2 January 2025
SmileyWorld & Next collaborate with Children’s Mental Health Charity Place2Be for World Mental Health Day
As part of World Mental Health Day, SmileyWorld and Next have collaborated with children’s mental health charity Place2Be. The collaboration will be live on Thursday 10th of October, and include t-shirts sold exclusively online at Next, with 100% of the profits from the sale going to supporting children and young people’s mental health. Next have partnered with Smiley Movement as part of the Matchmaker for Good Initiative, providing ways for businesses to partner with charities to create products for good.
Place2Be is the leading provider of school-based mental health support. For 30 years the charity has offered counselling, support and resources to the whole school community. Place2Be is also the charity behind the annual Children’s Mental Health Week campaign. Place2Be creates a safe space in schools, allowing children to open up about their worries through one-to-one counselling, a drop-in service and group interventions. Place2Be also provides support, training and advice for teachers, parents and carers so that they feel informed, empowered and equipped to support children’s mental health as they grow.
The T-shirts, available in both kids and adult sizes, feature an icon from SmileyWorld, alongside a message of positivity, stating, “Be Yourself, Keep It Real”. The t-shirt adds a little fun to the everyday wardrobe with an oversized fit for a cool finish. The SKU’s speak to the mission of spreading positivity, something that SmileyWorld has been synonymous with for over almost 30 years, as the first lifestyle brand dedicated to emotional expression.
Smiley Movement’s Matchmaker for Good initiative allows brands to harness the power of the iconic Smiley brand to make a meaningful difference with charities around the world. With Matchmaker for Good, Smiley Movement aligns brands with charitable projects that fit into CSR goals, from which the Smiley brand creates a halo effect, amplifying reach and impact, or providing the Smiley IP for products.
The T-shirt is available now, exclusively at Next.co.uk.
As featured by LicenseGlobal.com. Read their full coverage of the SmileyWorld x Next x Place2Be: World Mental Health Day.
About Place2Be
Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 30 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools.
We provide mental health support in schools through one-to-one and group counselling using tried and tested methods backed by research. In addition, we also offer expert training and professional qualifications.
Find out more about the charity and what you can do to help by visiting our website at place2be.org.uk.
About SmileyWorld®
A brand owned by The Smiley Company. SmileyWorld is a market leader and the first lifestyle brand dedicated to emotional expression, The Original Smileys™ is a creative universe filled with thousands of unique icons that make emotional expression easy and fun. Smileys provide a shortcut to understanding complex emotions and kickstarting meaningful conversations. With a comprehensive library of over 3,000 icons, SmileyWorld® is a treasure trove of emotional expression that embodies the spirit of the digital revolution.
Featuring four teams of passionate specialists, with specialist category-specific knowledge and bringing concrete brand values and creative expertise to everything we do, we help ambitious and authentic brands stand out from the competition. By adapting our message to your audience and providing exclusive concepts that keep you fresh and relevant, we can help you harness the power of the smile to lead the world toward a future we all want to be a part of.
About The Smiley® Company:
The Smiley Company is a global leader in licensing, renowned for its iconic Smiley brand that spreads positivity and happiness across various products and collaborations. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, The Smiley Company continues to inspire joy in the hearts of consumers worldwide through its diverse range of licensed offerings.
Smiley has been spreading joy and optimism to generations since French journalist Franklin Loufrani created the trademarked brand in 1972.
Originally a gesture to urge readers of the newspaper France-Soir to ‘Take the Time to Smile’, soon this ubiquitous symbol of happiness became the most recognised and important icon in graphic design.
In 1996 Nicolas Loufrani, son of Franklin, took over the helm, steering Smiley into the digital revolution. Creating a whole new way of communicating, he added a variety of facial expressions to the original Smiley – his emoticons are now sent around the world infinitely.
Continuing to influence modern culture, Smiley is one of the world’s top global licensing enterprises collaborating on high-profile activities spanning fashion, art, homeware, food and beverage. Major partnerships have included Loewe, Moschino, Raf Simons, Eastpak and LA-based Market, who produce the Market Smiley Baseball – a cultural icon.
Maintaining Smiley’s friendly mantra, Loufrani created Smiley Movement in 2017. The non-profit community works across multimedia platforms aiming to inspire positive change in society addressing urgent societal and environmental problems.
Key Data:
Retail Partners:
Licensees:
Over 450 across key categories; Fashion & Accessories. Home & Gifting. Hi Tech. Health & Beauty. Stationery & Publishing. Toys and Games. Food & FMCG. Jewellery & Watches