Partnerships

July 2012: Mattel partners with Rubie's Costume Company

Rubie's Costume Company has partnered with Mattel to produce a new line of Monster High outfits.

The firm is supplying costumes for girls aged three to four, five to seven and eight to ten respectively. These include the Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf and Frankie Stein outfits.

The costumes retail from around £19.99 and have been picked up by Argos, Toys R Us and Smyth’s.

"We are hoping for a great response at retail this year,” Rubie’s media and licensing manager Holly Oldham told ToyNews. “With the increased activity around the brand, we are confident the second half of the year will see great sales for the dress-up line.”

June 2012: Mattel backs WeStopHate campaign

Toy giant Mattel has backed the teen-founded WeStopHate.org campaign with a host of Monster High activities.

As well as a monetary contribution, Mattel will spread the WeStopHate message to tens of millions of girls over three months.

Users were introduced to WeStopHate founder Emily-Anne Rigal on a Monster High microsite, with online activities to complete.

Next month, Monster High and WeStopHate displays will go up in over 1,500 Walmart stores across the US.

A special animated web video will go live in mid-July which will also spread the WeStopHate message, which is to inspire tween girls to embrace 'the unique qualities that make them perfectly imperfect'.

"Emily-Anne's messages of self-acceptance and esteem-building are vital for tweens today and perfectly align with our brand's mantra of celebrating your individual fun freaky flaws," said Lori Pantel, Monster High's VP of global brand marketing.

"Together with Walmart, we can introduce, empower and educate girls with this message as they prepare for a new school year."

Emily-Anne Rigal added: "I am so excited to be partnering with Monster High to inspire young girls with playful, positive messages that they can use to resurrect a positive self-reflection and celebrate that we are each perfectly-imperfect just the way we are."

Last year Mattel backed the Kind Campaign, a girl-founded movement and documentary dedicated to spreading messages of kindness.

March 2012: Mattel partners with HTI

Mattel has just joined forces with HTI Group to license the Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High brands in the sporting goods category.

Under the new licensing deal, HTI will produce a collection of sporting goods for the Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High brands in branded bikes (including scooters), accessories and protection equipment categories in the UK and Ireland.

March 2012: Mattel adds Hy-Pro in sporting goods category

Mattel Consumer Products has signed up Hy-Pro International for a new line of sporting goods featuring the Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High properties.

The licensing deal will see Hy-Pro create a range of branded in-line and feature scooters for the UK and Ireland, with immediate effect.

"We are excited to announce our scooter licence agreement with Hy-Pro International," said Marianna Helmer-Gregersen, licensing manager at Mattel Consumer Products. "Mattel's performance within the scooter category has developed healthily over the last few years.

"We look forward to expanding our presence within the category with brands such as Barbie, Monster High and Hot Wheels now supported by the expertise of Hy-Pro."

Simon Pickavance, director at Hy-Pro, added: "We are so pleased to be working with amazing brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels and Monster High. We feel our imagination for the unique and innovative within the wheeled toy business and the fantastic brands that Mattel represents is a winning partnership."

February 2012: Monster High Fashion Fads Are All The Rage At Toy Fair

Fashion Angels Enterprises readies scary cool, craft and fashion kits, as it debuts all new items in its line of products licensed from Mattel for Monster High.

Fashion Angels will unveil all new spooktacular Monster High licensed product items at New York Toy Fair 2012, like the Monster High Hair Chox, Monster High™ Fashion Sticker Stylist, and Monster High Velvet Poster Collection, that will join Fashion Angels' hottest selling product line.

Fashion Angels Enterprises CEO, Mark Miller, said, "We are extremely excited to add to our wildly popular product line for Monster High. The characters are so popular that we have really concentrated on adding some intensely innovative new items that complement the brand's fashion-forward, monster-chic aesthetic."

February 2012: Mattel partners with Universal Pictures

Mattel and Universal Pictures inked a deal for the first ever feature length DVDs from the Monster High franchise. Monster High: Ghouls Rule! will be the first release under this new partnership.

