State of the Nation: Services

Service charged

LSB rounds up some of the latest news from the vital services sector as well as some corporate developments in the licensor arena.

Above: Fabacus will integrate licensed product into the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla brand universe.

Ubisoft joins with Fabacus

Ubisoft, Venum and Fabacus are launching an activation using physical licensed products to unlock digital rewards and experiences for consumers, in a deal brokered by IMG. For the first time, Fabacus – the company behind proprietary technology platform, Xelacore – has partnered with Ubisoft to integrate its licensed product into the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla brand universe, with a dedicated capsule collection with the brand Venum. Fabacus is levelling up the possibilities of its technology to now cross formats and consumer ‘worlds’ with codes on physical Ubisoft x Venum products to unlock in-game rewards for players and their digital avatars. Venum and Fabacus have previously partnered on a UFC x Venum collaboration to unlock exclusive products and UFC prizes.

Further growth for The Insights Family

The Insights Family has launched its service into four new international markets. As of 1 January 2022, the company started interviewing kids (3-18s) and parents in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Argentina and South Africa. This will see the business expand its operations to provide its clients with real-time data from 22 territories across six continents. The new markets will follow the same methodology as the existing markets and will see the business survey 400 different children and 200 different parents every week (21,000 and 10,500 respectively a year). With the addition of four new territories, The Insights Family will now interview a new family member somewhere in the world every 55 seconds. The launches of the new markets mean that the company now covers all the countries in the G20, providing brands and companies with access to ethical real-time data. “2021 was a transformational year for the business, with us enjoying significant growth and development across the business,” commented Nick Richardson, ceo and founder of The Insights Family. “The expansion into these markets, based on client demand demonstrate our position as the global leader in kids, parents and family market intelligence.”

Trevco acquires POD manufacturer

Trevco is expanding further into the UK with its acquisition of print on demand manufacturer, Mandarin International Brands. The acquisition means that MIB’s 130-strong team will replicate Trevco’s US ecommerce model in the UK and Europe. MIB is a key player in offering ecommerce solutions to licensed IP including turn-key fully integrated product design, photography, marketing, sourcing, manufacturing, decorating, warehousing and fulfillment. Trevco will now leverage its proprietary ‘T-Commerce’ technology and digital advertising technologies to scale Mandarin’s UK and European footprint across DTC and wholesale ecommerce channels. The acquisition will also enable Trevco’s ecommerce direct to consumer brand webstore offering to span globally. Trevco will further invest $10m into the UK and Central Europe over the next 24 months, expanding its apparel and non-apparel print on demand capabilities.

Golden Goose adds BrandXL to offer

Strategic licensing boutique, Golden Goose has revealed a new licensing admin system that will form part of its consultancy offering going forward, called BrandXL. As the first licensing admin system designed specifically for small and growing programmes, BrandXL gives multi-level access to stored licensing agreements, uploaded royalty reports and product submissions. Inviting small and growing programmes to take up the offer of a free trial, Adam Bass, director at Golden Goose, commented: “We’ve concentrated 50+ years of professional licensing experience into a very easy-touse, intuitive system.” Developed because “we needed one easily accessible, secure, online place for all of our licensing data,” BrandXL is available to agents, brand owners, client and licensee looking to manage the growth of their licensing programmes.

Above: TWG already powers the online stores of brands including Moonbug’s CoComelon and Blippi.

The Wildflower Group adds ecommerce division

The Wildflower Group has formally introduced its ecommerce division, a 360-degree service which aims to help brands build and operate their own online storefronts. TWG already powers the online stores of brands including Peanuts, Coraline’s LAIKA Studios, Discovery’s Shark Week, Moonbug’s CoComelon and Blippi, Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life, Konami’s Yu-GiOh! and MotorTrend among others. Over the past six years, the company has been busy building a comprehensive suite of solutions to support end to end ecommerce operations, all executed in-house. These include building and managing a brand’s site; building a comprehensive product assortment by sourcing from licensees and directly from manufacturers; a full service marketing operation to draw in consumers; and a full service fulfilment centre.

Beanstalk extends reach

Beanstalk has further extended its global reach by establishing offices in Mexico City, Mexico and Sao Paulo, Brazil. In addition, the agency has established a licensing team dedicated to servicing the Caribbean, Central American, Andean and Southern regions of Latin America. The agency is developing licensing programmes in Latin America for several of the world’s most recognisable brands. The agency’s on the ground presence in Mexico and Brazil will provide direct, localised licensing expertise to assist clients in expanding their brands’ presence in the territory. In addition to this, the agency is also actively identifying opportunities for native Latin American brands that can benefit from utilising licensing as part of their growing marketing strategies.

Brainbase revs up with Nissan

Brainbase has welcomed Nissan Motor Corporation – one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers – to its roster. "Nissan has a rich history of ingenuity and innovation in the auto industry not only in their home country of Japan, but across the globe," said Nate Cavanaugh, co-founder and ceo of Brainbase. "Our companies' combined commitments to excellence and disrupting the status quo brought us together, and the Brainbase team is excited to support their high-growth licensing business with our industry-leading technology." Nissan joins a Brainbase customer roster with leading global brands including BBC Studios, BuzzFeed, Chefclub, Crayola, Kathy Ireland Worldwide, Moose Toys, Penske Media Corporation, SYBO Games and the Van Gogh Museum, among others.