The Bugg Report Magazine - Edition 23

BUGG

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BBC Worldwide Australia & New Zealand

The Emoji Company with Marco Hüsges

REPORT

Nitro Circus Action Sports Collective

It‘s

Duggee tIme!

As seen on

Brand Licensing Europe - Edition 23 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @THEBUGGREPORT

As seen on

From The Editor

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elcome to our 2016 Brand Licensing Europe magazine which includes many great updates and interviews. As always we try to cover brands and topics which are unique and fun to work on. This edition includes BBC Worldwide, The Emoji Company, Thunderbirds Are Go, Danger Mouse, Nitro Circus, Gross Empires, LIMA Australia, Dan Amos and Target Australia. We hope you enjoy this issue and find what we have included to be valuable market updates.

On another note I recently attended a LIMA Australia Licensing Breakfast in Sydney which featured a rare and very interesting talk by Norma Rosenhain. Norma is the Founder & CEO of Global Brand Ideas and Activations Company, Creata. Norma also owns Centa IP, Ultimate Source and Build A Bear Australia.

Norma was awarded the inaugural Australia – US Midwest Individual Award for Outstanding Achievement for launching Creata. On Australia Day 2015 Norma was given the Officer of the Order of Australia Award “For distinguished service to commerce, through business model innovation, to philanthropy, particularly supporting disadvantaged families in Asia, and to Australia – China relations.”

This was a great learning experience as Norma detailed her journey and what she experienced when building Creata into the global business that it is today, which began in the early days alongside Fred Gaffney. Norma tried many things before starting Creata more than 30 years ago. More recently, she has

started working on her new venture, Centa IP and is currently working on the launch of Beat Bugs.

One of the more interesting parts of Norma’s presentation were her “10 Secrets of Success;” 1.

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Be visible Treat all events as networking Listen actively Connect Inform Improve your image Be positive Be organised Be enjoyable & inspiring Build relationships

This list is made up of simple things that everybody in business should already be doing, but they are easy to forget. These days, the answer most business people give to the question “how are you?” is “busy.” Norma doesn’t seem “busy” in the same sort of way, she is busy doing what she does, which is working on her business, however she seems to have plenty of time and headspace to actually focus on whatever it is she is doing at the time.

Judging by her presentation, she really does practice what she preaches in her “10 Secrets of Success,” so it’s no surprise that she has been as successful as she has been with Creata.

THE BUGG REPORT Managing Director Tony Bugg: tony@buggsolutions.com.au Editor in Chief Matthew Bugg: matt@buggsolutions.com.au

Contacts Advertising: bookings@buggreport.com.au Feedback: editor@buggreport.com.au Media: media@buggreport.com.au

Bugg Marketing Solutions Phone: +61 3 8782 3717 | Fax: +61 3 9769 7922 | Email: info@buggsolutions.com.au Address: Level 1, 64 Victor Crescent Narre Warren VIC 3805 | Postal: PO BOX 491, Berwick VIC 3806 The Bugg Report has been compiled as a guide to retail, sports, lifestyle, toys, licensing and other related matters. The views and opinions provided are based upon the views and opinions of its writers. In no way is The Bugg Report a factual guide to retail, sports, lifestyle, toys, licensing and other related matters and does not take responsibility for how the information provided is used by its consumers.

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BBC WORLDWIDE Australia & New Zealand update

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THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO We interview Trudy Hayward about the iconic TV series

NITRO CIRCUS Ignite your business with Nitro Circus

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LIMA AUSTRALIA The relevance of local market leadership

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THE EMOJI COMPANY Continuing to gather momentum

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FREMANTLEMEDIA KIDS & FAMILY Feature interview with Danger Mouse

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GROSS EMPIRES Conquering a trade show near you soon

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DAN AMOS The resiliance of the gaming industry

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BBC WORLDWIDE AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND (ANZ)

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uggee hugs, Daleks, detectives, delicious bakes and disco-grooving unicorns… just some of the things that make up BBC Worldwide ANZ’s current portfolio!

