Mattel Shines Spotlight on Friendship in First-ever Thomas & Friends Global Campaign

This week, Thomas & Friends, from Mattel Inc., kicked off its first-ever global brand campaign with the unveiling of a multi-faceted, year-long marketing programme under the tentpole ‘Set Friendship in Motion.’  Informed by findings from a recent company study that reported mums’ value EQ as much as they do IQ, the campaign is expected to hold appeal with parents around the world.

‘Set Friendship in Motion’ was established as a broad platform for the Thomas & Friends brand and carefully crafted with the purpose of helping preschoolers learn more about key friendship skills such as collaboration, communication, sharing, manners, kindness, and the abilities to express and understand feelings and emotions. ‘Set Friendship in Motion’ activation will include multiple touchpoints for families to interact with including content, digital activations, and live events to bring the campaign to life.

Kate Schlomann, VP Global Brand Marketing for Thomas & Friends, says: “The Thomas & Friends brand is inspiring the next generation of genuine friendships that help children forge deep connections – first connections – particularly valuable in our digital age. All parents want their kids to have friends, and a best friend at that. And, they want their child to have the social and emotional skills in life that will help them grow to happy, healthy adults. Thomas is just the engine to set that dream in motion.”

The platform will be featured in a variety of ways across all markets and lines of business from 2017 onwards, including on television, packaging and content bumpers.

The campaign will launch with the first of three Hero videos plus a specially commissioned UK social video which captures the nostalgic journey of Jack and Tim who become best friends during preschool, touching on memorable moments of their friendship from toddler through to adulthood. The video celebrates first friends and highlights key friendship skills, showcasing how Thomas & Friends helps young children develop connections that can last a lifetime. 

This campaign comes as Thomas & Friends' global expansion continues to accelerate, especially in Asia, which last year saw the Thomas & Friends theatrical debut hit over 5,000 cinemas in China, with a total viewership of 700,000 and 3 million USD box office sales. The film marked the first time a Mattel-owned brand was released theatrically in the country, and was one of the few non-native children’s movies of the year to be released in cinemas.

Thomas & Friends fans across the UK and the US will also have the opportunity to ‘Set Friendship in Motion’ at their local Day Out with Thomas events in 2017 a featuring an array of friendship-themed integrations.

The ‘Set Friendship in Motion’ brand campaign will also be supported by a parent-targeted social-feed-first global campaign with 10 counties participating on Facebook. Hero videos, snackable content featuring do-it-yourself ways to bring Thomas to life through craft, and a geo-targeted Snapchat activation will accompany the effort. Later this summer, a special partnership will be announced further demonstrating the strong commitment Thomas & Friends has to spreading the friendship message.

Additionally, Thomas & Friends will be releasing season 21 of the award-winning television show called Extraordinary Engines and a new movie tent pole Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor, the twelfth and most ambitious full-length film to date.  The new content will embody themes of friendship in their storylines as Thomas teams up with his friends to tackle new challenges while having a little bit of fun.