Brand Licensing
Europe
Tribute to
Rock &Roll
D e pa r t me n t s 10 Editor’s Point 66 Directory 12 News
Disney Consumer Products names Robert Chapek as president 15 Five Questions with Mind Candy
Darran Garnham, head of global licensing, talks about the growth of Moshi Monsters 22 Silver Screen Giants
Sony’s Smurfs and Spider-Man are giants on store shelves and silver screens. We look at Sony’s licensing program for its upcoming blockbusters and children’s films 32 Geronimo! Atlantyca Speeds
Ahead Atlantyca Entertainment talks about plans for its properties, including Geronimo Stilton
Fall 2011
VOLUME 28, NUMBER 3
FEATURES
14 Brand Licensing Europe
Our annual huge look at London’s licensing show, with 40 pages covering the biggest companies and properties, and what they’re planning on the world stage.
16 Still Packing a Punch
Power Rangers Samurai is exploding across the globe, and Saban Brands is expanding at superhero speed. We talk to Kirk Bloomgarden about the fearsome fivesome, as well as Paul Frank’s expansion into China.
56 Tribute to Rock & Roll
Music touches people in a way nothing else can, and music licensors try to capture that feeling with products that stir the imagination. Whether it’s a musical act, magazine, museum, or manufacturer like Fender, the music licensing game is alive and kicking, and we’ve got it covered from all angles.
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36 ITV Boosts Brands with
Licensing ITV Studios lays out its merchandising deals for Alan Titchmarsch and more 42 Pocoyo, Grab Your Passport
Zinkia is shopping Pocoyo to Russia and Turkey 57 The Sound of Licensing
Mark Van Fleet, SVP of business development, tells us about Fender’s licensing program 60 Elvis Presley Enterprises
Scott Williams, VP of marketing and media, previews plans to commemorate the 35th anniversary of The King’s death 61 Licensee Lookout: Vandor
Stacey Dobkins, VP of licensing and marketing, talks about Vandor’s rock brands and products 62 Licensor Profiles
Rolling Stone, Live Nation, and Bravado are making deals 63 Look Inside: The Wildflower
Group Michael Carlisle updates us on a new license: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 64 Of Counsel
James Kipling looks at accounting and deadlines in a licensing agreement
EDITOR’S POINT
LICENSINGBOOK
®
THE
www.licensingbook.com
Cover photo by Matt York
Let’s Rock
Welcome to The Licensing Book’s first ever Tribute to Rock & Roll. My name is Bryan, and I’ll be your DJ. Kicking off our set this issue is our cover featuring a Fender Union Jack guitar... pretty groovy, if you ask me. As we’re sending this issue far out to Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), we wanted a British feel up front. There is, of course, a long and winding road’s worth of British rockers who have done gangbusters business in licensing, which makes our crossover issue that much better. Before we get to rockin’, we go to the Olympia for BLE. With 40 pages of coverage, we’ve got the show covered from every angle. Our playlist starts with an interview with the top brass at Mind Candy, the rapidly expanding company that’s in charge of the Moshi Monsters brand. We’ve got features on Saban Brands, which is riding the popularity of Power Rangers Samurai and expanding with Paul Frank in China; Sony, which is hitting it big with the little Smurfs; Atlantyca Entertainment, whose mouse hero Geronimo Stilton is making waves at licensing; ITV, which is cooking up deals with Come Dine With Me; Zinkia Entertainment, whose Pocoyo is applying for his Russian and Turkish visas; and much, much more. Check out our coverage starting on page 14.
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Still groovin’? Our Tribute to Rock & Roll begins on page 56. We begin with a feature on Fender Musical Instruments, the venerable guitar manufacturer that has expanded far beyond just guitar-making. Fender is a leader in audio technology for your phone or car, and the company here to show you its stuff. Next we cover a feature on Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is gearing up for the 35th anniversary of The King’s death. From an Elvis cruise to Elvis diners in Eastern Europe, there’s virtually no place on Earth outside of The King’s reach. From there, we take a look at Vandor in our Licensee Lookout section. This manufacturer uses music licenses, including The Beatles, Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix, to sell everything from clocks to cookie jars. We also take a look at Rolling Stone magazine’s brand-new licensing program and the latest from Bravado and Live Nation Merchandise. Finally, we’ve got an interview with Michael Carlisle of The Wildflower Group, the licensing agent for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, which is starting its own licensing program after two decades of music and memories. From all of us here at Adventure Publishing, we hope you enjoy BLE and love our issue. Keep rocking, and keep licensing.
ADVENTURE PUBLISHING GROUP INC.® VOL. 28, NO. 3 FALL 2011 PRESIDENT/CO-PUBLISHER LAURIE SCHACHT laurieschacht@aol.com
CO-PUBLISHER JONATHAN SAMET jsamet@adventurepub.com
EDITOR IN CHIEF BRYAN JOINER bjoiner@licensingbook.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR MELISSA TINKLEPAUGH mtinklepaugh@licensingbook.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS JACKIE BREYER ELIZABETH A. REID PRODUCTION DIRECTOR ANTHONY K. GUARDIOLA aguardiola@adventurepub.com
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT JAZMIN IDAKAAR jidakaar@adventurepub.com
CONTROLLER/OFFICE MANAGER ROBERT FORDE rforde@adventurepub.com
ADVENTURE PUBLISHING GROUP, INC.® 307 SEVENTH AVE., ROOM 1601 NEW YORK, NY 10001 TELEPHONE: (212) 575-4510 FAX: (212) 575-4521
Licensing News INTERNATIONAL
New Power Rangers Samurai Specials Debut at MIPCOM
PEOPLE
Moshi TV Names Brad Schultz President
MarVista Entertainment offered three all-new television programs (2x30, 1x60) from the Power Rangers Samurai series for the first time to international buyers at MIPCOM. Celebrate the holidays with the Rangers as they reflect upon their first year together as a team in Christmas Together, Friends Forever; spend a frightful night as the creepiest monsters from the Netherworld trade war stories about their battles with the Rangers in Party Monsters; and prepare for The Clash of the Red Rangers, when the Samurai Rangers team up with the mysterious RPM Ranger Red to fight off dual threats from Master Xandred’s Mooger army and a robotic supervillain from the RPM Ranger’s dimension.
PEOPLE
M i nd C a n d y h a s a pp o i n t ed e x - K a b i l l i o n e x ecutive Brad Schultz as head of Moshi TV, a new online TV platform set to appeal to Moshi’s 50 million registered users worldwide. Based out of a newly formed L.A. office, Schultz will be responsible for overseeing and driving forward the company’s new online TV division. The platform will host a combination of video content including animated Moshi shorts, safely moderated user-generated content, and programming from third-party producers. The platform is set to have an online presence by the end of the year.
Disney Consumer Products Names Robert Chapek as President T h e Wa l t D i s n e y C o m p a n y h a s e l e v a t e d R o b e r t C h a p e k , f o r m e r l y t h e h e a d o f i t s d i s t r i b u tion division, to the role of president of Disney Consumer Products. Chapek replaces Andy Mooney, who resigned in September. In his new role, Chapek will consolidate Disney’s retail and licensing efforts across its businesses, including Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, Marvel, Media Networks, Interactive Media, and Consumer Products. Chapek was previously the president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
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Licensing News ENTERTAINMENT
Warner Bros. Consumer Products Teams Up with The Wonder Forge
INTERNATIONAL
41 Entertainment to Distribute Pac-Man 3D
Wo nder Forge h as se cured a pa rtnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Produ cts for licensing rights to the DC Super Friends and Justice League properties. The multiyear agreement includes tabletop game development in the U.S. and Canada, beginning with the launch of DC Super Friends games in fall 2012, and following with Justice League games in 2013. Each tabletop game will feature favorite DC Comics characters including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. DC Super Friends games will be tailored to preschool-age children, while Justice League games will be designed for kids ages 8 and up.
INTERNATIONAL
N a m c o B a n d a i G a m e s h as a p p o i nt e d 4 1 E n tertainment, LLC (41e) to distribute worldwide the new series Pac-Man 3D (26 x 26) in time for a fall 2013 airing. 41e launched the property at MIPCOM. The series will be produced in stereoscopic 3-D by Avi Arad and Rick Ungar. The series will be written by Tom Ruegger (Scooby-Doo for Hanna-Barbera; Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series for Warner Bros. Animation), and Paul Rugg (Animaniacs and Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated for Warner Bros. Animation).
Jakks Expands Global Distribution for Monsuno J a k k s P a c i f i c , I n c . c o n t i n u e s t o ex p an d g l o b a l d i s t r i b u t i o n f o r t o y s b a s e d o n t h e M on s un o original animated television series with exclusive agreements with Planet Fun distributing for New Zealand and Prima Toys for South Africa. International distributors also include the Giochi Preziosi Group for Europe and Hunter Products for Australia. Nickelodeon will launch Monsuno to audiences on channels in the U.S., Latin America, the UK key European and Eastern European territories, Australia and New Zealand, India, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Africa. Monsuno will first launch in the U.S. on Nicktoons.
Fall 2011
13
Welcome to Brand Licensing Europe Photo © Transport for London 2005
LICENSINGBOOK SHOW COVERAGE THE
Mind Candy p. 15 • Saban Brands p. 16 BBCWorldwide p. 18 • Suzy’s Zoo p. 20 • Sony p. 22 Atlantyca Entertainment p. 32 • ITV p. 36 • Zinkia p. 42 And much, much more C OV E R A G E
S TART S P.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Five Questions With...
Darran Garnham, Mind Candy The Moshi Monsters are taking over the world, and Mind Candy’s director of global licensing gives us the lowdown. By Bryan Joiner
Garnham says that the drive to make Moshi Monsters the biggest brand in the world inspires everyone at Mind Candy.
The Li c ensing B ook: In what territories are you seeing growth, and are there any regions where you’re looking to expand? Darran Garnham: The key markets have been English-speaking. Our home market in the UK came first with a January 2011 launch. This has seen Moshi Monsters as the No. 1 brand launched this year (per NPD). We also launched in Australia and New Zealand around the same time with America and Canada coming on board in August. New markets in 2012 will include Scandinavia, Mexico, Chile, Benelux, Poland, Philippines, Indonesia, and Israel. In late 2012 through 2013, we will move through mainland Europe, Asia, and more.
TL B : How will your television and music platforms allow you to expand the brand? DG: MoshiTV, Moshi Music, and Moshi Mobile will allow the brand to move into kids’ homes in new and fun ways. MoshiTV will sit within the Moshi world but also give us content available to be used on more traditional broadcast platforms, TV on demand, and handheld devices. The platform will be more YouTube for kids than a TV channel. Moshi Music will allow us to expand in the same way, but in the music space, we have placed music videos within Moshi and used YouTube where the content has received millions of views.
T L B : You’re growing so fast, how do you make sure that what you do is part of a long-term growth plan? DG : Long-term brand growth with Moshi will come from continued development and offering consumers fresh content. Story is the glue that holds transmedia brands together. Moshi is a rich world of content and characters that will be grown as the years develop. We will also listen to our audience, giving them a quality product—kids deserve the best. As long as you keep your audience engaged and loving your brand, you will have years and years of successes.
T LB: What are the latest licensed products, and what can we look out for? D G : You will be able to look out for some of the usual lines expected at retail to widen the brand reach but on top some real game changes and fresh lines. Mind Candy are built on entrepreneurial foundations, and we have the ability to bring out product lines that I think other brands wouldn’t look at due to the licensees’ inexperience in licensed space. We can take some calculated risks.
T L B : What’s it like to be in the middle of a place that’s growing so fast? D G : It’s amazing but none of use are taking it for granted. There are high-five moments, there has to be when you hit the No. 1 line in a category, crack a number retailer, etc., but every one of these highs is followed by discussions of how we build and sustain that feeling for the long term. Mind Candy have an extremely professional, entrepreneurial, and fun team, and Moshi Monsters is not a job for us, it’s a passion. The drive to make Moshi Monsters the biggest brand in the world runs through us all.
Fall 2011
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Brand Licensing Europe
Saban Brands
Still Packing a Punch One year into its existence, Saban Brands is thriving on the strength of two brands: the explosively popular Power Rangers and upmarket-friendly Paul Frank. By Bryan Joiner
irk Bloomgarden, senior vice president for Saban Licensing, was tired. He had arrived in London after unveiling the first Paul Frank store in China, and immediately set off to have a meeting with his UK licensees. His voice dropping a couple octaves, he still had the energy to talk to us— because for Saban Brands these days, there’s no rest for the weary, and that’s a good thing.
K
The Power Rangers will star in three new specials: one for Halloween, one for Christmas, and one centered around the red Ranger.
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The Lic ensi ng Book: What is the status of the Power Rangers program after one year?
Fall 2011
Ki rk Bl oomgard en: We’ve sold the show into 150 markets, and we’re now just rounding out what’s left in the world. From a television point of view, we couldn’t ask for a better response from international broadcasters. The U.S. launched last February on Nickelodeon, and has become the No. 1 boys action show in the U.S. We’ve been rolling it out internationally ever since. We have over 20 licensees in the UK, and it’s the No. 1 series on Nick UK—they’re thrilled. Bandai launched toys here, and they’re going to have tremendous results. All the partners we’ve
Only in Dreams, a Paul Frank bedtime story, is published by Chronicle Books.
brought on board are gearing up to launch this fourth quarter, or, the bulk of them really, for spring 2012. The rest of Europe is following as we speak. The show broke three weeks ago in Germany on Nick Germany, and in the Netherlands on Nick. Nick is a major broadcast partner, but in those markets where we’re not working with them, we’ve brought on board the best terrestrial partners, including Gulli in France and MediaSet in Italy. We have approximately 100 licensees around the world, led by Bandai, the master toy partner, and Mega Bloks, which is doing construction on a global basis.
