Rovio appoints new head for brand licensing arm

Rovio Entertainment, popular for its property Angry Birds, has appointed Simo Hämäläinen as the new head of its brand licensing business. A part of the global strategy, this move is aimed at strengthening the Angry Birds brand for the future. Moreover, the brand has also confirmed that Evolution will handle the licensing for the company in the US. Evolution will represent Rovio’s ongoing Angry Birds initiatives for merchandising, promotions and retail opportunities, while looking ahead to 2018 to focus on the breakout characters, the Hatchlings. This will allow Rovio to focus on mobile game initiatives and expanding its content creation. “These are exciting times for Angry Birds in the US. We have new animation content in production, several big game launches coming in 2017 and 2018 and the sequel to The Angry Birds Movie in development,” said Simo. “Partnering with Evolution greatly strengthens not only our licensing programme in the US, but will significantly increase our retail penetration across all channels.”