Publishing Extension for 'SpongeBob Schwammkopf'

Central European fans of SpongeBob and friends have enjoyed the underwater antics of this particular sea sponge for just as long as anyone Stateside. Dutifully facilitating this character's recognition is the children's magazine SpongeBob Schwammkopf. Earlier this month, Nickelodeon Consumer Products re-upped a publishing agreement that will see the long-running monthly continue making its way to kids across German-speaking regions. SpongeBob Schwammkopf is a publication of Egmont Ehapa (Munich, Germany).

In SpongeBob Schwammkopf, readers get more than their monthly fill of all things SpongeBob. For a decade now, the magazine has housed gag strips, puzzles, stickers, character biographies, and up-to-date info on everything there is to know about Bikini Bottom. Egmont Ehapa ships the German-language magazine to newsstands and toy stores in Austria and Switzerland, in addition to local retail and specialty shops in Germany. According to the new licensing agreement with Nickelodeon Consumer Products Germany, Ehapa will continue to publish the item through the year 2015.

Egmont is firmly established in the business of branded kid mags, currently publishing monthlies focused on Disney's Phineas and Ferb, the teen girl-targeted W.I.T.C.H., and the CG preschool title Octonauts. The extraordinarily long-running Wendy, which has been in print for more than twenty years, is set to emerge as a CG television series [recent A.I. news: "Wendy Animation in Production" (02/20120]. But speaking to the publisher's work with Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, their magazine reaches an impressive 420,000 readers with each issue, according to local reports (cover price: EUR 2.99).

Although SpongeBob Schwammkopf targets boys and girls aged four- to ten-years-old, an incredible 84% of the readership is male. Nearly half (47%) of the total readership, male and female, fall into the sweet spot of six- to nine-years-old.

Notable sections of SpongeBob Schwammkopf include quiz pages dedicated specifically to knowledge of the SpongeBob SquarePants characters and stories, double-sided posters, and until recently, original comics. Lately, the comics have been replaced with previews of episodes from the cartoon, complete with screenshots and summaries. Just about every issue of the magazine comes with a toy as well: an umbrella, a mini handheld electronic, a finger skateboard, or something altogether kind of weird, like a toast stamp, accompanies the magazine. Sometimes, SpongeBob Schwammkopf will include cross-promotional item, or rather, toys from other programs on the same consumer product route, as with a recent promotion with Ninjago.