Jun 20, 2018

The support to UP!, from São José (SC), is the first operation of the kind supported by BNDES for a producer outside the Rio-São Paulo nucleus

The enterprise generates revenue from selling public display rights and licensing products with trademarks and characters like “Bubu e as corujinhas” in the retail market

The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) will support the business plan of the audiovisual production company UP! Licensing from Santa Catarina with R$6.88 million. This is the first operation of the kind supported by BNDES for a producer outside the Rio-São Paulo nucleus, contributing to the promotion of skilled professionals in other regions of the country.

UP!’s project will be developed at the headquarters of the enterprise in São José (SC), and includes the production of audiovisual animation works and corporate investments. To take advantage of the brand’s success in the retail market through the licensing of products – one of the most dynamic segments of the animation market –, the enterprise produces animated audiovisual content of its characters, similarly to large global companies such as Lego and Mattel.

In addition to the revenues generated directly by the sales of public display rights associated with audiovisual works, UP! sells products in more than 2,000 points of sale throughout Brazil, through the licensing of the brand and its characters for merchandising of several families of products and services, such as school supplies, toiletries, clothing and food. In this segment, the main intellectual property of the group, of which it owns the economic rights, is the series “Bubu e as corujinhas”, which has already premiered in Disney Channel Junior, Disney Channel and TV Cultura.

The participation of BNDES in the project corresponds to 73% of the total investment. The resources derive from BNDES’s Cultural Economic Development Program (BNDES Procult), R$3.44 million corresponding to refundable financing and R$3.44 to non-refundable financing, through the Audiovisual Law. 

The operation will strengthen the Catarina Creativa program’s area of influence, generating positive impacts and creating a multiplier effect for the structuring of the audiovisual sector in the region. The program seeks to promote the organization of a local productive arrangement (APL) with enterprises, civil society organizations, the government and universities to strengthen the creative economy of Santa Catarina.

Market – According to the Global Animation Industry 2017: Strategies Trends & Opportunities Report, prepared by Research and Markets (Digital Vector), the animation world market reached US$ 249 billion in 2016, with expectations of reaching US$ 270 billion in 2020.

According to estimates of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association (Lima), global sales of licensed products and services reached US$ 262.9 billion in 2016 (4.4% growth in relation to the previous year). The entertainment and characters segment, of which animation is part, accounted for US$ 118.3 billion in 2016, or 45% of the total in that year.