TL B: What has been the reception around the world? KB: Everybody loved the fact that Saban was back owning the property and creating new content, because the franchise originated with Saban. They believed that we were going to bring the magic back, and we’ve clearly delivered on that.
“Korea is a market that’s taken off. When we acquired Paul Frank we didn’t have one licensee there. A year later, we’ve got over a dozen licensees.” —Kirk Bloomgarden TL B: What are your plans for Power Rangers in Europe, going forward? KB: In the Samurai theme, there’s the initial 20 episodes, and then there’s Super Samurai, which is the further 20. We’ve created specials, including the Halloween- and Christmas-themed episodes, and The Clash of the Red Rangers. There’s a lot to talk
about out there, from what we’re delivering from a content point of view in 2012 and 2013.
T L B: You just came from China for the Paul Frank store opening. How did that go? KB: We launched our first official Paul Frank store in Beijing, in the No. 1 shopping mall there, Joy City. It was a phenomenal opening. We’re live and moving forward in China, which has been very much a target and focus for us since we acquired the brand a little over a year ago. There have been piracy issues there that we’ve been cleaning up that have helped us in a way by seeding the market with a lot of awareness and demand for Paul Frank, and now that we’re active with our official product, it’s great. The rest of Asia is incredibly busy for us. Korea is a market that has taken off. When we acquired Paul Frank we didn’t have one licensee there. A year later, we’ve got over a dozen licensees. We’ve continued to grow in Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand are all strong markets. In May, we opened up our first official Paul Frank store with a partner in Singapore. Around the rest of the world, Europe has typically been an established, mature market outside of the U.S. for Paul Frank. The last few years we’ve really been focusing on growing and following that success in the UK, France, and Germany. We’re also excited about Australia, with our agent Haven Licensing. We have a new master apparel licensee making tremendous inroads there.
TL B: What’s next for the company? KB: We’re growing. Saban Brands is a little over 1 year old. We went public in May 2010 when we announced the acquisition of Power Rangers. It has just grown tremendously. I just literally—prior to this call—finished a workshop with all of our Power Rangers licensees. We had a packed room, and there was tremendous energy and excitement. People were saying what a tough retail climate it is, but at least they’ve got Power Rangers, and they’re getting the support from retail because Saban has promised and delivered on it. It’s a rewarding feeling to have. ••••
Fall 2011
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
From Abney & Teal to ZingZillas, BBC Worlwide Rules At BLE BBC Worldwide is heading to Brand Licensing Europe with a portfolio of top brands. 64 Zoo Lane is about a 7-year-old girl named Lucy who lives at 64 Zoo Lane, next door to a zoo. Each night she is told a story by the animals living there. Characters include Georgina the Giraffe, Nelson the Elephant, Tickles and Giggles the Monkeys, Boris the Bear, and Molly the Hippopotamus. The Adventures of Abney & Teal debuted on CBeebies on September 26, and BBC Worldwide will make announcements about the licensing plans for this new property. Baby Jake debuted on CBeebies earlier this year. Vivid is confirmed as the master toy license for the property. Egmont will publish books, and 2|entertain will release DVDs. Earlier this year, BBC Worldwide announced Rainbow Designs has been awarded the UK master toy license for Charlie & Lola. The first lines will hit retail next spring. BBC Worldwide has a full licensing program under way for Deadly 60 and will make further announcements at BLE. More than 80 licensees have been appointed with new ranges for Doctor Who for 2011, including construction toys, science toys, a powered ride-in Dalek, collector sculptures, and wide ranges of new clothing designs for both adult fans and children. In the Night Garden, created by Ragdoll Productions, has rapidly established itself as an evergreen brand with international and UK success. Selling more than seven million books worldwide, one million DVDs, and 4.4 million plush toys, fans have recently enjoyed the second season of the successful In the Night Garden Live tour which debuted summer 2010. BBC Worldwide was appointed as licensing agent for The Football Association (The FA) this year. The latest licensees joining Team England will be announced by BBC Worldwide at BLE. The first-ever range of Lonely Planet-branded luggage, travel
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Fall 2011
accessories, and apparel will debut in the UK, U.S., and Australia next year from licensed partner, EBI. A phenomenal success in France, Lulu Zipadoo launches on CBeebies in 2012. BBC Worldwide will be talking to licensees about the property for the first time at BLE. BBC Worldwide will be bringing MasterChef to BLE for the first time this year, following the debut product launch in John Lewis. The range of cookware, textiles, utensils, knives, bakeware and gift sets will roll out to other retailers beginning in January. Mongrels is the funny, RTS award-winning puppet comedy that is definitely not one for the kids. BBC Worldwide holds licensing rights to Mongrels and will be talking to a wide range of partners at BLE. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Derek “Del Boy” Trotter’s first appearance on screen in Only Fools and Horses, BBC Worldwide has a range of products available across a raft of licensing categories. A range of Strictly Come Dancing cosmetics launched exclusively at Boots in 2010, and exceeded over two million sales within its first year. This year, a second 13-product collection has been created with the full collaboration of Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist Lisa Armstrong. New licensees bringing out Top Gear product this year include master toy partner Mondo, construction toys with K’Nex, and outdoor toys from Hy-Pro. Walking with Dinosaurs 3D is making its debut at BLE this year where BBC Worldwide will be talking about a range of licensing opportunities. Rainbow Designs is the master toy licensee for Wibbly Pig with a range of gift and play items including plush toys, wooden toys, puzzles, and games. BBC Worldwide has more than 20 licensing partners in the UK for ZingZillas, including Vivid Imaginations as the master toy licensee.
Brand Licensing Europe
Suzy’s Zoo at BLE
Suzy’s Zoo hits Brand Licensing Europe with some major news announcements. Suzy’s Zoo was created by artist Suzy Spafford in 1968 and consists of three character sets: Little Suzy’s Zoo, Duckport, and Wags and Whiskers. The property has several new partners this year, including Dalmation Press for books and coloring books in the U.S. for Little Suzy’s Zoo and Duckport; Fun Rugs for rugs for the Little Suzy’s Zoo and Wags and Whiskers in the U.S.; Uni-
Product Showcase
VOOZ Hopes Myo & Ga Can Match Pucca
VOOZ Co., Ltd. will introduce its ambitious project Myo & Ga, an animated series (11 x 52 episodes) under co-production by VOOZ Co.,Ltd. and Imira Entertainment. Myo & Ga is an epic saga of trio composed of three animal characters: a brave but gullible turtle named Ga who was sent to find a cure for the king. Co, a noble chicken, and Myo, a fugitive kungfu rabbit. United in their quest, but easily distracted, this trio will get into trouble again and again. The animation is full of adventure, with 3-D effects bringing the heroes to life. “We are confident that Myo & Ga will bring fresh air in the market with overwhelming outcomes as we did with Pucca. People will be able to see what Myo & Ga can offer in terms of licensing at Brand Licensing Europe (Booth No. F020),” says Boo-kyoung Kim, president of VOOZ.
Ming the Minibus To Roll Into China
versity Games for board games, card games, and more in the U.S.; Brecrest for babywear and children’s wear in the UK and Europe; Suncreate for nursery bedding and accessories; and Blue Sky Publishing for books in the UK. Additionally, Suzy’s Zoo is currently in discussions to have licensed ebooks and apps on the market by the end of the year. Suzy’s Zoo is expanding again, as well—this time to South Korea, through licensee PlazaStyle, which will launch a Suzy’s Zoo Silly Bandz line. Finally, Suzy’s Zoo has signed StickerYou to allow fans to make their own Suzy’s Zoo stickers online.
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Ming the Minibus, created by Australian educator Thomas Beckett, is an animated cartoon show featuring Ming and his friends as they travel to various countries around the globe. Through songs and graphics, kids learn facts about each of the locations they visit. Good Link International, Ltd. is the producer of both the cartoon and the toy line. Fifty-two 11-minute Ming the Minibus shows were produced. Each episode has Ming and two students visiting a different country or city. The students, Wing and Johnny, learn about three important places, cultural events, foods, and animals from each location. The show has been picked up by Korea Telecommunications IPTV platform in Korea, and is broadcast in every primary school in Korea. It is also being considered in Singapore on Media Corp. Children’s Network and on Network 5 in Thailand this year. A Chinese mainland cartoon producer is working on recreating the show in Mandarin for the Chinese TV market.
Brand Licensing Europe
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Silver Screen
Giants By Melissa Tinklepaugh
ittle blue gnomes, just three apples high, became big moneymakers for Sony after the studio updated the classic 1980s kids’ property The Smurfs for a new generation. Sony’s all-encompassing licensing program proved successful in stores, as this summer’s film pulled in ticket sales globally. Sony has a similar strategy planned for The Amazing SpiderMan, which is set to release next summer.
L
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Fall 2011
hough The Smurfs franchise turns 53 years old this October, Sony Pictures Entertainment has made it new for a young generation with a 3-D hybrid live-action and CG-animated film, which was released July 29; a sequel scheduled for summer 2013; and a host of branded products. Gregory Economos, senior vice president of global consumer products for Sony Pictures Consumer Marketing, says The Smurfs’ licensing program has performed well in stores. “We’ve had incredible sell-in and sell-through pretty much across all categories of merchandise. Toys and plush especially have done really, really well, as have softlines.” The Smurfs program represents Sony’s strategy for its big brand movies for families and children, saturating retail with products across all categories. Retail will see another huge merchandise program from Sony for The Amazing Spider-Man’s July 2012 release. Then, in 2013, The Smurfs 2 will bring more products to market.
T
The Smurfs’ Success Worldwide
$138.4M U.S.
$233.8M
$31 .6M $2 5. 9M
Other international markets
M 6.4 $2 .8M $20 $25.9M
While The Smurfs grossed $138.4 million in the U.S. (domestic), that number accounts for only 27.5 percent of worldwide earnings— $502.8 million total. The Smurfs grossed $364.4 million (72.5 percent) in foreign markets. (Graph shows countries’ total gross as of 9/25, except Brazil–9/18.)
UK
Mexico
Brazil
France Germany
Moviegoers flocked to see The Smurfs stuck in skyscraper-filled New York City, trying to return to their village and flee the evil wizard, Gargamel. As a result, the family comedy grossed $138.4 million in the U.S. and $502.8 million worldwide as of September 25. The Smurfs ranked in the U.S. box office’s top 10 grossing films for six weeks after its release. This has led to a licensed products bonanza. “From hardlines to softlines to video games, I don’t think there’s a category we don’t have,” says Economos. The Smurfs’ program ranges across categories and includes toys and games (Jakks Pacific is the master toy licensee), apparel and accessories, domestics, publishing, health and beauty, housewares, and stationery. The 60-plus licensees include Mega Brands for construction toys, NKOK for radio-controlled vehicles, Build-A-Bear Workshop for stuff-able plush, Beeline Interactive for mobile apps, and Simon & Schuster for a publishing program with a movie novelization that reached The New York Times’ Best Sellers list for children’s paperbacks. Ubisoft created The Smurfs’ Dance Party video game and a Facebook game that attracted more than eight million users. The Amazing Spider-Man stars Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, Sally Field as Aunt May, Denis Leary as George Stacy, and Rhys Ifans as the villain Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard. Since Spider-Man has been an ongoing, active franchise, Sony is keeping the property fresh by telling a new story about Peter Parker during high school, why he lives with his aunt and uncle, and why his parents aren’t around. “With him going back to high school as opposed to being out of college, I think it makes [the film] a little bit more relatable to the younger audience,” says Economos. The film already has a comprehensive licensing program attached, including activities in promotions and retails. It will hit “more categories than you can even imagine,” says Economos, since the film’s target audience is everyone––”All families, male, female, young, old.” Sony has already planned The Amazing SpiderMan 2 for May 2014.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Spider-Man’s Past and Future at the Box Office
Sony Pictures Entertainment ony releases 20–25 movies a year and has films scheduled for the next 12–18 months. While big brands like The Smurfs and Spider-Man hit a wide range of categories, Sony plans targeted licensing programs for most of its properties. The company looks at what consumers want and what retailers want during the time frame of a release. The company then works toward filling that niche with each retailer, and talks to licensees about products that make sense for those retailers. Film properties for which Sony still seeks licensees, promotional partners, or retail partners include The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Men in Black 3, and Hotel Transylvania.
S
Sony developed a targeted merchandise program for Arthur Christmas, an Aardman Animations family film that opens in theaters in November, and signed an exclusive deal with Toys “R” Us to distribute products in North America. The program includes toys, plush, games, puzzles, and books, as well as Christmas ornaments and wrapping paper. Sony focused on the seasonality of the products and incorporated the movie’s theme that every child should have a toy at Christmas. “It’s a very sweet holiday movie that I think kids and families will enjoy,” says Economos.
