T: (203) 292-6280;
F: (203) 292-6342;
E-Mail: greg@walshpr.com
American Inventor Finalist and Character
Matters
To Build On Bear Concept
Cleveland, OH – (June 13, 2006) – Joan Colvin, recently featured on ABC-TV’s
American Inventor, and creative
development group, Character Matters, today announced efforts that will evolve Colvin’s
Character Bear™ concept as a licensed property.
Colvin recently presented her Character Bear idea on the
American Inventor television show. The invention received a unanimous response
from the judges and emerged from more than 10,000 entries as one of the top 24 finalists
vying for the million dollar prize on the show. Colvin’s Character Bear, a
patent-pending parent-child interactive toy that encompasses reading,
imagination, character development and fun, was praised for embodying the true
spirit of the American Inventor because the premise came from her passion and
belief as an American Mom.
Tom Wilson, founder of Character Matters, said, “The
Character Bear itself is a unique and pioneering concept with enormous
potential for teaching and reinforcing the precious elements of character to
American children. Until now, very little attention has been paid to teaching
these particular values through a product concept.”
The Character
Matters creative development team will be working on the establishment of a
licensed property based on Colvin’s core Character Bear concept. In addition to a comprehensive line of fun
and educational products, including teaching toys and learning books, that will be co-created and developed by
Character Matters, the
company will act as marketing consultants and licensing agent to bring the
property into appropriate categories, such as houseware,
novelties, plush, gifts and collectibles.
“As a parent, I am
always searching for tools to help me teach my children to be the best they can
be. I have never found a fun, interactive toy that could teach the intangible
positive character traits that we all want our children to hold – so I created
one,” Colvin explained. ”With Character Matters assistance, we will be able to
expand the concept into a completely packaged property that can be carried into
multiple entertainment product categories.”
About Originates:
Character
Bear is a property of Originates, Inc., a privately held company based in
About Character
Matters:
Character Matters specializes in creating and developing
character(s) that are original, clever and effective communicators for brands,
products and services. The company, founded by Ziggy cartoonist Tom Wilson, consists of an unparalleled team of
professional illustrators, copywriters, graphic artists, licensing and
marketing specialists, who custom-create new characters to be utilized in a
marketing strategy as identifiable illustrations for a brand, company, or
corporate name. The Character Matters team is an ensemble of creative talent
who understand that “while a picture may
indeed be worth a thousand words, the true character of a business or brand is
worth millions.” The company pays special attention to how the characters they
create can communicate with the world. By providing comprehensive, strategic,
and creative support, including background story, marketing research, editorial,
copywriting and style-guides, Character Matters is involved from design concept
to final implementation. Services can be an all-inclusive or combination of character
development, branding, licensing, promotions, packaging, POP products, events,
displays, advertising premiums, and animation.
For further information on Character Matters,
visit the company website at www.charactermatters.net
###
For information about Character Matters, Contact:
Tom Wilson, T: 440-243-7508; E-Mail: info@charactermatters.net
For information about Character Bears, Contact:
Joan
Colvin, T: 760-804-0631; E-Mail joan@characterbear.com