Tom & Jerry, Barbie are among MENA’s top kids brands

Both franchises went home with trophies from the first-ever Licensing Horizons Awards, organized by Dubai-based companies BrandTrends Group and Markettcom.
March 7, 2024

The inaugural edition of the Licensing Horizons Awards has honored several brands with particularly strong kid appeal and awareness in the MENA region.

This joint-venture between research firm BrandTrends Group and licensing agency Markettcom, both based in Dubai, culminated in a February 27 awards ceremony that was attended by roughly 100 licensing execs and took place in the city as part of their Licensing Horizons conference.

According to the organizers, this is the MENA region’s first-ever awards program for children’s entertainment and educational content brand achievements. Spanning six categories, the winners were determined by research data from BrandTrends Group, which surveyed kids under age 14 in UAE and Saudi Arabia. 

The award for Favorite Animated Series/Film went to Tom & Jerry (pictured), which beat out shows like Masha & The Bear and SpongeBob SquarePants. This cat-and-mouse cartoon classic has generated strong global appeal over the years with its reliable brand of slapstick comedy. 

Meanwhile, Marvel’s Spider-Man brand came out on top in the competitive Best Family-Friendly Content category, beating fellow nominees PAW Patrol, Batman, Harry Potter and Barbie. The web-slinger’s 2021 live-action film Spider-Man: No Way Home (Marvel Studios) made some serious bank at the regional box office, grossing US$12 million in UAE and US$5 million in Saudi Arabia.

Barbie bested Marvel in the Most Innovative Digital Experience field, a particularly impressive win against digital-native nominees such as Cocomelon, Minecraft and Roblox.

 

Speaking of digital, Boomerang won the Most Engaging Social Media Presence Award. The WBD-owned kidsnet broadcasts classic toons from its parentco’s library and has nearly 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. Aquaman, The Lion King, DC Comics and Birds of Paradise (Toyor Al-Jannah) were the other shortlisted contenders in this category.

Moonbug’s Blippi took home the Top Brand for Educational Content Award, which recognizes learning content that appeals to both kids and parents. PAW Patrol, Roma & Diana, Dora the Explorer and Cocomelon were also nominated.

And finally, the Environmental and Social Responsibility Award was presented to a regional kids series called Toyour Al-Jannah (Birds of Paradise) for its focus on eco-responsibility—it beat out Dora the Explorer, Batman, Garfield and LEGO.

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