Cartoon Network Goes Big on Bears & Fan Engagement

Cartoon Network Goes Big on Bears & Fan Engagement March 4, 2019

SINGAPORE - It's time to hug it out. Throughout 2019, Cartoon Network is on a mission to get fans of its hit original comedy We Bare Bears feeling the love in a multi-layered, regional campaign.

As part of the show's biggest ever promotion drive there will be mall activations, social media influencer tie-ups, competitions and plenty of free hugs from character mascots of Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear. Fans can vote for which country in Southeast Asia they want the bears to visit through the We'll Be There microsite. The campaign's name comes from the show's opening theme song, performed by UK artist, Estelle.

At Cartoon Network, we believe in surrounding our fans with content and real-life experiences. In this case, they can be wrapped in a great big bear hug! said Phil Nelson, Managing Director of Turner in North and Southeast Asia Pacific. The engaging show has really excited our partners, and we're working on some great projects, on and off-screen, to build this franchise into something even bigger.

In recent months, all around Asia, bear merchandise has been flying off the shelves. From Miniso globally, to SPAO stores in Korea and Malaysia, to Penshoppe in the Philippines - even a pop-up caf in Korea. Socially, new emoticons, stickers and local digital channels for the Bears are being added all the time. Passionate fans in Asia can also join the new Facebook community page to receive updates all year round.

In Australia, Cartoon Network has also just kicked off its own version of the campaign We Bare Bears on Tour . On Valentine's Day, the bears visited the Opera House, Pitt Street Mall and China Town, where they handed out over 1,000 plush bears - and about the same amount of free hugs.

To see just how far the love spread, check out the video and pictures. The tour will continue throughout the year with the bears popping up at different locations in Australia.

In 2018, Cartoon Network estimated that We Bare Bears engaged its fans through more than 200 million touchpoints in Asia Pacific.

Here are some of the highlights:

Singapore stacks up

The bears have been spotted everywhere in the Lion City. Partnerships with Fraser's malls over Christmas and at the Sentosa MegaFun event took the franchise to the next level. They also took pride of place at last year's Cartoon Network Animate Your Life event in Garden's by the Bay. The show's creator, Daniel Chong, has Singaporean roots and a Merlion - the country's national icon - even featured in a recent episode. Local influencers and students have also created videos to support the We'll Be There campaign.

Home Run with Doosan Bears in Korea

Cartoon Network has renewed its partnership with Doosan Bears, the famous Korean professional baseball team, together with licensee WeFan. Marketing activities comprised photo opportunities, character appearances and giveaways. Through these events, sales of We Bare Bears-licensed consumer products skyrocketed.

Swiped Right? Congrats, it's a Match3!

The success of the Korea-developed We Bare Bears: Match3 Repairs game has seen almost 7 million global downloads, with notable spikes in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, where it featured as the #1 Top Free Puzzle game and Editor's Choice game on the Google Play.

Best of the Rest:

Bears are everywhere right now! Consumer products are available across multiple categories - from apparel to accessories - across all of Asia Pacific.

Partnerships with Grab Philippines for branded bear cars.

Temuera Morrison voiced Grizzly for Cartoon Network New Zealand to celebrate Maori Week.

Local YouTube channels have launched in Korea and Thailand - with more to come.

Travel with the Bears! EZ Link cards in Singapore, Octopus in Hong Kong and Rabbit Card in Thailand all have featured Bears branding.

In China, Bears products have sold through retailer Cache Cache, and in partnership with China Everbright Bank credit cards, Avon face masks and Miranda soft drinks.

Emoticons on KakaoTalk and stickers on Line Thailand, as well as on WeChat and Sogou.

For media enquiries, please contact:

James Moore, Turner Asia Pacific; James.Moore@turner.com / +65 6801 7996

About Cartoon Network Asia Pacific

Turner's Cartoon Network, the number one kids' channel in Asia Pacific, offers the best in original animated content including the multi-award-winning global hits Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes, Adventure Time and We Bare Bears.

Cartoon Network is available in 29 countries throughout Asia Pacific and is currently seen in more than 135 million pay-TV homes. Internationally, it is seen in 192 countries and over 400 million homes, and is an industry leader with a global offering of the best in award-winning animated entertainment for kids and families.

The brand is known for putting its fans at the centre of everything by applying creative thinking and innovation across multiple platforms. Cartoon Network also reaches millions more through its websites, games and apps, including Cartoon Network Watch and Play. Cartoon Network, sister brand to Boomerang and POGO, is created and distributed by Turner, a WarnerMedia company.

About Turner Asia Pacific

Turner is a global entertainment, sports and news company that creates premium content, and delivers exceptional experiences to fans whenever and wherever they consume content. In Asia Pacific, Turner owns and operates award-winning brands throughout the region, running 54 channels in 14 languages in 42 countries. These include CNN International, CNNj, CNN, HLN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang, POGO, Warner TV, Oh!K, MondoTV, TABI Channel, Tabi Tele, Mondo Mah-Jong TV; and HBO, HBO HD and WB in South Asia. Turner manages the business of Pay- and Free-TV-chann

LINK:	https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/03/04/ca...
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