Through a series of strategic executive appointments and local partnerships, Rovio Entertainment is amping up the success of its "Angry Birds" franchise in Asia.

April 6, 2018

2 Min Read

New execs and local partners aim to grow 'Angry Birds' brand in the region.

Through a series of strategic executive appointments and local partnerships, Rovio Entertainment is amping up the success of its "Angry Birds" franchise in Asia.

In China, where "Angry Birds" has been downloaded close to half a billion times, Rovio has partnered with Kunlun, one of China’s biggest gaming companies, to utilize local market intelligence to tailor its mobile games to the Chinese market.

A similar strategic local publishing partnership has also been implemented in Japan, where Rovio and Kiteretsu joined forces to produce "Angry Birds Fight!," the first Rovio title developed exclusively in Japan.

In Korea, Rovio is growing its global network of local licensing agents with the appointment of Asiana Licensing to represent the company in that country. Asiana joins Charactopia in China, Dream Theatre in India, PLS in Southeast Asia and Wild Pumpkin in Australia.

Rovio has also appointed Vincent Yu as country manager in China to develop and lead all facets of business in that country including licensing, sales, marketing and the partnership with Kunlun. Vincent comes to Rovio from Mengniu, China’s leading dairy products company, where he was marketing director. Prior to that, he led the movie, TV, publishing and licensing businesses of the children’s entertainment firm Taome.

Rovio has also strengthened its position in India and South Asia with the appointment of Anurag Sachdeva to lead the business in the region. In his new role, Anurag will focus on consolidating Rovio’s presence in the market, driving global partnerships and strategic alliances while strengthening the company’s organizational capabilities. He also leads telecom operator relations for Southeast Asia while focusing on the expansion of the company’s market base. Previously Sachdeva served as Rovio’s associate director of business development for India and Southeast Asia. Prior to joining Rovio, he worked with Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Virgin Mobile India and Aircel.

“The 'Angry Birds' franchise is still just five years young, and whilst we’ve achieved so much in such a short period of time, there’s so much more to come,” says Alex Lambeek, chief operating officer, Rovio Entertainment. “We’ve got the Angry Birds movie set for worldwide release in May 2016, expansion into Asia, some really interesting licensing partnerships and of course, a lot more games. We are now truly an entertainment company with mobile games at its heart.”

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