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Winx Club Aims For YA

2021 has brought Rainbow’s animated series, Winx Club back into focus and shinned light on the previously forgotten and dismissed older fanbase. Thanks to the live-action take on the series, Fate the Winx Saga the franchise has gained some lost footing in the English speaking market and sent fans on a nostalgia trip down memory lane.

Both surprisingly, and not Rainbow falls on the heels of Disney’s recent announcement of a new focus and strategy to continue to focus on creating consumer goods aimed not at kids, but older fans. One could say this is a move on Rainbow’s end to build on the moment felt by young adults following Fate’s arrival.

And it is rather noteworthy.

Major credit to Winx fansite Winx Club All for first dropping the news. As here is the press release:

 

 

 Rainbow Group announces the launch of a global marketing and licensing strategy for the brand extension of its international series “Winx Club,” targeting young adults.

 

Viewers of “Winx Club,” which first aired in 2004, fans are now young adults in their twenties. Rainbow’s in-house design team has created various style guides and a lookbook to support its global strategy for consumer products focusing on teenage girls and young adult female audiences, with initial specific focuses on fashion, accessories, beauty, and makeup.

 

Rainbow Group announces the launch of a global marketing and licensing strategy for the brand extension of its international series “Winx Club,” targeting young adults.

 

Viewers of “Winx Club,” which first aired in 2004, fans are now young adults in their twenties. Rainbow’s in-house design team has created various style guides and a lookbook to support its global strategy for consumer products focusing on teenage girls and young adult female audiences, with initial specific focuses on fashion, accessories, beauty, and makeup.

 

To support the new consumer products strategy, a variety of marketing, PR and digital activities will ensure the engagement of both evergreen fans and new audiences worldwide. Additionally, the cooperation with Netflix and the timing of the launch of “Fate: The Winx Saga” aligns with Rainbow’s new young adult CP strategy.

 

Licensed products for the new strategy will roll out in the coming months.

As someone who has been deep into the series for the past sixteen years it does in a way surprise me that we are now seeing Rainbow emerging with their sights seemingly fixed on older fans. Yet I do want to note the fact a lot of the original fans are not only towards the high end of the young adult spectrum, but even older than that. Going from years and years of being seemingly brushed aside and told that this isn’t for you anymore and belittled for our patronage- this is disorientating.

Has Rainbow realized it should reconcile for past actions, or is this just another way of taping into the ever-present and powerful nostalgia market? That’s a hard tell, but hopefully the answers will become clear as time passes.

I know many fans have taken this statement as a sign that the upcoming ninth season in the series might be taking notes and retooling to return to its roots. You might want to hold off on that celebration as this is strictly talking about merchandising. Not even a mention on the subject of content.

 

Though Rainbow, being based in the fashion hub that is Italy, has done an extensive amount in the realm of fashion- it has been limited to designs found in series, dolls and fashion for girls. Never have we seen any clothing be developed for adults, that is until recent when the French clothing brand Don’t Call Me Jennifer released a small collection of clothing pieces inspired by Fate.

And in the means of consumer goods the brand has skewed younger with focus on a preteen market to preschool as the years has progressed. And the various goods and even content has clearly reflected this narrative shift.

 

It’s entirely possible that we might see a new division dedicated for the YA market that coexist with the present preschool focused incarnation of Winx. Again, time will tell just what Rainbow is planning and what markets they are going to test the waters in.

But seeing their girls in their old wings definitely has made me feel some nostalgia, and I guess that is all part of the plan.

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