Sesame, American Greetings extend partnership

CLEVELAND American Greetings and Sesame Workshop have extended their 10-year licensing partnership. According to the companies, the new agreement goes beyond greeting cards and now includes American Greeting's sponsorship of Sesame Workshop programs and initiatives.

This long-term partnership includes licensing the Sesame Street trademark and characters in the U.S. and Canada on greeting cards, party goods, gift packaging, ornaments, juvenile valentines and sponsorship of Sesame Street on public television (PBS KIDS). American Greetings is also a sponsor of various multimedia educational outreach programs developed by Sesame Workshop including Talk, Listen, Connect II: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes, which is intended to help children within military families who are experiencing deployment, homecomings associated with multiple deployments, and changes related to a parent who returns home with an injury.

"Our relationship with Sesame Workshop is one of outstanding collaboration in creating great product and respected working relationships within different departments of our organizations," states Michael Brown, vp of licensing for American Greetings. "The relationship has been beneficial to American Greetings as it has provided us the opportunity to grow on many levels and recognize the reason why we do this everyday -- for children and their parents/caregivers to celebrate special events while making the world a better place!"