Who we are
Vanessa Santato is a character designer, author and illustrator of comic characters and mascots who, after 20 years of original drawings (sold and made on commission for various commercial purposes) has expressed and realized the great desire to exploit her skills and knowledge to become also Licensing Manager.
After selling her characters for years, she started by registering and selling her own trademarks, then she became a licensee and producer (fashion and gadgets), and today she is a Licensing Manager, i.e. a new intermediary between the owners of a trademark and companies wishing to produce an any products or services with that same brand.
Her first assignment is represented by an international exclusive agreement with the prestigious toy company MATTEL Inc. as Consultant Agent for one of the most iconic and well-known brands in the world, conceived by the historic company from El Segundo in the early 80s, and still remembered today all over the world: POOCHIE!
The sweetheart little dog POOCHIE, famous above all for being the forerunner of the emoji with its stamps that expressed different moods and short motivational sentences accompanied by a 3D representation of the character, in 2023 turns 40 years old since its launch (in 1983) in each sector of: stationery (stamps, letter paper, stickers, pens, blackboards, sticker albums…), toys (plush toys, collectible PVC puppets, puppets, puzzles, sports equipment…) accessories (bags, cases, wallets, costume jewellery, slippers…) entertainment (comics, books, cartoons, recorded songs…) made all over the world!
New Style Guides
Vanessa Santato decides to create new Style Guides that Mattel acquires from her, so the new designs are absolutely unpublished and approved by Mattel. Demonstrated trust, ability and determination were the foundations of this agreement, thanks to new ideas, intuitions, combined with a good measure of courage and initiative.
And these are precisely the strengths of Santato:
The full and sure knowledge of the character's potential, of someone who has lived fond memories kept for 40 years, and knows what his strengths are and why he always has that appeal on the public, despite the years passing by. As a careful observant of the collectors' market (very important today) he has constantly followed and taken part in the character's memorabilia searches together with other toy consumers/collectors who today are also attentive, nostalgic parents, and want to pass on their memories to their children and grandchildren… but also for themselves! Poochie is a fond memory and the image of it is comfortable because it immediately awakens tender and cheerful memories!
As a character designer Santato knows the origins, development and graphic evolution of the character, all the creative journey that made it unique. She selects the appeal and taste necessary to make people love and want to see that character again, as an embellishment on all consumer goods. She knows what aesthetic strategies make it an iconic, recognizable and still desirable IP! Being the Style Guides NEW she will be able to guarantee total support on the stylistic representation of the character (providing Pantone codes, files, and some creative margin for the new graphics)!
Having for the first time in 40 years the exclusive international management of the brand, Santato can trace a new life and future plans, a relaunch from scratch with the blessing of Mattel, which (always maintaining the last word on the product) granting a certain creative leeway, new ideas and new products, having for the first time also new important classes such as clothing and perfumery/makeup!
Believing in your own ideas and passions, constantly reinventing yourself and never stop learning and doing new things and achieving results, but above all giving importance to the feelings of consumers and the characters they choose to buy. They are not just brands, they are companions of daily life, from early childhood to adulthood, which enrich the enjoyment of essential and non-essential things.
POOCHIE returns after 40 years, therefore the companies that choose Santato Licensing to exploit the POOCHIE brand will be able to boast an exclusive relaunch of one of the most recognizable and iconic historical characters of the 80s, which will be modernized but always consistent and in line with its nature inimitable. As there are still no new products, it's time to take advantage of being immediately and extremely competitive and surprising with this novelty!
Vanessa Santato is committed to becoming an attentive and passionate Licensing Manager, who in the future will always offer exclusive, captivating brands and novelties that have the potential to explode, and POOCHIE (character who lived more than a decade of success between 83 and the end 90s) is the bomb that is waiting to rock the world of licensing and merchandising again!