Branded Attractions
www.parkworld-online.com
“
A
theme park is the epitome for any licence but it’s very rare for any to ever get there!” remarks Hannah Mungo, licensing and retail manager for Entertainment One UK (E1). Among other brands, E1 licenses Peppa Pig on behalf of creators Astley
Baker Davies and was responsible for helping realise Peppa Pig World at Paultons Park in Hampshire, England.
The 3-acre (1.2-hectare) themed area was unveiled to the public in April and, at a cost of £6 million ($9.8/€6.8M), is the largest single investment in the 27- year history of this relatively small English park. The Mancey family, the park’s owners, now hope Peppa’s arrival will give Paultons national and even international recognition. As E1 had an existing relationship with the park via Rainbow Productions, which licences costume character appearances, and had hosted regular Peppa Pig meet and greet events, the next step seemed almost logical.
“A permanent attraction was on our radar from 2007 as the brand really began to take off,” reveals Mungo. “I had been to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor and was very keen to do something similar with Peppa. I was most impressed by Paultons from my first visit there. As they already attracted younger children and their families, Peppa seemed the perfect fit. Peppa Pig World is like stepping into the animation. What has been achieved is way beyond our imaginations and so completely on brand.”
As well as seven themed rides and attractions supplied by Zierer and Metallbau Emmeln, Peppa Pig World also features a large retail store, and merchandise sales are expected to play an important part of project for both Paultons and E1. “The Peppa Pig shop is amazing,” says Mungo. “It’s great to have all available products under one roof – the only completely dedicated Peppa Pig shop in the UK. This is what fans expect when they spend a day at Peppa Pig World, they want to take a memento away with them.” Neither Paultons nor E1 will reveal the cost of the licence for Peppa Pig
World, or how long it lasts, but Mungo states: “The value of something like this is huge for both parties. Peppa is currently worth £200 million [$377m/€330m] in retail, was the number one pre-school property for 2010 and, with 169 episodes available and more in production, the fan base is huge. Paultons clearly benefits from expanding its reach from the south west of England to the whole of the UK. The value for Peppa is also huge. Having a dedicated ‘world’ is something that has only been done by one other brand in the UK, and it takes Peppa to a completely new level and helps set her on the path to becoming a true evergreen property.”
Although Peppa Pig World is exclusive to Paultons in the UK, overseas attractions featuring the character are not out of the questions now that she is reaching her trotters out to new territories.
“Internationally the brand is growing and we hope to replicate the performance of the brand in a number of other countries, “notes Mungo, “the most exciting being the US. Peppa Pig has just started broadcasting on Nickelodeon in North America and a master toy partner is soon to be announced so watch this space!”
www.peppapigworld.com
Read our full profile of Peppa Pig World, published last month, at
www.parkworld-online.com
32 Richard Cadell with Sooty and friends at Fun City JUNE 2011
‘I bought my own IP!’
For Richard Cadell, co-owner of Fun City at Brean Leisure Park in south west England, creating a branded attraction was easy – and he didn’t even need to ask permission. As well as running the park together with his
brother David, Richard also enjoys a career as a television presenter and entertainer. Three years ago, he bought the rights to Sooty, the longest-running children’s TV show in the UK, which he has hosted since 1999, taking over from Matthew Corbett, son of founder Harry Corbett. Visitors to Fun City can already enjoy a Sooty live show at the park at various times throughout the year, as well as daily meet and greet sessions with the yellow puppet bear and his friend Sweep. Coming soon they will also be able to visit a Sooty exhibition, and more attractions are planned. “We never bought Sooty purely with a view to this park, but we’d be stupid not to do something on the back of the television show,” says Richard. “We got all the old sets here – Sooty’s bedroom, Sooty’s kitchen, Sooty’s gymnasium – as well as the old Harry Corbett scripts, so I am going to do a big exhibition. I’ve got to store it all anyway, so I might as well let people come and see them.” This September a new series of The Sooty Show screens on ITV, filmed at Fun
City. Though the autumn/autumn scheduling isn’t perfect, it will provide great exposure for the park on one of the UK’s main television networks, and hopefully encourage new visitors next spring. If it’s a hit, then Richard hopes to introduce some Sooty-themed rides.
“That’s the plan, but I don’t think I’d go to the expense of having a Zamperla bespoke ride or whatever. I think we will get some older stuff, strip it down, repaint it and refurbish it. It all depends how successful the TV show is.” One thing Fun City’s owner hasn’t had to do is pay big bucks to an external licence owner. While the Sooty attractions might not be on the same scale as other branded areas such as Peppa Pig World at Paultons or Thomas Land at Drayton Manor, Richard can experiment with far less risk. “Without question Paultons will be paying a royalty on the additional income
since Peppa Pig. In five years time they might want a lot more money and you are stuck with all these themed rides you can’t use unless you pay. Or, as I’ve found because I’ve licensed Basil Brush, you get a change of clientele and some whizzkid comes in and makes sweeping decisions about the brand; suddenly they decide Peppa should be blue instead of pink, and you’ve got to change everything. You’ve got to protect you brand, of course, but they’ve got you all the time.”
“I would say that it’s almost worth parks considering either developing their own characters,” concludes Richard, “or looking at some of the licences that are out there and seeing if they are for sale. I know a couple that are.”
www.funcitybrean.co.uk
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