It’s been a busy time at Duggee’s Clubhouse, with the second series of Hey Duggee, from award-winning animation studio Studio AKA, airing on CBeebies Australia from October.

The hugely popular pre-school show has captivated young fans (not to mention adults!) around the globe, with the first season selling to more than 80 territories worldwide, including the US, where it recently launched on Nick Jnr. Australian audiences have really taken Duggee to their hearts, with the show rating as the number one show on CBeebies Australia, and outstanding overnight and

consolidated ratings close to 300,000 viewers on ABC Kids. The show has reached over three million Aussie kids to date.

A brand new Hey Duggee plush, of Duggee in his superhero costume from the hugely popular Super Squirrel Badge episode, launches at Myer in November, just in time for Christmas.

Duggee will also be delighting fans face-to-face with appearances at The Melbourne Show, Kidtopia, Foxtel Footy Festival and at Foxtel Kiosks across the country, where he will also be donning his brand new superhero cape - making Duggee hugs even more ‘super!’

Over at Go Jetters’ HQ, the team have recently launched DVDs through Roadshow in Australia, joining the series of books from Penguin Random House that are also currently available.

The first geography based pre-school TV series of its kind, the show has proved to be a big hit with young fans on CBeebies Australia and ABC Kids. World-class partner Mattel is on board as the global toy partner for the brand, and Ubercorn will also be joining Duggee at events across the country over the coming months, showing off some of his disco-grooving moves!

In the latest news from the TARDIS, the eagerly awaited toy version of the Twelfth Doctor’s Second Sonic Screwdriver from Doctor Who is now available at Big W in Australia. A faithful recreation of the current Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver, which debuted during Series 9, it’s the first Sonic to have four light modes and four sound FX. BBC Worldwide has also announced that an animation of a lost Doctor Who episode, The Power of the Daleks will be released 50 years to the minute after its first and only UK broadcast on BBC One. It is based on audio recordings of the programme using the original cast, surviving photographs and film clips. The animation will be released on DVD in Australia through Roadshow.

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series of gruelling challenges to find Australia’s Best Amateur Baker.

On launch, the first series of The Great Australian Bake Off had Lifestyle FOOD’s biggest ever audience with over 300,000 viewers, and the latest series is set to be another recipe for success.

Fans are also in for a treat with the release of the brand new The Great Australian Bake Off Companion book, published by Hachette Australia for release in November.

The book features over 90 fully illustrated recipes from the hit TV show and will make the ideal Christmas gift for amateur bakers.

All of this comes ahead of the release of this year’s Christmas Special and series 10, which is set to air next year. The series will see the return of Peter Capaldi as The Twelfth Doctor with new companion Bill (Pearl Mackie), who will be joined by guest stars including Matt Lucas and David Suchet.

A must-have for fans of the multiaward-winning BBC drama, the 2 x 1oz silver coin set features contemporary, colour engraved graphic designs depicting the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his best friend, Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman).

Brand new Doctor Who spin-off series Class, written and created by award winning YA writer Patrick Ness, also comes to screens later this year, and is set to shine a light on a whole new corner of the Whoniverse. A major broadcaster for the series in Australia will be announced shortly.

The Sherlock coins are available from New Zealand Mint internationally at a RRP of USD$110.00.

Back at 221b Baker Street, a limited edition Sherlock collectible coin set has been released by New Zealand Mint, under official licence from BBC Worldwide ANZ.

The release of the coin set comes ahead of the show’s highlyanticipated fourth series, which will see the mercurial Sherlock Holmes, back once more on British soil, as Doctor Watson and his wife, Mary, prepare for their biggest ever challenge - becoming parents for the first time. The series will premiere exclusively on Stan in Australia in early 2017, at the same time as the worldwide premiere.

Finally, it’s time to return to the Bake Off shed, with the new series of the hugely popular series The Great Australian Bake Off, airing on Lifestyle FOOD from October 11.

