Genius Brands International's Baby Genius® and Secret Millionaires Club to Be Featured on LeapFrog® Platforms
New Agreement Also Encompasses "Thomas Edison's Secret Lab" and Opens the Door to Explore Other Digital Opportunities
BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/03/14 -- Genius Brands International, Inc. (OTCQB: GNUS), a global brand management company dedicated to providing entertaining and enriching 'content with a purpose' for toddlers to tweens, has signed a new agreement with LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc., the leader in educational entertainment, which will feature GBI's Baby Genius®, Secret Millionaires Club and Thomas Edison's Secret Lab content in LeapFrog's library of learning content for the award-winning LeapPad™ line of kids' learning tablets, including LeapPad Ultra and LeapPad2 Custom Edition.
The announcement was made today by Genius Brands International's President Amy Moynihan Heyward and LeapFrog's Chief Marketing Officer Greg Ahearn.
"LeapFrog and Genius Brands International are like-minded companies that share the same goal of creating and distributing content with a purpose," said Moynihan Heyward. "The two companies are dedicated to inspiring and engaging children to learn, and this is an ideal collaboration that expands the reach and impact of both of our companies."
"We are excited to partner with Genius Brands International on introducing its content for early learning, math and science to our LeapFrog families," said Ahearn. "Our highly experienced team of full-time in-house learning experts and Genius Brand International worked closely to select the best content that will engage kids in learning fun on our LeapPad tablets."
Baby Genius® content, including music-based products sourced from a library featuring 500 songs and 125 music videos, have earned numerous awards from parent groups and organizations, including the Mom's Choice Award, The National Parenting Center Seal of Approval, Creative Child Preferred Choice Award, iParenting Media Award, Kids First! Quality Children's Media Endorsement and many others. Most recently, GBI debuted Little Genius® Jukebox, the first in a series of all-new interactive 3D animated apps.
Currently, Baby Genius® products are available in more than 8,000 retail locations in the U.S. and have international exposure in over 40 countries. In 2013, over 1M DVDs/CDs sold on Groupon alone, and Baby Genius® is the #1 children's on-demand property on Comcast's Baby Boost channel, earning 50M+ downloads and over 500,000 VOD users/month. The Baby Genius® YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/babygenius) boasts over 15 million cumulative views with increases of over 600,000 views per month; plus over 500,000 downloads on iTunes. Genius Brands International is currently developing new products and new forms of distribution to continue to grow the Baby Genius® brand globally.
Warren Buffet's Secret Millionaires Club is a vital, multifaceted brand that makes it fun and easy for kids to understand the importance of financial responsibility and good money management while also reinforcing math skills. Created in partnership with and starring an animated Warren Buffett, Secret Millionaires Club features a group of kids who have adventures in business and empowers kids by helping them understand the world they live in, teaching them about the impact their decisions have on their own lives... and teaching them to have the confidence to be the best they can be. The series airs in the U.S. on the Hub Network.
In addition to the animated episodes that comprise Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, there are also the Secret Millionaires Club Business in a Box, an interactive play kit created in partnership with toy company TCG, which provides children with everything they need to create their own business venture, be it a car wash or lemonade stand. There's also the book, Secret Millionaires Club: Warren Buffett's 26 Secrets to Success in the Business of Life by Amy Heyward and Andy Heyward, co-authors and co-executive producers on the animated series, which features all of the same lessons presented in the animated series. Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club has also spurred the Grow Your Own Business Challenge, a national online competition open to kids 7-14 that invites young people to compete for cash prizes by creating new business ideas.
The new animated children's series Thomas Edison's Secret Lab demonstrates how much fun science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can really be as it follows Angie, a 12-year-old prodigy and her young science club, who discovers Thomas Edison's Secret Lab -- a scientist's ultimate dream lab equipped with everything they could ever imagine, including two of Edison's very last inventions: a hologram that brings Mr. Edison himself "to life," and a whacky robot they bring to life called Von Bolt. In each of the 52 11-minute episodes, Edison "comes to life" in the form of a hologram, to encourage and inspire the kids in all sorts of scientific and technological explorations, including physical science, live science, earth science, space science and lots of other fun and whacky, wild and engaging topics. Thomas Edison's Secret Lab is a fully immersive multi-media property that encourages kids to engage themselves in the fun and exploration of science. An interactive website, digital applications, toys, games, electronics, in-school curriculum and more are all in development.
About LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.:
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is the leader in educational entertainment for children. For nearly 20 years, LeapFrog has created award-winning learning solutions that combine educational expertise, innovative technology and a child's love for fun. With experiences that are personalized to each child's level, LeapFrog helps children achieve their potential through LeapFrog's proprietary learning tablets, learn to read and write systems, interactive learning toys and more, all designed or approved by LeapFrog's full-time in-house team of learning experts. LeapFrog's Learning Path, the ultimate guide for parents on early childhood, is designed specifically to help support and guide their child's learning with personalized ideas and feedback, fun activities and expert advice. LeapFrog is based in Emeryville, California, and was founded in 1995 by a father who revolutionized technology-based learning solutions to help his child learn how to read. Learn more at www.leapfrog.com.
About Genius Brands International:
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Genius Brands International (OTCQB: GNUS) is a publicly traded multimedia content and brand management company.
Led by industry veterans, Andy Heyward and Amy Moynihan Heyward, Genius Brands International includes award-winning Baby Genius, Warren Buffett's Secret Millionaires Club, Gisele Bundchen's Gisele & the Green Team, Martha Stewart's Martha & Friends, Thomas Edison's Secret Lab and Stan Lee Comics, featuring its first movie, Stan Lee's Mighty 7. The Company provides "content with a purpose" for kids of all ages, meaning interactive content that is as entertaining as it is enriching.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Three.Sixty Marketing + Communications
Michelle Orsi /Carol Holdsworth
310-418-6430
Email Contact
805-252-1848
Email Contact
INVESTORS RELATIONS CONTACT:
Victor Roberts
RedChip Companies
Email Contact
407.644.4256, ext. 111
Source: Genius Brands International
Released June 3, 2014