Mattel is putting Bluey at the center of its franchise playbook. The toy giant has announced a multi-year global licensing partnership with BBC Studios that will bring the hit animated series to five of its biggest brands.
Roberto Stanichi, president, chief marketing and brand officer at Mattel, announced the deal on stage at ADWEEK’s Brandweek. The move, he said, reflects a broader shift from selling individual toys to building a play and entertainment ecosystem that uses intellectual property to create lifelong fans.
Five brands, one licensing umbrella
The Bluey partnership will roll out across:
- Fisher-Price Little People figures and playsets
- Barbie dolls and accessories
- Polly Pocket compact playsets
- Hot Wheels vehicles
- UNO card games
Created by Joe Brumm and produced by Ludo Studio for BBC Studios, the Emmy-winning Bluey series follows a blue heeler dog who lives with her mum, dad and little sister Bingo. Suzy Raia, EVP of global consumer products at BBC Studios, said in a statement that the show “has resonated with families around the world because it celebrates the creativity and connection that comes through play.”
Why it matters: the fandom flywheel
Stanichi described the Bluey deal as part of Mattel’s evolution “from a toy company to a brand management company.” The company realized that its brands already carry deep emotional connections, creating an opportunity to play in culture well beyond physical products.
“It’s really about the emotional connection that we believe we can drive as part of that flywheel in that ecosystem,” Stanichi said.
Toys are often the first brands people interact with, and fandom is increasingly multigenerational, he added. Mattel’s flywheel is designed so toys create demand for entertainment, entertainment brings new audiences into toys, and digital or live experiences deepen relationships with fans.
The company is already applying that model through entertainment partnerships such as Disney’s Princess and Frozen, Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters and Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Live experiences including UNO Social Clubs and the Hot Wheels Legends Tour extend the same franchise logic offline.
What marketers can borrow
For marketing leaders, Stanichi offered a clear challenge: stop thinking about campaigns in isolation or only during seasonal moments. He called that shift a game changer and said too many marketers focus on capturing metrics while underinvesting in ongoing engagement.
His framework for building fandom is simple but useful:
- Put authenticity before short-term capture.
- Build always-on relationships with fans, not just seasonal bursts.
- Create an ecosystem where toys, entertainment, digital and live experiences reinforce one another.
- Rebalance the funnel between demand creation and demand capture.
For brands with strong IP, the lesson is to think beyond the product launch. A licensing deal works harder when it extends emotional connection across categories and generations rather than simply putting a character on packaging.
Source: Adweek
