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D ep ar tm en ts 6 Editor’s Point 8 News Secret Millionaire’s Club makes the leap to TV. 10 Stat Shot Check out the top video game and app titles. 12 LIMA: Good Practices Tips for complying with licensors’ codes of conduct 20 Another 1-Up: Classic Games Keep on Scrolling Yesterday’s video game heroes are keeping up with technology and selling consumer products. 40 TV & Toys: The Best Marriage Ever When toys and kids’ TV first paired up, it sparked controversy. Were these shows just 30-minute commercials targeting kids? 42 For the Love of Art Precious Moments loves art so much it’s become an art licensing agent. With 30 years of industry experience, it’s sure to succeed.
VOLUME 29, NUMBER 2
Features
16 Apps Get Physical
App games are the latest source for entertainment licensing. With the number of smartphone and tablet users growing at a rapid rate, the level of awareness for the top app properties is undeniable. The audience, which spans the globe, consists of men and women, boys and girls. The possibilities are limitless.
Spring 2012
22 Video Games Power Up
Though the video game industry raked in $16 billion last year, it still experienced a 2 percent decline in sales. As a way to win over consumers, game publishers license their properties across consumer products, strategizing to turn a game into a longlasting entertainment franchise.
32 Laughing All the Way to the Bank
Social Media might be “all the rage,” but a recent survey indicates that 58 percent of people would give up Facebook, Twitter, and the like over their TVs. Licensors and licensees are taking notice, and when turning to TV licensing, many are seeing the benefits of choosing comedies.
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44 SURTEX 2012 A look at SURTEX 2012 and what attendees can expect at this year’s show 46 Social Media Andy Marken explains why social media is a must for brands, and how simple video clips can make a positive impact on consumers. 48 Of Counsel James Kipling discusses what licensees should consider when negotiating the Common Marketing Fund with licensors. 50 Directory “THE LICENSING BOOK” (ISSN-0741-0107) is published quarterly, 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. © 2012 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.
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EDITOR’S POINT
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ADVENTURE PUBLISHING GROUP INC.® Vol. 29, No. 2, Spring 2012 Big screens, small screens, mobile screens, tablets—licensed properties are coming from every direction, and from all kinds of entertainment, with mobile apps being the latest buzz. Angry Birds has blasted into the social consciousness of adults and kids alike with physical products ranging from the standard apparel and plush toys to oral care and gardening items. The success of this property has lead to the launch of a number of other app properties that are hoping for even a taste of the success Angry Birds has seen. One of the most significant differences between app licensing and more traditional entertainment licensing is the marketing strategy—it’s almost non-existent for most app properties, and yet the hundreds of thousands of consumers tapping their screens to fling birds, cut ropes, and karate chop fruit cannot be ignored. Check out the article on page 16 for more on app licensing. Video game licensing has also been expanding, even as the video game category itself is down 2 percent year over year. While Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog are no strangers to licensing, more mature titles are infiltrating a number of categories, from collectibles to building sets. Franchises such as Mass Effect, Call of Duty, and Halo continue to
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expand with new games and new content, as well as new consumer products partnerships. Turn to page 22 to see what’s new in video game licensing. Also check out page 20 for a flashback—retro video game properties are making a splash with the generation that played the games the first time around, and with their kids. TV properties have always been a go-to category for entertainment licensing. Check out the article on page 40 for a refresher course on how Saturday morning cartoons first paired with toys in the ’60s to a swath of controversy, followed by the explosion of the toy-TV category in the ’80s. We also explore what’s new in TV licensing today, beginning with an article on comedies, and how funny shows can lead to funny products that consumers want (page 32). For those of you who are familiar with The Licensing Book’s sister publication, The Toy Book, you may recognize me, and wonder why I’m filling this space. I’m also now the editorial director of The Licensing Book. If there’s anything you’d like to see more of in this magazine, or if you have any suggestions, news, or information you’d like to share with us, don’t hesitate to reach out to me: jbreyer@toybook.com (that’s right, I’m keeping the same email address). ••••
President/Co-Publisher Laurie Schacht laurieschacht@aol.com
Co-Publisher Jonathan Samet jsamet@adventurepub.com
Editorial Director Jackie Breyer jbreyer@toybook.com
Associate Editor Elizabeth A. Reid ereid@toybook.com
Associate Editor Melissa Tinklepaugh mtinklepaugh@licensingbook.com
Editorial Assistant Leah Rocketto lrocketto@adventurepub.com
Production Director Anthony K. Guardiola aguardiola@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 TELEVISION
Secret Millionaire’s Club Makes the Leap to TV
Secret Millionaire’s Club, an animated series for kids ages 7 to 11, was created by A Squared Elxsi Entertainment in partnership with Warren Buffett to teach kids about business and how the world around them works. Based on the success of the show’s webisodes, a national “Learn and Earn” in-school program, the “Grow Your Own Business Challenge,” and its television broadcast special, A2E2 is now bringing 26 new episodes to television. Some of the television episodes will feature guests such as Shaquille O’Neal (who helps mentor a young girl facing a decision between pursuing basketball or an education), Nick Cannon, and Serena Williams, among others. Buffett, who voices his own animated character in Secret Millionaire’s Club, also provides valuable tips on the SMC website. The “Learn and Earn” promotion, sponsored by CreditReport.com, was offered to kids in more than 100,000 U.S. schools, as well as numerous youth organizations, including Junior Achievement, 4H, Girls Inc., and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Thousands of kids have entered the “Grow Your Own Business” Challenge, submitting ideas for their own entrepreneurial endeavors for the chance to win $5,000 and an opportunity to present their business ideas to Buffett himself. Designed for kids ages 7 to 11, the company is headed to Licensing International Expo looking for partners to support the property as it expands into traditional broadcast. “We launched this brand online over a year ago, and have since been in dialogue with kids and parents to learn what resonates with them,” says Amy Moynihan Heyward, co-president of A2E2. “The TV series is a result of that dialogue. The online series led to the development of the TV series. We recently returned from MIPTV, where we heard from broadcasters all over the world that this is a topic of global interest and relevance.”
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LICENSING AGENCY
CopCorp and TK Brand Group Form Knockout Licensing CopCorp Licensing and TK Brand Group have formed Knockout Licensing, a full-service licensing agency for big-name brands. The new agency is a joint venture, with Carole Postal, president of CopCorp, and Tamra Knepfer, president of TK Brand Group, as co-presidents of Knockout Licensing. CopCorp and TK Brand Group will continue to maintain independent agencies and support their respective clients. Knockout has named its first client for global licensing, Boo: The World's Cutest Dog. Chronicle Books released Boo: The Life of the World's Cutest Dog, and plans to release Boo's second book, Little Dog in the Big City, this summer as well as a 2013 calendar. Plush by Gund is already hitting retail, with additional items in development. Knockout is in discussions with domestic licensees, manufacturers, and other potential partners regarding licensing and representation overseas.
TV LICENSING
Classic Media Secures Partners for Masters of the Universe Mattel and Classic Media have signed new consumer products partners for Masters of the Universe, including DC Entertainment (comics and graphic novels), New Era Cap Co. (headwear), and Skinit (electronic skins and cases). Novelty items will be produced by Funko (bobbleheads and Pop! vinyl figures), Icon Heroes (miniature environments and desk accessories), PopFun (glassware and decorative refrigerator magnets), and Mixo (collectible paper figures). The new Masters of the Universe program will hit retail timed to the brand's 30th anniversary, which commences this fall. These new licensees join previously announced Masters of the Universe partners, including Mill Creek (home entertainment), Changes (apparel), and Disguise (costumes).
TV LICENSING
BRAND LICENSING
Art Impressions to Launch So So Happy Products at Toys “R” Us
Rubie’s Costume Co. Signs On for The Simpsons Fox Consumer Products EMEA (FCP) has formed a pan-European licensing partnership with Rubie's Costume Co. for an adult costume range for The Simpsons. The deluxe collection of Simpsons costumes will debut at retail in August, and will include Homer, Marge, Bart, and Krusty the Clown costumes. Rubie's is also developing an entry price point range that will launch for next spring/summer. The Simpsons licensing agreement is exclusive to the EMEA region and is the first time that Rubie's has worked directly with the FCP EMEA licensing team.
Brand development and licensing agency Art Impressions will expand the reach of its teen/tween lifestyle brand So So Happy with dedicated space in Toys “R” Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com. The dedicated areas at Toys “R” Us stores will feature a comprehensive selection of So So Happy products, including tees from Jem Sportswear; tote bags, backpacks, lunch bags, and hard-sided suitcases from Accessory Innovations; hair accessories and jewelry from High IntenCity; socks and slippers from Planet Sox; stationery from Rock Paper Pencils; and a selection of popular So So Happy plush toys. Toys “R” Us will offer an exclusive selection of cosmetics and nail polish sets from Accessory Zone.
TV LICENSING PROPERTY LICENSING
Lawless Entertainment Appointed Representative for The Little Prince Lawless Entertainment has been appointed as representative for animation, licensing, merchandising, and publishing for The Little Prince property in the U.S. and Canada. The Little Prince, first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet, and pioneering aviator Antoine de SaintExupéry. Lawless Entertainment will introduce various categories of licensed merchandise to the North American marketplace based upon the classic The Little Prince brand and animation series, and will seek retail partnerships with various department/specialty chains.
Millimages Partners with BBC Worldwide for 64 Zoo Lane
European production and distribution company Millimages has signed a licensing and merchandising deal with BBC Worldwide for its preschool show 64 Zoo Lane. BBC Worldwide has taken global licensing rights to the show, excluding French-speaking territories.
Send licensing news to Jackie Breyer, jbreyer@toybook.com, for inclusion in the weekly e-newsletter, Total Licensing Report.
Spring 2012
9
Stat•Shot TOP 10 GAMES (NEW PHYSICAL RETAIL ONLY; ACROSS ALL P LATFORMS INCLUDING PC)
R ANKED
RANK TITLE
BY T OTAL
U.S. U NITS , M ARCH 2012
1 MASS EFFECT 3
PUBLISHER
ELECTRONIC ARTS
2 RESIDENT EVIL: OPERATION RACCOON CITY CAPCOM USA 3 MLB 12: THE SHOW
4 NBA 2K12 5 SSX 2012
6 STREET FIGHTER X TEKKEN
7 MARIO PARTY 9
SONY (CORP)
TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE ELECTRONIC ARTS CAPCOM USA NINTENDO
8 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 3
ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
10 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K12
TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
9 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA
The NPD Group / Retail Tracking Service
NAMCO BANDAI
TOP* PAID GAME APPS IN APPLE ’ S APP STORE RANK TITLE
1 ANGRY BIRDS SPACE 2 FLICK HOME RUN!
PUBLISHER ROVIO
INFINITY POCKET
3 SKI SAFARI
DEFIANT DEVELOPMENT
5 CUT THE ROPE
ZEPTOLAB/CHILLINGO
4 DRAW SOMETHING 6 MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 2 7 FRUIT NINJA 8 BEJEWELED
9 INFINITY BLADE
10 CLEAR VISION 17+
*As of May 2
OMGPOP
MARVEL/CAPCOM HALFBRICK POPCAP
CHAIR ENTERTAINMENT FDG ENTERTAINMENT
TOP* FREE GAME APPS IN APPLE ’ S APP STORE RANK TITLE
1 LOGOS QUIZ GAME
2 DRAW SOMETHING FREE 3 DOT LINE
4 SMACK THAT GUGL 5 ANGEROFSTICK2
6 DEER HUNTER RELOADED
7 FLICK HOME RUN! NEW FREE 8 101-IN-1 GAMES!
9 DESIGN THIS HOME
10 BIKE RACE FREE
10
*As of May 2
Spring 2012
PUBLISHER ATICOD
OMGPOP #APP
YANN LE COROLLER
J-PARK
GLU GAMES
INFINITY POCKET
NORDCURRENT APP MINIS
TOP FREE GAMES
Angry Birds Space is the No. 1 paid game app in Apple’s App Store.