The Amazing Spider-Man is due in theaters for the Fourth of July weekend, with a sequel set for May 2014. The previous film series, with releases in ’02, ’05, and ’07, grossed $2.5 billion total. The graph below breaks down the domestic and foreign grosses, previewing the potential box office success of The Amazing Spider-Man. Spider-Man
$403.7M
$821.7M worldwide
$418M
Spider-Man 2
$373.6M
$783.8 worldwide
$410.2M
Spider-Man 3
$336.5M
$890.9 worldwide
$554.3M 0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Domestic Foreign
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The Pirates! Band of Misfits, an Aardman Animations release in 3-D claymation for March 2012, tells the story of a misfit pirate trying to become pirate captain of the year. Economos says the release will appeal to families and teens. “I think young kids will enjoy pirates, but it probably skews a little bit older because of the humor in it.”
The licensing program for May 2012’s Men in Black 3 will span all categories with toys from Jakks Pacific and video games from Activision. In the film, the characters travel back in time to 1969, which merchandise will represent through a high-end fashion men’s apparel and accessories program featured at one retailer. “That ‘60s fashion sense for men, kind of like what Banana Republic has recently done with Mad Men, we’re doing a program similar to that—not with Banana, but that type of program,” says Economos.
The reimagined Total Recall, releasing in August 2012, will have a limited product program attached. Since the film is adult-oriented, the merchandise will focus on interactive, such as online games, and some collectibles. When movies skew older, the programs generally have to become more niche. Total Recall “is much more for the teen and older audience,” says Economos. “And that audience doesn’t buy a lot of action figures.”
In September 2012’s Hotel Transylvania, a family movie in 3-D animation, Dracula runs a high-end resort for ghouls and goblins, including Frankenstein and his bride, a family of werewolves, and the Mummy. Dracula built the hotel to protect his daughter Mavis from humans, but this is threatened when a human stumbles upon the hotel. Sony is planning a seasonal merchandise program, exclusive with one retailer, for Halloween. The targeted program, which will include party goods, plush, toys, and games, will run eight weeks from Labor Day through Halloween. ••••
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Postman Pat, Still Delivering for Classic Media at 30 Years Old A true evergreen property, Postman Pat celebrated his 30th birthday this September with a large-scale public relations and marketing campaign, including special events, screenings, TV, and radio appearances across the UK. Birthday festivities targeted preschool fans along with their parents and grandparents who grew up with Postman Pat and his daily adventures in Greendale. Following this milestone, the brand celebrates with some impressive stats, including a Top 10 NPD position for preschool-licensed toys, which it has maintained for two-plus years. Postman Pat has the honor of being the longestrunning animated series on the BBC, and with a recent commitment for a new Special Delivery Service (SDS) series to air beginning in 2013 on the BBC, his presence is secured on the BBC for years to come. In his heroic new role as head of the Special Delivery Service, Postman Pat transports anything, anytime, anywhere with his fleet of new vehicles and high-tech gadgets. The new series will feature plenty more fun and adventure with Pat and his trusty sidekick Jess the Cat as they take on some of the most difficult deliveries yet. Master toy partner Character Options continues to build on its successful toy range of vehicles and play sets, extending the world of Postman Pat. In addition, multiple leading consumer products partners in the UK have renewed their licenses, including VMC (accessories and dress-up), TV Mania UK (apparel), Smiffy’s (dress up), Amscan (partywear), and Gemma (greetings cards). The pop culture icon continues to build momentum around the world across publishing, mobile, apparel, stationery, and other key categories, as Classic Media and its partners gear up for Where’s Wally? A Fantastic Journey, and the brand’s 25th anniversary next year. Ludia recently released the second app in the franchise, Where’s Wally? In Hollywood, which ranked as a top 10 best-
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selling app in 15 countries. Where’s Wally? has sold more than four million apps to date. Also this year, high-profile promotional partnerships with Legoland Windsor and BPAY, and multiple QSR programs, rolled out globally—from North America to Australia and Japan—with great success. Following an award-winning launch in the UK, consumer products are launching in key territories including the U.S., Australia, and France. In Japan, 25 licensees are launching Where’s Wally? at retail with more than 400 SKUs and popup shops opening to support the campaign. Voltron is back to defend the universe with the all-new animated series, Voltron Force. The June 16 series premiere on Nicktoons in the U.S. set a new record as the network’s highest-rated series premiere ever with kid, tween, and boy demos. A team of consumer products partners, led by Mattel (master toy partner) and THQ (master gaming partner), are on board to reintroduce Voltron to the next generation. Mattel launched a toy line based on classic Voltron at Comic-Con in San Diego this summer, and new Voltron Force toys are scheduled to roll out in the U.S. for back-to-school 2012. THQ launched avatars on XBox Live and the classic Voltron game is scheduled for release this fall. Joining these global partners for the U.S. launch are The Bentex Group, Inc., via its Extreme Concepts division (T-shirts/tops) and its Dreamwave division (swimwear/sleepwear); Rubie’s Costume Company (costumes); Viz Media (kids’ graphic novels for Voltron Force); and Trends International (posters). After blazing onto TV screens in 1984, Voltron: Defender of the Universe quickly became a top-rated animated series. The hit series inspired a best-selling toy line and made Voltron a pop culture icon. The recent premiere of Voltron Force earlier this summer was the first original franchiserelated television content in 10 years. Following the premiere in the U.S., the series is scheduled to launch next year with key broadcasters worldwide.
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Caroline Mickler Shows Zoodorables
Two significant signings complete a powerful lineup for Caroline Mickler at stand B085: the super-cute Zoodorables and the inspirational and multinational Non-Violence Project. Zoodorables is a fun, adorable, and uplifting new character brand from the well-known U.S. pop artist and illustrator Han L. Lee. Lovable little monsters from another world, Zoodorables have already proved popular with girls ages 7 to 16 in general and especially with the tween market. The Non-Violence Project is an international youth-based organization aimed at motivating, inspiring, and engaging young people in positive alternatives to violence. Its signature logo is the well-known knotted gun symbol, which was created in 1980 by Swedish artist Carl Frederick Reutersward in memory of John Lennon. Knotted gun sculptures stand outside the United Nations in New York and at more than 30 locations around the world.
Intercontinental Lic.
At Brand Licensing Europe, Intercontinental Licensing, booth D24, will offer seven new properties on display for the first time. Properties include Gifty Idea, Hammond Grover, Listen Up!, and Toon Studio.
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Hasbro at BLE
The Global Brand Licensing and Publishing division of Hasbro will arrive at the Brand Licensing Show this year with its expansive brand portfolio from Transformers to My Little Pony and Littlest Pet Shop to Nerf, showcasing lifestyle licensing merchandise for kids, adults, and families. The lineup will span major categories including apparel, home, food, and publishing. Additionally, the company will spotlight ongoing momentum in the entertainment sector from film and television to digital gaming.
RSPCA Program Gives Back to Animals
Leading animal welfare charity and popular consumer brand RSPCA (within JELC stand E010) is making its first appearance as an exhibitor at BLE, where it will promote the biggest licensing campaign in its history. The campaign is building on 98 percent brand awareness and a comprehensive new style guide. Visitors to the RSPCA stand will be able to hear more about the guide and the Society’s big investment in licensing literature, support, and promotion, as well as find out more about the partners that have already joined the campaign. These include soft toy designer and distributor Aurora with a range of plush animals, BrownTrout Publishers with a range of 2012 calendar and diary titles, and pet products specialist Happy Pet with toys and grooming products for dogs. The coming months will see new product launches from trusted partners to which the RSPCA brand has been licensed for many years. They include CP Designs Asia, Rayware (through its Mason Cash range), UK Greetings—Special Editions, John Lewis Partnership, and the Noel Tatt Group. A successful licensing campaign will help to boost funds for preventing cruelty, as well as promoting kindness to, and alleviating the suffering of animals.
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
AT New Media Gets Dirty with Worms, Sweet with Gummy Bear
Digital licensing agent and consultant AT New Media is making a return to full BLE exhibitor status at this year’s event, and will present two of the world’s hottest digital brands to the licensing community: Worms and Gummy Bear. Worms is the video game franchise that boasts millions of fans and players worldwide. Since the first incarnation of the game was released in 1995, Worms has appeared on more than 20 gaming platforms, with approximately 30 million retail copies having been sold to date. The Worms brand has also seen sales in excess of 10 million on mobile phone handsets, and has enjoyed huge success
on the new digital video game platforms, with No. 1 hits on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Apple’s App Store, and Steam for PC. Two expansion packs
have just been launched, while a soupedup reimagining of existing games Worms 3D and Worms 4: Mayhem is set for
release later this year, as well as a completely new game in the shape of Worms Crazy Golf. Gummy Bear (aka Gummibär) is the singing and dancing character that has been one of the stand-out digital hits of recent years. His multilingual crooning abilities mean he is able to sing in 11 different languages, and this has led to a monumental international following. Gummy Bear is a superstar on the web at www.gummibar.net. Breakthrough hit “The Gummy Bear Song” has been downloaded one billion times, and Gummy Bear videos are a consistent presence in the top five of the iTunes Dance Music Video Chart.
BRB Internacional Brings Canimals, Kabmu to London BRB Internacional will attend Brand Licensing Europe with lots of new surprises regarding the property catalog it manages. It also plans to present the first licensed products from its series Kambu. Likewise, it will announce the European television premiere of the series Canimals. Additionally, BRB will showcase all the new developments surrounding the many different Cartoon Network properties it manages in Spain and Portugal, among them the current market launch of Generator Rex. In this vein, BRB will show off the first products inspired by one of its most outstanding projects, Kambu, a TV series (52 x 7’) that won the MIP JR Kid’s Jury Prize in 2009 for the best preschool series and stars the loveable mail dog who is all heart... and a
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total disaster. A whole range of products will include everything from traditional toys and stuffed animals to the latest technologies, such as MP3, USBs, and more. Canimals has Tomy as its master toy license in Europe, which is working on the launch of the first new Canimal products. Regarding the Cartoon Network products that BRB manages in Spain and Portugal, BRB will present the launch of the products on the Spanish market for the series Generator Rex, one of the newest Turner CN Enterprises licenses. Master toy licensee Mattel will start the toy launch in September in Spain. Activision will launch its video game Generator Rex, Agent of Providence in Spain in October.
Brand Licensing Europe
Atlantyca Entertainment
Geronimo! Atlantyca Speeds Ahead Five years after its launch, Atlantyca Entertainment is taking its flagship property, Geronimo Stilton, to new territories and developing third-party properties for publishing, animation, licensing, and foreign rights. By Melissa Tinklepaugh
Pictured above: Rachele Geraci, Atlantyca’s licensing and agent manager, is focused on licensing the Geronimo Stilton brand to Asian markets.
