RDF RIGHTS SECURES STATIONERY DEAL FOR SIMON'S CAT

13 July 2010

RDF Rights (RDFR) has signed a deal with greeting card and stationery firm Portico to produce a wide range of paper products for the online phenomenon and viral sensation, Simon’s Cat.

RDF Rights has appointed Portico to produce a stationery range to include: greetings cards, gift wrap, gift tags, gift bags, stationery-based gifting and dated products to include calendars and diaries.

Jane Kennedy, Senior Licensing Manager, RDFR commented: “We are delighted to be working with Portico to produce an exciting array of Simon’s Cat stationery. Portico is well known and respected in this category and we look forward to launching the product at retail this summer.”

Simon Harrison, Chairman, Portico Designs Ltd commented: "I'm extremely pleased to be working with Portico and RDF. The Simon's Cat inbox is constantly bombarded with email requests for merchandise. So I'm really happy that finally, with the huge enthusiasm and experience of both Portico and RDF that we'll be able to satisfy the requests of our dedicated fans. We've been producing some top quality products together and I can't wait to see them in the shops!"

RDF Rights, appointed by United Agents as the UK licensing agent for Simon’s Cat earlier this year, are actively seeking other licensees to develop the range, including gifting plush and other soft lines.

Created by award-winning English animator Simon Tofield, Simon’s Cat is a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon. The animated series follows the humorous adventures of Simon's Cat and his relationship with Simon's cartoon alter ego.  Online the animated series has totalled 70.3 million total views on YouTube to date, and one of the online films, entitled ‘Fly Guy’ was the fifth most viewed UK video on YouTube in 2009. As of May 2010, Simon’s Cat has almost 14,000 followers on Twitter and over 186,000 fans on Facebook.

The first Simon’s Cat book entered the UK Bookseller Top 50, Amazon Top 20 and hit Play.com’s number one spot for all books. Global book sales to date stand at 400 000 across 23 countries Worldwide.

Simon’s Cat has also won several awards including: Best Comedy at the British Animation Awards; YouTube’s ‘Blockbuster Award’ and the Prix Animation at the Festival International des Très Courts. More recently it has been nominated for a Public Choice Award at the 2010 British Animation Awards.

RDF Rights holds all UK licensing and merchandising rights to Simon’s Cat. -Ends-
For further details please contact:
RDF Media Group Press Office
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7013 4479
publicity@rdfmedia.com