Top Licenses Among European Youth
According to iconkids & youth’s study Kids License Monitor 2012, Hello Kitty is the license loved best by girls ages 4 to 12 years old in the European key markets UK, Germany, and France (60 percent appeal). The character scored highest with 4- to 6-year-olds (82 percent) and 7- to 9-year-old girls (66 percent), but loses appeal among 10- to 12-year-olds (33 percent). In this oldest segment, Harry Potter is the most popular license for girls (55 percent). Among boys, Cars is overall the favorite (56 percent) of 4- to 12-year-olds, followed by Spider-Man (53 percent). However, Cars is strongest only among the 4- to 6-year-olds (80 percent), while 7- to 9year-old boys like Kung Fu Panda the most (56 percent), and 10- to 12-year-olds agree with the girls in their preference for Harry Potter (56 percent). SpiderMan is liked across all age groups, but never the No. 1 license (40 percent to 68 percent appeal). These results are taken from the current issue of the Kids Li-
cense Monitor, a quarterly study implemented by the independent German research agency iconkids & youth. The online study was implemented in Germany, UK, and France with more than 1,200 children ages 4 to 12 years old. Almost 70 different licenses were analyzed in all relevant dimensions, including the licenses’ awareness, appeal, market status, category fit, and ownership of products. The study’s look at the individual markets shows a more differentiated picture, specifically among boys: • 4- to 6-year-old boys in the UK love Toy Story (71 percent) best, while German and French boys at this age prefer Cars (Germany: 92 percent, France: 86 percent). • Among 7- to 9-year-old boys, Kung Fu Panda scores highest in the UK (67 percent), German boys prefer SpongeBob SquarePants (61 percent), and Beyblade is the favorite among French boys (68 percent). • The wizard Harry Potter is the star among 10- to 12-year-old boys in the UK (59 percent) and France (59 percent). German boys of this age prefer Star Wars (62 percent).
Toy Story 3 Blast-off Buzz Lightyear from Thinkway Toys
U.S. Video Game-Related Sales 4 out of 10 of those who have played an upgradable freemium game report making an in-game payment to extend or enhance a game.
Source: The NPD Group
Spending on Video Game Content
Fourth quarter 2011 (Oct.-Dec.) consumer spending on gaming content across the United States and European markets (UK, France, and Germany) reached a combined total of $3.33 billion USD, according to The NPD Group. Those sales include used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile games. Totals by country: United States – $2.04 billion United Kingdom – $508 million Germany – $461 million France – $320 million
NPD Group’s U.S. Game Industry Sales for March Five-week reporting period, Feb. 26-March 31
Dollar Sales Total video game sales (new physical channel)
Video games hardware
Mar ‘11 $1.47B
Mar ‘12 $1.10B
CHG -25%
$494.5MM
$323.5MM
-35%
$241.4MM
$222.5MM
-8%
Video games software (console+portable, new physical sales only)
$735.4MM
Total software sales (console+portable+PC, new physical sales only)
$790.9MM
Video games accessories
$553.1MM
$585.1MM
Spring 2012
-25%
-26%
11
Good Practices
Examine Your Business Practices for Areas of Improvement
Part 2 of a Series
by Martin Brochstein, senior vice president of industry relations and information, Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) Factory monitoring and auditing are critical elements in the supply chain relationships among licensors, licensees, and their suppliers. As noted in the first article in this series, many companies may believe they’re doing everything correct in terms of complying with licensors’, licensees’, and retailers’ standards for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and, indeed, many are. But there is always room for improvement, sometimes in subtle ways. This material is drawn from Good Practices for Complying with Licensors’ Social and Environmental Requirements: A Practical Guide for Licensees, a 28-page guide developed by LIMA and BSR—a leader in corporate responsibility for nearly 20 years—with major contributions from a Licensing Working Group consisting of Hasbro, NBC Universal,Time Warner, and The Walt Disney Company, among others. The importance of having products made in a socially responsible way is a particularly acute issue for those in the licensing business. Coming down on the wrong side of factory labor issues or environmental practices can damage the businesses of not just the brand owner and a specific licensee, but also of other licensees of that same brand. The guide is designed to help illuminate issues, and to give practical tips to improve processes. The full guide is available as a free download from LIMA at: http://www.licensing.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LIMA-licensee-guide.pdf. icensees play a critical role in promoting compliance with social and environmental standards in their supply chains. By implementing policies and procedures related to factory selection, purchasing processes, compliance monitoring, and remediation, licensees can contribute to improved social and environmental performance.
L
Communicate Your Code of Conduct and Implementation Requirements
Communications play an important role in setting expectations and maintaining focus on compliance. You should provide suppliers, subcontractors, and agents with information about your requirements as early as possible and as consistently as possible throughout the relationship.
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Practical Tips for Licensees
• Publish your code of conduct to a public website or supplier portal, and include links to it within initial and follow-up communications to factories. • If you typically conduct business in person, bring physical copies with you and discuss your company’s commitment to social and environmental standards. • Communicate with licensors about challenges in meeting their expectations. Be sure to discuss these challenges with both licensing and compliance staff.
Include Compliance as Part of Your factory Selection and Contracting Processes
One of the most efficient methods for ensuring compliance is to include oversight of social and environmental standards in the selection and contracting process for factories.
The following practices can save you time and effort later on by establishing expectations for performance at the start of business relationships, and building relationships with factories that have the commitment and capabilities to uphold social and environmental standards.
Practical Tips for Licensees
Establish a preapproval process for all entities involved in the production of licensed goods. Prior to agreeing to do business with a factory or signing any contracts, review previous audit reports (if available) or require factories to conduct an audit that demonstrates compliance with an acceptable level of performance. Before selecting suppliers or placing orders, ask licensors the following questions: • Have you audited this facility in the past? • If so, how recently and what were the results? • If there were substantial noncompliance findings, how and when were they remediated? • Has the facility ever been terminated for noncompliance? • Do you approve this facility to produce licensed products? Include a clause in your contracts with factories requiring compliance with national and local laws and regulations, international social and environmental standards, as well as your code of conduct. Also, include clauses allowing auditors access to the factory and requiring a facility to notify you about the use of subcontractors prior to production. Require agents to fulfill similar responsibilities in reviewing factory compliance prior to establishing contracts or placing orders.
Review Factory Cost Structure Against Contract Terms
Businesses that are stable, efficient, and economically sound are the ones best capable of complying with social and environmental obligations. Weak businesses may be tempted to “cut corners” on social responsibilities to save on costs.
Practical Tip for Licensees
Make sure the companies on which you rely for goods and services are operated on a sound business basis, with adequate resources to ensure that they can uphold social and environmental codes of conduct.
Reduce Order Changes to Minimize Impacts on Excessive Overtime
Changes to orders late in the production process can have a negative impact on compliance. For example, if specifications for orders change, which occurs often,
Good Practices but shipment deadlines remain fixed, factories may try to meet the deadlines by requiring longer shifts, resulting in excessive overtime for workers. You should review the prevalence of order changes, and work with your customers and staff to minimize order changes where possible. When overtime is necessary, make sure the factories stay within legal limits and pay all legally required overtime premiums. In addition, as stated previously, carefully monitor the use of subcontractors, who tend to be used to meeting tight deadlines.
Practical Tip For Licensees
Provide guidance to production staff and supplier managers about avoiding order changes through better planning and coordination.
ple, strong, long-term relationships make coordination easier, lead to increased trust, and create possibilities for shared investments and benefits from improved working conditions.
Practical Tips for Licensees
• Choose business partners that share your company’s commitment to social and environmental compliance, and build long-term relationships with them. • Many licensors have a zero-tolerance threshold for nontransparency, e.g., providing false information. It is better to disclose instances of noncompliance and the actions you are taking to remediate them than to provide a false picture of better compliance.
Consider Social and Environmental Issues Reward Business Partners That Perform When Designing Products Some companies are beginning to design their prodWell on Business Needs and Compliance
One of the main challenges for social and environmental compliance is a perceived lack of sufficient incentives. However, noncompliance can contribute to real costs, including poor quality, work stoppages, and termination of orders. To make a stronger business case to factories, subcontractors, and agents, consider rewarding business partners that demonstrate consistently high performance on social and environmental compliance. For example, you could implement a preferred factory program that encourages buyers to place orders with topperforming factories, or you could offer better contract terms and conditions to top-performing factories.
ucts differently to minimize their environmental footprint, avoid human rights violations, and account for the long-term availability and sustainability of raw material sources. Involving product designers in a discussion of what resources are necessary to make products on a large scale, where the materials come from, and what are the social and environmental implications can help avoid negative impacts. You can help your designers evaluate alternatives that have a lighter social and environmental footprint.
Social and environmental compliance continues to be a long-term priority for the licensing industry. Establishing effective compliance systems takes time and resources. However, the highly variable and, in some cases, “low-touch” nature of licensing relationships can create challenges in managing working conditions and in working together to provide effective oversight of compliance. Long-term business relationships can help overcome some of the barriers to improved compliance. For exam-
Marty Brochstein joined Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) in 2008. Brochstein was a business journalist for more than 20 years, primarily covering the consumer products and retail industries. He spent five years as senior editor of Television Digest and was the founding editor of Consumer Multimedia Report. He was also editor of two monthly magazines, Consumer Electronics Monthly and Electronics Merchandising, and early in his career spent time with Discount Store News, Chain Store Age, and HFD/Home Furnishings Daily.
Build and Maintain Long-Term Relationships with Key Business Partners
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The first steps toward meeting licensors’ expectations are to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your current management practices and identify areas for improvement. ••••
App Licensing
Apps Get Physical App games are the latest source for entertainment licensing.With the number of smartphone and tablet users growing at a rapid rate, the level of awareness for the top app properties is undeniable. People play these games while waiting in line at the grocery store or on the sidelines at a soccer game.The audience, which spans the globe, consists of men and women, boys and girls.The possibilities are limitless. by Jackie Breyer
ore than 100 million Americans seems like an eternity in app years, but Angry Birds has play games on their smartphone, proven its longevity, and seems to only become tablet, or iPod touch, a year-on- stronger with time. year increase of 35 percent, accordMany in the licensing community have taken notice, ing to Newzoo’s recent Mobile and other top apps have launched licensing programs Games Trend Report. Usage is fairly balanced between of their own. men (52 percent) and women. In-app “Many companies, content providers, purchases account for 90 permanufacturers, and retailers are cent of mobile gaming revlooking at apps right now as a enue; the other 10 percent is new stream of content with from the download of paid wonderful consumer expoapps. sure,” says Phil Larsen, chief When you consider that Apple first marketing officer at Halfbrick, introduced its App Store less than four makers of the Fruit Ninja app. years ago, this pace of growth seems “The key is finding the right road almost unbelievable. Rovio’s latest to success. Apps bring newness Angry Birds expansion, Angry Birds and technology to the licensSpace, was downloaded 50 million ing world. It pushes times in just 35 days. The audience for licensees to create innovathe top gaming apps is one that must tive and fresh products.” be attended to, and some in the Halfbrick, which also licensing industry are making it their Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja app is recently released Jetpack licensed to Hybrid for T-shirts and business to bring apps to consumers Jazwares for plush. Joyride, has partnered with in the physical universe. Mattel for a Fruit Ninja-licensed “Apptivity” Angry Birds is easily the most well-known mobile game that enhances the app/game experience. game, and it has paved the way for app licensing to be Unlike more traditional toys, app games are being taken seriously. From apparel and plush to theme parks played by everyone from adults to kids. The demoand retail boutiques, Angry Birds can be found at every graphic stretches from end to end, making the possibillevel of consumer consciousness. The property has even ities for licensing endless—if done right. “Licensing presents a unique challenge in that not expanded to television with shorts airing on Nickelodeon (Wreck the Halls for holiday 2011 and Angry all products will appeal to all groups,” says Larsen. “We Birds Space this past March). An Angry Birds movie is in have to choose the products that align most appropridevelopment for an expected release in 2015, which ately with the theme of the brand and then fine-tune
M
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their appeal. We’re extremely interested in the world of snacks and food; making Fruit Ninja goodies you can eat only adds to the fun. If a category can’t be fun, and we can’t make it our own and innovate on what has been seen before, then we’ll opt to pass.” For ZeptoLab, makers of Cut the Rope— which has about 100 million users—the key was to begin with best-in-class partners for the toy and game categories, and branch out from there. The company signed Commonwealth Toy & Novelty Co.—which also creates plush for Angry Birds—for plush and novelties. Mattel, Hasbro, and Jakks Pacific are on board as well. One challenge for ZeptoLab is that while Cut the Rope has a very likeable character, it lacks a storyline. Players feed the hungry and adorable Om Nom, and he rewards them on an emotional level by showing how happy he is with his snack. But to build a franchise, it can be beneficial to offer more content, a la Angry Birds and more traditional entertainment properties. “We eventually want to build a franchise and treat it from that perspective,” says Tanya Haider, head of licensing and merchandising at ZeptoLab. Haider says that while ZeptoLab has been in talks about developing additional content, the game developers want to make sure that it makes sense for the character—they don’t want to make content just for the sake of doing it. “The guys at Zepto have a strong pride in their property. They have a strong point of view in terms of where they want to take it,” says Haider. “But TV and maybe the big screen is part of the plan in terms of expanding the franchise.” Entertainment licensing often becomes a conversation about marketing. “‘What’s the marketing budget,’ is a question you usually get asked when you go out and sell a motion picture,” says Michael Stone, CEO of Beanstalk, worldwide licensing agency for Outfit 7’s Talking Friends apps. “For apps, the answer is ‘not much.’”
