28 September 2010, London - Day one of Brand Licensing Europe 2010 kicked off in style with the keynote speech from Andrew Davenport, the award-winning creator, writer and composer of the children’s television phenomenon, In The Night Garden, and co-creator and writer of the global smash television hit, Teletubbies.

Here are the key points he made in his fascinating speech earlier today:

1. Davenport described rumours of the demise of In The Night Garden in the media this week as premature – 100 episodes were commissioned by the BBC and have been made. Davenport, his Production Company, Ragdoll, and CBeebies, are now jointly exploring exciting new ways to bring the adventures of Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and friends to life. While cagey as to what form this would take, Davenport hinted that music would be key.
   
2. 2010 was an exciting year for In The Night Garden, which extended its brand, taking to the road as a stage show. Hugely successful, 100,000 parents and kids experienced what Davenport, quoting a 1796 thinker, called an ‘unfatiguing exercise of the mind’.
   
3. The key to effective licensing is the strength of the central product and the emotional connection the audience makes with it. A commercial programme, such as the one managed by the BBC on behalf of In The Night Garden, must be tailored to be relevant.
   
4. Children’s programmes are often most successful when adults don’t understand the appeal. The adult furore initially caused by the release of Teletubbies was not reflected amongst the audience it was aimed at – proved by the success of the programme the world over. Initial fears that the simplified language would ‘take children’s speech backwards’ proved unfounded, as kids can distinguish between fantasy and real life. As an example for perspective, Davenport said a child living with a dog would not start barking a welcome at the door, or start binging like a microwave at the end of an activity!
   
5. Music brings back intense personal recollections. Davenport, 45, played a piece of music from the popular BBC radio show ‘Listen with Mother’ on air from 1950-1967, explaining that it took him right back to being a 2-year old in his grandmother’s kitchen, giving him a feeling of love and security. Davenport explained that it was his objective, through the power of TV, to give children the same kind of experience and memory.
   
6. Creating children’s television is an extremely personal thing in Davenport’s eyes, and very important given its educational value. Successful creators are able to put aside their adult focus and cynicism and develop programmes that connect with an audience that is still learning and enjoying the varied meanings of up/down, coming/going and near/far.
   
7. Davenport was exposed to licensing at a very young age, thanks to a very astute Aunt in the United States, which at the time, was well ahead of the UK. A Cookie Monster toy, a Charlie Brown pillow case and Snoopy accessories were all treasured gifts for a boy.
   
8. Successful children’s television programmes all tap into the universal children’s theme of ‘play’. ‘Play’ at a young age is physical, cogitative and social, as children start to move beyond a helpless infant stage and into the development of a ‘wilful personality’.
   
9. Both Teletubbies and In The Night Garden focus on an ‘explosion of physical activity’, but Davenport asserts that this must be done in a safe and reassuring manner – all of the characters falling down for example, in reality this would hurt, but the characters are made to laugh so that the children can identify and enjoy the silliness of the activity.
   
10. When describing his own inspiration, Davenport said a lightbulb moment came when he discovered, in his former role as a children’s speech therapist, that children uncomfortable in a new environment would respond to a puppet better than a real person. At a young age children have an overwhelming need to be right, so a puppet pointing at a table and saying ‘that’s a nice sausage, I might wear it on my head’ will generate a response far quicker and more effectively than almost any other technique.

For more information on Brand Licensing Europe, go to www.brandlicensing.eu.