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ouse journalist and adventurer Geronimo Stilton has come a long way since launching in 2000 as a children’s book series by Italian publisher Edizioni Piemme. Atlantyca Entertainment, an Italian transmedia company, took on Geronimo Stilton as its flagship property, for which it began producing children’s books after it was founded in 2006. Atlantyca’s licensing division manages the international licensing initiatives for all the Geronimo Stilton brands and its character spin-offs,
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with key properties including Geronimo Stilton; Geronimo Stilton, the Animated Series; and Geronimo Stilton: Kingdom of Fantasy. Children in 150 countries now enjoy the Geronimo Stilton book series, which is published in more than 35 languages and has sold more than 55 million copies. The Kingdom of Fantasy series is comprised of four published books, of which more than one million copies have sold in Italy and 2.5 million worldwide. Puffin signed on for the rights to publish 12
books from the series next year in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The brand’s namesake journalist mouse has scurried to an animated series broadcast in more than 100 countries; new musicals in Belgium, Holland, and Spain; and licensed products, including a video game launching in five countries in November. Atlantyca CEO Claudia Mazzucco says the company’s vision, from the very beginning, was to develop properties for multiple media formats—not just books. “In Italy it was not so common for a publisher to see what could happen in other media, like animation,” says Mazzucco. “In order to take advantage of the success of the property, we didn’t see any other way than to start up a new company.” As Atlantyca worked to expand the Geronimo Stilton brand, it acquired children’s properties from other publishers to develop for publishing and more. The company’s strategy involves finding a concept that’s appropriate for publishing, first, but can be developed for another platform later. “We find a publisher in Italy for the book. Then we begin selling the translation rights all over the world. After we are able to sell in five or six languages, we begin considering the opportunity to develop a TV series,” explains Mazzucco. Producing the animated series with co-production partner Moonscoop, Atlantyca recently completed the second season of Geronimo Stilton, with 26 new episodes, bringing the series to 52 episodes. The new season will broadcast in Italy and France in October, and both the first and second seasons were sold into more “To take advantage of the than 100 countries. Geronimo Stilsuccess of the property, we ton, the Animated Series premiered didn’t see any other way than worldwide in September 2009 on to start up a new company.” Italy’s Rai 2 channel, where it ranked as the No. 1 show. It ranked —Claudia Mazzucco, Atlantyca CEO (pictured above) No. 2 on Nickelodeon in the
Geronimo Stilton brands include Geronimo Stilton; Geronimo Stilton, the Animated Series; and Geronimo Stilton: Kingdom of Fantasy. Netherlands and No. 3 on Cartoon Network in Spain. With the second season completed, Atlantyca is passing Geronimo Stilton along to its licensing division. “Once you have 52 episodes, you have more licensing that can be done for your property,” says Mazzucco. One focus for Atlantyca has been the Geronimo Stilton Kingdom of Fantasy musicals. Created separately in Belgium and Spain, the newest installments include Geronimo Stilton Fantasia De Giga Grote Muisical, a traditional live stage show performed in a special Fantasia tent, which premiered in September in Amsterdam; and Geronimo Stilton El Musical del Regne de la Fantasia, which incorporates projection technology and premieres in Madrid during the Christmas holiday season. From their computers at home, children can log into the GeronimoStilton.com social community, travel through Mouse City, interact with users from around the world, and post articles in their own version of the Mouse Gazette. As another expansion, Sony will release a video game in five countries in November for the Kingdom of Fantasy brand. Atlantyca even opened an office in Beijing, China, in 2010, and is working now to appoint agents to represent Geronimo Stilton in countries including China, Singapore, and Malaysia, where the series has been “really successful,” says Rachele Geraci, Atlantyca’s licensing and agent manager.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Atlantyca Entertainment
Pictured above: Licensed Geronimo Stilton products reach the food category with Ovetto Sweet chocolate eggs, containing figurines of Geronimo Stilton and his friends, the Tea Sisters. Atlantyca is also developing books for Dive Olly Dive! A third-party property produced by Moonscoop, Dive Olly Dive! is going into its second season as an animated series, for which Atlantyca serves as a co-production partner and the executive producer of season two. The 3-D HD CGI-animated series follows the water escapades of young research submarine-in-training, Olly, and his best friend and fellow sub-in-training, Beth. The United National Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is promoting its “Underwater Initiatives,” including educating children on the issues surrounding the world’s oceans, through the Olly series. UNESCO has been involved in script development for season two on those locations and themes that are under its patronage. Earlier this year, Atlantyca sold the animated series to Turner Broadcasting System Italy, granting pay and free TV rights throughout the country. The series premiered on Turner’s Boomerang in June and began airing on Cartoonito, Turner’s 24/7 free channel devoted to kids 3-6 years old that launched in Italy in September. Additionally, Atlantyca acquired Milan-based children’s book producer Dreamfarm in April, which
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it incorporated into the company as Atlantyca Dreamfarm, to further its transmedia missions. Atlantyca Dreamfarm develops concepts for books, finds authors and illustrators, and packages the books to sell to publishers who print and distribute in the market. “Some book properties are selling very well, and I feel we’ll be able to develop something in 1.5 or two years,” says Mazzucco. Another part of the company, Atlantyca-LAB, has a mission to develop and sell publishing-related ideas for video games, apps, and web content, taking Atlantyca’s properties to the digital arena. Developers will have access to all brands within Atlantyca’s copyright portfolio and to those acquired in the future. As a licensing agent in Italy, Atlantyca continuously looks for new third-party properties to develop across platforms with accompanying licensing programs. In one such agreement, Atlantyca will represent the Little Prince animated series, which will broadcast in Italy starting in December. Its licensing program will begin with promotions and products in the back-to-school and apparel categories. “We are in negotiations with a lot of new partners, and we hope to close the deals very soon,” says Geraci. ••••
Brand Licensing Europe
ITV
ITV Studios Boosts Brands Through Merchandising Programs By Melissa Tinklepaugh TV Studios, based in the United Kingdom, creates more than 2,000 hours of original programming each year, and its consumer product operation has partnered with more than 200 licensees worldwide, featuring a portfolio of more than 1,000 product lines. Three of its brands–– Alan Titchmarsh, Coronation Street, and Come Dine with Me––are growing with new licensing deals signed this year.
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Alan Titchmarsh
ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) took full licensing rights this year for the Alan Titchmarsh brand, signing a five-year licensing agreement in February. The ITV1 gardening show Love Your Garden with Alan Titchmarsh debuted with audience figures of 3.9 million and will return in November in a peak evening time slot. ITV is further encouraging Britain to give gardening a try by developing a fresh program for licensed consumer products. A “Love Your Garden” public Upcoming products licensed for the relations and Facebook campaign Alan Titchmarsh brand include a giftwill launch next spring to “Get ing range from Apples to Pears and Britain Gardening with Alan Titchseeds from Thompson & Morgan. marsh,” and a gifting range from Apples to Pears will be sold through WHSmith for Q4 2011. ITVS GE recently partnered with Huntapac to endorse British fresh produce, which will sell in major grocers throughout the fall. Thompson & Morgan recently confirmed a deal for a range of Alan Titchmarsh seeds to launch in January. “This year and next sees a continuing commitment to Alan on ITV1, and we are delighted to be
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working with current licensees to support their profile at retail,” says Giles Ridge, director of content and brand development. “The brand offers a wealth of opportunity for product development in gardening, gifts, and food, and we have been encouraged by strong interest from new partners since we undertook management of the brand earlier this year.” The licensing program has already seen some success. Licensee Bulldog Tools won a gold medal this year for its garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Bulldog Tools then launched a media promotion with The Mirror to give away a tool set. Jarrold Calendars has already sold more than 25,000 of its initial calendars and renewed its license with four new calendars and diaries for next year. As the show builds, ITVS GE intends to expand gardening and outdoors to a broader product range, and is seeking partners in the categories of garden, outdoors, and fresh food.
Coronation Street
Broadcast on ITV1, Coronation Street has aired more than 7,000 episodes during the past 50 years, has had more than 3,500 characters, and now airs in more than 40 countries. ITVS GE has signed new licensing deals this year for the program, the UK’s longest-running prime-time drama. Aurora Food Marketing has created the Fred Elliott master butcher fresh meat range, which was launched with Elliott’s Prime Porkers, available in Tesco and Morrisons. John Woods Nurseries launched the Corrie Rose, which sold five times the forecast, with Dobbies as the major retailer. Madame Tussauds World of Television in Blackpool welcomed two new residents: characters Ken and Deirdre. A Christmas marketing campaign will run across the ITV network and be supported with a gifting public relations push, press advertising, and Facebook messages about weekly product deals that will target
that surrounded the 50th anniversary, ITVS GE commissioned research into consumers’ interest for products and experiences going forward. The results of the research showed a deep respect and engagement with the brand around heritage and “live” opportunities, which has informed the brand plan and creative direction for 2012 with an updated style guide in development to roll out in Q4.
Come Dine with Me
The success of Coronation Street’s 50th anniversary has led to an updated style guide that will release in Q4.
Come Dine with Me badges and place cards are part of the brand’s party-related products.
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its 1.2 million fans and their friends and family. The 50th anniversary celebration of Coronation Street, in December 2010, led to best-selling consumer products. Winning Moves’ Coronation Street jigsaw was the No. 1 licensed adult jigsaw for Christmas 2010, according to NPD. Licensee DMC Creative World produced the best-selling adult licensed cross-stitch in Christmas 2010 with its Coronation Street scene. Licensee Kimm and Miller is nominated for a Licensing Award 2011 for its Hot Pot Gift Set. Corrie is as popular as ever, with 14 million tuning into a live episode and 10.4 million tuning into the Christmas episode. An average of 12.9 million watched every episode during the anniversary week, according to Kate Walker, head of marketing, consumer products. Following the consumer campaign
Fall 2011
Reality show Come Dine with Me is getting a boost this year with new licensing activity for party- and dining-related tie-ins in the UK. New deals include licensees Talking Table for social stationery and table accessories; Ethos International for tableware, cutlery, glassware, and linens; Swan Electrics for small electrical appliances; and Drumond Park for the first board game. The show’s first DVD sold more than 40,000 copies in the UK, and a follow-up, The Tasty Bits, is planned for a Christmas release. The brand is having international success as well. BBC Worldwide and the promotions team signed retailer Pick and Pay and the Knorr brand as active sponsors of the South African version of CDWM, which launches soon. In France, the retailer Grand Frais will be the on- and off-air sponsor, succeeding Systeme U, which is moving on after two years. A CDWM wine quality label was launched, with a competition that received more than 1,000 entries. The launch event was held in Paris in July, where wine professionals, TV celebrities, and fans of the show met to select the winners for 2011. The series will return in the UK this fall to a peaktime evening slot on CH4, which will promote Q4 products throughout its on-air and online network. “Consumer interest remains high for the brand with over 12 million viewers for the programs each week and over one million people liking the brand on Facebook,” says Walker. A public relations campaign will kick off this fall to get consumers engaged and drive recommendation among peers on social networks. ITVS GE is seeking stationery and confectionary partners and opportunities in food. ••••
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Bulldog Licensing Goes “Crazy” with Several Properties Bulldog Licensing will be showcasing a strong portfolio of brands at this year’s Brand Licensing Europe event. Amongst these is licensing juggernaut Gogo’s Crazy Bones, doing well in the toy collectible market in the UK, Spain, Germany, Benelux, South Africa, and Australia/New Zealand. Selling in huge numbers in parts of Eastern Europe, the Nordics, and Italy, Gogo’s has also reached the top of the ratings charts in France and the U.S. Monkey, the star of the classic advertisements for ITV Digital and PG Tips, has become one of the most saleable brands in Britain for the 16-34-year-old consumer. A strong merchandising program includes apparel from BCI, plush from Posh Paws, posters from GB Eye, and greetings cards and calendars from Danilo, while Bluebird Brands is producing a wide range of products. Licensor for the Monkey brand is Comic Relief, meaning that all licensed products sold will help the charity. Goochicoo, created by The Backland Studio, features a range of little characters accompanied by slogans such as “Give Peas a Chance” and “The Piddler.” Licensing partners include Poetic Gem for apparel, publisher Little Star, Izziwotnot for bedding, MV Sports and Leisure for talking plush toys and doll accessories, and Bluebird Brands for a range of merchandise that includes mugs, luggage, and travel and car accessories. Goochicoo greeting cards are also a huge hit on Moonpig.com. Life magazine is the legendary publication that continues to enthrall millions of people with special issue books and photographs. In total, approximately 10 million pictures are available to license. A burgeoning licensing program includes an apparel range from Poetic Gem that is currently available in Next and River Island, and a forthcoming range of greetings cards and postcards from Is It Art. Bulldog will also showcase the football brand Shoot.
Shoot has captivated generations of football fans with sharp, incisive writing and contributions from the stars of the game, before moving into the digital era by becoming the first football magazine to be made available around the world on the web. Bulldog has also brokered a deal with top digital content specialist The Magazine Cloner that allows football fans to access Shoot magazine through Mac, PC, and an app on mobile devices. Bulldog has been working with Build-A-Bear Workshop, a familiar High Street presence with 45 company-owned stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Animation property Roobarb and Custard is a hit with consumers. Mogzilla is on board for publishing, Poetic Gem for apparel, Museums and Galleries for greetings, PMS for amusement plush, and Riviera for canvas wall art. Roobarb and Custard are also brand ambassadors for animal charity PDSA. Two other classic brands on the Bulldog books are Batfink and Roland Rat. Sir Roland Rat is proving to be a big hit in the licensing sector. Apparel from Poetic Gem is selling well, Posh Paws has launched a new Roland range featuring plush, talking plush, key chains, and ceramics, which has already been snapped up by Play.com, Forbidden Planet, Past Times, and Harrods. Batfink is also proving to be a retro gem, with tens of thousands of branded T-shirts selling each quarter. Monster Jam’s European tour is currently packing stadiums as it roars through the UK and Benelux, and is watched by millions of television viewers through Bravo in the UK and RTL in Benelux. The brand even has its own YouTube channel, which has more than 14 million viewings recorded for some of the most popular videos. Monster Jam’s licensing presence is equally impressive, with the property represented across categories including card games, toys, video games, and construction toys through top licensees such as Mattel, Activision, K’nex, and Lanoo.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Coolabi Shows Poppy Cat, Purple Ronnie, Scarlett & Crimson Headlining Coolabi’s slate for Brand Licensing Europe is its new animated preschool property Poppy Cat, which launched on Nick Jr. UK in May and is already one of the top 10 shows on the channel for kids ages 4-9. Coolabi’s licensing program for Poppy Cat is also well underway with Golden Bear on board as master toy partner launching plush, plastics, and arts and crafts products. A number of other key partners are also secured for the property with the launch at retail planned for fall 2012. These include Jumbo Games, Macmillan, Aykroyds, TDP, Redan, Silver-Knit, and newly appointed Alligator Books, Trade Mark Collections, and VMC Accessories. The Joester Loria Group has been appointed as licensing agent for Poppy Cat North America, and will build on the broadcast exposure starting this fall with Sprout (U.S.) and TVO, Knowledge Network, and SCN (Canada). Licensing agents for other major territories both in Europe and worldwide are in the process of being appointed to roll out licensing programs in 2013 and beyond, in line with broadcast plans. Poppy Cat currently airs in Spain, and the show will make its debut in more than 75 territories in the spring, following TV sales by distributor Cake Entertainment. Purple Ronnie continues to be a key property, as the witty poem and social expression brand celebrates its 25th anniversary next year. Hallmark, which sells millions of units of Purple Ronnie greeting cards each year, will launch a number of refreshed ranges this fall and into the anniversary year. Other key licensees on board for Purple Ronnie include Personalized Momento Company (PMC), whose product range taps into the customization elements of the brand with mugs, plates, glasses, chocolate, and champagne; and Macmillan, whose extensive book range brings Purple Ronnie poems to moms, dads, friends, and lovers. With new category partners to be announced shortly, an expanded focus on digital interaction and self-expression, and
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fresh product ranges at retail, what better way to celebrate an anniversary than with Purple Ronnie? Co-owned by Coolabi and creator Ged Backland, the Scarlett & Crimson brand has shown growing appeal among teen and tween girls. The brand is enjoying success in both the UK and North American markets where key categories in development include perfume, bath and body, gifting and accessories, stationery, and apparel. This fall, SLG will launch its new gifting ranges in Boots for the third year following sell-out successes seen during the past two Christmas periods, and Grace Cole will bring its Scarlett & Crimson toiletries range to retail. Expanding the presence at retail, Q1 2012 sees the launch of a new and fresh cosmetics range through key Scarlett & Crimson supporter Superdrug, coordinated with a number of other licensees launching their products, including Rudolf Stein (fashion accessories). The brand is also rolling out internationally through new agents Wild Pumpkin for Australia and New Zealand and agents in Benelux, France, and Germany. Coolabi will also focus on family favorite brands Bagpuss and Clangers at BLE. Bagpuss has seen a resurgence in licensing activity during the past two years, and currently has 20 licensees on board including Posh Paws, Powerplay Textiles Shreds, Pigment Productions, Intelex, Zeon, Museums and Galleries Marketing, and Poetic Gem. New products for the brand will launch through the rest of the year including nightwear, bags, greetings cards, plush, and gifts. Clangers also continues to remain in the hearts of British consumers. Pigment Productions is renewing its license to publish Clangers cards with new designs planned for launch in 2012; Intelex continues to sell the Clangers microwaveable plush with distribution channels strengthened for this Christmas; and Posh Paws continues to market the Clangers plush and gift range with new distribution for this Christmas.