App Marketing
ZeptoLab’s Cut the Rope app features Om Nom, a character that loves to eat sweets.
While marketing outside of the apps themselves is almost non-existent (in-app marketing, particularly for freebies, is ubiquitous), awareness among consumers is higher than that for many TV shows and movies. Those who realize the reach of these apps see the opportunities for a new kind of licensing. “The sales pitch is much different,” says Stone. “We’re talking about how the apps are part of the target audience’s daily life, how strong the reach is, and how constant the reach is—not about advertising and marketing.” Stone points out that because apps can be changed, upgraded, or modified quickly, the possibilities for product interaction are almost limitless as well. “If a baseball cap company says ‘Gee, it would be great if Tom (the main character) was wearing a baseball cap,’ Tom can be wearing a baseball cap in-game in two to three weeks.” Another difference between traditional entertainment licensing and app licensing is that apps are instantaneously global. Once they are released into the digital universe, “they spread like wildfire,” says Stone. Beanstalk is working on a global licensing program for Talking Friends to be launched “everywhere at the same time,” he says. App licensing may be the most recent frontier in licensing, but it’s not going away anytime soon. As tablet computers and smartphones proliferate consumers’ lives, the greater the influence app Talking Ben Talk Back plush, based on the Talking Friends apps, from Dragon-i Toys entertainment will have on the world of consumer products. “Apps have come of age, and they’re going to be a source of major licensing properties going forward,” says Haider. So don’t be left in the dust. ••••
Spring 2012
17
App Licensing
Slice That Fruit
Halfbrick has signed a number of licensees for its Fruit Ninja app: Basic Fun for handheld electronic devices and 3-D figural, plush, and functional key chains; BioWorld for headwear, cold weather gear, bags, small accessories, and men’s, women’s, and youth apparel; Bulls I Toys for trading card packs and more; Calendar Holdings for 2013 wall calendars; Coveroo for phone cases and dog tags; Healthy Food Brands for fruit snacks and gummies; Hybrid for men’s, women’s, and youth tees, fleece, thermal, and tank tops; Jazwares for figures, play sets, plug ’n play games, outdoor toys, plush, and electronics; Letao for shoes; Mattel for games with or without electronic features; MjC for men’s, juniors’, boys’, and girls’ sleepwear, loungewear, and underwear; Nanco-Nancy Sales for soft sculptured toys, beanbag toys, vinyl inflatables, rubber basketballs, and novelty play balls; Nokia for cell phones accessories; Smile Makers for stickers; Trends for posters; and XN Touch for cell phone cases with swords.
Spin Master Brings Temple Run to Shelves
Spin Master Games and Imangi Studios have teamed up to deliver Temple Run, an iOS and Android game, to mass retails stores this fall. In a global rights’ licensing agreement, initiated and brokered by Dimension Branding Group (DBG), Spin Master Games will capture the essence of Temple Run’s mobile gaming in traditional games, including card games and board games with electronic features.
plush from Jazwares
Jakks Sings
Jakks Pacific, Inc. has signed a license agreement with Khush, a developer of intelligent music applications, to create a new product inspired by the Songify app. Songify, developed in part by YouTube sensations The Gregory Brothers along with Khush, instantly turns speech into music. When users talk directly into Jakks’ Songify toy, it analyzes their speech, slices it into a chorus and verses while mapping it to a melody, and produces a beat to go along with the corrected voice pitch. It then combines all of this into a finished song. Users can listen to the song in a variety of styles, select their favorite one, save it, and play it.
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ZeptoLab Cuts the Rope
ZeptoLab plans to expand its global gaming presence into new markets and build Om Nom (Cut the Rope’s main character) into a long-term entertainment franchise. Mattel will bring Om Nom and Cut the Rope from the digital world into the physical through a variety of toys and games. Two initial products include a board game that emulates the digital game play of Cut the Rope, and a digitally enhanced toy utilizing Mattel’s newly developed Apptivity technology. Apptivity allows kids to take a physical toy and safely play with it on the screen of an iPad. The “Active Touch” technology in Apptivity toys directly interacts with apps so kids can enjoy an immersive play experience with their iPad. Hasbro will bring co-branded board games to market based on Hasbro’s successful titles. Jakks Pacific will bring Plug It In & Play TV Games to market. The companies will develop a standalone Cut the Rope-branded controller. ZeptoLab and LF USA have signed a licensing deal to create sleepwear and loungewear featuring Om Nom for both children and adults. The line will be available this fall.
Angry Birds in Space
Rovio’s Angry Birds has paved the way for app licensing, and has a number of licensees bringing its popular characters to the physical world for fans of all ages. Dr. Fresh recently signed on for oral care, including the FireFly Angry Birds Squirt ’n Brush Tooth Foam, launching in the third quarter of 2012. SwaddleDesigns offers Angry Birds baby body suits, blankets, swaddle, and burping clothes. Cra-Z-Art will offer Angry Birds-branded activity products for kids ages 3 and up. Products include an Angry Birds Figure Maker Playset, a Super Doodle Drawing Toy, Putty, Color Your Own Bird Bean Bags, a Super Fun set, an Activity Roller Desk, a Giant Coloring Pad, and more. Garden décor manufacturer Exhart will develop Angry Birds Space Splat a line of Angry Birds garden stakes, chimes, statuFlyer, from Tech 4 Kids ary, accessories, and lighting for spring 2013. Tech 4 Kids offers a wide range of Angry Birds Space toys, including Splat Strike, which allows kids to recreate the Angry Birds experience in real life. Also available are Splat Catch, Splat Target Zone, and Splat Flyer, as well as collectible Mash’Ems. The company also offers figural lights and night lights for kids. Wild Pumpkin Licensing International recently announced that it has obtained the licensing and merchandising rights for Angry Birds for Australia. Nelostuote Oy Tactic and Rovio Entertainment have teamed up for an Angry Birds outdoor action game in Europe. Samsung Electronics has partnered with Rovio to bring animated Angry Birds shorts and a game app to Samsung Smart TVs, which support the game without the need for an external set-top box. Leomil Group has the licensing and merchandising rights for footwear and apparel. Mattel will bring Angry Birds to its Apptivity line, which allows kids to take a physical toy and safely play with it on the screen of an iPad. K’nex will offer Angry Birds building set, Angry Birds building from K’nex sets for fall.
Aurora’s Air Penguins
Aurora World, Inc. has the plush license for the Air Penguin app from Gamevil. Using sea turtles, starfish, and whale blowholes to avoid obstacles such as slippery ice, sharks, and swordfish, players help an adorable penguin jump, fly, and dodge through 125 levels. Aurora’s Air Penguins are five inches in size and available in pink, blue, and brown.
Doodle Jump
FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) signed a new deal in January with independent app developer Lima Sky, to represent the worldwide licensing rights for its Doodle Jump app. The app offers simple but addictive gameplay: players must bounce the game’s protagonist, Doodle the Doodler, up an endless series of platforms, tilting their phone from side to side to avoid monsters, UFOs, and black holes. FME is seeking partners across consumer products, live events, and publishing.
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Video Game Licensing
A
Another 1-Up:
Classic Games Keep on Scrolling
by Melissa Tinklepaugh
Above: Sonic the Hedgehog; Below: Atari Arcade
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tari made its appearance in 1972 as a maker of arcade games and video game consoles. Forty years later, the Atari brand is making the old new again through its mergence with modern consumer electronics––the key to survival for retro video gaming brands. The audience for the Atari brand’s retro merchandising has skewed predominantly male, ages 25-45, says Lee Jacobson, senior vice president of licensing and digital publishing for Atari. But as Atari releases digital content, such as new versions of its classic games, it’s seeing the appeal of retro trend younger than it previously had––“whether that’s due to parents wanting to share that experience of when they grew up with their children, or if teenagers just feel that it has a great retro sort of vibe, which tends to be in right now,” says Jacobson. A lot of the old timers––Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, and Pac-Man, among others, who lived through the early era of video gaming when it was mainly an 8-bit side-scrolling activity––are still alive and well, dodging fireballs, collecting coins, fighting bosses, eating ghosts, and powering up right along with the young’uns. While these characters have received makeovers and adapted to current fashions and trends, their retro counterparts live on through nostalgia-inducing games and products, and their ability to keep up with new gaming technology. Atari’s licensing program concentrates on hard-
Spring 2012
line products, as the company works to “marry the 40year-old brand to relevant consumer products,” says Jacobson. Atari-licensed electronics include the Atari Arcade for iPad from Discovery Bay Games; the iCade, an arcade cabinet with an iPad dock, from Ion Audio/ThinkGeek; and Centipede game slot machines from IGT. Atari has relaunched several of its classic gaming properties, and released Atari Flashback consoles preprogrammed with its classic games. The company’s primary focus, though, is on its Atari brand because “it crossed over from just a gaming license into almost a lifestyle cultural brand in its awareness.”
Rolling with the Punches
Sonic has been spinning ahead of changes in the video game industry since his launch in 1991. For years, console upgrades only meant better gameplay and graphics, says Chris Ironfield, director of licensing for Sega of America. “But recently, gaming has become more than just a graphically powerful console and game pad in front of the TV.” For a character known for his speed and slick movement, Sonic the Hedgehog has benefited from gaming innovations. The Nintendo Wii made the first motioncontrol Sonic game, Sonic & the Secret Rings, possible, later followed by full-motion body-control for the hover board racing game Sonic Free Riders, released for Kinect for Xbox 360. As Sonic keeps up with new gaming technology, Sega maintains and expands awareness of the blue hedgehog through its kids’ and retro licensing programs for the 21-year-old property. The retro program targets gamers, adults ages 18-40, and teens with apparel, accessories, collectibles, toys, and publishing. “We strive to keep pace with the ever-changing industry trends,” says Ironfield, “which, for a hedgehog as quick as Sonic, shouldn’t be a problem.” ••••
Video Game Licensing
Video Games
Power Up by Melissa Tinklepaugh
kylanders, a kids’ entertainment franchise from Activision Publishing, Inc., connects toys with a video game world through its story-charged gameplay, enabling the franchise to be more than just a video game. According to the back story, the Skylanders used their magical powers and weapons to protect Skylands for generations, until the villain Kaos banished them to Earth, frozen as toys but alive on the inside. In Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure and the upcoming Skylanders Giants video games, humans take on the role of Portal Master and help save Skylands by putting the frozen creatures onto the Portal of Power, bringing them back to life in their world. This “magic moment,” when the Portal Master transports the Skylander into the video game, is the spark to licensed products for the entertainment property. Ashley Maidy, head of global licensing and partnerships, says Activision works with licensing partners who can bring the magic into their products as well. “It’s not just about slapping a label on a T-shirt. It’s what can you do with that T-shirt,” she says. Whether licensees use glow-inSpyro from Skylanders the-dark technology or another way to go beyond the ordinary, innovation that draws on a property’s key characteristics makes all the difference. Licensing video games to consumer products is a growing sector as licensors strive to transform their games into entertainment properties that capture shelf space beyond the gaming aisle. The U.S. video game industry sold more than $16 billion last year in new physical video and PC games, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile games, a 2 percent decline over 2010, according to The NPD Group. In March alone, total video game sales, including hardware, software, and accessories, reached $1.10 billion, a 25 percent decline over March 2011. As consumers and retailers grow pickier about the games and SKUs they select, licensors seek to sign licensees that can translate their properties into standout products. For Activision, Skylanders isn’t just a game, says Maidy; it’s an entertainment property with collectibility that translates well into licensed merchandise. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure comes with Skylander figurines and a Portal of Power. The figures have “brains,” remembering their in-game experiences and upgrades, which stay with the figures in new games with friends. Fans can purchase additional figures and accessories separately. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure landed as No. 8 on The NPD Group’s top 10 games at retail in January—three months after the game’s initial release. Character packs also performed well at retail, representing 22 percent of total accessory unit sales in January and accounting for more than $17 million in sales in February. Now, the consumer products program has grown beyond figures to encompass apparel, accessories, back-to-school, Halloween
S
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Video Game Licensing
A preview of the Monopoly: World of Warcraft board and game tokens
costumes, publishing, bedding, ancillary toys, and electronics. Any merchandising program should extend the life and awareness of the brand, always driving sales back to the game, says Andi Riordan-Scott, president of Creative Minx Marketing, an agency that has worked with video game companies on outbound licensing for franchises such as Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Mass Effect. “You want to pull out key icons within the brand. You don’t want to flood the market. You want to be very focused in what your marketing or your retail strategy is.” Activision’s strategy has allowed the company to expand its Skylanders merchandising program without unleashing a tidal wave of SKUs at retail. Activision selects licensees that can grow with Skylanders over time, and releases products to retail in phases, first from anchor partners, then from additional partners, going broader with categories. The company signed its anchor partners last summer, with plans to seed the market at launch and be prepared for the back-to-school shopping season. After seeing successful results for Skylanders, Activision signed partners for ancillary toy and hard goods categories to round out the program, and plans to seek more partners at Licensing Show in June.