Judged by culinary icon Maggie Beer and acclaimed chef Matt Moran, and hosted by comedians Claire Hooper and Mel Buttle, series two will see 12 new bakers put through a

For more information contact: Brigid Roberts, Business Manager, Licensing & Sponsorship at BBC Worldwide Australia at brigid.roberts@bbc.com Nicole Chungue, Licensing & Sponsorship Executive, Consumer Products at BBC Worldwide Australia at Nicole.Chungue@bbc.com Source: OzTam National STV Panel, Sun-Sat, 2am-2am, Jan-Jul 16, Consolidated, All People Source: OzTam Metro TV Panel, Sun-Sat, 2am-2am, Jan-Jul 16, Consolidated, All People

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THE EMOJI COMPANY CONTINUES TO GATHER MOMENTUM

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e were fortunate to catch up with Marco Hüsges prior to Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. From our previous article, we learnt about the evolution of The Emoji Company and its rapid growth trajectory around the world. Already active in over 60 countries around the globe, Marco continues to set aggressive goals for his young company. When we first interviewed Marco he was very clear that The Emoji Company strategy was transforming a digital phenomenon into a physical brand.

“From digital to physical.”

Marco’s travel schedule continues unabated whilst he works hard to expand the emoji® footprint across the globe. We spoke to him whilst he was travelling in Switzerland on his way back to Germany in the lead up to Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), to get his take on what has fallen into place since Licensing Expo in June.

Marco, the incredibly big portfolio of The Emoji Company’s icons are the driving force to create the physical merchandising and promotional concepts. How have you seen this concept unfold over the past 18 months and has it lived up to your expectations?

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Our “iconic journey” started in 2013 and we have invested a lot of resources into the development of the emoji® brand as well as into creating a vast portfolio of icons for cross category merchandising.

Nearly 400 trademarks have been filed all over the world. Close to 4000 icons have been developed in house by now and each icon has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. The official emoji® brand sprays just positive emotions and is the perfect combination of branding and strong content which makes it perfect for licensing in any category, for promotions, loyalty programs and for the integration into marketing campaigns as just recently launched by partners such as Nikon or O2.

Our development and growth indeed has been very fast and resounding, sell through figures are amazing which is the most important thing for any brand seeing its partners being satisfied and commercially successful with their activities. The goals set were definitely met but did also live up to our expectations in specific categories and areas.

Can you give us an example of your latest partnerships where you see a perfect transition from “Digital to Physical?”

Our content appeals to people of any age or gender and sprays simply good feelings.

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We just recently entered into a relationship with Donut King in Australia who is continually focused on developing new products to keep up with regularly changing and evolving trends. The latest market trends involve Emojis. They have taken over the technology world and now they are taking over the donut world. Donut King have partnered with us and with their licensing agent Haven Licensing to bring customers a new line of unique edible image donuts. The product will be supported by national and local area marketing including point-of-sale material, email marketing to its customer database and social media advertising and promotions. Donut King is focused on continually innovating and creating new products that fit with the changing food and treat trends. This campaign perfectly demonstrates the wide scope of use for the emoji® brand and its related content.

In Europe we have made a product placement campaign for the start of the new season of Big Brother in Spain. You can find all sorts of produts integrated and promoted within the show and then buy them either online or in dedicated retail stores. Activities of this kind for sure will give maximum brand exposure and lead to rewarding synergy effects.

Marco, as we reported earlier, your emoji® pavilion at Licensing Expo was one of the busiest at the show.

Would you mind sharing a few of the most exciting developments that came out of this event for you?

The results of exhibiting at Licensing Expo 2016 were beyond our expectations; the show was extremely successful for our company. We met existing partners and built new relationships and the Vegas Expo could easily last two days longer.

The best experience of the exhibition was of course being able to meet and to listen to so many of our partners on a face to face basis which I believe is so important in business as it is in life.

The Expo in Vegas is a perfect door opener and enabled us to secure partnerships in brand new regions.