“Monster High has become a global phenomenon, uniquely engaging fans around the world with its universal truth, everyone has times when they feel like a monster, struggling to be comfortable and confident in their own skin,” says Stephanie Cota, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, Barbie and girls, Mattel. “Universal is truly an expert in home entertainment marketing and distribution and the ideal new global entertainment partner to assist Mattel in continuing to bring Monster High’s rich storytelling to new platforms and audiences.”

“Monster High is a growing global sensation with explosive popularity,” says Craig Kornblau, president, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “There is no better time to extend our hugely successful alliance with Mattel to include this exceptional brand that will deliver new and engaging home entertainment content to its rapidly expanding fan base.”

October 2011: Mattel partners with Egmont for Monster High

Mattel's Monster High magazine is due to launch soon, after the firm struck a deal with Egmont. The title will be printed for 22 countries, including the UK.

Helena Mansell-Stopher, licensing manager at Mattel, commented: "Egmont is a leading publisher within the primary girls sector, so we are thrilled to be partnering with them on this phenomenal franchise to bring the creep-arific Monster High stories to life in print."

May 2011: Chitech inks Monster High deal

The bike firm extends its portfolio of Mattel brands, which includes Barbie and Hot Wheels.

The line-up, aimed at five to ten year-olds, includes 18-inch and 20-inch bikes, a five-inch in-line scooter and accessories.

The licence covers the UK and Eastern Europe.

Chitech CEO, Roy Jones said: “We are delighted to be working with Mattel on Monster High, it is testament to the confidence they place in us, that they are extending our license portfolio to include Monster High.

"This brand is really taking off - the official Facebook site already has a following of over 300,000, as well as an action musical movie in the pipeline.

"This is going to be the next big brand for girls and coupled with Chitech’s unparalleled quality and design, we're very confident that this range will be a big hit with great pull through sales."

January 2011: Sakar Brews Up Scary Cool Gadgets for Mattel's Monster High

Sakar International is cooking up a 'monster chic' line of branded youth electronics for Monster High, the new Mattel franchise that brings together the fashionable teenage descendants of the world's most famous monsters. The products, being developed under a license agreement between Sakar and Mattel, will range from gaming, computer and cell phone accessories to a karaoke machine.

For girls' rooms, Sakar will offer Monster High-branded merchandise such as a light-up message board, room doorbell answering machine, room phone and mini-fridge. In the personal electronics arena, products will include text messengers, wireless intercom sets, earbuds, MP4 and CD players, walkie talkies, digital cameras and digital video recorders. Also on tap are headphones, speakers, flashlights, mousepads, laptop sleeves, Apple iPhone cases, gaming kits and more. All SKUs will incorporate the franchise's pink and black graphic motif and skullette logo.

This is the first time that Mattel has rolled out a new intellectual property across a number of diverse consumer products categories simultaneously at launch. The property delivers rich content and relatable storytelling via publishing, web, animation and live-action theatrical entertainment as well as consumer products in notable categories including apparel and accessories, and toys.

"This license gives us the opportunity to work closely with an original property that is literally rewriting the rules of the entertainment franchise marketplace. It's a completely different challenge than working with a brand that has been an icon for decades," said Liza Abrams, Sakar Vice President of Licensing. "With its on-trend pop-goth aesthetic and relatable characters and storyline, Monster High has the potential to develop a monster-sized fan base."

"Integral to Mattel's launch of the Monster High franchise has been securing the right strategic partners for the brand," said Susie Lecker, VP Marketing for Mattel. "Sakar's notable success in the electronics space and their creative integration of the Monster High aesthetic into their designs are in line with our objective to keep the brand on trend and relevant to today's gadget-focused girls."

Product prototypes are being shown at the 2011 International CES show in Las Vegas. The line is scheduled for release over the next few months in the U.S. and Canada.

June 2010: Mattel Launch of Monster High at LICENSING International Expo

At the 2010 Licensing International Show, Mattel, Inc. unveils its multi-category line-up of best-in-class partners with new apparel and footwear alliances, as well as global personal care collections, products that inspire an active lifestyle and original branded play experiences for boys and girls of all ages.