Mastering Merchandising
Electronic Arts, Inc. released Mass Effect 3 in March, for which it maintains a year-round and event-driven marketing and merchandising program for the property’s dedicated fan base. New products, many timed to the game’s launch, included gaming peripherals, apparel, console cases, collectibles/action figures, posters, and publishing. Games aimed at older demographics, such as Mass Effect and Medal of Honor, tend to have more narrow merchandising programs composed of core categories that make sense for the player, says Patrick O’Brien, vice president of EA Entertainment. Franchises that have been on the market for a few years, securing a fan base and awareness, allow for more
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exclusive products, premium collections, and finetuned merchandising programs. Whereas games like Plants vs. Zombies, which EA gained through its acquisition of PopCap, allow for broad merchandising strategies that appeal to more age groups. Blizzard Entertainment uses pre-game product releases to drive awareness toward game releases, atgame launches to release products tied to the game, and post-game launches to support the franchise, explains Matt Beecher, global director of licensing and business development for Blizzard, a division of Activision Blizzard. For its World of Warcraft franchise, Blizzard partnered with Sideshow Collectibles to launch a replica weapons program for post-launch support—targeting long-term players invested in the game and willing to buy products to express their devotion. Besides building anticipation or sustaining support for a franchise, merchandise can attract new consumers who might not have played the game—as long as those products are still relevant to the core audience. “In a core product, if you’re going to come out with gummy bears on something like a Call of Duty or a Battlefield, you’re going to get destroyed by the community and the bloggers and the reviews because it just looks like you’ve sold out,” says Riordan-Scott. “Then you’ve lost the very people who supported the game from its incubation period.” Riordan-Scott also believes that licensed products should match the game’s target age. A gaming company can’t control whether an 8-year-old buys an item meant for a 12- to 15-year-old. But if products target a younger consumer than the game’s fans, they’ll lose the actual demographic that’s playing the game, warns Riordan-Scott. “It’s like having your little sister playing with your toys—you’re no longer interested in the toy.” Expanding a franchise’s demographics is a tricky business that some game publishers are exploring, however. Microsoft Studios’ Halo, a mature-rated game, previously paved the way with a Mega Bloks construction toy line for ages 8 and up. Blizzard shifted its strategy in 2011, and the results are hitting retail this year. The new strategy gears
toward international expansion and a broader push at mass retail with toy products targeted at a younger age range than the games’ players, many of whom are 17to 35-year-old males. Beecher reasons that as Blizzard gamers get older and have kids, they may want to share their passion for the franchises with their kids. Blizzard worked with Mega Bloks for a World of Warcraft construction toy collection and with USAopoly for Monopoly: World of Warcraft and Risk: StarCraft, all launching this year with the potential to appeal to collectors as well as children. This strategy aims to interest new players through products that are strong standalones. “The idea is if we could excite the next generation of players for our games with products that speak to them more directly, we will have them be aware of the stories, the franchise, the characters through different types of products, and then they’ll be more interested to experience them in a different way through our games directly,” says Beecher. EA also sees toys as a way to introduce children to a property. Though its Need for Speed franchise is teenrated, EA partnered with Mega Bloks for licensed construction toys. “We’d be delighted if fathers and sons were creating these models together. With something like that, I’d actually hope that it skews a lot younger than the Need for Speed game player,” says O’Brien. “You’ve got collectors who are car fanatics, but you’ve also got kids who love cars and want to play it.”
High-Scorer
As younger games climb the ladder toward entertainment franchise status, they can look to Tetris, a lifestyle brand shaped from a video game. After 28 years of Tetriminos ensconcing into place, Tetris is a multigenerational, multiplatform brand. The Tetris Company launched its lifestyle merchandising program almost three years ago, and, being a lifestyle brand, Tetris isn’t boxed in to any one demographic, category, or
“
You want to pull out key icons within the brand. You don’t want to flood the market.” —Andi Riordan-Scott, Creative Minx Marketing
location. Available on mobile devices, gaming consoles, and the Web, The Tetris Company seeks to make the game available on every platform available in order to reach a wider audience, says Lisa Linnenkohl, head of licensing for the Tetris brand. While not ready to announce plans yet, The Tetris Company is exploring expansion into other types of entertainment to reach younger players. Licensees have already made Tetris available as strategy and dice games. Linnenkohl calls Tetris a lifestyle brand because of how the “Tetris method” of fitting pieces together has settled into daily life. She describes a Saturday morning shopping trip several months ago, where a young man bagging groceries recognized the brand from the shirt Linnenkohl’s son wore, showing a skull and crossbones made of Tetriminos. The man told them that he uses the Tetris method to bag groceries, pack his car, and organize his room. This regard for Tetris has infused the merchandising program with products making order out of chaos, such as office supplies and room décor, for example. Linnenkohl says they’re now looking at food and beverages, which could include waffles, chocolates, or mints in the shape of Tetriminos, or even Tetrinoodle soup. Played in more than 185 countries—representing 95 percent coverage of the world—Tetris is a global brand that keeps getting bigger. The Tetris Company and merchandising agent Licensing Works! signed four subagents this year to license the brand in European and Australian markets. The next stop for Tetris is Asia, where the company plans to sign agents for Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, says Linnenkohl. Whether playing or licensing the game, the sky’s the limit for Tetris. And if other gaming companies place their blocks right, their games can surpass consoles and achieve similar entertainment franchise fame. ••••
Men’s Tetris Skull T-shirt
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Video Game Licensing
Activision Goes Big with Skylanders
Building on the success of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure—which The NPD Group reported as being the No. 1 best-selling kids’ video game last year—Activision plans to launch the sequel Skylanders Giants. The Skylanders kids’ franchise merges the physical and virtual realms with a line of cross-platform toy figures. Skylanders Giants introduces 20 new characters, among them super-sized giants. New collectibles include eight giants twice the size of the main Skylanders cast, figures with lighting technology integrated into the toys, and eight regular-sized Skylanders. Global publishing partner Penguin Children’s Books has planned a tie-in range to expand the franchise with exclusive downloads, guides to the Skylands world, and original stories inspired by the game. Penguin is publishing five titles under its Media & Entertainment
imprint this spring, debuting the first title, The Doomsday Quest, as an e-book that will publish as a physical book in October, along with Master Eon’s Official Guide, Magic & Tech Handbook, and a sticker book. Licensees on board for products include JEM Sportswear for Tshirts; Mad Dog Concepts for sleepwear; ABG Accessories for headwear and cold weather gear; Thermos, LLC for lunch kits and “funtainers”; BDA/Power A for carrying cases and game accessories; Rubie’s Costume Co. for Halloween; Brady Fames for strategy guides; Trends International for posters; and F.A.B. Starpoint for bags and backpacks. Toys “R” Us plans to remain a marquee retail partner for the launch of Skylanders Giants, according to a previous announcement from Activision. Expanding the Skylanders’ franchise, Activision launched Skylanders Cloud Patrol, a gaming experience for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users, in April, available exclusively from the iTunes App Store.
Nintendo’s Mario Dodges Fireballs with K’nex
Nintendo’s Mario is still dodging fireballs, racing karts, powering up, and saving Princess Peach. Sega of America released Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics in November for Nintendo Wii and 3DS. Licensing deals include toys from K’nex and Tomy. Race Mario and Diddy Kong through a series of fire-themed obstacles with K’nex’s Mario & Diddy Kong’s Fire Challenge Building Set. For ages 6 and up, the set includes the parts to build Mario and Diddy Kong; two Standard Karts with super-fast battery-powered motors; two moving obstacles: fireballs and fire cogs; and two collectible items from the game: a star and a spiked blue shell. The included 21 pieces of buildable, inter-connectable track creates a closed loop with cool jumps. Combine this set with other sets from the Mario Kart Wii Series to build bigger tracks. K’nex also offers the Ultimate Mario Circuit Building Set for players to race Mario and Luigi through a multi-level Mario Circuit Track with twists, turns, and
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jumps. Build Mario and Co. in super-fast motorized karts with the Motorized Kart Assortment #1: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Bowser sets. Each set includes a buildable figure and an item from the game Mario Kart Wii. Tomy introduces a new line of toys that offer remote-control play with performance and innovation featuring characters from Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii video game. This year, Tomy’s Mario Kart Wii line includes an assortment of both single packs and battle packs. With a fresh new look and features, key items from the line include Mario Kart Wii Pullback Racers; individual cars with ultra-fast pullback motors; Mario Kart Wii QSteer remote-control vehicles; single cars that include spin-out tires and full-function, remote-control racing action; and the Mario Kart Wii Battle Set, which allows fans to re-create the Mario Kart Wii video game in real life with interactive battle play.
Mortal Kombat Still Going Strong
Mortal Kombat, an almost 20-year-old video game property now owned by Warner Bros., has more battle left in it as it’s licensed to new products. Partners include Advanced Graphics, AtaBoy Magnets, Café Press, Changes, Concept One, Funko, Jazwares, Jinx, Music Skins, New Era, Performance Designed Products, and Pop Culture Shock. Now, fans can take the infamous fight-
ers of Mortal Kombat home. Recreate their most gruelling battles with the new Mortal Kombat Six-Inch Action Figure Assortment from Jazwares, featuring Sub-Zero, Raiden, Johnny Cage, and Scorpion. Based on the video game Mortal Kombat 9, released last year, these four-inch Mortal Kombat 9 Action Figures from Jazwares are highly detailed and articulated, and feature characters Sub-Zero, Raiden, Scorpion, Baraka, Nightwolf, and Reptile.
Left:Wacky Wobbler from Funko; right: Six-Inch Sub-Zero Action Figure from Jazwares
Blizzard Takes a Risk with StarCraft
Blizzard Entertainment and USAopoly joined forces for Risk: StarCraft based on StarCraft, a sci-fi, real-time strategy game franchise. Risk: StarCraft comes with more than 290 playing pieces, including three race-specific bases: the terran Command Center, a protoss Nexus, and a zerg Hatchery. Risk: StarCraft launches this summer and will be available in North American specialty stores. The game is designed for three to five players and is recommended for ages 10 and up. Blizzard held the “Name Your Space” sweepstakes in March, allowing StarCraft fans to help shape the war-torn galaxy by naming a territory on the board game. Risk: StarCraft board preview
Sega Gears Up for New Sonic the Hedgehog Game
Nearly 21 years old and Sonic’s still spinning. The iconic blue hedgehog will make his 2-D return this year in Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II, announced by Sega of America, Inc. and Sega Europe, Ltd. in December. Following the award-winning success of Episode I, Sonic will continue his journey through the epic Sonic 4 saga on Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation Network, as well as mobile platforms including the App Store, Android Market, and Xbox Live on Windows Phone 7. The game releases May through August, depending on the platform. Jazwares, Inc. holds the master toy license worldwide rights for Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog, and currently has products available in the U.S. and major international territories. Jazwares’ Sonic range Three-Inch Sonic the Hedgehog from Jazwares
includes action figure assortments in two-inch, three-inch, fiveinch, six-inch, and 10-inch scales. Jazwares also produces Sonic plush, vehicle assortments, and electronics. In an extended license agreement for the Sonic the Hedgehog property, NKOK is expanding its existing line based on the game Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing to include die-cast, pull-back, battery-operated, and radio-controlled vehicles, as well as a slot car race set with Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow characters. NKOK is also releasing the Full-Function Radio Controlled Sonic and Jet from Free Riders. Sega has 36 partners across 17 product categories for Sonic, with its core business in North America and growing in Latin America. Sega’s toy licensees include USAopoly for casual and Hasbro co-branded games, Senario for licensed Zibits, and Underground Toys for plush key chains with sound. Other categories include accessories, apparel, publishing, DVDs, bedding, home décor, health, food and beverage, party goods, novelty, peripherals, and amusement.
