ECOMI is made up of a stellar core team, however, it is through the partnerships we’ve formed that we are able to efficiently build and deliver our products to international audiences. So we thought it was about time you got to know more about them!
About CraneKahn
CraneKahn is an international children’s entertainment and licensing company and is a world leader in licensing, go-to-market strategies and intellectual property acquisition and marketing. Led by licensing hall of Famer Al Kahn, CraneKahn has a particular focus on discovering children’s intellectual properties in foreign and domestic markets and turning them into global megahits. The company is not only prolific at identifying and building brands, but they are also a key partner with ECOMI and will play a huge roll in putting ECOMI Collect into the hands of millions around the world.
Whilst Al comes with an impressive list of personal accolades, he has since built an impressive team with co-founder Jillian Crane, and Crane Kahn is quickly acquiring some of the worlds biggest licenses and properties.
“Each of our properties has a unique appeal that affords children to be delighted and entertained, and also supports a multi-faceted licensing program.”
The company works with properties in the US and overseas, establishing both TV and merchandising rights, providing a solid platform for brand establishment and growth.
Moreover, as licensing experts, CraneKahn has established relationships with leading manufacturers and distributors across the world, creating new lines of toys, consumer packaged goods, clothing, and accessories to create and market new products based on their intellectual properties.
Meet the Team
Al Kahn
CEO
As you may already be aware, Al Kahn is the head of Licensing at ECOMI. As founder and CEO of 4Kids entertainment for 20 years, he was responsible for licensing some of the world’s biggest hits, including Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and many more, with over $25bn in retail revenues.
For more information on Al, please see
- Introducing Alfred Kahn: Head of Global Licensing at ECOMI
- 5 Minutes with Alfred Kahn — World Leader in Licensing and Branding, and ECOMI’s Head of Licensing
Jillian Crane
President
Jillian Crane is the president of CraneKahn and half of its namesake. With a BFA in theatre and a BA in Political Science, Jillian utilises her artistic experience in acquiring intellectual property at CraneKahn and developing them into children’s entertainment and licensing successes.
With a lifetime of artistic experience as an actress, writer, and producer, she is currently producing, having recently adapted a young adult film franchise based on the book series H.I.V.E, as well as developing two Broadway musicals. Her writing prowess has seen two other novels adapted into screenplays- About Yvonne and Down, Boy: A Girl’s Guide to Housebreaking a Man. With a hands-on approach, Jillian also plays a role in story and script development, along with marketing strategies and implementation.
Kerry Novick
SVP of Global Sales & Acquisitions
Kerry has over 20 years of experience in global program distribution, including:
- 5 years at Sesame Workshop as the director of international program sales, handling distribution for Asia, Latin America, and Canada
- From 2004–2016 Kerry was president of Small Screen Distribution, representing top-tier children’s producers/clients including Nelvana Enterprises, Sparky Animation, The Jim Henson Company, Britt Allcroft Productions, Fremantle Media Kids, M4E Entertainment, Guru Studio, Word World LLC, and 4KidsEntertainment (Al Kahn's previous company).
- Acquisition consultant for OzNoz Entertainment. Involved in the identification and acquisition of multicultural children’s animated programs across Asia.
Kerry also holds an MA in East Asian Studies and Marketing from Cornell University and speaks fluent Japanese and barely passing Chinese.
Heather Ouida
VP of Licensing
Heather Ouida is an experienced entrepreneur with a demonstrated history in the parenting product, entertainment, and licensing world. After co-founding Mommybites- a ‘grassroots event company for Manhattan moms’ in 2006, Heather went on to build one of the largest social and educational communities in NYC. She also served as an educator and learning specialist at the Dalton School in New York, holds a BA in Psychology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and an MA in Child Development from Tufts University.
Owing to her experience in education and brand building, Heather is skilled in kids’ licensing, coaching, advertising, entrepreneurship, and marketing strategy.
Susan Simpson
Creative Director
Susan led 4Kids Entertainment’s creative direction for Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She now heads CraneKahn’s creative direction.
Intellectual Properties
CraneKahn currently owns the content licensing IP for Kung Foo Pork Choppers- the number 1 animated show in China, with over 7 billion annual views. The series follows the adventures of a team of pigs-turned-superheroes, which has been adapted to a western audience, and the company has already secured a master toy licensee to produce a product line that includes collectibles, vehicles and other items inspired by the characters. It will be aired on Cartoon Network sometime this year.
CraneKahn also holds the rights to other pre-school children's entertainment and animation shows, including Mofy, Wonder Balls and WordWorld.
Crane Kahn x ECOMI
The addition of Al to the core ECOMI team, and thus our partnership with CraneKahn, is one of the core value propositions of ECOMI Collect. As a platform offering premium, licensed digital content, acquisition of licenses and the creation/promotion of related products is crucial to the success of the company.
David Yu, ECOMI CEO, has also had a personal relationship with Al Kahn for more than 20 years, having been the first person to purchase and market Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and related products to New Zealand and Australasia.
Moreover, it has already been established that licensing and branding are two huge proponents of adoption, bringing already established audiences and fans to new products and IP use cases, as well as providing content creators with a new way to build their own fan base.
With the strength of their team, and wealth of experience in licensing, branding, arts and entertainment, the CraneKahn team are at the top of their game, and it is via their network of established relationships and distribution networks that ECOMI Collect will reach into the pockets of kids and adults throughout the world.
Al has already mentioned plans to re-design the ECOMI Collect Digital Wallet with licensed content, turning the wallet itself into a collectible item. He also sees the huge potential for the future of digital collectibles with ECOMI, and to pull a quote from the clip below:
“We think it’s a huge opportunity for kids to get into that whole collection mode, and we think that just like video games, just like trading cards, just like action figures- the next big realm of this area will be digital collectibles, and we’ve never seen a system that’s anywhere near what ECOMI can do.”
— Al Kahn, CEO CraneKahn LLC
We look forward to the continued partnership with CraneKahn to re-ignite a passion for collecting for people of all ages. We know the team is more than capable of bringing ECOMI Collect to the mass market, helping to re-imagine our licenses and IP to develop other product lines, and ensuring it is received positively long into the future.
For additional information about licensing, branding, and ECOMI Collect, please also see the following articles:
- Licensing: The Next Step for Digital Collectibles
- Just What Are Licensed Digital Collectibles Anyway?
- ECOMI Collect Part 1: What is ECOMI Collect?
If you would like to support ECOMI, you can become an early stage contributor right now in the ECOMI token sale! Simply get in touch with us on Telegram for private sale information, or stay tuned for public sale announcements Q1 2019.
About ECOMI
ECOMI is a technology company based in Singapore and is leading the way in the emerging digital collectibles space. ECOMI offers a one-stop-shop for digital collectibles through the ECOMI Collect app bringing pop culture and entertainment into the 21st century.
The Collect app allows users to experience true ownership of premium digital collectibles. Through the app marketplace, users can obtain common, rare, or one-of-a-kind digital collectibles, share these across the social network service, and exchange them with the Collect community, all from the palm of their hand.
ECOMI sees digital collectibles as a new asset class which offers intellectual property owners the opportunity for new revenue streams in the digital landscape. Digital streaming, gaming, and in-app purchasing have become a multibillion-dollar market and the next to join this digital trend is the pop culture and collectibles industry.
For more information please see the ECOMI Collect Whitepaper or join the community on Telegram, Twitter and Facebook.