For the first time in company history, Mattel will roll out a new intellectual property, Monster High, across a number of diverse consumer products categories simultaneously. This new franchise targeting teen and tween girls brings together the hip teenage descendants of the world’s most famous monsters to brave the trials and tribulations of high school. Monster High reaches girls via multiple touch points through strategic partnerships year-one with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, best-selling author Lisi Harrison, Universal Pictures, Justice and Party City.

“Mattel is a leader in providing meaningful brand experiences that translate into innovative and successful cross-brand partnerships,” said Neil Friedman, President, Mattel Brands. “Our ability to secure best-in-class category experts to introduce teens and tween to the Monster High property is a testament to our brand management expertise and reinforces our long-standing legacy as one of the world’s premier licensing partners.”

Apparel, Footwear and Accessories

• Justice: Mattel joins forces with Justice, the largest premier tween specialty retailer in the world, to launch a full line of back-to-school apparel for tweens. Justice has developed an edgy cool line of clothing featuring Monster High’s signature Skullette on tops, bottoms, sleepwear, cosmetics and accessories. In addition, Justice will support an integrated marketing campaign featuring Monster High webisodes on the Tween Network in-store media screens, brand ads, and products in the Justice catazine and on the company’s website. (available July 2010)

• High IntenCity: Mattel and High IntenCity team up for the first time ever to introduce a line of drop dead gorgeous jewelry & hair accessories inspired by Monster High. High IntenCity, a leader in the girls’ accessories industry, has designed accessory items that mix Monster High’s signature Skullette and edgy style with softer lace, bow and charm accents. (available Fall 2010)

• Accessory Innovations: Accessory Innovations, a recognized leader in the accessories industry, has partnered with Mattel on their new scary cool Monster High franchise. Accessory Innovations will offer a complete collection of tween fashion handbags. The handbag line, designed to play up the monster chic style uniquely distinct to the Monster High brand, includes clutches, totes, messenger and cross body bags. (available Fall 2010)

• Ashko Group: Mattel and Ashko have come together to introduce a new line of Monster High inspired hosiery and fashion footwear for tween girls. The collection includes everything from socks, knee highs and leg warmers to sandals, jellies and flip flops, giving girls a variety of ways to show off their killer style. (available Fall 2010)

• ACI International: Continuing a successful long standing partnership, Mattel and ACI International have come together once again to create Monster High slippers for tween Girls. Girls can choose from two unique styles, each featuring the brand’s signature Skullette icon. (available Fall 2010)

March 2010: Little, Brown Attends Monster High

Under license from Mattel, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will be publishing a new YA series, Monster High, written by Lisi Harrison, best known for the Clique and Alphas series. In the books, the sons and daughters of Frankenstein, The Mummy, and other famous movie monsters, disguised as humans, interact with the modern teenagers who are their fellow students.

The concept was created in-house by Mattel, which sought out a publisher to help establish the brand and its storylines and characters. "This is an original intellectual property that we're launching as a franchise," says Mattel spokesperson Sara Rosales. In addition to books, there will be toys, including dolls, accessories, and games; online content; future entertainment vehicles; consumer products such as apparel; and an extensive marketing campaign.

Mattel created the premise, initial characters and look-and-feel, but wanted the author to have broad freedom when writing the books. "It's to Mattel's credit that they wanted a well-known author who can bring so much to it creatively," says Little, Brown senior executive editor Erin Stein, who is editing the series. "They wanted a great book that stands alone and has a great story and characters."

This freedom resulted in an unusally collaborative relationship among Harrison, Stein, and Mattel brand executives. "With licensed publishing, you always are feeling creatively stifled, a little bit, since you're working under the constraints of the property," Stein says. "In this case, they're really open to anything and can't wait to see what Lisi comes up with. And she responded to the concept immediately."

Some of the characters in Mattel's toy line will make their way into the books, to be published under the Poppy imprint, and book characters may migrate into toys. Books will be cross-promoted with toys and other products on Mattel's Monster High Web site, on hangtags and packaging, and in non-book retail environments.