We entered into discussions with partners from Russia, Chile or Peru and already generated business from those meetings.

Straight after the show we signed with Asiana Licensing to represent emoji® - the iconic brand in South Korea which is a great move for the emoji company GmbH. Summing up, the Licensing Expo is the most important international venue for each brand owner and we are looking forward to exhibiting in 2017

while having a bigger booth presence than in 2016.

Your positioning statement for the brand is very specific: emotional, multicultural, official, joyful & iconic; this speaks to the concept of engaging us all with your vision. We touched on longevity; how do you see this some two years into your journey?

Longevity is the goal of any brand.

Our brand for sure has this potential due to its unlimited variety that keeps the brand fresh and vibrant.

The official emoji® brand is universal, expressive, colorful and sustainable. Our content appeals to people of any age or gender and sprays simply good feelings. The emoji® brand is highly expressive and has a huge recognition value.

Inspired by people using more than 6 billion icons daily in their digital communication the emoji company GmbH created emoji® - the iconic brand for the world of tangible products, promotions and loyalty programs. Moreover, big corporations start using our content in their national and global

marketing campaigns. A clear integrated brand strategy paired with uncountable options to design icons for just any occasion one can imagine is the guarantor for the emoji® brand to stay fresh and multifunctional at any time for a universal target audience.

I notice with interest that you continue to develop your portfolio of icons to include sport and seasonal, to name a few. Where do your priorities lay in future expansion for your company?

At The Emoji Company we proactively work on the creation of new content. In the past months we have increased our team of illustrators and designers to work on the development of new icons and concepts.

By the end of 2016 we expect to have 5000 high resolution icons on offer. We also provide a customized service for our clients and create icons specifically for their demands; we see this area growing rapidly as clients have their own ideas which they like to mix with existing icons.

We are working on a variety of new

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themes and styles that will be available to our partners shortly.

Can you povide us a brief insight into your priorities for BLE this year?

We are going to exhibit at BLE and you can find us at booth A45. We will be showing an increased content catalogue and discuss new merchandising, promotional and loyalty based concepts with our partners and we are very excited to meet our business partners in person again.

We will inform our partners about new activities for 2017; regarding content development, social media activities and the launch of our first App. What’s on your priority list in terms of territories you next want to activate?

Our brand is now fully represented all over the world.

We work with local agents in each territory and have entered into long lasting partnerships with category leading license partners. Throughout 2016 we generated visibility and recognition globally and by the time we are having this interview we have signed more than 170 stellar partnerships. Massive on pack promotions have already led to striking success by demonstrable increasing individual product sales by significant numbers. Upcoming loyalty programs substantiate the brand´s awareness at retail and will boost both existing and new merchandising programs created by license partners. Today, emoji® - the iconic brand is represented in over 60 countries. Our priority is to strengthen existing partnerships and continue to build new strategic alliances. We are also working on our CRM activities and have started the development of our own App with multiple functions to connect and to constantly inform customers about the official emoji® brand. We expect to launch the App in Q2/2017.

You have accomplished an enormous amount over the past two years for your new company, what’s next for emoji® - the iconic brand?

The development of the brand since our first appearance at the Licensing Expo in Vegas 2015 was truly amazing thanks to the overall acceptance of the emoji® brand in the market and the phenomenal performance of our partners. We have been able to establish the emoji® brand and to build a solid distribution network around the world in a very short time frame.

Today, the emoji® brand is successfully established in the fields of merchandising and promotions as well as being used to support and to push global marketing campaigns. Besides forming new strategic partnerships

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we are going to see some interesting cross promotions and sponsorships across Europe, North America and Asia in the next months. Major fashion retailers have already placed orders for the next seasons, shopping malls will be decorated by the emoji® brand and several publishing deals support the development of the brand.

Just recently we opened the emojistore.com to demonstrate the variety that lies in our brand and the first emoji® flagship store has just opened of which we are very proud. We are looking forward to an exciting end-of-year business and towards 2017.

