Relatable Taps Cookbook Media’s Rob Bencal for Licensing/Brand Collabs

Relatable, a Gen Z- and millennial-focused entertainment company and manufacturer of the viral card game sensation, What Do You Meme?, has partnered with Rob Bencal, co-founder of franchise management agency, Cookbook Media, as an executive licensing consultant to create new opportunities and relationships with IP owners, studios and brands in the entertainment and consumer packaged goods industry.

Building on previous successful licensing partnerships with Paramount Consumer Products (“SpongeBob SquarePants”), Warner Bros. Consumer Products (“Friends,” “Seinfeld”) and Jazwares (Squishmallows), Bencal will be instrumental in growing Retable’s licensed business and expanding opportunities for the company with new partnerships and collaborations across games and other categories, such as wellness and lifestyle products.

From “plush with purpose” that includes Emotional Support Fries and Menstruation Crustacean, to murder mystery games and a vast assortment of relationship and adults-only card games, Relatable has also expanded its footprint into the kids’ and family space with Squishmallows Take4. As a result of its success, the company is looking to partner with other franchised IP with a goal of offering even more entertainment to consumers of all ages.

“Relatable was born a social and digital-first media company, so intrinsically they understand their digital-native consumer unlike anyone else in the industry in terms of both product development and marketing,” says Bencal. “They’ve already had huge wins with some top entertainment properties and studios, and we will look to expand those relationships even further, but we will also be looking at partnerships and collabs with popular influencers, consumer brands and up-and-coming properties across video games, podcasts and other forms of media that appeal to our audience. With over 17 million subscribers across our various social media platforms, promoting and marketing to Gen Z and millennials is Relatable’s ‘super power’ and I think that makes us a top choice for studios and brand owners when choosing a partner to collaborate with. I’m honored and excited to be part of their growth plan for the future.”

Prior to co-founding Cookbook Media with fellow industry veteran, Claudia Scott-Hansen, Bencal held various senior positions at leading toy and media companies, including 13 years at Mattel where he oversaw successful toy portfolios for entertainment partnerships with Disney, Nickelodeon and DreamWorks. With the acquisition of HiT Entertainment, Bencal also managed the digital content strategy, media partnerships and content distribution for Mattel’s portfolio of brands, including Barbie, Thomas & Friends, Fisher-Price and American Girl.

“Rob shares our creative vision and passion for partnering with licensors who also want to provide best-in-class products that bring joy to fans of all kinds,” says Tom Emelo, chief strategy officer, Relatable. “We’ve had some great successes to date and can’t wait to see what's next now that we have Rob on board.”