Pyramid International summer 2012 licensing programme

As spring 2012 moves towards summer – and following the continuing success of The Art Group – Pyramid International is diversifying its product lines further into new sectors including stationery, giftware, memorabilia, wooden wall art*, box sets and other higher end pieces.

These new product formats are also being driven by changes occurring in the market to its core poster category, which is now becoming increasingly dominated by the grocers.

A key focus for 2012 is the new Wooden Wall Art and Memorabilia ranges which incorporate licenses such as the Imperial War Museum, The Royal Mail and the Science & Society collection which features iconic images from the Railway Museum. For the Imperial War Museum Pyramid has the license to use vintage artwork to be released in all wall art formats to include posters, print s, canvas, memorabilia and wooden wall art and there will also be a range of mugs.

These specific ranges are ideal for tourist destinations and retailers are invited to order bespoke designs and ranges that are tailor-made for their locality. The Science & Society collection incorporates images depicting beautiful vintage travel advertising on wall art, all made to demand and with that all-important flavour of nostalgia.

All items in the Memorabilia Range come in a ‘Black Soho’ style MDF wrapped frame, A3 size (29.7cm x 42cm), shrink-wrapped with protective corners. Mounted prints come with a white core mount with ‘v’ groove. Image size is 20cm x 33cm with RRP of £19.99 or £24.99 for a frame with mount.

Keeping with the theme of memorabilia and all things British, Pyramid’s new license for the Imperial War Museum (top left) includes mugs as well as the Wall Art, with an initial release in June 2012 that will consist of six designs.

Pyramid’s vintage Kellogg’s license is also soon to be translated into a nostalgic wall art collection to include posters, prints, canvases, memorabilia and wooden wall art, with potential for giftware items further down the line.

Memorabilia – with the added bonus of collectability – will be a strong focus for Pyramid throughout 2012, with an initial focus on the Titanic. This framed Wall Art is produced on a print to order basis and retailers can choose from a range of images from the extensive catalogue to order a set of custom made A3 size prints.

An early 2012 proven success for Pyramid was the limited edition Olympic Box Set featuring the 12 posters by the official artists. Phenomenally, all of the 2012 sets sold out in 24 hours at a £120 price point. Pyramid International’s licensing manager Caroline Martin said: “The amazing success of the Olympic box sets speaks volumes about both the power of the Olympics to generate sales and the growing importance of collectable items in this market. This type of product is also great for online sales; nearly every single one of these sets was sold over the internet”.

More limited edition box sets featuring vintage Titanic and James Bond imagery are now available, with limited copies of each being released for this milestone year. Going forward retailers can expect to see more limited edition sets that incorporate a choice selection of Pyramid’s classic licenses for world famous character and brands. Each set is numbered and comes complete with a certificate. The RRP for each set is between £50.00 and £120.00.

A Royal Mail box set is also due out in summer, along with a 2013 calendar, wall art, poster, and print and giftware range. This important addition to Pyramid’s licensing portfolio brings global rights to use the famous Royal Mail stamp images for art work, including traditional design elements of the Queen’s head and serrated edge.

Export Director at Pyramid International, Nick Morley said: “We are absolutely delighted to have tied up this deal with the Royal Mail as the artwork is perfect for both Pyramid and The Art Group. The back catalogue of designs is endless and offers incredible possibilities across canvas, Wooden Wall Art and pre-framed products. The Machion (Queen Stamp) is very much in vogue at the moment across furniture and rugs and is perfect imagery for our products”.

Stewart Tyson, manager of Product, Intellectual Property and Licensing from the Royal Mail, added: “It is an absolute pleasure to work with Pyramid International and we look forward to seeing the products in the near future.”

In the stationery category Pyramid has an exclusive license with renowned artist Howard Shooter; 2012 will see the launch of a new range featuring his classic cupcake designs, plus a 2013 calendar.

Acclaimed artist Sam Toft has also agreed to a 2013 calendar and box set.

For real and aspiring rock stars the new Marshall Amps range should hit the spot. This is an exclusive worldwide license for Pyramid and it is the first time the company has launched a gift-focus range that includes wall art, mugs, robes, wallets and bags.

For girls there is a new Pippi Longstocking poster license, for which interest is expected to come mainly from the mainland European market especially the Nordic region. One poster is to be released initially.

and adventurous girls will love the Deadly 60 series produced under license from the BBC, that is to include educational posters and an accessory packs.

A new deal with Warner Bros for 2012 will appeal to youngsters of both ages, with forthcoming releases to include movie posters – including 3D – and other merchandise for The Dark Knight, The Hobbit 1, An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit 2, There and Back Again, Man of Steel (Superman) and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Also watch out for new animation posters and merchandise featuring Looney Tunes Classics and Show images, Thundercats, Green Lantern, Tom and Jerry and Hanna Barbera Classics.

For older consumers, one of the most recent new licenses recently signed is with the iconic Lambretta scooters, for which Pyramid will exclusively produce images using all wall art formats, including posters, prints, canvas, memorabilia, wooden wall art and also 2013/14 calendars.

Martin Elliott’s beautiful ‘Tennis Girl’ image features as one of the most famous posters in the world and exclusively is one of Pyramid’s most iconic licenses. Just in time for Wimbledon 2012, a stunning range of exclusive, never seen before images from the same shoot will form the basis of a 2013 calendar.

Pyramid owns the full rights to this sequence of photos, which have not previously been released or used elsewhere, and anyone interested in licensing the images should contact the publisher direct at:

caroline.martin@pyramidinternational.com

* The Wooden Wall Art products are digitally printed by a state of the art wide format flat-bed Fuji printer onto a Spruce plywood and sourced from a well-managed, PEFC, sustainable forest. The panels are 12mm thick with back supports to elevate from the wall and are provided with picture hooks for easy hanging. Each piece comes individually packed in a wrap around box. Small sizes are 588 x 400mm with and RRP of £39.99 and the large format versions are 762 x 400mm with an RRP of £49.99

There is also a Digital Canvas Range, where each product is a museum-standard, British made piece of wall art, digitally printed and gallery-wrapped to ensure that the printed image continues around the edges of the frame. Only heavy gauge 300gsm Poly-Cotton Canvas is used and stretched around a 45mm depth bespoke and profiled MDF frame ensuring a taught perfect image is delivered every time.

.