THE BEGINNING OF THE FINDUS-ETS LICENSING PARTNERSHIP
Findus, a leading company in the frozen food market, chooses ETS Licensing, one of the leading independent licensing agencies in Italy, as a partner to make Carletto, the histrionic chameleon loved by millions of Italian families and the symbol of the Sofficini range, outside its own reference category.
It was 1998 when Carletto landed on TV in an advertising spot by Sofficini. From that moment it becomes the face and soul of the brand, for its ability to best express its identity, effectively communicating the delicacy of the product and strengthening its distinctive image. It becomes the undisputed protagonist of all subsequent communication activities, both on traditional media and on the web, both in stores and in consumer promotion activities. The chameleon, thanks to his sympathy, the ability to involve and invite to play with him, has been able to interpret the child present in each of us, succeeding in embodying the brand in an increasingly transversal way over time.
Now Carletto is ready to start new adventures, which will see him protagonist in other areas, all to be explored, in which to live his spirit joyful and irreverent over the years has been able to conquer large and small.
“Carletto is a character particularly loved by families and children – says Carly Arnold, Marketing Director Findus – in him we saw great potential even outside our category, the production of frozen food. The goal of this ‘character extension’ is to intercept our consumers through levers completely different from the current ones, with new tools and modes.” An intuition that also comes from a very positive feedback from consumers: “Over time we have received many expressions of interest for Carletto: that’s why we chose to rely on an authoritative partner, such as ETS Licensing, to explode these opportunities.”
Carletto’s arrival in the world of licensing is a starting point for the expansion of the character’s activity. The start of the path taken with ETS Licensing will be presented for the first time during the Kids Marketing Days, scheduled in Milan on March 10.
“ETS Licensing is grateful to have been chosen by Findus to be the agency that will accompany them in the development of Carletto as an intangible asset and intellectual property – comments Francesco Raiano, Head of Licensing&New Business of ETS Licensing – “It is an innovative project with examples abroad, but it is the first time that happens in Italy and it is the first time that the starting point is a testimonial character of food products. The awareness and appeal of Carletto’s personality, developed and supported by Findus, are excellent conditions to make it a pop icon and guide its development in other product categories”.
