65-date ‘Be A Hero’ Tour kicks off schedule of experiential activity to boost preschool brand’s visibility in key seasonal retail period.
eOne is ramping up excitement for preschool brand PJ Masks in the run up to Christmas with a full schedule of experiential activity that will increase visibility and give fans an immersive experience during the key seasonal retail period.
An extensive 65-date PJ Masks Be a Hero Tour has already kicked off with events planned up and down the UK through to December 23 at toy stores and shopping centres including Smyths, Tesco and INTU, alongside popular family destinations.
The events are free to attend with a range of activities on offer including in-store meet and greets, interactive Hero Training sessions where kids can get active and move like their favourite hero, photo opportunities with Catboy, Gekko and Owlette and giveaways to take home.
Visitors to the events can also enter a competition to win a special PJ Masks prize bundle worth over £100 by sharing their photos and hero moves on social media using the hashtag #PJMasksHero. The PJ Masks heroes will also be swooping into a number of city centres from Belfast to Bristol to spread festive joy when they turn on the Christmas lights.
The newly-released results from the tour illustrate the popularity of PJ Masks in the UK. With almost 30k fans attending to date, PR and social media have reached a combined audience of over 33m so far.
“The PJ Masks Be a Hero tour is already proving to be a tremendous success,” said eOne’s Katie Rollings, svp UK licensing, Family & Brands. “The response at retail has surpassed our expectations and reinforces that a real life connection with the characters brings about tangible results.”
Building upon this retail momentum, eOne recently bolstered brand presence through a partnership with The Entertainer and The Salvation Army which saw PJ Masks become the face of The Big Toy Appeal.
The annual campaign once again asked shoppers to consider picking up an extra toy to give to families in need this Christmas with The Entertainer matching each contribution to double the number of donations. The campaign ran throughout all 163 The Entertainer locations between November 1-16 and created a social reach of over 400k.
The characters are also bringing festive cheer to patients at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London this Christmas. Messages of support are being sent through The Stocking Appeal, PJ Masks costume characters will spread joy at the Patient Christmas Parties and toys will be donated to the party goody bags.
Katie continued: “We are so pleased to have had the opportunities to be a part of such important charity appeals. At its core, PJ Masks is about empowering young children and teaching them to work together for the greater good. We felt it was a perfect way to spread that message and help put smiles on kids’ faces this Christmas.”
Furthermore PJ Masks continues to deliver its biggest investment to date across digital platforms, engaging new consumers through episodic and toyplay content across the brand’s official YouTube channel, more than doubling its audience in the past few months.
Meanwhile, campaigns across retailers include Asda expanding its range of nightwear to include girls pyjamas, a brand page is due to launch in Amazon for the festive season and a 12 days of Christmas campaign is poised to launch with Character.com on December 14 offering the chance to win a number of prizes.