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Video Game Licensing
Tetris Targets International Markets
The 28-year-old Tetris video game brand is expanding its roster of subagents across the globe. The Tetris Company, LLC, the exclusive licensor of the Tetris brand, and its merchandising agent, Licensing Works!, signed Caroline Mickler, Ltd. in the UK and Plus Licens in Eastern Europe and Nordic countries this year to represent the brand. Both agents named apparel as top category priorities, followed by stationery and home décor/furnishings. Grahame Allan & Company Pty, Ltd. for the Australian market and Rome-based Mondo TV Consumer Products for Southern Europe are the second round of international Tetris merchandise sub-agents to officially join the Licensing Works! roster. Grahame Allan will license the Tetris brand into apparel, footwear, and accessories, as well as home décor and more. Mondo TV’s initial focus will be on apparel and accessories. Additionally, the company will introduce the Tetris brand as novelty gifts,
gadgets, back-to-school items, and toys. Licensees Techno Source (handheld and family games), Paladone (office supplies), and Fundex (card and dice games) introduced new Tetris merchandise this year. Ripple Junction signed on as a licensee for apparel and room décor plush. Changes introduced a line of Tetris-themed T-shirts. Tetris-branded products are sold worldwide in more than 50 languages, and more than 132 million paid mobile downloads have made the Tetris game one of the best-selling mobile games in the world. As many as 35 million Tetris Battle games are played daily on Facebook, with more than one billion played monthly in more than 185 countries, representing 95 percent of the world. Of these Facebook players, 52 percent are female, 48 percent are male, 27 percent are between ages 13-17, 41 percent are between ages 18-24, 17 percent are between ages 25-34, and 15 percent are age 35 and up.
Tetris Link game from Techno Source
Mass Effect Merchandise
BioWare, a label of Electronic Arts, Inc., released Mass Effect 3 in North America and Europe in March. Mass Effect 3 thrusts players into an all-out galactic war to save mankind from an ancient alien race known only as the Reapers. The franchise has several licensees releasing merchandise in a range of categories. Kotobukiya, Triforce, and Dark Horse are producing collectibles/action figures, while publishing partners include Random House for novels, Dark Horse for comics, and Prima for strategy guides. Level Up Wear and Joystick Junkies are releasing apparel. Other licensees include Razer for gaming peripherals, Calibur 11 for device cases, and Bioworld for merchandising.
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Disney XD Takes on Pac-Man
Namco Bandai Games, Inc., Arad Productions, and 41 Entertainment LLC granted the U.S. television rights to Disney XD earlier this year for the new animated action comedy series tentatively titled Pac-Man—The Adventure Begins in time for a fall 2013 airing. Based on the brand owned by Namco Bandai Games, Inc., the series is created in stereoscopic 3-D, executive produced by Avi Arad (Spider-Man for Sony Pictures, Iron Man for Paramount, Hulk for Universal, and Fantastic Four and X-Men for 20th Century Fox) and Rick Ungar (Biker Mice from Mars for New World, XMen Evolution for Marvel and Legend of the Dragon for BKN).
Video Game Licensing
Products Stream in for New Halo Saga
Microsoft Studios’ Halo franchise is more than just a video game—it’s an entertainment phenomenon and experience that spans beyond the video games into publishing, apparel, and collectible merchandise. Halo 4 is the next installment in the franchise that has shaped entertainment history and defined a decade of gaming. Set in the aftermath of Halo 3, Master Chief returns to confront his own destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe. Halo 4 marks the start of a new saga that begins with its release for the upcoming holiday season. McFarlane Toys produces Halo 4 action figures, including a six-inch assortment and collector boxed sets; Halo Micro Ops, including 1:100 scale vehicles, figures, and play sets from across the entire Halo universe; and Halo Xbox Live Avatar Figures, including three-inch blind packaged figure assortments based on the Xbox Live Marketplace digital goods program. Toy partners include Mega Bloks for Halo Universe Construction Sets; Jada Toys for diecast vehicles with characters, releasing this fall; Master Chief from Square Enix for high-end/collectible action fig-
ures, available in June; Funko for Halo Pop! Vinyl Figures of Master Chief and Grunt; and USAopoly for Risk: Halo Wars. Additional product partners include Acme Archives for highend, limited-edition art prints; Rubie’s Costume Co. for costumes and masks; Trends for calendars and posters; GB Eye for posters; Fathead for vinyl wall clings and tradeables; ICUP for cups, mugs, and glassware; Rooster Teeth for “red vs. Blue” Machinima (video) series; Warner Brothers for Halo Legends DVD; Sumthing Else Musicworks for soundtracks; and Brady Games and Prima Games for strategy guides. Publishing partners include Mega Bloks Halo Tor, with new books anCountdown nounced in The Forerunner Saga and the Kilo-Five Trilogy; Titan Publishing; DK Books; and Marvel. Apparel and accessory partners include Changes, BioWorld, LevelUp Wear (EU), Cascoblu (AU), and Ikon Collectables (AU/NZ).
McFarlane Toys
Blizzard and USAopoly Develop Monopoly: World of Warcraft
As Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. gears up for the fourth expansion to World of Warcraft, its massively multiplayer online role-playing game that launched in 2004, it’s planning a broad mass-market program. The upcoming game, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, introduces a new playable race and class, as players explore the long-lost continent of Pandaria, which was discovered following the events of the third expansion, Cataclysm. USAopoly’s Monopoly: World of Warcraft releases in May, featuring custom graphics from Blizzard’s artists in a new variant of the classic real estate game in which players discover ways to fight over World of Warcraft’s iconic locations. The game includes custom-sculpted houses and hotels modeled after designs
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from the towns and cities in the World of Warcraft game. In a contest on the Warcraft Facebook page, fans chose the six tokens used in the WoW: Monopoly game, which accommodates two to six players. Other features of the game include specially colored red and blue dice representing the Horde and Alliance factions. Cataclysm had sold more than 3.3 million copies within its first 24 hours of availability, and went on to sell more than 4.7 million copies in its first month. World of Warcraft is available in nine different languages—with a 10th, Brazilian Portuguese, slated for release this year—and is played in North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, mainland China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Laughing All the Way to the Bank TV Licensing
Social media might be “all the rage,” but a recent survey from Ipsos Reid stated that 58 percent of people would give up Facebook,Twitter, and the like over their TVs. Both licensors and licensees are taking notice, and when turning to TV licensing, many are seeing the benefits of choosing comedies. by Elizabeth A. Reid
hen discussing how CBS picks licensees for its slate of television properties, Liz Kalodner, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Consumer Products, references one of the world’s most famous comedians, Jerry Seinfeld. “Jerry Seinfeld was once asked what he liked in a woman, and he responded ‘Everything good. Pretty is good, smart is good, funny is good—I want all the good stuff,’” she says. “That’s the way I feel about choosing a licensee; I want all the good stuff: creative design, quality products, strong retail distribution, a solid operational infrastructure, and an understanding and passion for the brand.” It starts with creativity, Kalodner’s first objective. By now, the industry knows simply “logo slapping” is not good enough. Licensors are looking for something unique, something inspiring, something that includes the underlying core of the brand, enhanced with innovation. Knowing that, many licensors in TV are turning to their comedic portfolio. “Comedy is definitely next to game show,” says Kim Niemi, senior vice president of NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group. “Other than gaming, and maybe lifestyle, it’s our most popular licensing category. It’s the category where we have the most variety and the biggest licenses. It’s the one you can have the most fun with.” Genres such as drama and reality often consist of serious topics, and trying to include humor in licensed products for these shows might be harder as it is more difficult to convey tongue-in-cheek. In the back of a licensor’s mind is the thought, “Will this be taken the wrong way?” But innovation and humor are expected for comedies. From traditional products, such as
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Homer Simpson costume from Rubie’s Costume Co.
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apparel and books, to more quirky items, such as Dunder Mifflin paper (based on NBC’s The Office) and Homer costumes (based on Fox’s The Simpsons), comedies can easily satisfy the creativity objective. “Comedies open the door to a wider range of possibilities in terms of how much you can push the envelope,” says Jeffrey Godsick, president of Fox Consumer Products. “This creative freedom also allows you to create brand extensions that fit in the world of a particular show, but not necessarily depicted in the show.” Godsick cites Fox’s upcoming Family Guy Online, a virtual game launching this fall in which players can go into Quahog and encounter characters from the show. Fox has also released a series of Krusty the Clown products featuring clever phrases that are funny on their own but especially meaningful for fans. Fans are the main target audience for comedic licensed products, especially for CBS as its sitcom portfolio is composed of classic shows, but these products can also serve as a marketing tool. Last year, CBS announced the “I Love Lucy Live on Stage” show, featuring live music and commercial interludes. The show will embark on its nationwide tour this summer, sure to delight fans, but also introduce a younger generation to the world of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Fans might be the most motivated to buy into products, but they can also serve as a walking advertisement. If a person sees a clever T-shirt, stage show, or video game, that person might turn into a viewer. And it’s easy to be clever with comedies, which is why many TV licensors are signing these types of deals. “You can do a lot, say a lot, and cross a lot of categories,” says Niemi. “It can cross a lot of points, so it works for merchandising, whether it is a book, whether it is some type of twist on a T-shirt design, or whether you’re playing a game. It’s more versatile.” •••
HGTV Helps Refresh Homes
Timed to Mother’s Day, HGTV and Agricola Management Group launched the new HGTV Home Plant Collection in retail stores and garden centers. Initially, the collection is available to a select group of the nation’s top retailers and independent garden centers, located in key geographic areas, including the West Coast, the Midwest, New England, New York, and the Mid-Atlantic. New markets will be added to the collection’s distribution throughout next year. Sherwin-Williams released a line of HGTV Home outdoor paints this spring. The line of durable, low-VOC exterior paints is available in flat, satin, and gloss. Design guidance is provided to help homeowners create a consistent, harmonious look for their home. Also new this spring from Sherwin-Williams is a wall covering collection, featuring books that include wallpaper patterns, textures, and wall decals, which coordinate with interior color collections. The HGTV Home Furniture by Bassett line will include custom upholstery and access furniture, available in Bassett Home Furnishings stores this year. Separate HGTV Home furniture collections will be available to the top 100 and major independent furniture retailers across North America as well as select international markets.
New Partners for HBO’s Eastbound, Game of Thrones
HBO’s raucous comedy Eastbound & Down is the story of the rise and fall (emphasis on the fall) of former pitcher Kenny Powers as he navigates life after the Big Leagues. With an insufferable ego, self-destructive behavior, and penchant for profanity, Powers (played by Danny McBride) is often unlovable, but always entertaining. At last year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Bif Bang Pow! unveiled the Eastbound & Down Kenny Powers White Suit Bobble Head, made of resin and measuring 6.75 inches tall. The Kenny Powers Bobble Head appears on his The Panty Dropper watercraft wearing sunglasses and a white jacket with “Flama Blanca” on the back. In April, Fat Possum Records released the two-disc Eastbound & Down Soundtrack, a collection of “straight-up classics” handpicked by Kenny Powers himself. The soundtrack includes music and dialogue from the show’s three seasons, as well as music from The Black Keys, Too $hort, The Stooges, and more. Season two of Game of Thrones premiered to anticipating audiences in April, and HBO Global Licensing is rolling out a robust merchandising program in support. Through the end of May, costumes and props from the series will be displayed in the New York City HBO Shop as part of a Game of Thrones exhibit. Bigpoint, a leader in online video games, has partnered with the network to develop a browser-based Game of Thrones massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The game, launching this fall, will be set within the fictional, medieval world of Westeros and its Seven Kingdoms, capturing the show’s drama and action of power, corruption, and deception, and creating a visceral gaming experience. To ensure survival of their dynasty, players must master combat and politics, and the Bigpoint has selected Artplant as its development partner for this project. Other Game of Thrones partners include Dark Horse Deluxe for a limited-edition bust, to be released in June, and Chronicle Books for Inside HBO’s Game of Thrones, a book featuring profiles, photography, maps, family trees, and interviews, to be released this fall.
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TV Licensing
CBS Sets Plans for CSI, Top Model, The Good Wife
CBS Consumer Products is set to engage fans across the globe with new deals for its most popular franchises, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Star Trek, America’s Next Top Model, and more. Simon Spotlight, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, published the first two books in its new Club CSI series in April. Inspired by the television series, this junior high series of chapter books, by Dave Lewman, features a crew of middle school investigators that were encouraged by their forensic science class to form a “Club CSI” to solve crimes and capers at school. The first books, Case of the Mystery Meat Loaf and Case of the Missing Moola, were released simultaneously in hardcover and paperback. Lewman has also penned additional titles for release this summer and beyond. CBS Consumer Products has tapped Lemon, the largest producer of children’s shows in the Iberian Peninsula, to produce the kid-friendly CSI: Live! interactive stage show in Europe. The multi-city tour debuts in Lisbon, Portugal, in May, and will visit cities throughout the country before beginning its Spanish leg in Madrid in June. The show was created by Mad Science Productions and has toured the U.S. and Canada since
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2008. CSI: Live! invites audience members to become part of the adventure by incorporating cutting-edge forensic science, audience interaction, and visual effects into a fast-paced, entertaining “whodunit.” Hatchbeauty has joined with CBS Consumer Products to license a series of exclusive fragrances for The CW’s reality series, America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). The first ANTM fragrance, the flirtatious yet sophisticated Dream Come True, premiered earlier this year. The companies will collaborate with future ANTM winners as part of every grand prize package going forward. Winner Lisa D’Amato is the official spokesperson for Dream Come True. In conjunction with BBC Worldwide Consumer Products and CBS Consumer Products, IDW Publishing is making history as two of the greatest science fiction properties come together in a comic book for the first time. Launching in May, Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 features villains The Borg and the Cybermen as they create an unholy alliance, resulting in potential disaster for all humanity. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise find themselves joining forces with the Doctor and his companions. This eight-issue series is written by Scott and David Tipton, the authors of Star Trek: Infestation, with a helping hand from longtime Doctor Who writer Tony Lee. The book features fully painted artwork by J.K. Woodward (Fallen Angel). Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and Interlude Home have partnered with CBS Consumer Products to create a home décor line inspired by the network’s The Good Wife. The new line, the first license for the television series, is developed in collaboration with set decorator Beth Kushnick, and inspired by the set decoration ideas seen on the series. Products will debut on the show in the fall during the show’s fourth season. Through the agreement, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams will focus on home furnishings, which it will carry in its retail stores nationwide. Interlude Home will create accessories, accent furniture, and lighting, which will be available in stores throughout the U.S. and online. All products will be co-branded.
Fox and The Simpsons
This year, The Simpsons aired its recordbreaking 500th episode, and in 2014, the show will mark 25 years on the air. To celebrate, Fox Consumer Products has teamed up with Vandor for branded products, launching this June in time for Father’s Day. The collection will include tins, totes, and a variety of drinkwear, with gift and collectible items rolling out later. Fox Consumer Products EMEA has signed a pan-European licensing partnership with Rubie’s Costume Co. for a range of adult dress-up costumes, debuting in August. Dynomighty has also signed on for The Simpsons and Family Guy wallets with innovative twists, launching this fall. For Sons of Anarchy, Piston Clothing has signed on for outerwear, launching online and in specialty and independent retailers this summer. The Piston product line will include jackets for men and the women who ride with them in twill, denim, and leather. Licensee Sales One will produce Sons of Anarchy-branded men’s jewelry and body jewelry, including rings, bracelets, earrings, pendants, and necklaces, in a variety of materials, launching this summer.
Atlantyca Dives into Deals
Atlantyca Entertainment continues to sign deals for its properties Geronimo Stilton, Classic Little Prince, and Dive Olly Dive!. Earlier this year, Atlantyca appointed Empire International Merchandising Corporation as the licensing agent for the Geronimo Stilton brand throughout Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Atlantyca has also renewed its agreement with Telecom Italia, through the end of the year, for Geronimo Stilton’s participation in Navigare Sicuri, a nationwide public service campaign created to teach Italian children how to use the Internet safely. In Italy, the transmedia company has signed deals with Sticasa S.r.l. for Classic Little Prince. Sticasa’s line of products will include skins to personalize smartphones, mobile phones, tablets, and notebooks, as well as wall stickers and stickers for cars and bikes. Also in Italy, Biembi S.p.A. will roll out a line of back-to-school products based on Dive Olly Dive!, starting this June.
Sesame Adds Augmented Reality
Sesame Workshop has partnered with Qualcomm to develop augmented reality and to explore how the technology can encourage learning, imaginative play, and emotional growth in young children. By using the Vuforia augmented reality platform and holding up a tablet to a traditional play set, children will be able to interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters in an innovative way. In partnership with Microsoft, through the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360, Sesame Workshop is producing Kinect Sesame Street TV. Kids and families can jump into the action with this next generation of TV entertainment, helping Elmo and Cookie Monster with tasks on Sesame Street by using full-body and voice recognition. Sesame Workshop is teaming up with Hasbro again for new items based on characters from Sesame Street. As part of Hasbro’s Learning Line, products will include Ernie’s Alphabet Notepad, which is designed to help kids explore their ABCs while learning on a colorful LCD screen tablet.
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TV Licensing
Zinkia’s Pocoyo Stars on More Products
Zinkia Entertainment’s Pocoyo first launched in 2005 and now airs in more than 150 markets around the world. Licensing partners include Bandai America Incorporated (toys), Random House Children’s Books (books), Bentex Group, Inc. (apparel), NCircle Entertainment (DVD), and TCG (puzzles and games). In December, Zinkia named Evolution Management Group, Inc. as its licensing agent for the U.S. New for this year, NCircle released Pocoyo Fun & Games in April. Additional titles will roll out this year. Also in April, the Talking Pocoyo app was released, joining Pocoyize, which was released in February. Random House Children’s Books will publish its first Pocoyo book in August, including storybooks, leveled reader books, coloring and activity books, board/novelty books, and e-books, in English. Zinkia’s master apparel partner in the U.S. is Bentex, and under the terms of a multiyear agreement, Bentex will create a line of Pocoyo apparel, including T-shirts, sportswear, sleepwear,
swimwear, and outerwear. The line is scheduled to debut at retail next spring. Zinkia will soon announce new licensing agreements for online party goods, children’s bedding, footwear, and live events.
SMC Seeks Partners for Dance Academy and H20
In February, SMC Entertainment Group, Inc. was appointed by ZDF Enterprises GmbH to spearhead all licensing, merchandising, and promotional activity for two of its teen series, H20 Just Add Water and Dance Academy, throughout North America. SMC Entertainment is currently pursuing partnerships for both brands. Dance Academy is a high-energy teen drama series that premiered on Teen Nick in February. Targeting girls ages 8-14, the series follows small-town girl Tara Webster on her journey to pursue a career as a professional ballet dancer at the fictitious and highly competitive National Academy of Dance. The series, a hit for Australia’s ABC3, airs on ZDF in Germany and has been sold to YLE Finland, TG4 Ireland, Cartoon Network Latin America, NRK Norway, Disney in Portugal and Spain, RTI-Mediaset Italy, Canal+ in France, SF Switzerland, NPO Netherlands, and Vitaya Belgium and South Korea. SMC will develop relationships with licensees and promotional partners for Dance Academy in categories such as dancewear, apparel, accessories, publishing, gaming, back-toschool, HBA, room décor, and more. The company plans to launch at retail next spring. H20 Just Add Water is a series about three teenage girls facing
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everyday teen problems with an added twist: they’re mermaids with powers over water. Currently in its third season, H20 Just Add Water is licensed to more than 140 international territories, and premiered in the U.S. in January. SMC will initially build H20 Just Add Water’s licensing and merchandising program to include swimwear, apparel, accessories, publishing, gaming/apps, stationery, room décor, novelties, and HBA, with further expansion into other categories in the second tier. Merchandise is targeted for a spring 2013 retail launch.
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
TV Licensing
NBCUniversal’s Deals for Comedies, Reality, and More
The Office is NBC’s No. 1 scripted series among adults ages 18-49. This year, new branded office supplies and novelty items will debut from Culturenik, including door hangers, jigsaw puzzles, small notepads, journals, magnets, mugs, pens, postcards, and sticky notes, available in both The Office and Dunder Mifflin brands. This summer, a 16-month 2013 wall calendar will premiere from Andrews McMeel and Trends International, featuring pictures and quotes from season eight of the comedy. Perfect for a Pawnee Parks and Recreation “Grill Off,” the Ron F***ing Swanson Barbeque Sauce from Delivery Agent debuted in March. Based on the character from Parks and Recreation, fans can use the sauce to grill Ron Swanson Turkey Burgers (a fried turkey leg inside a grilled hamburger) and all other meat combinations. Jimmy Fallon has more people and things to thank in Thank You Notes 2, published by Grand Central Publishing. In this sequel book, Fallon addresses approximately 200 new subjects in need of his undying “gratitude.” Each page features one note and a photograph of its recipient. The book releases in May. Also this May, NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group and Fitness Ridge Worldwide, the parent entity of The Biggest Loser Resort, will open its third destination resort in western New York. The Biggest Loser Resort—Niagara will offer the same results-oriented program that guests can enjoy at the other two locations in Malibu, Calif., and Ivins, Utah. The Biggest Loser Resorts cater to all ages and fitness levels, while focusing on exercise, healthy nutrition, and education. The Niagara resort is set on a 300-acre private location, and includes a conference center, spa, swimming pool, and state-of-the-art fitness facilities. The resorts offer a minimum one-week weight loss program that combines morning hikes and an array of daily fitness classes. Fans of the show can also sign
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up for The Biggest Loser Visa Rewards Card from UMB Bank, N.A. Available nationwide, the card allows cardholders to earn rewards points for health- and wellness-related purchases and expenses. The Edwards Group licensed the card through NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group and Reveille, LLC, the company behind The Biggest Loser. Continuing with healthy habits, Joy Bauer, long-time diet and nutrition expert for Today, has released The Joy Fit Club, published by Wiley, featuring more than 75 recipes, detailed meal plans, and motivational before-and-after photographs of real people. New reality competition series Fashion Star searches for the next big brand in fashion. Featuring host and executive producer Elle Macpherson, along with celebrity mentors Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie, and John Varvatos, the series gives 14 unknown designers the chance to launch their collections in three of America’s largest retailers: Macy’s, H&M, and Saks Fifth Avenue. At the end of each episode, American viewers have the chance to immediately purchase the winning designs showcased on the episode that week. What viewers see on TV that night will be on the streets and in stores immediately. For NBCUniversal’s drama and science fiction shows, new products include the Knight Rider Hot Wheels Vehicle from Mattel, debuting at San Diego Comic-Con in July; an eight-inch scale action figure based on The Six Million Dollar Man from Bif Bang Pow!, debuting in July; a 1:1 scale replica of the Colonial Viper helmet (seen on Battlestar Galactica); and the soundtrack from the first season of NBC’s Smash, by Columbia Records.
Henson Signs for Pajanimals
Since launching Pajanimals last year on Sprout, The Jim Henson Company has developed a licensing program to support the show, including signing Tomy International as the master toy partner, NCircle Entertainment for home entertainment, and SaraMax Apparel Group, Inc. for sleepwear. Other Pajanimals partners include StarBound Entertainment for parade balloons; California Costumes for toddler Halloween costumes, launching this fall; and LightHeaded Beds for illuminated graphic kids’ headboards, which launched this spring. Continuing as a top priority for The Jim Henson Company is Dinosaur Train. Tomy International, the master toy partner, has created an extensive line of toys and collectibles to debut in September. Other partners include Mega Brands for construction toy sets; Uncle Milton for science-based toys; Paramount Home Video and PBS Kids for Dinosaur Train DVDs; DecoPac and Hallmark for party goods; California Costumes for Halloween costumes; and Penguin, Random House, and Reader’s Digest for books.
Discovery Is the (Cake) Boss
Discovery Communications, Inc. has inked a deal with Dawn Foods to create a line of ready-to-sell cakes inspired by the TLC series Cake Boss. Gearing up for its fifth season this summer, Cake Boss follows fourth-generation baker Buddy Valastro and his family-owned business, Carlo’s Bakery. Valastro worked closely with Dawn Foods to create a selection of celebration and dessert cakes based on his personal recipes and designs. Coinciding with the launch of new episodes, a selection of buttercream iced cakes will be available at bakeries, grocery stores, and warehouse clubs nationwide. This fall, fondant iced cakes will be unveiled, marking the first time fondant has been used in mass production in the U.S. Carlo’s Bakery has used Dawn Foods as a supplier of bakery ingredients for more than 20 years. The deal was brokered on behalf of Discovery Communications by Big Tent Entertainment, the North American licensing agent for the TLC brand.
FME Adds Kids’ Properties to New Division
Two years ago, FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) launched its Kids and Family Entertainment division. This year, FME is adding three new kids’ properties to its slate: Monsuno, Tree Fu Tom, and The Aquabats Supershow!. Monsuno is a new boys’ animated series, co-produced by Pacific Animation Partners, LLC, a joint venture between Jakks Pacific, Inc. and Dentsu Entertainment USA, Inc., with FME and The Topps Company, Inc. The series is character-driven, featuring teenage heroes who discover, command, and battle powerful creatures. Jakks Pacific is the master toymaker for the property, and Nickelodeon is the international broadcaster. FME will manage the ancillary rights for the brand across various categories, and is seeking new licensing partners across all categories, including games, publishing, electronics, housewares, outdoor and ride-on toys, apparel, lunchware, stationery, gifting, and more. Tree Fu Tom, aimed at kids ages 3-5, is a 3-D, CGI-animated fantasy action-adventure property from FME and CBeebies. Set in an enchanted world where movement creates magic, viewers are encouraged to interact with the show through physical actions. As the global distributor and ancillary rights manager (excluding UK/Eire), FME is looking for new licensing partnerships across all areas, including toys, publishing, games, and more. The creators of Yo Gabba Gabba! and FME have partnered for a quirky comedy adventure show, The Aquabats Super Show!, which debuted in March. Targeted to kids ages 6-13, this high-energy show follows a band of heroes on a never-ending quest to battle evil with music and superhero powers. FME will manage the ancillary rights for the brand across a broad range of categories, including apparel, costumes, publishing, and games/gadgets.
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TV Licensing
TVandToys:TheBestMarriageEver Part 1 of a Series by Stuart Fischer
elevision and toys have always been separate industries, art forms, and activities, but they have a few things in common: both television and toys are part of popular culture. Both are part of the general entertainment business and their main goal is to entertain children and, in many cases, adults as well. Despite their similarities and their differences as industries and art forms, the two have proven many times over that they can make for an excellent collaboration, and both industries have used different methods to utilize the talents and the influence of the other. Television was born in the 1940s, and the first television show produced specifically for kids debuted in the late 1940s. Toys have been around even longer, but the relationship between toys and television actually started earlier than most people remember. At first, a toy would follow a television show. Shows such as Captain Kangeroo, Howdy Doody, Gumby, Mickey Mouse, and Donald Duck made an impact on television, and toys and other products would follow. Toy companies would base their decisions on the popularity of a certain television show or motion picture, whether it was animated or live-action, and then would go to their designing departments to see if making a toy based on such an item was economically and technically possible. Iconic Cobra Commader If the answer was “yes,” the toy comfigure, from Hasbro’s original 1980s G.I. Joe pany would contact the studio or the action figure line owner of the property and make a deal to
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manufacture a toy, regardless of what the toy would be. Then it would be up to the toy company to market the toy accordingly and pay a royalty to the rights-owner. In the 1960s, a slight advancement was made. With television having become bigger and stronger as a medium, more children’s shows were produced, not just for the networks, but for the off-network market as well, then known as syndication. Hanna-Barbera Productions, which carved a name for itself with the hit show The Flintstones, as well as Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw, and Yogi Bear, decided to create another show, but with the aid of a toy company so that the toy that was based on the show had more potential to be a success. That show was Magilla Gorilla. Ideal Toy Company, a major toy manufacturer at the time, had the toy license. Both the show and the toy line worked, and Magilla Gorilla is still running as a show somewhere in the world (even though there are no toys at the moment). In 1969, ABC took a chance—and it was a big one— on putting a show based on Mattel’s Hot Wheels toy line on its Saturday morning schedule. The producer was a small animation house, Pantomime Pictures Corp., which had the Hot Wheels rights, and in the fall of 1969, the show started on ABC. It was only a matter of time before someone at the FCC decided that the show was nothing more than a weekly TV commercial and that it was inappropriate to have such a show running on television. After about a year or two, having been put under pressure, ABC pulled the show, and a toy-based series didn’t appear on television for another decade. The 1980s ushered in the “Reagan era,” and it was an era of de-regulation. The FCC loosened its tough standards as to what went on the air as long as it was not overly violent, sexually offensive, or racially offensive, and saw no reason to prohibit shows that were
based on toys. Books, comic books, and comic strips were being made into television shows, including shows directed at kids, so why not toys? What began in 1983 with Masters of the Universe, Rubik’s Cube, and G.I. Joe exploded into a new program category, and there were some true successes that came from the collaboration between the toy business and the TV business. Both mediums benefited from that success, along with the studios and toy companies that produced the shows. The established trend of the toy coming out after the show was put in reverse beginning in the early 1980s. Masters of the Universe was already a huge success as a toy line, and when Lou Scheimer of Filmation Associates saw the toy and realized the great potential it had for a show—because of the fantasy aspect of the toy line and the good character of the lead hero, which was He-Man—he made a deal with Mattel, which owns the toy line, and developed it for television. In the fall of 1983, the show began in syndication, and became a ratings winner almost immediately. Hasbro then rolled out its G.I. Joe cartoon, first as an animated mini-series so that the waters could be properly tested. When the ratings proved that it was a hit—and after a long layoff due to the Vietnam War, which hurt the sales of the toy company back in the ’60s—Hasbro realized that there could be a second life for its line. From 1984 on, G.I. Joe became not only one of the bestselling toys at the time, but a true television hit. Hasbro produced the show through its advertising agency, Griffen-Bacal, and Marvel Productons, Ltd., the animation studio arm of Marvel Comics, which also published a G.I. Joe comic book to spectacular results. For much of the 1980s, the comic was among the most popular within the comic book business. Mattel and Hasbro had proven that by working closely with their animation studio partners, more could be done in the future and that new toys could be created not just within the halls of the toy companies, but also by animation studios. And so began a revolution of sorts, without any objections from government agencies. Certain pressure groups objected, but that did not stop the toy companies or the studios from doing what they thought was good business.
What followed were such shows as The Gobots, The Transformers, Jem, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Pound Puppies, My Little Pony, The Sky Commanders, Bravestar, Thundercats, and Silver Hawks, among others. Even Rambo was made into a TV cartoon series and a toy line where one supported the other so as to attract maximum attention from kids. The 1980s was a period where both the studio and the toy company were true partners, and it did work, most of the time. Most importantly, these collaborations showed that two creative mediums could get together and create a product to achieve a common goal. It proved the importance of having a flexible mind so that new things could be accomplished. One drawback in this era of the toydriven show was the lack of interest and support whenever something original was proposed to a network or studio to be done as a television show. a 1980s Masters of the Universe The first thing they would ask the Skeletor figure, from Mattel person pitching the show was whether a toy company was involved. If there was not, the meeting would end right there. No toy line, no TV show. The TV-toy tie-in has made its mark on the history of youth entertainment. Following articles in this series will take a look at TV-toy tie-ins that became successful and why. ••••
Stuart Fischer has worked at Universal Studios, where he helped develop shows to be sold to networks, as well as Hanna-Barbera Productions, where he developed shows to be sold to the networks and to the first-run syndication market. Fischer has written the books Kids’ TV: The First 25 Years and The Hanna-Barbera Story: The Life and Times of TV's Greatest Animation Studio, as well as various magazine and trade journal articles. He also created his own comic book, The Man-O-Saurs.
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For the Love of Art
Art Licensing
Precious Moments loves art so much it’s become an art licensing agent on top of being a licensor and manufacturer. With 30 years of industry experience, it’s sure to succeed. by Elizabeth A. Reid
t a recent Philadelphia International Flower Show, a friend of Susan Meek, vice president of licensing at Precious Moments, Inc. (PMI), stumbled upon artist Michelle Masters’ booth. Instinctively, she thought Meek should see Masters’ work. One in-person meeting later, Masters and Meek had signed a licensing deal. For 30 years, Precious Moments has been known for its messages of loving, caring, and sharing, as well as its soft-toned artwork that has been licensed across a number of categories. But last year, the company jumpstarted its own licensing agency and has been steadily signing artists: 16 in total, to date, with thousands of pieces of artwork. All of the artists have unique styles, so they are never competing with one another. “I decided to sign with Susan and Precious Moments based mainly on my interaction with Susan and the knowledge that she was very experienced in the business,” says Masters. “Susan came to my studio, saw my working environment, and addressed all of my questions and concerns, especially regarding the control I would have over what products were produced with my work.” Masters soon learned she would be closely involved with deals and able to accept or reject offers. Precious Moments Licensing Agency is able to anticipate artists’ concerns because the company is an art licensor as well as a licensee/manufacturer. The company’s experience in licensing and its love of great art are the main reasons it decided to expand its influence in the industry as an agent. “We decided to start the agency when we got approached by a couple of artists that asked if we would do it,” says Meek. “I absolutely loved their art and when you fall in love with it,
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Precious Moments’ “Love is on the Way” figurine
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you just want to do it—and it was something that we could easily do.” With three decades of experience, PMI knows all the major players that buy and license art. The company also has an established approval system, an art bank, and a legal team for copyrights, trademarks, and contracts. The structure is set; all that’s needed is the talent. Masters, in particular, loves that Meek and her team are veterans. “Having Precious Moments as my licensing agent gives me the opportunity to focus on creating new artwork,” she explains, “while knowing that Susan is talking to potential licensees, speaking their language from the point of view of an established company with a strong brand.” As an exhibitor at SURTEX and Licensing Show, PMI will be showcasing and licensing all of its artists, searching for new talent, plus exhibiting its own Precious Moments brand. Recently, PMI launched a Precious Moments brand extension, Hug ’n Cuddle Bugs, targeting girls ages 3-6. The property is the story of little critters that live in a garden behind a mansion. The bugs’ job is to help keep the garden looking beautiful, and to keep the “mean ol’ Stink Bugs” from messing up their greenery. Every once in a while the Stink Bugs sneak through, and the Hug ’n Cuddle Bugs must clean up to keep flowers and plants thriving. Numerous companies have signed on as licensees for the property, including Colorbök, Hallmark, The Doll Maker, Pioneer Balloon Company, and Kurt Adler, among others. PMI is looking to sign partners for apps, DVDs, and CDs. PMI is also looking for great artists to grow its new licensing business. “I would love to be able to bring great quality art to a lot of people,” says Meek. “It’s so unfortunate because some people aren’t aware of the different artists that are out there and how talented they are. It’s nice when you can make products and recognize them.” ••••
Art Licensing
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SURTEX 2012
Art and design show adds daily multimedia trend presentations for attendees and exhibitors.
Penny Sikalis, vice president of GLM and SURTEX show manager
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t’s SURTEX, the only B2B marketplace dedicated to art licensing, and considered the source for original surface design. In its 26th year, SURTEX will host more than 300 exhibitors from around the world: designers, studios, and agencies that license and/or sell original artwork for a broad spectrum of markets, including home, fashion and beauty, consumer goods, contract, and more. Held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, this year’s show runs May 20-22, offering the newest, most creative artwork for product development, limitless inspiration, in-depth education, and unparalleled networking/business opportunities. The marketplace is expected to draw some 6,000 attendees, primarily manufacturers and retailers who seek ideas for consumer and institutional products. They represent industries as diverse as apparel textiles, home textiles, decorative fabrics, wall coverings, floor coverings, stationery, greeting cards, gift wrap, and other paper products, plus tabletop, housewares, giftware, toys, ceramics, packaging, and publishing. Most view SURTEX as the crystal ball of the next big product trends. In one location, licensees and art buyers from around the world can readily pick up on trends in color, texture, style, and pattern for their markets, as manufacturers and retailers make the designs reality for the coming seasons. A true
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international marketplace, exhibiting companies hail from Canada, Ecuador, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, the Netherlands, the UK, and the U.S. “New this year, SURTEX participants can be inspired by world-renowned forecasting companies who will share their visions through daily multimedia trend presentations in the SURTEX Trend Theater on the show floor,” says Penny Sikalis, vice president of GLM and show manager. “By attending some or all of these complimentary, exclusive-to-SURTEX, 30minute sessions, attendees and exhibitors alike can capture the pulse of what is trending ahead, from consumer attitudes and street happenings, to color, design, and theme directions across multiple categories.” The popular SURTEX Conference Program offers 10 educational sessions in three consecutive tracks, each geared to different levels of expertise. Fundamentals of Art Licensing, on Sunday, May 20, is a com-
“Attendees and exhibitors alike can capture the pulse of what is trending ahead.” —Penny Sikalis prehensive view of the art licensing business in four sessions for artists starting out in the business. Other participants are manufacturers and retailers new to the licensing business. Operations, a second track, held on Monday, May 21, offers four sessions on legal issues, practical advice about working with manufacturers once agreements are signed, and building relationships with retailers and manufacturers. Insight, the third track, to be held on Tuesday, May 22, gives artists and buyers a peek into the future by looking at the impact of the digital world as well as the evolving retail scene and how these factors might shape the art licensing arena. Registration and information-laden courses are available by track, full conference package, or by individual session through the show’s website, www.surtex.com. The annual international student design competition, known as Designext, attracts emerging talent from educational institutions around the world. The four winners of Designext 2012, as selected by a panel of judges representing various facets of the design industry, will participate in the marketplace for an unparalleled opportunity to showcase their work and portfolios at SURTEX. A grand prize winner will be selected at the show and will receive a monetary award of $1,000. Sikalis says, “SURTEX is unique, assembling everyone in the art and design business in one location that highlights the world’s best and most original surface design. The connections forged here are the basis for countless new licensing deals around the globe for months to come.” The leaders of two licensing agencies share this perspective. Suzanne Cruise, president of Cruise Creative, which represents more than 25 artists whose work is licensed across many product categories, has exhibited at SURTEX for many years. “Nowhere else but at SURTEX can manufacturers find the art their buyers are looking for.” Similarly, Marty Segelbaum, president and founder of MHS Licensing, who directs one of the nation’s leading full-service licensing and consulting agencies, believes SURTEX is an essential trade show. “We either attend or
exhibit at over 20 trade shows a year, and SURTEX is by far our most important show.” For complete SURTEX information, including the conference program and Trend Theater, and online registration, visit www.surtex.com. For more information, call GLM Customer Relations at (914) 421-3329, or email customerrelations@glmshows.com.
SURTEX
May 20-22 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Hall 3B Jacob K. Javits Convention Center New York, NY
DID YOU KNOW?
SURTEX stands for SURface Trade EXpo. The show originated with textile designers selling their surface designs into multiple product categories with an emphasis on fabrics and wall coverings. ••••
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Social Media
Marketing with Social Media: The Challenge of Herding Cats Part 2 of a Series By Andy Marken, Marken Communications ocial media—one-toone communications directly and effortlessly with present and prospective brand owners, licensees, manufacturers, and retailers— sounds glamorous. It’s like the romance and adventures of the old West. Long hours in the (online) saddle, what could be better? But ask the folks who have been doing it for years— customer/technical support—and the difficulty is more like herding cats. According to Digital Brand Expressions, less than 41 percent of brand owners have a cohesive, strategic social media plan. Even fewer have protocols for managing the activity. Social media is where people get together to share advice, talk to one another about their experiences in using products and services, and discuss common interests. As licensed products and services get more complex and converged, these relationships are indispensible. For licensors, licensees, producers, and retailers the challenge is to: • reach, educate, influence, and persuade prospects; • efficiently and effectively provide information; • produce happy partners and customers who influence other prospects; • keep customers and prospective customers involved in the company and its products; • encourage favorable reviews and testimonials; • obtain input and proactive ideas about licensing improvements; • quickly and effectively solve partner or cus-
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tomer issues; and • build a solid backlog of product loyalty for any dark days. The world of social media just keeps expanding, enabling people to connect with very specific online communities. They are also prime opportunities for companies to connect with existing customers and prospective customers. Information—good, bad, and ugly—is everywhere. Right now, millions of business partners and consumers worldwide are using social networks, blogs, microblogs, online forums, and video-sharing sites. The growth of social media and its influence
Growing Choices
over reputations hasn’t escaped the watchful eyes of people interested in developing or providing licensed products. The benefits of social media, in terms of marketing and sales, are plentiful. According to a survey by TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony, 36.6 percent of respondents use social media marketing to gain consumer insight. Other objectives include building brand awareness (21.1 percent), increasing customer loyalty (18.3 percent), enhancing corporate reputation (14.1 percent), and launching a new product (7 percent). But Digital Brand Expressions’ worldwide survey showed that many firms don’t have a defined social media strategy. Many people and company divisions, including marketing, public relations, sales, human resources, and IT, have ideas about social media efforts, but few want to be responsible and accountable. It might seem as if social media has little or no appeal to organizations interested in offering licensed products or services, or those looking for licensing opportunities, but just like lightning can spook a herd of cats, negative comments about products or brands can hit quickly and with devastating effects. It costs time and money to win back partners and customers, and many never return. That’s why it’s important to be proactive in social media. The challenge is that there are billions of people online and thousands of social media options, including blogs, micro-blogs, Wikis, social networking websites, news and information websites, and consumer websites. Until recently, information was provided with words and diagrams, but as people go online to watch videos, progressive companies are adding short video content to their websites for product explanations and demonstrations. In addition, the fortunate videos that go viral are posted by channel partners, and linked to blogs and other social media sites to be shared with viewers everywhere. New compact cameras and even smartphones can be used to produce real mini-stories quickly, easily, and economically. Products such as muvee’s Reveal do most of the production work automatically. For organiza-
Busy Landscape; Choose Video
“Just like lightning can spook a herd of cats, negative comments about products or brands can hit quickly and with devastating effects.” tions on a non-existent to tight budget, low-cost cameras, simple business environment locations, homegrown talent, and automated video production software can be used to produce interesting and informative videos. Muvee and similar products analyze photos, videos, and style of music, and then automatically create a video synced to the music’s beat, with transitions and effects built in. Short videos, even with minor mistakes, are more believable than polished ads. The software can help you explain your licensing idea or products, develop SEO (search engine optimization) links, and visually assist people in learning more. Taking viewers through a story not only adds credibility, but it encourages people to share the videos and links with others. Since the digital environment is changing rapidly, there are no “best practices” models in social media just yet. But know that pushing messages at a partner or consumer doesn’t work. The first step should be to explain the whats, whys, and hows of a company’s offerings, products, and strategy/direction, as well as listening to consumer input. It’s only a small step forward, but it’s a start in building reputation equity. Herding cats and building social media relationships have a lot in common. Ride slow, watch, and listen to the herd. Also, be ready for the unexpected. It’s a tough, long, yet rewarding trip.
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This is Part 2 of a series on social media. Andy Marken is a marketing and communications consultant with more than 30 years of experience. He has written more than 400 articles. In addition to consulting with and being a spokesman for major clients, he also speaks on industry subjects, including management, marketing, and consumer relations. He can be reached at andy@markencom.com.
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Of Counsel
Negotiating the Common Marketing Fund Licensing 101, Part 64 by James Kipling (This article is the 64th in a series devoted to the documentation of the licensing relationship and elements of a typical license agreement.) s was addressed in the preceding article of this series, license agreements frequently include specified minimum advertising requirements that the licensee must expend in promoting its own licensed articles. The Common Marketing Fund (“CMF”) is a separate element of cost of participation required by many licensors that may or may not provide marketing support for the licensee. Ten years ago, it was still a new concept and was strongly resisted by many licensees. Today, it is more of a rule than an exception and has found its way into licensors’ standard form agreements. In essence, the CMF clause requires payment by the licensee to the licensor of additional funds (over and above the costs of royalties on its sales of licensed articles and its own advertising expenditures) that are to be earmarked for use by the licensor in a manner “beneficial to all licensees.” At least that’s the theory. Such licensor spending might include increased media advertising for the property, financing the creation of instore boutiques for coordinated display of products embodying the property from various manufacturers, promotional events, or other uses beneficial to licensees. We use the word “might” advisedly. The devil is in the details—or the lack of detail, depending on which party we’re talking about.
For the Common Good
A
Specificity is never lacking when the licensee’s mandatory CMF payments are set out in the agreement. A flat sum, a defined periodic payment, or an incremental percentage of sales must be paid to the licensor for the CMF. Often, separate quarterly statements are required to be sent with a separate check for the CMF payment. In some instances, these are to be sent to a different office of the licensor from that which receives the royalty payments and statements under the same license agreement. It’s all very precise and creates the impression of separate and distinct revenue streams being used by the licensor for different purposes.
Licensees’ Payment Obligations Are Clear and Unambiguous
Many license agreements that include the CMF concept give elaborate examples of the manner in which the funds can be spent, such as those listed above. Licensor spending “might” also include Internet promotion, print ads, and in-store signage. The methods and amounts of licensors’ spending, however, are almost
Licensors’ Spending Obligations Are Frequently Less Specific
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invariably qualified as being subject to the “licensor’s sole and absolute discretion.” In fact, spending of any kind is rarely obligatory. Some licensees attempt to rectify the uncertainties by negotiating for the definition of what CMF spending will actually be made, the inclusion of the licensee’s own licensed articles in specific promotions against which this spending is to occur, and/or detailed reports to be issued by the licensor to confirm that appropriate spending actually has taken place. Such suggestions might be met with varying degrees of licensor shock and disbelief that the licensee might question the licensor’s altruistic concern for “what’s best for our licensees.” Please pass the salt. Nevertheless, some licensors actually do spend CMF funds and will agree to provide supporting information to licensees who ask the appropriate questions. Those licensors who refuse to provide such information tend to undercut their own indignation at the licensee’s brash request. Many weary licensees readily take “no” for an answer to their request for an accounting of what’s done with the CMF or other relief from what may seem a mere façade for incremental licensor profit. Others don’t even bother to ask. They tell themselves, or grumble to others, that the CMF payment is just an “additional royalty” that must be paid in order to obtain the right to use the property. Actually, it’s worse than that. Licensors who impose CMF payments unanimously require that the payments be rendered separately from royalties and refuse to permit the payments to be recoupable against minimum royalty guarantees. Even though computed as a percentage of sales of licensed articles, CMF payments unspent by the licensor are even less beneficial to licensees than if they were actually incremental royalties. At least then they would count toward the guarantee obligation. When this aspect is evaluated beyond initial irritation, the weariness of some licensees can be transformed into downright cynicism toward particular licensors. Some licensees have suggested changing the designation from CMF payments to “BLE” payments, for licensors’ “bottom line enhancement.”
Just an Incremental Royalty?
This series of articles is intended to provide reviews of various aspects of license agreements, to explain diverging viewpoints, and to suggest constructive ways to bridge the gaps for the benefit of both sides. However, until more licensors are willing to undertake obligations to spend and report upon the amounts paid into the Common Marketing Fund, it is difficult to find a way to report on this subject impartially. ••••
A Revolting Development?
James Kipling has represented licensors and licensees for more than 20 years 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 reached at (513) 241-2324, or jkipling@whepatent.com. Copyright: ©2012 James M. Kipling. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Properties, Products and Services STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT,AND CIRCULATION: REQUIRED BY 39 U.S.C.TITLE OF PUBLICATION:THE LICENSING BOOK. PUBLICATION NO. 716-730. FREQUENCY OF ISSUE: QUARTERLY. NUMBER OF ISSUES PUBLISHED ANNUALLY: 4. ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $48. COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS OF THE HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL BUSINESS OFFICES OF THE PUBLISHER: 307 7TH AVE, ROOM 1601, NEW YORK, NY 10001. FULL NAMES AND COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESSES OF PUBLISHER AND EDITOR: PUBLISHER, JONATHAN SAMET, 307 7TH AVE, ROOM 1601, NEW YORK, NY 10001; EDITOR IN CHIEF, BRYAN JOINER, 307 7TH AVE, ROOM 1601, NEW YORK, NY 10001. OWNER:ADVENTURE PUBLISHING GROUP, INC., 307 7TH AVE, ROOM 1601, NEW YORK, NY 10001.
EXTENT AND NATURE OF CIRCULATION: Avg. No. Copies Each Actual No. Copies Single Issue Issue During Preceding Published Nearest to Filing 12 Months (6 issues) Date Total No. Copies Ligitimate Paid and/or requested Distribution 1. Outside Counrty Paid/ Request Mail Subscription 2. Sales Through Dealer and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and other Paid or Requested Distribution outside USPA Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 1. Outside Counrty Nonrequested Copies 2. Nonrequested copies Distributed Outside the Mail (include Pickup Stands,Tradeshows, Showroom, and other sources)
12,715
12,104
10,268
10,091
29
34
10,297
10,125
234
220
775
350
Total Nonrequested Distribution
1,009
570
Total Distribution
11,306
10,695
Copies Not Distributed
1,409
1,409
Total
12,715
12,104
91%
95%
Percent Paid and/or Requested
Activision............................................................................................................................................................29 Adventure Publishing Group ................................................................................................................................37 CBS..................................................................................................................................................................1, 2 Dissero Brands ....................................................................................................................................................43 Gateway Licensing ..............................................................................................................................................50 GM Licensing......................................................................................................................................................50 Harris-Sachs .......................................................................................................................................................50 LIMA ..................................................................................................................................................................51 NPD...................................................................................................................................................................31 Penguin Licensing and Consumer Products ......................................................................................................13, 15 Precious Moments .................................................................................................................................................7 Skechers.........................................................................................................................................................5, 52 The Toy Insider ....................................................................................................................................................23 Universal Studios.................................................................................................................................................21
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