ZAG appoints Thienne Manzoni Ribeiro as Retail & Trade Marketing Director for Brazil

Global independent animation studio ZAG is expanding its executive roster in Brazil with the appointment of its first Retail & Trade Marketing Director: Thienne Manzoni Ribeiro, a former Warner Bros. Discovery, Viacom, and Mattel executive. The announcement was made today by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO of ZAG.

As the Retail & Trade Marketing Director for Brazil, Manzoni will report to Angela Cortez, VP of Licensing for Latin America and Canada. Manzoni will be responsible for developing and maintaining exceptional corporate relations with key retailers, thereby ensuring a significant presence and placement for ZAG properties and licensed products at retail to drive incremental sales across major product categories.

Moreover, the executive will develop and implement annual marketing and retail activities, including the development and execution of in-store promotional events working in conjunction with all licensing partners, such as Novabrink, a strategic partner for ZAG in Brazil, and global master toy partner Playmates Toys; as well as content partners Globo, and Discovery Kids; and the ZAG Play Toy Division for its line-up of toys that complement those of partners.

Manzoni will also work on all ZAG brands, with an immediate focus on “Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir,” working in partnership with the Globo licensing team, where it has remained the #1 series for girls for four consecutive seasons, and which boasts 88% brand awareness, according to a recent report by Brand Trends (April 2022). The show has earned over US$120 million at retail in Brazil and currently has over 30 licensing partners.

Furthermore, Manzoni will work with retail partners for consumer products for “Ghostforce,” an original comedy/action series which has been delighting boys and girls alike since its debut on Discovery Kids in Brazil in May 2022. Just in time for Halloween 2023, Novabrink will launch 18-inch figurines of the “Ghostforce” heroes and villains, as well as costumes. In addition, Xalingo will unveil their line-up of “Ghostforce” branded products made from wood including board games, jigsaw puzzles, activity sets, coloring activities, memory games, and dominoes. The new product lines will complement the toys to be launched in 2024 by global master toy partner Playmates Toys, that will feature figurines of the major heroes and a collection of boo capsules that will play on the collectivity of the ghosts.

“With the growth of ‘Miraculous’ over the past two years, the recent launch of ‘Ghostforce,’ and the upcoming slate from ZAG – which includes the animated feature ‘Melody,’ starring singer, songwriter and actress Katy Perry – this is the ideal time for us to bring aboard Thienne to continue to expand ZAG’s presence at retail and ensure our retail partners are well informed about our company, the engaging and empowering programming that we create, and the products from all of licensing partners including Novabrink and our master toy partner Playmates Toys. We welcome Thienne to our growing team, and her skills in strategic planning, sales forecasting, and promotions, all designed to increase shelf-space, will be invaluable to our retail efforts,”  Angela Cortez said.