You can meet Marco at BLE on his stand (A45). He is a very clear thinker and does not hang around once he has made up his mind to do something. In this fast paced world we live in, Emojis have become a very effective way of communicating. Marcos has found a way to harness this language and use it to tap into the lifestyles of consumers of all ages and genders. The future looks bright for The Emoji Company.

For more information please visit www.emoji-company.com

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Thunderbirds Are Go THUNDERBIRDS IS AN ICONIC BRITISH TV SERIES THAT HAS INSPIRED GENERATIONS OF FANS

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distinctly remember growing up with the Classic Thunderbirds electronic marionette TV series in the mid 1960s. The show would air on a Saturday morning in Australia and I could not wait to follow the drama and rescue escapades of Thunderbirds. Last year was the 50th Anniversary of this iconic brand, where there has been 3,000 Thunderbirds themed products produced since its debut.

It has certainly stood the test of time and the contemporary version, Thunderbirds Are Go continues the great tradition.

We were lucky enough to sit down with Trudi Hayward – SVP Head of Global Merchandise at ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVSGE) to talk about the journey, which she has been part of in ITV establishing the brand in multiple markets around the world.

You are a true veteran of the Licensing business and have driven the Thunderbirds Are Go merchandise program for ITVSGE over the past five years. What was your underlying motivation here?

Thunderbirds is an iconic British TV series that has inspired generations of fans and when we first decided to create a new version of the show, we had no intention of messing with what had already worked. Whilst retaining Thunderbirds originality was key, it was important to find the right balance between old and new so the series appealed to a new modern audience.

We’ve still got the enduring themes of selfless heroism, rescue, family and there’s no violence in the show, just a great deal of action and adventure. The show’s product values are fantastic and Thunderbirds Are Go is of cinematic quality. It’s been thrilling to assemble such a fantastic licensing programme for the new show and to see partners producing creative, innovative and fun products. We’re building Thunderbirds Are Go into a global brand and taking the show both into markets that already have an on-going affection for the franchise, and also to new international markets seeing it for the first time.

Do you believe the rich dramatic storylines, brilliant characters and vehicles created by Gerry Anderson has been a significant contributor to the longevity of the brand?

Trudi Hayward

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Of course, these qualities have all been key to the success of the new series. It was groundbreaking then, it is groundbreaking now. We’re also now seeing original fans of the series introducing their kids and grandkids to enjoy the series – it is a true family show.

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The brand has great depth. What characteristics do you look for in your lead Consumer Products partners that will capture the heritage and DNA of the brand in the product offerings?

Thunderbirds Are Go is all about rescue and adventure and the use of iconic vehicles and technology.

When signing consumer products partners, our strategy therefore hinges on signing partners that have the expertise to develop a range of products that will bring these key elements to life.

How do you manage the classic V contemporary platforms? Do you work with different partners?

With classic Thunderbirds, it’s important for us to make the property appeal directly to consumers for whom Thunderbirds formed a significant part of their childhood whilst also engaging new audiences with contemporary and modern product lines. As such, our approach is two-fold. We have partners producing quality gifts and collectibles targeted at the nostalgia and retro market. To attract modern consumers, we’ve worked with partners on some really creative collaborations.

Whereas for Thunderbirds Are Go, our focus is on targeting kids and offering them new and exciting ways to engage with the brand beyond the TV screen.

Have you considered the seasonal markets for Thunderbirds, particularly Fathers Day?

Not for new series yet, it is too soon. We had some seasonal launches for Classic Thunderbirds, for example some gift sets exclusively to Marks & Spencer.

To be fair, almost all Classic Thunderbirds products would be a great Father’s Day gift.

Your production partner Pukeko Pictures has done an amazing job in producing the new series. Did you have any input into the direction and have you been able to visit the set?

We have regular discussions with the executive producer Giles Ridge in regards to what elements are particularly important for the merchandise, but the direction is, of course, with the experts. I have visited parts of the set in New Zealand, yes, but unfortunately they were not filming Thunderbirds Are Go when I was there. I did get to see some of the miniature sets whilst I was there and was very impressed!

