226 LICENSING THE BIRTH OF CLOUDBABIES


Clouds of glory


We are used to seeing new children’s brands launching regularly, but many of us are unaware of how an initial concept is taken to broadcast and into licensed product. Katie Roberts met Helen Howells of Hoho Entertainment to find out…


THE KIDS licensed goods market was worth £904 million in the first half of 2011 (source: NPD). There is a plethora of brands being licensed into toys and other sectors continually, bringing extra revenue into the industries.


Hoho Entertainment was set up a year ago by ex-Target Entertainment executives, Helen Howells and Oliver Ellis. Within seven months, the firm had launched its first property, Cloudbabies. So it seemed from the outside that launching a new pre-school brand was a fairly painless and quick procedure. Chatting to Howells though, that myth was quickly dispelled as she took ToyNews through the journey from conception to broadcast, through to product on shelf. Cloudbabies is fully produced in the UK, which is something of a rarity


FEBRUARY 2012


experience in the kids business. First of all we choose the projects that have the most appeal for us – in terms of aesthetics, creative, characters and story telling, etc. But what is equally important is the potential that a project has in terms of crossing over as many media platforms as possible, often referred to as the 360° brand strategy approach.”


Ellis (left) and Howells collectively have over 30 years of experience in the kids business...


nowadays as many producers are forced to find funding overseas where tax breaks and other support are more available. But the babies weren’t born at Hoho, they were a project that Ellis and Howells had been developing at Target


Entertainment that they were able to take with them on leaving. So how had they decided to take Cloudbabies on in the first place? “There’s not really a science to this,” says Howells. “A lot of it is based on personal taste and our


Having chosen the adorable Cloudbabies idea from BAFTA award winning art director, Bridget Appleby, the next step for Hoho was to put together a ‘series bible’ to pitch to broadcasters. Howells explains: “This will outline the concept of the show, introduce the characters and environments and will often include a series of episode ideas. The bible will also be accompanied by one or two full scripts.


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