9 minute read
Talking points for 2022
LSB highlights some talking points for the licensing business in 2022 – from supply chain and shipping challenges, through to emerging categories which you really should know about.
Talk of the town
It’s a New Year and with it come new opportunities. After almost two years of disruption caused by the pandemic, there will be hopes that 2022 will bring an increased sense of normality to our lives and, along with it, renewed consumer confidence. There will, of course, be challenges. Speaking to a selection of licensees across various categories, a return to less fractious supply chains, with a rebalancing of shipment costs and more regularised factory lead times was high on the agenda. The challenges are likely to remain a key talking point as we move through the year. On top of this, there has also been a change when it comes to post-Brexit customs rules. From 1 January 2022, exports between Great Britain and the EU will be subject to full customs controls. Some sectors will be hit harder than others - the rules are more complicated for animal products, for example. But on to a trend which is seeing continued positive momentum - an issue which is only growing in awareness and importance,
sustainability will continue to be high on the
agenda as a wider industry trend for 2022. New research from The Insights Family found that ‘purpose first’ is becoming a key factor for parents when buying products for their children, and this could see companies switch their marketing strategies to better convey their sustainability credentials. Products of Change will also continue to bring the industry together and drive it forward with a number of initiatives, one of which will be the first in-person Sustainability in Licensing Conference at the Royal Geographical Society on 22 June, 2022. A host of major sporting events should also provide a lift for this market category. Beginning with the Beijing Olympic Winters Games in February, and encompassing the UEFA Women’s EURO England 2022 in the summer, the Rugby League World Cup (which begins in October) and culminating in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November and December, there should be plenty of opportunities for the licensing business. Likewise, the arrival of several eagerly awaited blockbuster movies at the box office. The heavyweight release schedule includes Robert Pattinson’s debut as the Caped Crusader in The Batman, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, DC League of Super-Pets, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion, Lightyear, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Minions: The Rise of Gru and Thor: Love and Thunder to name a few. When it comes to retail with online having surged ahead due to the pandemic, it’s fair to say that bricks and mortar has some ground to make up. Expect to see more pop-up experiences launching (Event Merchandising is one to watch here), as well as activations in shopping centres from Rainbow Productions and the licensors it works with, as physical retail looks to put some ‘oomph’ back into the high street in 2022. Continuing on the retail theme, those which have considerably upped their licensing game over the past 12 months include Iceland, B&M and Studio.com. Meanwhile, Character.com, Missguided, H&M, George @ Asda and The Hut Group continue to make ambitious moves with collaborations and sustainability initiatives, while Primark continues its bounceback from the 2020-21 lockdowns. Plus, of course, all eyes are on the return of Toys R Us to the UK.
Getting immersive
“Immersive events can be a significant additional string to the bow for most brand licensing programmes,” Tom Roe, head of global licensing at Immersive Everywhere, tells LSB. It may still be a relatively new format in terms of rights availability, but Immersive Everywhere is no stranger to attracting audiences, with its Londonbased immersive The Great Gatsby being the longest running show of its kind in the UK and the second longest running in the world. Last year – despite the challenges of Covid – the company launched its Doctor Who: Time Fracture immersive theatrical adventure. Tom says that the company signed a couple of major brands last year which are still under wraps, however one that he can talk about is Peaky Blinders: The Rise which will take place in Camden Market and is already generating serious chatter among fans. “On venues, we always look to place our shows in interesting or iconic locations,” explains Tom. “This adds to the spectacle and enables us to tell the story in the best manner. To give you a sense of the scale of our productions, typically our venues are between 30-40,000 square feet, and there is obviously so much that can be done with a brand in such a space.” Licensors should think about the vastly expanding immersive entertainment sector as a key part of their brand offering, plus as part of the global voice of their IPs, says Tom. “They typically complement any traditional live event activations,” he adds. “Our immersive shows can also provide brand owners with additional revenue streams that they normally do not receive form traditional theatre shows. This is still a very new and extremely exciting format, and the level of engagement is second to none across the live events space. There is also plenty of opportunity that comes from placing immersive experiences in ‘nontraditional’ locations. “It’s still very early days for this cutting-edge format, and Immersive Everywhere is certainly in the market for more leading IP. If you’re a brand owner, and we’re not already speaking, please get in touch.”
Above: Tom Roe, head of global licensing, Immersive Everywhere. Untitled-1 1
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‘GETIMMERSED IN J AZZ - A GE HEDONISM’ THE GU ARDIAN THE LONDONIST THE TIMES THE ST A GE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT Inset: Immersive Everywhere has already enjoyed success with The Great Gatsby and Doctor Who: Time Fracture and will be launching Peaky Blinders: The Rise later this year. Untitled-1 1
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Bottom left: Max Arguile, founder, Reemsborko. “Many more licensees are now getting seriously interested in animé - in December, at their request, I ran through the entire Reemsborko roster for the benefit of a licensee,” begins the agency’s founder, Max Arguile. “This happened less than a year after almost the same meeting with the same licensee. At that point, they were very unsure about the genre and nothing happened but now, because retail is asking for it, they know they have to take animé seriously.” Hatsune Miku was the busiest licence for the company during lockdown and this continued in 2021, says Max. He is also confident that all the work done on Dragon Ball will soon bear fruit, while the Junji Itô Collection continues to grow with a number of new licensees and ranges. So why should animé brands be on the radar? “It’s partly about the well-established and multi-generational fanbases, and also the ability to open doors at retail but more that, animé brands are very much worth your consideration because your competitors mostly don’t have them, and nor do your customers,” points out Max. “Animé is highly influential in the West and the fans that grew up on it are now creating their own versions. Zombie Makeout Club is an animé-adjacent property from a US designer that has been very well established in Hot Topic in the US for over a year. The apparel range just had an incredible start in the UK for Trademark. As well as HMV and Forbidden Planet, and others, they are now going into EMP, at which point we predict consistent European sales for an extended period. The fans are out there, and they are keen to buy the product. Watch out for Zombie Makeout Club… don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
The metaverse explained
No doubt you will have heard people talking about NFTs and the metaverse. But what exactly are they and why should the licensing industry be taking notice? “In the simplest terms, NFTs are ‘one-of-a-kind’ assets based on blockchain technology that can be bought and sold – a good way to think of them is as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets,” explains Jake Scott, head of
community and blockchain
innovation at Reality Gaming Group. “An NFT can represent anything - it’s most popular use cases so far have been for artwork, profile pictures, game assets and land ownership, to name but a few. Each unique token represents true ownership and enables holders to use or trade their NFTs whenever and however they wish.” The concept of the metaverse, meanwhile, is a network of virtual worlds focused on social interaction, sometimes referred to as Web 3.0. “Think of it as the next stage of evolution for the internet, interconnected with our everyday lives,” explains Jake. “The virtual worlds being created right now by brands and the likes of Meta (formerly Facebook) have all kinds of applications, including playing games, watching films or concerts, working with colleagues or just chatting to friends. While the metaverse concept has been around for a while, the advent of VR and 3D rendering means it has become a visual, not just a social. With NFTs, owners can see and interact with their digital items in the metaverse.” Reality Gaming Group’s current NFT projects include Doctor Who: Worlds Apart – an upcoming officially licensed digital NFT trading card game); digital collectables for legendary boxer, Floyd Mayweather, Emojibles and Smighties Universe, plus mobile game Reality Clash which uses NFTs for in-game items.
Jake continues: “NFTs offer a way for brands to connect with their fans/users/consumers on a deeper level, by enabling new ways to interact with digital (and physical) products in the virtual world. Brands are seeking to enter the metaverse and become prominent players in that virtual space so that they continue to remain relevant. It’s important that they do: brands who did not utilise the internet when it first emerged missed a colossal opportunity to get to know their consumers better and to market products to them more effectively.” Importantly though, Jake urges that brand owners need to do their research on the space.
“Brands need to look for real utility and not launch an NFT as a gimmick or cash grab - and there is plenty of opportunity out there to create NFTs in the right way,” he says. “Brands should learn about NFTs and their potential place in the metaverse before jumping in.”
Above: Reality Gaming Group’s current NFT projects include Doctor Who: Worlds Apart, an officially licensed digital NFT trading card game.
Store counts
A number of retailers have committed more shelf space (both physical and virtual) to licensed products over the past 12 months and more. The Radar Award at The Licensing Awards 2021 was hotly contested with The Hut Group being named as the eventual winner. However, it faced strong competition from B&M, Card Factory, The Range, Studio.com and Superdrug. With licensing having the potential to add value to a retailer’s offering, attracting new consumers into stores and tempting back old ones, we should expect to see a rise in activity across the board this year.
