Rainbow Productions, a leading character events company and mascot manufacturer, has confirmed two new appointments which will support the company’s ongoing growth in the leisure and attractions sectors.
In his new role as sales and marketing director, James Barlow will be overseeing the company’s sales & marketing teams and will be responsible for helping to grow the business in terms of events and mascot manufacturing, both in the UK and internationally.
In 2007, Barlow began his career at Rainbow as a freelance road manager with Rainbow, and in 2015, became an export sales executive. He was soon promoted to export manager and began working on several Rainbow projects, such as creating mascots for each football team in the Saudi Professional League, and the rebranding of Pringles mascot Mr P for Kellogg’s Worldwide.
He has also worked on projects to provide costume figures for Legoland Theme Parks and Lego Discovery Centers, promoting movies, and promoting licenced characters within retail and leisure attractions. In 2021, Barlow was a nominee for the Licensing International Rising Star Award.
Barlow says: “Rainbow is an incredibly fun, dynamic and exciting company to work for that continues to enrich my knowledge and expertise. I am incredibly excited to begin this new role in which I hope to carry on growing the brand internationally by meeting new people and keeping costume characters at the heart of brand development.”
Developing new opportunities
Magdalena Foulkes will be in charge of the company’s licencing division as licensing director, aiming to improve the company’s ties with licensors and expand its portfolio with fresh and exciting brands.
Foulkes has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing and event management, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she started working with the licencing industry, managing licencing events & promotions, including using costume characters, as the managing director of Polish advertising agency X5 Productions. She is currently applying these abilities to her position as Rainbow Productions’ licencing director.
Foulkes specifically received her first exposure to licencing through communication with David Scott, a licencing icon and former managing director of Rainbow Productions.
Foulkes says: “Being able to join the amazingly creative, dedicated and passionate team at Rainbow is the greatest privilege for me. I look forward to expanding my relationships over the coming weeks and months at various trade shows and developing Rainbow’s licensing connections more globally.”
New year with potential
Rainbow Productions’ managing director, Simon Foulkes, adds: “As we continue to see post-pandemic business ramp up, the demand for costume characters is growing fast. To meet this demand, we are delighted to be announcing these two appointments of respected industry figures boasting proven expertise and achievement in our field. We look forward to kicking off a very successful 2023 with the help of Magdalena and James.”
Rainbow Productions recently celebrated winning three awards at the Merton Best Business Awards 2022, including The 2022 Merton Best Business Award.
