Outfit7's Talking Friends to make merchandising move thanks to licensing deal with Beanstalk Secure

Always keen to talk up the branding potential of its Talking Friends range, it's of little surprise Outfit7 is adopting the Rovio approach, signing a deal to roll out a range of themed merchandise across the globe in December.

Thanks to ten separate licensing agreements with Beanstalk Secure, characters from across the range - Talking Tom Cat, Talking Ben the Dog and Talking Gina the Giraffe – will roll out across apparel and accessories, footwear, sleepwear, home décor, collectibles and plush toys.

Also hitting stores in 2012 will be a range of back-to-school products, gifts and novelty items, as well as what the firm describes as 'social expression products'.

The entire move is designed to build upon what Outfit7 CMO Paul Baldwin claims is the brand's existing bond with consumers, with franchise-wide downloads having topped 225 million back in November.

"Talking Tom and the entire Talking Friends cast of characters' transcendence beyond app stores to brick-and-mortar retailers is a testament to the Talking Friends brand’s rapidly expanding global fan base and the deep emotional connections with consumers that have been established," he said.

"We are creating not only a global mainstream brand but a global entertainment network. This is the first leap of many for the Talking Friends brand outside the app space."

Sold across North America, Europe and Asia, the line will initially feature on the Talking Friends website before extending out to selective retailers in the spring.

The news comes as Outfit7's Talking Tom Cat 2 and Talking Ben the Dog took part in Google's recent promotion celebrating 10 billion downloads on Android Market, with both games having dropped their price to 10p/10c for a day on December 14.