Egmont Publishing is expanding its extensive portfolio of children’s titles with a new launch, which hits shelves on 10th April. In partnership with WowWee, Egmont is celebrating the release of the first issue of the official Fingerlings magazine.
Fingerlings toys, a line of high-tech interactive pets that cling to your finger and respond to touch and sound, have topped charts since their launch in 2017. They have continued, says Egmont, to delight their young fans with engaging features and cute new characters, with recent additions of narwhals, foxes and elephants joining the successful original line of monkeys, sloths and unicorns.
As well as having sold over 10 million of its toys, Fingerlings also holds the accolade of being named the Toy Association’s Overall Toy of the Year (TOTY) and Collectible Toy of the Year, for 2018.
According to Egmont, the appetite for collectibles in the children’s market has reached a staggering height, with recent figures from NPD showing that one in every four toys sold in the UK in 2018 was a collectible.
The Fingerlings publishing deal was brokered by Striker Entertainment, WowWee’s worldwide licensing agency.
Aimed at 4-7 year old readers, the début issue of Fingerlings magazine includes four posters, crafts, character fact files, 60 stickers and the chance to win official Fingerlings prizes. Issue 1 also comes with a free glitter tattoo and one of four official Fingerlings minis, which fans will love collecting, say the publishers.
To celebrate the release of the new magazine, Egmont will be launching a blogger campaign and promotions will also run with all the major supermarkets. Retail support will be strong with listings at all major retailers and key independents.
Kiran Vara, Publisher of Fingerlings magazine, said: “We are very excited about the launch of Fingerlings magazine and to be bringing this adorable brand to the UK publishing market. The excitement and magic of the Fingerlings world translates perfectly to print and we are sure that Fingerlings, with its incredible appeal to children and core values of friendship and fun, will be an instant winner.”
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Egmont on the first-ever Fingerlings magazine,” said WowWee’s Sydney Wiseman, creator of Fingerlings. “Their expertise in character translation to print is simply fantastic and our fans will truly look forward to reading and collecting the first of many issues to come!”
The first issue of Fingerlings magazine goes on sale on 10th April and is priced at £3.99.