Can you tell us a little about your key merchandise programs underway in the UK? The UK licensing programme for Thunderbirds Are Go is doing very well and we’ve got over 50 partners signed across all key categories. To support the UK debut of the second series in October, we’ve got a number of new product launches this autumn/winter. Vivid is growing its toy range, including a new supersize Thunderbirds 3, new combo packs and jigsaw puzzles.

The Spin Master range will also be added to with the launch of their Air Hogs RC Thunderbird 2.

One of the next phases of the launch in the food category is new baking kit from Symingtons reached ASDA stores in September. We’ve also just announced that classic British food company Bernard Matthews will be taking Thunderbirds Are Go into new supermarket aisles and launching our first frozen goods product this autumn. Beacon Confectionery is adding Thunderbirds Are Go products to its confectionery range in 2017.

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The UK licensing programme for Thunderbirds Are Go is doing very well and we’ve got over 50 partners signed across all key categories.

Simon & Schuster has new activity books on the way; Worlds Apart is launching a homewares line; Kokomo has new additions to its personal care range; there’s a line of watches from London Europe.

Thunderbirds Are Go are soon to launch merchandise programs in Europe. Can you tell us a little about the key markets that you will target?

We’ve just launched merchandise in France, the Nordic region and Benelux with the toy range from Vivid Imaginations leading the way, and alongside that we’re collaborating with licensing agents to grow local consumer product programmes including Nelvana in France, License Connect in Benelux and Alicom in the Nordics. We’ve got a number of additional markets to announce in due course, including our new agent in Canada and toys launching from this Christmas, and merchandise coming in Brazil in 2017.

What’s the plan for Asia?

In Japan, we’ve got NHK as our broadcast partner and a solid merchandise programme to support this. The show has launched in China and Taiwan and will roll-out shortly in other countries across the region.

We’re giving the brand chance to get firmly established and then we’ll begin rolling out consumer products shortly.

Trudi, can you give us a snapshot as to how the 50th anniversary program rolled out for Thunderbirds?

What was the highlight?

Thunderbirds celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2015, the show broke new ground in animation and has lived on in our cultural consciousness long since it first aired on TV. To commemorate the 50th anniversary, we worked closely with our licensing partners to develop high quality limited edition and collectible lines using the anniversary logo. It was important for us to recognise five decades of Thunderbirds heritage and give loyal fans the opportunity to be part of the celebrations in the anniversary year and beyond. My personal highlight would be seeing the vault at New Zealand Mint, where the range of limited edition Thunderbirds collector coins were kept.

The concept of collaboration has made its way into our industry over recent years. Have you allowed Thunderbirds to be part of this pathway? If so what was the stand out partnership?

We’ve worked with partners on some really creative collaborations. For example, in the UK we have recently worked with British fashion designer Lou Dalton for a collection of Thunderbirds products, which featured in

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GQ Magazine, The Observer, Shortlist Magazine and Telegraph Magazine. In Australia, we’ve also recently partned with Ben Sherman for a line of t-shirts, which will be in market in November for Christmas.

We understand that Thunderbirds Are Go launched on Amazon some time ago. Can you update us on your progress with this global platform and what does it mean to the brand for the long term?

Thunderbirds Are Go launched on Amazon Prime in the U.S. during April 2016. They got really behind the series launch, having panels with voice cast in both Los Angeles Wondercon in March and San Diego Comic Con in July. The online community in the US is growing and Amazon Prime is now getting ready to launch the second part of season 1 this Q4. The series is also available in the UK and will roll out to other markets. We’ve been delighted with the show’s performance so far on the platform.

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What are your key mobile platforms for Thunderbirds?