Pocoyo, Grab Your Passport Brand Licensing Europe
Zinkia Entertainment
With Zinkia Entertainment back in charge, Pocoyo looks to new markets. By Bryan Joiner
aria Doolan doesn’t want me to tell you this. “My philosophy,” she says, “is that the countries that are not involved in the U.S./U.K. battle for the dollar/Euro are going to sneak up behind us and do huge business. When people take notice, it will be too late.” Zinkia, the company of which she is managing director of brand & business development, has taken notice. Zinkia is expanding in markets in which she sees explosive future growth: Russia and Turkey. “When we started Pocoyo in Spain, we had a situation where there was a large immigration, and after that there was a baby boom. I go to Russia, and it’s the exact same environment. I can see it and I can feel it’s coming,” she says. The market explosion, should it occur, would amplify the status of any product already on the ground in Russia, a notoriously hard market for foreign properties to break into. That’s exactly what makes it appealing to Zinkia: It’s worth the
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World map image courtesy sxc.hu user “barunpatro.”
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effort. “Even though it’s very difficult, you really need to navigate the local customs and ways of doing business. If you’re able to find the right partners, there’s an amazing opportunity.” The same goes for Turkey, where a third-term government is paving the way for economic growth. It shares a tool with Russia that many European economies lack: the ability to control its currency. It’s different from Russia in that its economic changes are based in a major social change. “In the last five or six years, socially and economically, the landscape has really changed,” Doolan says. Gone is a country resistant to change. In its place is a giant market ready to do battle with the titans of Europe. Opportunity is knocking. Who answers the door? Pocoyo, of course. ••• The announcement came in April: Zinkia and ITV Global Entertainment mutually agreed to end their codistribution deal, giving Zinkia all worldwide licensing rights to the property. Last month, Zinkia signed a new deal with Cake Entertainment for worldwide distribution, excluding Spain, Latin America, the U.S., Italy, China, and Portugal. Let’s Go Pocoyo, season three of the Pocoyo series, debuted at MIPCOM. Zinkia has developed new strategies for Pocoyo after re-acquiring full rights to the brand. As the brand has grown, “we’ve learned so much over the last few years about what we don’t want to do, so we’re far ahead on the learning curve.” With a staff of 80 employees—many of whom are animators—Zinkia is flexible and able to make decisions “on the fly,” says Doolan. These decisions aren’t rushed, or ill-considered though: far from it. Especially when breaking into a new territory, Zinkia is methodical. Every new partner gets complete support, with marketing materials, broadcasters, and toy partners. Everything is long-term. Pocoyo just passed 600 million views on YouTube, and people around the world are logging in at the rate of about 10 million per month. At this rate of growth, expansion to new territories is inevitable. With the clean, easily consumable look and feel of the brand, Pocoyo is ready to roll. So is Doolan, who was “crazy” in preparing for MIPCOM and BLE. These are shows that have the whole world covers, and the whole world is just where Pocoyo wants to be. ••••
“Countries that are not involved in the U.S./UK battle for the dollar/Euro are going to sneak up behind us and do huge business.” —Maria Doolan
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Grani & Partners Brings Worldwide Know-How to London Approximately two years after the decision to systematically approach foreign markets, Grani & Partners, the Italian market leader in the licensed promotional and collectibles sector (premiums, promotional items, gadgets, stickers, cards, etc.), has confirmed its position as the ideal partner for corporate customers and publishers around the world, establishing, at global level, a product quality and concept with proven success. While the Hong Kong branch promotes sales in different areas of the world, including South America, the U.S., Asia, and Australia, the export department recently set up at the Italian Headquarters handles expansion of the customer portfolio in Europe, particularly in the former Yugoslavia/Eastern Europe/Russia area, offering full communication support, with localization of all the packaging and the provisions of dedicated TV advertisements. Full compliance with the highest quality and safety standards, and a membership of the Giochi Preziosi Group, Grani & Partners has launched major operations in various strategic and highly competitive markets throughout the five continents, reporting particularly strong growth in Russia and South America, in both the promotional sector and the newsagent distribution channel. To better coordinate the management of relationships with key suppliers in the Far East, as part of a network of selected manufacturers that guarantees control over the production and quality of the products, Grani & Partners also announced the opening—alongside the Hong Kong and Shenzhen branches—of the newborn Grani & Partners NingBo. Lastly, as far as Italy is concerned, Grani & Partners was chosen a as partner in major loyalty and fidelity operations with high-level mass retail partners.
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Other operations will follow during the next few months concerning the licenses most popular with children and teenagers, which Grani & Partners then aims to implement, in a similar form, in other countries. Grani & Partners counts major national and international companies and groups among its customers, including Agip, Aia, Api-IP, AST Publishing, Autogrill, Chupa Chups, Confitrade, Cremonini Group, DeAgostini Group, Dolci Preziosi, GE Fabbri/Eaglemoss, Granarolo, Kellogg’s Italia, Kraft Foods Italia, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Paluani, Pernigotti, Procter & Gamble, Revlon, Roadhouse Grill, Saiwa, Salati Preziosi, Sammontana, Stonefly, The Continuity Company, Tonno Nostromo, UHU Bostik, Vitakraft, Wal-Cor, Warner Village, and many more. Grani & Partners plans to announce its licensing plan for 2012 at the BLE exhibition. Together with Gormiti, Hello Kitty—for which Grani & Partners classifies as Preferred Premium Supplier for the EMEA countries—will remain the company’s biggest asset, both in Italy and abroad. The license is working well in Russia, where Grani & Partners has already signed agreements with major trading partners. Grani & Partners will continue its efforts in 2012 surrounding the Marvel properties, for both promotional items and the newsagent distribution sector, as well as Dragon Ball, Ben 10, and Animal Planet; more recent licenses such as Virus Attack, Huntik, and Power Rangers Samurai; and also Ferrari, the brand for which the company has obtained a worldwide license for the production of sticker albums, cards, and accompanying gadgets. Grani & Partners and its representatives will be at BLE at the Giochi Preziosi Group stand (E080-E085).
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Hakan Canta Brings Turkish Presence to Brand Licensing
Hakan Canta, one of Europe’s leading producers of licensed goods, is set to return to Brand Licensing Europe after making a successful debut at BLE 2010. Based in Istanbul, Hakan Canta has been producing quality merchandise since 1955 across sectors including back to school (BTS), fashion, travel, and sport. Today the company is the market leader for BTS in Turkey, reaching more than 2,200 points of sale, including all hyper/supermarkets, and its merchandise is also distributed across more than 50 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Hakan Canta’s products are based on a strong range of more than 30 licenses including some of the hottest properties in the world, including Angel & Friends, Barbie, Bakugan, The Amazing Spider-Man, Dora the Explorer, High School Musical, SpongeBob SquarePants, Roary the Racing Car, Tron, and Hello Kitty. Hakan Canta has a strong presence in the sports sector, with licenses for Manchester United and major Turkish clubs Galatasaray, Besiktas, Fenerbahce, and Turanspor. The company is also enjoying great success with a line of merchandise based around the NBA. Hakan Canta has a longstanding relationship with the brand and released an NBA range for this year that features a variety of BTS products based on many different designs, as well as the new NBA 4 Her line, which combines basketball and fashion and taps into basketball’s status as the most popular female team sport in the world. The innovative and striking NBA 4 Her designs recently led to Hakan Canta winning NBA Turkey’s “Best Design 2010 award.”
Hari’s World Is the Elephant in the Room at The Olympia After debuting at BLE 2010, hit children’s brand Hari’s World will once again make an appearance at Brand Licensing Europe. Hari’s World is an exciting and imaginative property that features Hari the Elephant and a cast of other loveable characters. The success of the books has led to the extension into the licensing sector, and Dowman Soft Touch is on board with a plush range based on the characters. The latest title in the book series, Hari at the Park, has just launched, and the publishing program is set to feature 10 books in total. The Hari’s World series and the plush range are currently available in retail outlets across the UK, including gift shops and garden centers. The brand is also proving to be a huge hit in major zoos and animal attractions, and products are currently listed in ZSL London Zoo,
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ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, Bristol Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Drummond Safari Park, and The Deep aquarium in Hull. This presence has been bolstered by special Hari Days, which have seen Hari and friends make appearances to promote the “Play Safe” message. Two Hari Days have already taken place at Drummond Safari Park, while The Deep played host to Hari and friends on August Bank Holiday. Further events are planned for later in the year. Discussions are under way with major High Street retailers who are interested in stocking the products, and Dowman is currently presenting Hari’s World to markets across Western Europe. New licensing opportunities are now being explored in categories such as interactive toys, collectibles, board games, musical products, and interactive games and applications.
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
CPLG and CPLG Sport “Power” Their Way at Brand Licensing CPLG will present its portfolio of entertainment, sports, and design properties at Brand Licensing Europe. Storming back into kids’ consciousness is Power Rangers, with Power Rangers Samurai. The show premiered on Nickelodeon UK in May and became the channel’s No. 1 show in its first week of broadcast. A toy line from Bandai has just been released and will be followed by a range of consumer products including publishing from Parragon, apparel from Blues and TDP Aykroyd, and confectionery from Kinnerton. Costume appearances are also taking place across the UK. The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) is set to hit screens for its third series at the end of September, and a fourth series has already been commissioned. Licensing partners include Sommerbond for nightwear and underwear, FB Beauty for cosmetics and fragrance, Fashion UK for T-shirts and tops, and The Beauty Works for beauty electricals including hair straighteners and tongs. Downtown Abbey’s second season airs beginning in September and will be followed by a Christmas special. A third series is currently in development. CPLG recently announced a direct-to-retail agreement that will see products appearing in Past Times stores across the UK and Ireland for Christmas. For nearly 30 years, the Care Bears have appealed to both preschoolers and parents by teaching valuable lessons in a fun and friendly way. Hasbro and American Greetings are now collaborating on a new Care Bears show for next year. Existing licensees in the UK, including Sert MST for toiletries, Whitehouse Leisure for amusement plush, and Aykroyds TDP and Poetic Gem for apparel, are enjoying success. Where’s Wally launched in 1987, and a host of other titles have followed over the years, with worldwide sales now totaling more than $50 million. This summer saw the release of the first Horrid Henry film. CPLG Sport will showcase several sporting properties at
BLE: RFU, West Ham United, Fulham FC, St Andrews Links, and Engage Super League. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the governing body of Rugby Union in England and is responsible for the England Rugby brand. CPLG Sport has put together an extensive licensing program, which currently includes more than 30 licensees and covers a wide range of categories, including apparel, publishing, gift, toys and games, interactive, and food and drink. RFU has renewed CPLG Sport’s representation agreement beyond the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which will take place in the UK. CPLG Sport has represented West Ham United since 2006. Licensees include Aykroyds/TDP, Danilo, Home Win, Bafiz, Scoredraw, and Grange. Product ranges recently added include personalized stationery and birthday product, souvenir seed gift sets, and toiletries. Fulham FC has enjoyed an unbroken tenure in the top flight of English football since 2001. CPLG Sport has been able to use the club’s prestige and popularity to build up an impressive program, with licensees already on board, including BrandCo. for apparel, Refuel for headwear, Home Win for a core supporter range, and DB Publishing in publishing. St Andrews Links is acknowledged around the world as the Home of Golf. Licensed product categories currently include men’s and women’s apparel, timepieces, writing equipment, golf accessories, video games, golf simulators, and mobile phone apps, with licensees including Montegrappa & Elmo, Brooks Brothers, and EA Sports. CMC Golf Europe Ltd. has secured worldwide rights to produce a range of St Andrews Links-branded golf accessories. CPLG Sport is proud to also represent Engage Super League, World Rally Championship, the Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, French Football Federation, UK Sport, Scotland Football, and the Fédération Equestre Internationale.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Millimages Scores Big with Mouk, Corneil and Bernie
Millimages will be attending BLE with a raft of new properties. Headlining the slate is Mouk, a brand new property that is currently in production for France 5 and Disney. This 62x11’ 2-D animated series is based on Marc Boutavant’s book Around the World with Mouk: A Trail of Adventure, which was first published in France by Albin Michel in 2007 and has now been translated into more than 20 languages around the world. In France, children will discover Mouk on France 5 in late 2011 before the show rolls out internationally in 2012. Top-of-the-range products have been available there since early 2010.
Atomic Soda became the first licensee, producing stationery and gift collections, and Petit Jour is launching kitchenware and crockery collections
available in September in European specialty stores. Millimages’ Corneil and Bernie has proven to be such a major comedy suc-
cess with children ages 6-9 that a second season is now in production. ATM is already a licensee for school bags and fashion accessories, and Alcara will launch charms at Epiphany 2012. The show airs around the globe on the BBC in the UK, ARD & Kika in Germany, ABC in Australia, as well as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon in key international markets. Louie continues to be a key property for Millimages. With three seasons and 117 episodes, Louie already has 10 licensees in France and agents in Europe and Asia. An iPad application has recently launched in June and two special episodes (2x22') are in production.
JELC Fights, Gets Naughty And Grumpy With Top Licenses Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest-growing sport in the world and a hit in studios and gyms worldwide, as British fans will no doubt confirm when the big names of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) come to the UK on November 5 to battle it out at the LG Arena in Birmingham. Retail support is guaranteed in anticipation of the event. The Bamforth Collection, of thousands of memorable (and memorably naughty) postcards, has been licensed in a number of categories since its launch at last year’s BLE, including confectionery, metal signs, greetings cards, men’s T-shirts, boxers, and beer glasses. Grumpy Old Gits has made a transition from best-selling gift line to a new range of categories. Images and one-liners suited for the lovable male grump in everyone’s life have made a successful appearance on Father’s Day socks and pants sold in Tesco, and will be back for Christmas. A new confectionery line, previewed at Autumn Fair International, will be on show at BLE. The core category of cards has
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marched on with a well-received new range from International Greetings for Asda and other major retailers. Barry M is a byword for affordable, high quality, and, most importantly, fun cosmetics for teen and young women. Plans are already advanced to take the Barry M name into such categories as stationery, accessories, electricals, apparel, beach products, eyewear, and phone accessories, with product possibly launching around Spring Fair 2012. New to BLE is the Gemma International creation Gem Fairies. Princesses who touch their gem necklaces transform into Gem Fairies, which were designed in the classic fairy tale mold for the 2-6-year-old girls’ greetings card market. The Fairies were so well received that the range is now being developed into a licensing program. JELC is also working alongside Plain Lazy (stand B078), the hit lifestyle brand inspired by surf, street, skating, music, fashion, and leisure, that has established a strong licensing program in areas as varied as bed linens and backpacks.
Brand Licensing Europe
Mishme Arrives
Ice Water Digital has joined with Mishme Enterprises to forge a unique and marketable publishing and digital product for the global market. Mishme Enterprises was created to deliver next generation digital avatars. It is a subsidiary of NTICED Pty Ltd., the Australian company that developed and distributes Marvin, a 3-D animated avatar and digital storytelling platform. Mishme Enterprises has patents granted around the globe for the use of animated avatars in messaging systems. This covers all social constructs including Twitter, Facebook, iPads, smartphones, VOIP, SMS/MMS, Viber, and Skype. Ice Water Digital, a division of Ice Water Press, has acquired the global publishing license for Mishme animated avatars for use in the publishing arena of print, digital books, and magazines. This opens up an opportunity to create a smooth connection between the physical book and the virtual experience through use of smart devices, discrete readable codes, and a connected device such as a tablet computer or smartphone. The free Mishme app required to download avatar characters will be available through Apple’s App Store and the Android Market. Not only will this take messaging from a textonly based system to delivery of messages using an avatar, it will enable publishers to use the technology to produce innovative book and digital products.
Product Showcase
Universal Gets Despicable—Again
Universal Partnerships & Licensing (UP&L) arrives at BLE with a portfolio of entertainment properties available for licensing, retail, and promotional partnerships. Leading the lineup is summer 2013’s Despicable Me 2. Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team at Illumination Entertainment create an all-new animated adventure featuring Gru, his girls, and his vast army of minions that tells the next chapter in the life of everyone’s favorite (former?) super-villain. Also headlining for Universal will be Snow White and the Huntsman (summer 2012). In the film, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron), who is out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the one girl threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who was dispatched to kill her. In addition, Universal will offer opportunities around its new film titles, 47 Ronin (2012), the epic 3-D fantasy-adventure based on ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, starring Keanu Reeves, and Fast & Furious 6 (summer 2013), the next installment in the global blockbuster franchise built on speed.
Pip the Cat Is Over the Moon with Deals
Pip the Cat will appear at Brand Licensing Europe this year, courtesy of design company Over the Moon Design Ltd. Pip the Cat won “Best Cute Range” at The Henries Awards 2010 and appears regularly in the “What’s Hot” section of Progressive Greetings. The cards are currently available across the UK at Fenwicks and Harrods, as well as on the web via Moonpig.com and www.pipthecat.com. Licensees include Bluebird Brands, which has launched a range of mugs, coasters, purses, wallets, and umbrellas that are set to go on sale through TK Maxx stores nationwide. Alligator has the license for gift bags and boxes, and Raiseprint is producing fridge magnets, metal signs, metal wall clocks, and metal calendars. Shreds is on board for a variety of products aimed at 2-4 year olds, such as aprons, mini tote bags, giftpack melamine sets, and lunchbags. The latest partner to join the program is WW Group, which is set to launch an apparel range that will feature nightwear, outerwear, underwear, and accessories for 2-8-year-old boys and girls, as well as ladies nightwear. Pip the Cat has proved to be a hit in the publishing sector, with the character featured regularly in Sparkle World and Easy Peazy magazines.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Blueprint Collections Gets “Starry”-Eyed
UK licensed stationery and bag specialist Blueprint Collections has recently launched three new collections. These collections include a Jan Constantine line of stationery and tinware, an Emma Bridgewater collection of stationery and bags called Starry Skies, and a Hello Kitty Liberty stationery and bag collection. All three collections have British heritage, with both Jan Constantine and Emma Bridgewater being British designers and the new Hello Kitty Liberty collection being inspired by a collaboration between Sanrio and Liberty Art Fabrics.
MGL Licensing
MGL Licensing, with a brand-new website at www.mgl-uk.com, has a full slate of properties to show off at BLE. Properties include Reilly, Extreme Zombies, Best Furry Friends by Greg Cuddiford, HotFoot, and Marsh Mellow. MGL also handles licensing for artists including Valentina Ramos, Peter Adderley, Bruce Kaiser, and Bill Abbott. MGL works with several agencies around the world, including Cryptic Entertainment, Empire, Euro Lizenzen, Global International Brands, Gorian Consumer Products, Salesworks, The Sharpe Company, Starbright, and Supermarcas.
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Performance Brands
Performance Brands’s key focus for Brand Licensing this year will be Oxford Ltd.; The Scout Association UK, and Ford Motor Company. Performance Brands will be fielding meetings for all its clients (Nintendo, BMW, Aston Martin, Hollywood, and Silver Cross, amongst others) and is looking forward to a busy show with strong representation across all licensing categories and promotions. See Performance Brands at stand No. E055.
TFI Licences Brings Barbapapa to BLE
TF1 Licences is a department of TF1 Enterprises, which is a 100 percent subsidiary of TF1 Group. It is dedicated to the diversification and development of the Group, by licensing key brands derived either from TF1 TV shows (first TV channel in Europe), or from other entertainment properties acquired directly. With more than 20 years of experience in licensing major brands, a strong team, and a general, powerful, and multi-targeted offer, TF1 Licences is a major player of the market, enjoying the trust of many international partners. TF1 Licences manages a portfolio of powerful brands such as MasterChef, Gogo’s Crazy Bones, All Blacks, Octonauts, Chuggington, Dragon Ball Z, The Jungle Book, Babar and the Adventures of Badou, Compagnie de Californie, Ushuaïa, Koh-Lanta, and The Miniavengers. Its activity is divided into two departments: consumer products and promotional licensing. This year, for the first time at Brand Licensing Show Europe, TF1 Licences will present a real European licensing phenomenon, Barbapapa, targeting preschoolers as well as young trendy adults. Barbapapa is one of the major brands managed by TF1 Licences in Europe. This iconic family celebrated a successful 40th anniversary with more than 110 licensees in European countries, not to mention a huge success in Japan.
Brand Licensing Europe
Moomin Magic
Product Showcase
Popcorn the Bear Is Berry Ready for BLE
Visitors to stand B085 at BLE can share in a little Moomin magic. The past year has seen the brand’s already strong presence in the market further boosted in plush, greetings cards, and fashion accessories. There has also been a strong promotional push, both online and at public events. In the past year, Aurora has expanded its Moomin plush range; Hype Associates has made the trolls the stars of a new range of greeting cards; and Disaster Designs has developed a 10-piece Moomin-branded lifestyle collection for young women.
After making its debut at last year’s event, design property Popcorn the Bear will appear again at Brand Licensing Europe. Popcorn the Bear is a kind and gentle soul and everybody’s best friend—he is always ready to help and has a special “magic heart” in his ear that he can press once a day to be granted a wish. He usually uses this wish to help one of his many friends, such as Candyfloss the Ragdoll, Soufflé the Duck, Biscuit the Dog, Fudge the Cat, and Barley the Mouse. A large style guide is in place for the brand, which features all the characters and their home in the little country village of Berryville—the artwork is cute, sentimental, and quintessentially English. European licensing agent for the property is KJG Ltd., and an extensive program is already in place across sectors including greetings, apparel, calendars, plush, craft, jigsaws, rubber stamps, quilting and fabrics, and baby accessories. Licensees include Danilo, Funky Pigeon, Xpressions Gifts, Bobo, Cranston, and Dino Toys.
Supporting activity for the brand has been brisk too, firstly with the successful relaunch of the Moomin Facebook fan site in June. In July, the Moomins were a highlight of Pop Up, a new free, public festival in London celebrating literature and stories. Puffin, publisher of Moomin picture, sticker, activity, board, and novelty books, supplied stories and helped out with coloring sheets, pencils, badges, and postcards. There was also a Moomin picnic, supported by the Embassy of Finland in London. The Moomins have been stars of books, cartoon strips, stage, and screen for over half a century. Caroline Mickler Ltd. is licensing agent for the brand in the UK.
NMSI Enterprises Flies Ahead at BLE
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NMSI Enterprises will release brand new artwork and product designs for all three of the brands it is showing at BLE this year. With the new Science Museum brand launched for AW 2011 and an updated packaging style for core toys and gadgets now filtering through to the High Street for Christmas, NMSI will be showcasing products from new signings: NPW in stationery, John Lewis, and Binary Box for design-led wall stickers. A new brand identity for National Railway Museum will also be shown for the first time at BLE. Directionally, NMSI has been working with Michelle Mason, noted for her 1950s retro styles, to come up with variations on its posters, and her tea towels and mugs will be shown at the stand. NMSI is showing brand new artwork for Flying Scotsman this year. The launch of the official DVD, produced by Go! Entertain, and exclusive versions for Marks and Spencer and WH Smith, will be available this year with others to follow. Flying Scotsman Beer was launched in July.
Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Space Enterprises Gets Busy with The Sooty Show, Monty Python Among the properties Space Enterprises will showcase at BLE will be The Sooty Show. Set to hit UK screens from early September, the 26-part series has been commissioned by ITV and will premiere on weekdays on the CiTV digital channel, with ITV Breakfast (ITV1) on weekend mornings beginning in 2012. The Hive is also part of the Space lineup. This CGI series from The Hive Enterprises, Ltd. is produced by Monumental Productions, Lupus Films, and DQ Entertainment, and follows the fortunes of the Bee family, who live together in Honeybee Hive. The series is showing on ITV1 and Disney Junior in the UK, with BARB figures showing that it is regularly topping the Disney Junior ratings. The Walt Disney Company has also taken satellite rights across EMEA, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, India, and Latin America. This global presence has been extended through Bejuba!, which holds worldwide rights for TV, DVD, and digital distribution on behalf of The Hive Enterprises, and has secured new broadcasting deals with ABC TV Australia, YLE in Finland, and Hop in Israel. New DVD deals by Bejuba! will see a Russian language version distributed by Noviy Disk in Russia, Georgia, and CIS, while Magna Home Entertainment will undertake distribution of the English version across Australia and New Zealand. A burgeoning licensing program is in place for the brand, with Aykroyds TDP on board for nightwear/underwear, Blues Clothing for children’s apparel, EMI for music publishing, and ITV for DVDs. Space will also show Monty Python, one of the biggest comedy brands in the world. The brand has proven popular with licensees and partners including Pyramid for posters, Danilo for sound cards, Underground Toys, Ltd. for voice key
chains, and Moonpig.com for greetings, while re:creation is on board as master toy licensee. A strong digital presence is also in place: Zattikka has developed a new Facebook game, The Ministry of Silly Games, and Zed is on board for mobile content. Space has launched an official Monty Python e-commerce site at www.deadparrotshop.com, where fans can find Python merchandise, including products not yet available at retail, and follow links to all Python licensees. Closely connected to the Python brand is Spamalot, the smash-hit musical “lovingly ripped off” from classic comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The original 2005 Broadway production won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Director, and the show has since transferred to theatres across the world. In the UK, after a successful run in the West End, the show recently completed a 400-date nationwide tour, and that is set to resume for a further 200dates in December. Space has designed T-shirts and other merchandise connected to the show and is responsible for running concession stands at the venues. Another property represented by Space is Little Britain. Space also represents Lucas and Walliams’ latest creation: Come Fly with Me, the new airport-set show which proved a big hit when first screened on BBC1 at Christmastime, recording viewing figures so large that it became the highest rated new comedy launch in 10 years. A second batch of episodes was quickly commissioned, and the show is expected to return later this year. A string of licensing deals have been signed for the property, with re:creation on board for gifts, mugs, fridge magnets, bottle openers, and dolls; Danilo for cards and calendars; Smiffy’s for dress-up; and Zattikka for smartphone apps.
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Brand Licensing Europe
Product Showcase
Ignition Licensing Rocks Out with Fraggles, Many, Many More Fraggle Rock is a great retro brand that is still rocking its heart out with 25 years of classic history and zany, funky characters. Manhattan Toy Company, the worldwide plush partner for the brand, has been steadily growing distribution through the UK and in France. The new range of 5-inch “Bobblehead” plush, which launched earlier this year, features Red, Gobo, and Wembley. The greeting card lines from Hype have now extended as regular lines in Paperchase and Waterstones, and Loud Clothing is in the throes of launching a new range of music-inspired tees, picking up on key phrases from the series. Big Cook Little Cook features two presenters, Big Cook and Little Cook. They create an environment where storytelling, humor, singing, and guest visits of fantasy characters all lead to a new food learning experience for kids to try out at home. Licensed products will tap into the traditional preschool market, as well as practical funky ranges of branded kitchen equipment and accessories. The Tracey Russell brand is one of endless charm, and the real pleasure lies in receiving a piece of her handmade art, whether it’s a greeting card or one of her embellished prints. Her current product range consists of greetings cards, photo albums, keepsake boxes, social stationery, wrapping paper, and prints. Ignition has recently appointed Jarrold Calendars for dated stationery and Widdop Bingham, which will produce a whole new range of Tracey Russell gifts for this spring. Proposals are also on the table for advent calendars for Christmas 2012, as well as gift wrap and tags and bags launching next spring/summer. BLE 2011 sees the official licensing launch of Tracey Russell Designs. Marzipan is a successful greeting card brand sold up and down the High Street, featuring larger-than-life characters in both their classic and toy box ranges. Robert Frederick, who came on board at the end of 2010,
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is already expanding its successful paper products line, moving on to dated stationery, melamine, coloring and activity books, jigsaws, and stacking blocks for launch in the spring. Jessie Steele is the market leader in fashionable aprons in the U.S. Created in 2002 by mother-and-daughter team Helena & Claire Steele, the company was created when Helena saw the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the apron as an accessory, a fashion piece, and a positive statement. With new inhouse collections launching every season, these prints are now licensed internationally, including Ignition Licensing in the UK. Precious Moments, the iconic American brand launched in the 1970s, is all about “heartfelt emotions and messages of love, caring, and sharing.” Having expanded out of its North American heartland in 2000 to encompass South and Central America and Southeast Asia via sub agents, it now has more than 100 licensees worldwide and is worth $350 million in annual sales at retail. Izak Zenou, a fashion designer turned illustrator, brings a timeless feel to capturing the essence of everyday women. His international client base has included stylish window dressing for La Samaritaine in Paris and for the past 10 years, Henri Bendel in New York, where its windows are adorned with Zenou’s engaging scenes of both Parisian and American fashion and style. The Juicy Lucy fairies are on the case to show everyone how to get the fab fairy look with the launch of their new “Look Book.” The brand has seen increased High Street exposure over the past six months from the collections of everyday birthday and occasions cards, which launched in WH Smith & Asda earlier this year, as well as Sainsburys, which continues to stock greetings cards and a range of everyday gifting that has been in 130 stores since August 2010.
The Voice Reaching Both Trade and Consumers
CONTACT: JONATHAN SAMET OR LAURIE SCHACHT ADVENTURE PUBLISHING GROUP 307 7TH AVENUE, SUITE 1601 NEW YORK, NY 10001 TEL: 212-575-4510 FAX: 212-575-4521 WWW.ADVENTUREPUB.COM
LICENSINGBOOK’s THE
Tribute to Rock & Roll Music brings people together, and no type of music brings people together quite like Rock & Roll. In The Licensing Book’s firstever Tribute to Rock & Roll, we look at how the genre has led to a licensing bonanza for classic acts like The Beatles and Elvis Presley to modern acts including Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga. It’s not just bands, too: manufacturers like Fender are getting in on the act with licensed products (pictured).Want to know more? Turn the page, and turn up the volume.
Fender Musical Instruments
The Sound of Licensing Fender is world-renowned for its electric guitars, but the company is much more than that. Licensed phones and sound systems show the range of this venerable brand. By Bryan Joiner
rom Jimi Hendrix to Billy Corgan, Eric Clapton to Jeff Beck, rock’s greatest guitarists have used Fender to change the way we hear music. Mark Van Fleet, senior vice president of business development for Fender Musical Instruments, tells us how the company is expanding into the licensing products arena; not just on your shirt, but on your phone and in your car.
F
Fender Premium Audio brings the classic Fender sound to cars.
The Lice nsin g Bo o k: What’s the status of the Fender licensing program? Mark Van Fleet: We’ve been at it for a few years now, but
we’ve been pretty selective in the categories we’ve gone into in. When we pursue a licensing partner, we want to make sure it’s a good fit—that it’s a genuine product, that it’s quality, and that we’re happy with it. We’re on our way. We didn’t start off going real fast and real deep in terms of territories and categories, but we’re looking to expand a little bit now and we feel we’ve got some good experience, history, and momentum on our side.
T LB: What lessons have you learned to this point? MV F: The biggest lesson is that we want to make sure
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Fender Musical Instruments taking the Fender name and putting it on a mobile device. We worked with them to create unique features for that particular mobile device. We added content of Fender artists and applications like guitar tuners that were Fender-centric.
Fender sterling silver licensed volume and tone control cufflinks from King Baby.
when we have a licensed product, it’s genuine to the brand. It’s not something that feels contrived or forced. It makes sense to be in that category. It makes sense to have the quality of the product that’s associated with the brand. Our consumers expect certain things; take the Fender Premium Audio program that we’re doing for vehicles, for example. To us, that’s a logical extension, because our history is rooted in sound and sound amplification with guitar/bass amplifiers.
“We’re trying to do what Apple did.They used to be Apple computers. No one calls them Apple computers any more.” —Mark Van Fleet TL B: How will the program expand? M V F : We’re really looking for a lot of categories where the lifestyle concept makes sense. Some of the recent things we’ve done, some of the miniature guitars—you could maybe put them in the toy category— are more collectibles or miniature versions of our guitars and amplifiers. We’ve done some things with the high-quality metal signs that people put in their rooms and their houses, for example, to decorate with our imagery. Two to three years ago we did a deal with T-Mobile for a mobile device that was Fenderbranded. The interesting thing is that it wasn’t just
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T LB : What has the Rock Band partnership done for you? MV F: What it has done is expose our brand to a lot of non-musician consumers. We have tremendous brand recognition in our industry, which is the musical instrument industry, so if you’re a musician, you’ve probably heard about our brand and know our brand very well. Outside of our industry, for music enthusiasts, people who enjoy music but don’t necessarily play an instrument, I think it has helped expose our brand to consumers where they realize that this is a fun, active experience. They have the experience of being a musician and being a rock star without having to learn to play any instrument. TL B: What’s new this year? Next year? Are there specific areas where you are looking for partners? MVF: One big goal is international expansion. We’ve focused a lot here in the States, and we are a global brand. We have a huge presence in Asia, with Japan in particular, and China, like it is for most companies, is an emerging market and important market for us. In Europe, we have a wonderful brand position so we’d like to see expansion internationally.
TL B: Anything else? M V F : Sometimes people who are not musicians, when they hear Fender they think of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton and Fender guitars. What we’re trying to do now is what Apple did. They used to be Apple computers. No one calls them Apple computers anymore. It’s Apple, because they are innovative in consumer products. We are the best-selling brand in guitars, and that’s great and I hope will always be the case, but we’re so much more than that. When people hear the difference in the products that we make, it’s all about their experience with music. And when people hear Fender I want them to think of all music—not just guitars. ••••
Elvis Presley Enterprises
The King’s Reach From Memphis to Georgia—the country—Elvis still reigns, 35 years after his death. By Bryan Joiner
The King will get animated with a licensed comic book release from Liquid Comics.
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On Wednesday, August 15, 2012, people from around the world will gather in Memphis, Tennessee, for an annual ritual fit for a king: a candlelight vigil. The ceremony will fall in the middle of Elvis Week, where fans of Elvis Presley celebrate his life and music in and around Graceland. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Presley’s death at age 42, and Scott Williams, vice president of marketing and media for Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), estimates that the 35th anniversary should draw up to 75,000 people for Elvis week, up from the normal 30,000. To that end, EPE will create special “35” branding for licensed products commemorating the occasion. As always with Elvis, though, there’s a lot more. New licensing deals has Elvismania taking to the seas, the sky, the page, Eastern Europe, and televisions across the world. The 35th anniversary year will kick off with an old favorite: the fifth annual Elvis Cruise, from Jacksonville, Florida, to the Bahamas, from January 12 to 16. It’s four days of all Elvis, all the time. Back on land, Viva Elvis Cirque du Soleil is retooling for a late winter 2012 opening at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Across the pond, they’re waiting for Elvis Presley in Concert (EPIC). EPIC isolates Elvis’s voice from old recordings, and live musicians perform on stage with The King. The show toured Europe two years ago and sold out the 20,000-seat O2 arena in London. “It’s definitely a big part of our cel-
Fall 2011
ebration,” Williams says. Also in the United Kingdom, “Elvis & Us,” an exhibit about The Beatles and Presley, is currently on display at The Beatles Museum in Liverpool. Jumping to Eastern Europe and Asia, Elvis is coming to American-style diners in Albania, Serbia, Georgia, Turkey, and Russia under license by EAD International Group, and have already opened in Georgia’s national philharmonic building and on Tblisi’s main avenue. “In Russia and the former communist areas, they didn’t experience the ‘50s and ‘60s, so they’re really eager for opportunities like this,” Williams says. For its part, Elvis Presley Enterprises has long been interested in transforming Elvis into a comic book hero, and they’re getting their wish. Liquid Comics will produce a series of books hitting stores next year. Additionally, Thomas Kincade is coming out with a new Elvis piece, and Fender is releasing a version of the Elvis Kingman guitar that he used in the movie Clambake. How has Elvis remained so popular? Well, by being Elvis. And it turns out Elvis is really popular online. He’s got nearly five million Facebook friends and the Elvis website www.elvis.com posts three to five new stories per day, which allows people to comment on stories and find each other, Williams says. Finally, the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest is licensed by Elvis Presley Enterprises, and this year the 35 regional winners (from around the globe) will descend on Graceland during Elvis Week to vie for the title of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute. Not only that, Williams says there has been an uptick in Elvis-licensed music for commercials worldwide, with nine countries including Greece and Chile. That’s a lot to process, but if anyone can do it, it’s The King. Tens of thousands will hold a candle for the man, but no one can hold a candle to him.
Licensee Lookout: Vandor
Licenses That Rock
Vandor’s Stacey Dobkins, vice president of licensing and marketing, tells us how the company keeps classic rock contemporary for consumers. By Melissa Tinklepaugh
Top photo: Elvis Presley 13.5-inch Cordless Wood Wall Clock.
The Licensing Book: What new licenses is Vandor working on for the next year? Stacey Dobkins: We have a great roster with The Beatles, Elvis, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones. We added a deal with Live Nation for KISS, Ozzy Osbourne, U2, Aerosmith, and some other classic rock bands. We also added Jimi Hendrix this year, and in 2012, we’ll be adding the Grateful Dead. We’re really excited about that. With all those different kinds of bands, we’ve covered all of classic rock in all its forms.
TLB: Do the products span all categories, or for some artists, do you go more niche for the products? SD: Classic rock does really well for us with dads and grads, and back to school, back to college, then also for Christmas gifting. We look at things that make great gifts for those kinds of occasions. That could also be things that align with Vandor’s core strength, like drinkware, mugs, glassware, water bottles, barware, and some home décor stuff like clocks and fleece throws.
Right photo: Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” 12-oz. Ceramic Mug.
TLB: Who is your target audience? SD: We want recognition with our licenses that span generations—like I know it, my teenager might know it, my parents might know it: kind of a threegeneration rule. We’re looking for properties that
stand the test of time, so we don’t really have a narrow demographic.
TLB: Have you noticed any trends in categories that sell more, whether people prefer collectibles or functional items, such as drinkware? SD: Whereas we used to see a big demand for highend products like a limited-edition Yellow Submarine collector cookie jar, we’ve seen a shift in terms of what things people spend money on. They want function. They want moderately priced items. They definitely want it if there’s a green component to it. That’s why we do such strong business with our ceramic coffee mugs, travel mugs, water bottles— things that have a nice functional quality to them.
TLB: Have you noticed any other trends in music merchandising for these rock brands? SD: They’re definitely on the uptick. Many retailers are struggling to replace music sales. Where people used to be buying CDs, they’re downloading and doing everything online or digitally, and it’s just a very different market in terms of where revenue is coming from for traditional music retailers and anybody who was in that business or touched by it. There is definitely more of a demand for products and licensed merchandise to fill that gap and grow into new types of opportunities for the music industry in general. We’re definitely seeing an increase in demand for our kinds of products, hardlines, because they’re not getting those sales off of music like they did in the past.
