such as domestic violence. My puppy life exposed me to conflict where my human Mummy couldn’t always be there to protect me. I was loved dearly and the only way Mummy felt she could protect me, and the rest of my family was to pluck up the courage to move far, far away, so that we could make a new life and recover from our trauma.

As an experienced survivor of bullying, I love learning languages and is a stand against bullying. I am all about healthy communication and helping my friends to feel understood and to understand them. My understanding and use of foreign language and experience in living within different cultures and difficult situations gives me compassion and the ability to understand others and resolve issues quickly. I want to show the world what I have learnt and share my experiences to help others, so they don’t have to experience what I did.

I believe that by teaching children, with the help from my pals, about healthy communication, conflict resolution and acceptance of diversity, we will break down traditional gender stereotypes and learn about equality and consent. Creating healthy relationships while raising good self-esteem and eliminate bullying from the inside out.

It’s only by educating children from an early age that we can create a loving and tolerant generation and put an end to bullying and I will aim to be that role model of love, tolerance and the anti-bullying go to for children.

‘A bully won’t stop until his mindset is dropped.’

Much Love

Zuma XX

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

SMALL DOG HEADING FOR THE STARS

A new press release put out by Mummy, Zuma the Dog and its' a whopper. You're gonna want to read this one.

Bertish & Company Ltd, owners of the children’s character brand Zuma the Dog are celebrating today as they announce their new partnership agreement with media production company Transcendent Media Capital Ltd. The two companies are coming together in partnership to create a Zuma the Dog motion picture production company with the same name as the character IP.

Transcendent Media Capital managed by award winning writer, director and producer Peta Milan, who has strong connections with Hollywood, specialises in social and environmental impact content. They use media production and technology initiatives to affect change. 

An animated TV show for children between the ages of 4 and 10 is being developed for Zuma the Dog, intended to teach children communication and conflict resolution skills, tolerance and diversity with strong anti-bullying messaging. Zuma and his pals will encounter all kinds of tricky life situations during their adventures and search for solutions that involve non-violence, boundary setting and effective communication. Full of laughs and mishaps, Zuma and the wisdom of his friends will give practical guidance and teach kids important lessons throughout each episode.

“This is such an exciting step for Zuma the Dog”. Says Samantha Bertish, director of Bertish & Company Ltd and creator of the IP. “Being able to put my character to good use for such a great cause, means so much to me and we are delighted to be partnering with such a prestigious media company.”

Work on the animation development starts later in the Autumn.

Bertish & Company Ltd and Transcendent Media Capital partnering for greater impact. 

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