Andrew Kerr joins twofour54's Driver Dan
twofour54 - the company behind pre-school brand Driver Dan’s Story Train - has appointed children’s content executive Andrew Kerr as Licensing and Merchandising Agent for the hit TV series in the UK and EIRE.
Kerr has an outstanding reputation in the industry and is founder of boutique children’s content development agency, Aoh!k Commerical. Prior to Aoh!K, Kerr was responsible for the successful re-launch of Postman Pat, as well as creating the consumer ID and positioning strategies for pre-school shows Guess with Jess and Tinga Tinga Tales, while at Entertainment Rights/Classic Media. Kerr was also EVP global licensing and marketing for Ragdoll Ltd where he worked on the brand ID and marketplace positioning strategies for In the Night Garden.
With Kerr’s extensive experience in developing merchandising strategies for pre-school brands, he will be tasked with building the Driver Dan’s Story Train brand and positioning it to the UK licensing and retail trade. Driver Dan’s Story Train has already achieved great success, becoming a ratings hit on CBeebies in the UK, where it won a 40 per cent share, as well as a deal with Macmillan Children’s Books, which has launched a range of books securing strong distribution across the UK.
Driver Dan’s Story Train has also recently launched an interactive website, www.driverdanstorytrain.com, to accompany the series. With further plans for a toy, apparel and magazine deal, Kerr’s appointment marks an exciting step in the expansion of Driver Dan’s Story Train and twofour54’s ambition to create a leading pre-school brand.
This appointment comes as Driver Dan’s Story Train continues to grow on an international scale. The series has already achieved great ratings on ABC in Australia and twofour54 has recently announced a broadcasting deal with 24-hour pre-school television channel Sprout, an American digital cable network, to air Driver Dan’s Story Train in the US.
Wayne Borg, COO, twofour54 says: “Driver Dan’s Story Train is such a unique brand, which has already proved to have great commercial potential, connecting with children and their carers alike. The brand’s ability to attract key partners is exemplary of its quality; with solid relationships forged with CBeebies and Macmillan Children’s Books, Aoh!k’s appointment echoes the level of high-end collaborators to-date. Having Aoh!k aboard at such an exciting time for Driver Dan is pivotal to its future development. We believe Driver Dan is destined for success and it is the perfect vehicle through which to achieve twofour54’s commitment to high quality entertainment.”
twofour54 will be exhibiting Driver Dan’s Story Train at this year’s MIPCOM Junior market, on stand 14.01, where new episodes will be available at the screenings. twofour54 and Aoh!k Commercial will also be taking the property to BLE in London.
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