Press release from Nickelodeon Australia & New Zealand
Jules Clarkson has been appointed Director of Marketing and Commercial Partnerships for Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand, as announced by Ben Richardson, Vice President and General Manager of Nickelodeon Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Clarkson commenced his role at Nickelodeon Australia’s Sydney offices last month and replaces Alison Bakunowich, who was promoted and relocated to Nickelodeon UK earlier this year.
Seen in over 2.3 million Australian television homes, Nickelodeon Australia is a joint venture between Viacom International Media Networks and XYZnetworks. As Director of Marketing and Commercial Partnerships, Clarkson will be responsible for promoting Nickelodeon’s channels and their brands to consumers, carriers and advertisers, and to maximise audience share, awareness, and cross media revenue for the business.
“Jules brings a wealth of experience marketing kids’ entertainment brands across a wide variety of international markets,” said Richardson. “His passion for kids’ brands and expertise in growing properties locally through international strategy will be an asset to Nickelodeon as he drives the business forward through the role of Director of Marketing and Commercial Partnerships.”
Clarkson’s experience includes over seven years with Hasbro, including as Head of Marketing for Hasbro Australia. During his tenure he re-launched Action Man, the British version of G.I. Joe, to the global market, and co-ordinated the launch of toys and games behind Star Wars: Episode I in Australia. More recently he held the position of European Marketing Director for Electronic Arts, Maxis and EALA studios, where he successfully launched The Sims 2 across 22 European markets, leading it to become the best selling PC game of 2004 and exceeding 14 million lifetime unit sales worldwide. Clarkson also launched “Virtual Me” for Electronic Arts Europe in 2007. In conjunction with the Endemol group, “Virtual Me” combined cutting-edge avatar creation technology with popular TV formats to give consumers a breakthrough way to meet, compete and socialise in online digital worlds.
No stranger to Nickelodeon, Clarkson commissioned partnerships with Nick for events including the ‘Moby Nick Bus Tour’ in 1998 and ‘Nick Takes Over Your Beach’ in 1999, whilst Head of Marketing at Hasbro Australia.
“No-one understands kids like Nickelodeon, and I’m thrilled to be joining at such an exciting time,” said Clarkson. “The portfolio has never been stronger, with so many new franchises. We have a hit live action series combining music and comedy in Victorious, and the upcoming all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles complements some of Australia’s other favourite animated characters, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer. I’m also excited about working on Nick Australia’s impending ninth annual Kids’ Choice Awards on October 7. Add to that our recently announced collaboration with Sea World launching this Christmas, and Nickelodeon is clearly a leading entertainment brand for Aussie kids and families.”