Fall 2011
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Licensor Profiles
Rolling Stone Magazine Debuts Licensing Program
Rolling Stone magazine is launching a new licensing program in four main categories: musical instruments, audio supplies, a wine club, and an apparel line from Dolce & Gabbana. That’s a wide range of categories, and that’s just the beginning, but Randy Klein, vice president of licensing, believes Rolling Stone has the chops to pull it off. “We all know what Rolling Stone means,” Klein says. “It’s the authority of music, but to many people it’s all about politics, pop culture, and lifestyles. That’s why we’re getting these licensees in different categories.” The brand has been around, Klein notes, for more than 40 years. So why is now the right time to expand? “Magazines in general are suffering with everything going digital. They’re all looking to reinvent themselves. Rolling Stone is no exception to that. It will always be around as a magazine, but it will now be a magazine with other things happening around it.”
Live Nation Merchandise
Live Nation Merchandise (LNM) is the music industry’s preeminent licensing and branding company, representing more than 100 top musical artists and bands including The Beatles, John Lennon, AC/DC, KISS, Aerosmith, The Who, Ozzy Osbourne, Nirvana, Sublime, Deadmou5, and The Sex Pistols. LNM crafts each program directly with the clients to reflect their collective personality for products, price points, manufacturers, and distribution. Each is a valuable brand that must be protected and not tarnished, while offering fans the opportunity to participate in the artist experience. The team at LNM creates and executes programs capturing the spirit of that musical artist with everything from tops, fashion brands, accessories, fan appreciation merchandise, or limited-edition collectibles. One of the most comprehensive programs for LNM was the release of the remastered Beatles original albums. This happened simultaneously with the release of Beatles Rock Band and required working closely with Apple records, EMI/Capitol, Electronic Arts, and Harmonix/MTV.
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The positioning for the brand will vary by category. The music line will feature plug ‘n play instruments, while the Dolce & Gabbana apparel line will be decidedly high-end. Apparel is the focus of the program, and it’s a tight focus to start. Klein says it’s unlikely that the program will have 50 or 100 licenses, or expand into fringe apparel items like lounge pants or boxers. The musical instruments, from Kidstation, will hit retail in Q4, while the audio supplies program, with Bigger Audio, will be in Best Buy and Target in Q1 of 2012. The wine club deal is through Mendocino Wine Co.—part of a collection that includes the Grateful Dead, Woodstock, and Dark Side of the Moon, titled “Wines that Rock”—and is launching soon, while the Dolce & Gabbana line will launch with Rolling Stone tank tops and T-shirts from fall 2012 through spring 2013.
Bravado Signs New Artists
Bravado, a global music merchandising company and division of Universal Music Group, recently signed several new artists for merchandising rights, including Florence and the Machine, Incubus, Jimi Hendrix, ZZ Top, Hot Chelle Rae, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Far East Movement, Jessie J, Josh Grobin, Matthew Morrison, Super Heavy, Javier Colon, Il Volo, American Idol Tour, and So You Think You Can Dance Tour. Bravado announced a new venture earlier this year with Music Entertainment Sports Holdings (MESH), a division of LF USA, to create multi-department contemporary lifestyle brands inspired by the powerful connection between music and fashion. The venture develops, markets, and distributes collections based on the brands of today’s top musical acts. The partnership combines LF USA’s strength in building global brands supported by its global sourcing network and distribution resources, MESH’s expertise in creative design and fashion opportunities, and Bravado’s renowned licensing prowess and world-class roster of superstar artists.
The Wildflower Group
Licensing the House of Legends The principal of The Wildflower Group talks Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Licensing. By Bryan Joiner T he L i c e ns i n g B oo k: You’re just starting this program. How did it come about? Mi chael Carl isle: Last year at Licensing Show they were looking for an agency. They were looking for groups that had experience with non-profits. They felt the properties we had worked with made us a good fit.
The licensing program for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is more than 20 years in the making
TL B: What drew you to the program? MC: We love music and rock ‘n roll, and that the museum itself, the history of it, is iconic. Music, in terms of merchandising, is a constant. There’s a very interesting thing happening with younger kids— they’re really getting into classic rock and rock from our generation, through the Internet and video games. From a merchandising standpoint it is very interesting, in that the demographics that are interested in the Rock and Roll HOF and the musicians obviously speak to an older demo, because they grew up with a lot of the bands, musicians, and artists, but they grew up with a younger demo that’s getting into that at a much earlier age through the multiple touchpoints in society today.
TL B: What stage is the program at? MC: We’re developing a lot of artwork that was used by licensees, and we’re really focusing on key categories, apparel being one of them, instruments—real and educational for kids—being a big opportunity. We see publishing being an instrumental category, and we’re also looking at retail, the type of retailers we want to be in, and where we want to put the brand.
T L B: What sectors of retail are you looking at? M C : We are looking at several different demographics, so if you’re looking at toy instruments, the mass market’s going to be important. Some of the categories that target a different demo have us looking at little higher: We see mid-tier as being a very good home for some of the product categories. T L B: Do you have a time frame you see this rolling out along? MC: We’d love to have some stuff come out in ’12, but because retail is in the midst of ’12, we’’ll probably see the bulk of the program in ’13.
T L B : How are you looking to use the Internet to your advantage? M C: We’re looking at what we can do to use the Rock and Roll HOF almost as a type of catalog. It speaks to such a wide range, and taking what the museum actually represents and putting that into several different categories, specifically in the digital world, we see that being very interesting. What we think is really interesting and going to develop over time is just how the Rock and Roll HOF just speaks to so many demographics. From a merchandising standpoint, it’s a lot of fun, because we can go into so many areas and speak to so many people. People always come back to music. It’s a mainstay of our culture.
T L B: It must be a fun brand to work with. M C: There’s just so much history and so much interesting stuff. We can’t use what’s in the museum, but the history is just amazing. From our standpoint, being creative will play a big part in it and seeing where it can go. I foresee a lot of non-traditional categories developing.
Fall 2011
63
James Kipling
Of Counsel
Dealing with, and Accounting for, Deadlines In Licensing Agreements Licensing 101, Part 62 (This article is the 62nd in a series devoted to the documentation of the
licly displayed long before the first available for viewing of the associated
licensing relationship and elements of a typical license agreement.)
motion picture or TV series, the production arm of the studio may feel that
S pe c i f i e d D ea d l i n e s f o r L i c e ns e e s
novel visual characteristics or story line elements of the entertainment could
Licensors frequently include in their license agreements specific dates
be prejudiced and lose luster. On the other hand, if licensed articles first hit
by which the licensed articles must be marketed. The objective is to insure
the shelves well after the entertainment premieres, initial excitement may
that the licensee will actually move forward to exploit the property and can-
already have waned and sales of the products (and resulting royalties) could
not merely “sit on its rights” and suppress the property.
suffer as a result.
A clearly drafted license agreement might include milestone dates by which the licensee is required to do the following: •
Hence the quandary that many licensors and licensees feel when licensed articles embody new entertainment properties,
Commence showing final prototypes to retailers
and often their interests can be directly at odds. To
and/or taking orders for specified delivery,
ensure consistent expectations, the parties should con-
•
Commence commercial production,
sider clarifying these matters—although the licensee
•
Ship products for retail sale,
could much prefer to leave the entire subject vague.
•
Have commercial quantities on display
“ Us e I t o r L o se It ”
for sale at retail stores, and/or
Another aspect of specifying deadlines is a clear
•
Accomplish such retail availability on a
mutual understanding of the impact if deadlines are
national or international basis.
missed. The most common effect of missing a deadline
If a license agreement grants multiple categories of
for introduction is a loss of some of the licensee’s rights.
licensed articles, do all categories have the same deadlines, or is a sequen-
If the license agreement includes a grant of rights to several categories of
tial roll-out contemplated? Unless the agreement specifies what activities
licensed articles, what is the effect of missing a deadline for some but not
the stated deadline(s) refer to in this sequence and to which products they
others? For example, if rights were granted for timepieces, including table
pertain, it may be difficult to determine whether the licensee has met its
clocks and wrist watches, will rights to clocks be lost if only watches are
requirement(s).
compliant with the deadline?
W i n d o w o f O p p o r tu n i ty
Similarly, if deadlines are stated by category rather than by individual
Particularly in the context of a new theatrical release or television pre-
product, there may be an issue whether an entire category is lost for such
miere, the licensor may be just as concerned that licensed articles could
failure, or whether shipping a certain category is lost for such failure, or
appear at retail too early as that they arrive too late. If the products are pub-
whether shipping a certain number of SKUs protects an entire category. In
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Fall 2011
the above example, if only a single watch meets the deadline, might all
are entirely beyond the licensor’s control—despite the certainty invariably
clocks and all other types of watches be forfeit by the licensee?
expressed throughout the pitch materials that have been presented to the
Many standard licensor-issued agreements can go further and make
licensee. “We don’t own the network!” “That’s in the control of the theater
missing such dates a basis for termination of the entire agreement as well
chain!” “Don’t you trust us? We have an impeccable record of blah blah blah
as the basis for a claim of monetary damages.
and blah.”
This is yet another one of the fine points
Suggestion:
Even
though
the
that can lead to dispute if not specifically
licensee still would prefer that the licensor
addressed during negotiation. Clarifications
actually live up to the glowing representa-
prior to execution of a license agreement are
tions made in the pitch material, how
resolved more easily (and much more cheaply!)
about revising the agreement to create
than disagreements which arise after the
automatic adjustments to some of the
agreement has been put into effect and each
licensee’s obligations to the degree that
side is expending resources against it.
the licensor’s actual performance falls
P e n a lt y C l a u se s ? Even if termination and a claim for damages is not written into the terms, many agreements involving multiple categories of licensed articles allocate
short? Of course, for these adjustments to alleviate the licensee’s pain effectively, they may require that the licensor be willing to make meaningful concessions.
portions of the minimum royalty guarantee to each such category. In the
A potential licensee’s creative proposals in this regard during the nego-
event that the agreement provides for reversion of rights to product cate-
tiation can offer at least two salutary results: First, the proposals actually
gories not used by their respective deadlines, the licensee may be in a posi-
may lead to beneficial concessions; second, if the proposals are met with
tion to forfeit that portion of the guarantee associated with the product
total intransigence, they may betray the licensor’s lack of confidence in what
categories that revert to the licensor. Whether this is a reasonable result
it is selling. Occurring prior to execution of the agreement, this latter may
depends on one’s point of view.
be even more valuable to the potential licensee than the former.
Licensors would argue that they have been deprived of the opportunity
C on c l u s i o n
to generate revenue from the categories not exploited by the licensee, and
Regardless of one’s viewpoint, it is easy to see that this is another area
that it may be too late to secure a replacement manufacturer. Licensees
in which opinions of the parties should be aired and resolved on a negoti-
would argue that reversion of the categories not exploited should be suffi-
ated basis rather than awaiting a potential disruption of an ongoing business
cient punishment since the licensee remains responsible for the total min-
relationship, or worse, litigation.
imum royalty guarantee and has fewer products against which to attempt to recoup it. S pe c i f i e d C r i te r i a f o r L i c e ns o r s ? In contrast to the above matters about which licensors often insist upon rigorous detail, a remarkable transformation can occur if the licensee sug-
James Kipling is a veteran of more than 20 years representing licensors and licensees in negotiating entertainment, sports, artwork, brand, invention, and technology agreements. He is Of Counsel with Wood, Herron & Evans LLP in Cincinnati, Ohio, and can be
gests supplementing the licensor’s standard form agreement—which may
reached at (513) 241-2324, jkipling@whepatent.com.
be strangely silent on the subject—with deadlines for national release of
Copyright: ©2011 James M. Kipling
the motion picture or the broadcast premiere of the TV series on which the
All rights reserved.
license agreement may be based. Those suddenly can become matters that
Images courtesy sxc.hu users “pdsimao” and “shho.”
Fall 2011
65
Directory of Properties, Products and Services
THE LICENSING BOOK, Fall 2011 “THE LICENSING BOOK” (ISSN-0741-0107) is published bi-monthly, except for the June issue, by Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.®, 307 Seventh Ave., Room 1601, New York, New York, 10001. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY 10001 and additional mailing offices. © 2011 Adventure Publishing Group, Inc ®. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in U.S.A. Subscription rates: $48 per year. THE LICENSING BOOK, THE LICENSING BOOK INTERNATIONAL, WORLDWIDE LICENSING and the “WLE” design, are trademarks and service marks of Adventure Publishing Group, Inc.® registered in the United States Patent & Trademark Office Postmaster: Send address changes to THE LICENSING BOOK, c/o Adventure Publishing Group, PO Box 47703 Plymouth, MN 55447.
Adventure Publishing Group ................................................55 Atlantyca Entertainment.......................................................35 BBC Worldwide ................................................................1, 2 CBS ...................................................................................31 Fender ...............................................................................67 Gateway Licensing..............................................................66 GM Licensing .....................................................................66 Harris-Sachs.......................................................................66 iTV Studios .........................................................................37 M&Ms................................................................................45 Moshi Monsters ............................................................11, 13 Nickelodeon.....................................................................6, 7
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Saban Brands...................................................................4, 5 Sakar...................................................................................9 Sesame Workshop ..............................................................29 Skechers ............................................................................41 Sony ..................................................................................25 Sun-Mate Corporation.........................................................51 Suzy’s Zoo..........................................................................27 Toy Industry Association ......................................................59 Trau & Loevner ...................................................................66 Warner Bros. Consumer Products .........................................68 Zinkia Entertainment ...........................................................11