Licensing Magazine had the pleasure of meeting Hanna Valkeapää-Nokkala, VP of Transmedia at Rovio Entertainment, In a compelling discussion, she celebrated Angry Birds’ recent achievements and upcoming projects and shared a glimpse of the bright future prepared for this beloved IP.

The Angry Birds Movie 3 is scheduled for release in 2027. Considering the success of the previous films, what are your expectations for this new movie?

The Angry Birds movies all fit well with families and audiences of all ages. We were the first mobile gaming IP to release a feature film, and many other gaming IPs are now following this path – such as Sonic and Minecraft. In 2020, Angry Birds Movie 2 was the most-watched movie on USA Netflix, and the franchise has proved to fit well with all the platforms. I think the Angry Birds Movie 3 will be a remarkable success as well, with Paramount on board as our distribution partner and Studio DNEG Animation creating high-quality animations.

The movie will be released at the end of January: early February is the ideal time window for families to return to the theaters after the holidays, and family members will be ready to enjoy the film together. We truly believe in this project and expect a successful launch.

One big asset of this movie is undoubtedly the voice cast, with Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Rachel Bloom, Emma Myers, Keke Palmer, and Psalm West, which is attracting remarkable interest.  Other than Paramount and Studio DNEG, our partnerships include Dentsu as one of the investors, which is bringing a lot of valuable inputs into an innovative marketing program that leverages our gaming and portfolio for cross-promotion.

In addition to the movie launch, you are also working on new partnerships and collaborations. Could you share with us any recent developments and new launches

One of our recent launches is the Legends of Learning Angry Birds Collection, a STEM project merging the iconic gameplay with educational content to create an engaging learning experience for kids. It was already honored with the Kidscreen Award, and I think it’s a perfect brand fit, allowing kids to learn maths and physics applied to the Angry Birds launch trajectory.

Our partnership with SEA LIFE has created an educational experience designed to empower kids and families to protect the oceans. This initiative includes interactive events in Sea Life locations, with Angry Birds-themed activations. Children will learn about the threats facing marine life and how they can help protect the ocean and its creatures. Upon completing the experience, participants receive a certificate. Sustainability is a key focus of this collaboration, and the Angry Birds activations are implemented in the most sustainable way possible.

Among our gaming collaborations, it is worth mentioning the Angry Birds x Super Monkey Ball project, as well as the Angry Birds x Sonic, both part of the SEGA family. Moreover, we partnered with Talking Tom to cater to new and different audiences.

Additionally, we partnered with Raw Thrills and Play Mechanix on the Angry Birds Boom! arcade game, a groundbreaking and fun arcade experience. It brings a competitive twist to the Angry Birds gameplay, translating Angry Birds into a physical shared experience. We have seen positive engagement with the launch trailer, and we are excited for consumers to finally play it.

We also finalized the episodes of the Angry Birds Mystery Island series, airing on the Amazon Kids channel of Amazon Prime Video.

We are leveraging our extensive partnership portfolio to deliver toys and collectibles to both kids and adults. We have been in the market for 15 years, our fanbase is solid, and we are definitely catering to the nostalgia trend as well as investing in our growing audience.

You have all the assets to be at the forefront of the entertainment industry today. What can we expect from Angry Birds in the future?

In the last year, we have been working internally on the Angry Birds transmedia and brand strategy and setting new experiences for the years to come. We are planning to develop 360° transmedia beats, catering to our three core audiences: kids and families, gamers and nostalgic fans, and teens and young adults.

We built the key pillars of the brand vision and we’re building a long-term roadmap for those pillars to come alive. Angry Birds 2, one of our key games, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with some fun marketing activations and we will also have some new location-based immersive experiences featuring the Angry Birds brand launching in the US this year. Stay tuned – cool news and launches are coming soon!

content from：Licensing Magazine