David Horvath
Thank you for being here!
Evergreen Ubiquity.
If you’ve ever dreamed of creating your own character brand, toy line, animated show, or see your own children’s books published… I’ve spent decades successfully executing on all the above, ( as well as failing at it. ) and will detail how I’ve done so, here through these newsletters.
Our secret to giving our character brands the greatest potential for success is the pursuit of evergreen ubiquity through becoming one with culture, and never marketing to it.
Who am I?
My wife & creative partner, Sun-Min Kim, and I are the founders and creators of the Uglydoll plush toy brand. Over the past two decades, we have self produced thousands of products and character goods, selling millions at specialty retail around the world.
I am executive producer on Bossy Bear, based on my Disney picture books and best selling toy line. Our Bossy Bear animated series was produced with Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, and aired weekdays on Nick Jr and Nickelodeon in 2023 and 2024.
I am also the creator of the NHK morning animation, LITTLE BONY, produced by Sony in Japan, and have worked on my own projects with Illumination, Random House, Chronicle Books, VIZ comics, Sanrio, Hasbro, Funko, Kid Robot, Medicom, Takara Tomy and Coca Cola.
What do I write about?
My newsletter details what I feel are the differences between lifestyle character brands and story driven or toy driven IP.
I outline how over the past 25 years we grew each of our brands from zero to thriving in the character IP business, from licensing and retail to navigating Hollywood, children’s publishing, in-house consumer product production and specific, culture-emersion based long term growth strategies never found in writing anywhere else.
Our theory and formula: The right small is huge.
DISCLAIMER:
I do my best to provide the most accurate recollection of events and steps we took to take our character brands from zero to a path towards evergreen ubiquity in this newsletter. Please ask any questions in the comments and I will write back soon after!
For entertainment purposes only.
The content in this newsletter is based on a recollection of my life experience and premised upon my subjective opinions and does not contain or relay business advice.
Producing any product is very expensive and can lead to massive financial loss, expose you to liability, violation of law, and create unsafe conditions for consumers.