We’re ensuring there’s content distribution right across the board for Thunderbirds Are Go including TV, video-on-demand, website, social media, digital games and apps. Today’s generation of kids are looking for constant access to their favourite brands. We have to be where the kids are, and this means being across all platforms including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in addition to offering an engaging website and digital games, like the Thunderbirds Are Go: Team Rush global app with Miniclip.

And finally what does the next 12 months look like?

For 2017, we are very excited about the lift that the new content will bring to our licensing programme, with new villainy, jeopardy, and tons of rescue missions. We are confident

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that kids will be even more enthralled with the show. Later in the year, we will see series three arrive in the UK. There is huge potential for the property across the world and we will be working hard to extend its reach in new territories.

A big part of that will be increasing our use of different online and digital media so that we are reaching all the potential new Thunderbirds Are Go fans.

We would like to thank Trudi for this interview and we appreciate her taking the time leading into a busy Brand Licensing Europe show this year. It looks like Thunderbirds Are Go are in good hands. For those of you who are at the show you can visit the ITV stand and speak to Trudi about Thunderbirds Are Go and other properties at Booth C20 on the main show floor.

For more information please visit www.thunderbirds.com

MEET US AT BLE. STAND C20.

FOR LICENSING OPPORTUNITIES: WORLD: GLOBAL.KIDS@ITV.COM AUSTRALIA: BETHAN@MERCHANTWISE.COM, NEW ZEALAND: MARKP@GLOBAL-NZ.COM www.buggreport.com.au

© ITV Studios Limited / Pukeko Pictures LP 2016 All copyright in the original Thunderbirds™ series is owned by ITC Entertainment Group Limited.

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A Quick Interview with Danger Mouse

So, how did you become a secret agent?

I come from a long line of adventurers, heroes & secret agents. It was inevitable that my awesome skills would end up following in the family line.

What’s the best thing about being a secret agent?

The adventure, the danger, the cool gadgets and hanging out with my best friend Penfold all the time.

Which of Professor Squawkencluck’s gadgets is your favourite?

I’m very fond of the Mark IV Danger Car. The i-patch is pretty cool too because I can split screen Giraffe

Warriors 7 and watch episodes of the show at the same time and use my spare eye to fight crime.

So Danger Mouse, what does it take to become the world’s greatest secret agent?

Practice, good looks, hard work, good looks, a team of experts in support and good looks.

Could you tell us about the other super-villains you’ve had to face? We heard you fought a vampire!

Count Duckula?

He was a tricky one with his attempts to not just take over the world but also my show. Some people have such a big ego! I’ve taken on ‘The Princess’, King

3” ACTION FIGURES WITH ACCESSORIES

SMALL PLUSH WITH SOUND

TRANSFORMS INTO DANGER PLANE!

HIT SHOW CONSUMER PRODUCTS FROM Q4

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For your full briefing contact: Liz Burnett Director, Consumer Products FremantleMedia Australia E: Liz.Burnett@fremantlemedia.com

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MARK IV DANGER CAR WITH EXCLUSIVE 3” ACTION FIGURE

© FremantleMedia Limited MMXV

10” POSEABLE ACTION FIGURE WITH SOUND

Kong Brunel, Quark the alien, Burt Badboy, The Camembear, Delilah Von Greenback, Dr Loocifer, Megahurtz and Big Head. That was a bit of a slow week, usually it’s more than that.

Who’s the better spy: James Bond or the Avenger’s Nick Fury?

Bond is cool and debonair a bit like me but Nick Fury has an eye-patch so that’s got to swing it in his favour.

Are you excited about sharing your mission with an Australian audience?

Can’t wait. We’ve been looking for a new Danger Agent from Australia since Danger Roo got over excited in a room with a low ceiling.

FremantleMedia Kids & Family

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ustralia and New Zealand continue to be key territories for FremantleMedia Kids & Family with great growth potential for our brands.

Our key priorities for the region this year are cementing the success of the new series of adventures from the internationally renowned secret agent Danger Mouse and seeking further licensing opportunities for the popular pre-school series’ Tree Fu Tom and Kate & Mim-Mim. