July 16, 2019
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
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"'Spirit Riding Free' is a consistent top performing kids' series on Netflix," says Shannon Vacca, vice president, franchise strategy, Universal Brand Development. "It's a sure-fire hit with our key demographic, girls 4-12, and we're celebrating its second anniversary this summer by marking consistent viewership growth year-over-year on Netflix."
The series' early popularity led to an extensive consumer product program, which launched alongside season one in 2017. This in and of itself was a victory for the franchise, seeing as the series' debut on a streaming platform could have been a gamble,
"'Spirit' is the first-ever original IP from a streaming platform to crack the code of generating consumer products revenue–both here in the U.S. and now growing overseas, too," says Vacca. "There's nothing like it in the girls' space. 'Spirit' represents today's generation of independent, adventurous girls, and at the center of it all is this wholesome narrative. The series uniquely and authentically owns that undeniable girl/horse bond, and we recognized this play pattern had tremendous untapped potential. Girls are living out the series in real life through the toys and books as well as through fashion, home and other merchandise."
Licensee Just Play was tapped as the master toy partner for the brand, bringing to market a full range of dolls, horses, play sets, plush and blind bags. Other early partners for the program include Little, Brown Young Readers for publishing and a specialty line of collectible model horses from Breyer.
As the brand continues to grow in the U.S. and abroad, so does its licensing efforts, allowing it to branch out into lifestyle categories...
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