LONDON, Monday 14 September 2020: Vodafone and Disney, the world’s premier entertainment company, today announce a collaboration to create a premium kids smart watch planned to launch in time for Christmas.
It will feature hardware designed by the Vodafone smart tech team and a software experience from world class designers at Vodafone and Disney. Powered by best-in-class mobile connectivity and some of the most popular Disney characters of all time, the product will deliver a truly unbeatable smart watch experience for kids.
The product is planned to launch in key European markets ahead of Christmas 2020, when more specific details of the device will be made available. Over the course of the collaboration, the two companies will work together to evolve the dynamic smart watch experience, including the introduction of new Disney characters, interactive content and features.
With Vodafone placing significant emphasis on the industrial design of its growing family of smart tech devices, the project to develop the kids smart watch will be designed in collaboration with world-renowned designer, Yves Behar and his team at fuseproject. fuseproject will bring additional expertise to the existing talents of the Vodafone smart tech product design team, enhancing its growing reputation for thoughtful user experiences within the emerging smart technology category that Vodafone is building.
Lutfu Kitapci, Managing Director, Vodafone Consumer IoT comments: “At Vodafone we are building a full range of products that will improve everyday living through the magic of smart technology. Our commitment to connect our customers to the most important things in their lives runs through everything we do and what could be more important than staying in touch with our children.
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Disney. With the combination of our trusted global network, our world-class product and design credentials and beloved Disney characters, we truly believe that together we have the opportunity to reinvent the children’s smart tech category.”
Tasia Filippatos, Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, Games and Publishing EMEA at Disney comments: “This collaboration will supercharge our presence in an exciting, emerging category that’s only set to grow. By bringing cutting edge design and technology together with the world’s best loved characters from Disney, we have created the smartest watch yet for kids. Kids will love the independence and fun, while parents will value trusted Disney content and reliable connectivity from Vodafone.”
The kids smart watch will be marketed as part of the ‘Designed and Connected by Vodafone’ range. The first of the new smart devices and digital experiences launched in July with the ‘Curve’ smart GPS tracker, making a significant statement of Vodafone’s commitment to end-to-end product design and application of in-house capabilities. Each product developed will utilise Vodafone’s dedicated in-house design team as well as customer experience labs for testing and R&D.
The collaboration with Disney and development of the Smart Tech range is a key strategic move from Vodafone, at a time when there will be a predicted 64 billion smart devices globally by 2026, according to a 2019 Business Insider report.
The product will be initially launched across key European markets and will be sold online and via retail channels. Further details of the Vodafone kids smart watch will be revealed ahead of its launch before Christmas, with the latest updates for consumers being posted on Vodafone social media channels.
Notes to Editors:
About fuseproject
fuseproject is an award-winning industrial design and branding firm based in San Francisco. The firm was founded in 1999 by Yves Behar with a fundamental drive to enhance the way people experience and engage with a product. fuseproject works globally and across a wide array of industries that include technology, furniture, fashion, environmental design and consumer goods.
Our approach to brand building is a long-term and strategic process. As a fully multidisciplinary firm, fuseproject’s capabilities extend beyond the physical to incorporate strategy, graphics, naming, UI and environmental design into our clients’ work. Conceptual narratives and messages are communicated through a product’s design, making the output inherently accessible and one that resonates with the user. Our team is a passionate group of creatives who are dedicated to executing designs that are as beautiful as they are functional, with a depth of understanding of our clients’ needs that inform the process from the initial concept to the delivery of the final product and experience.
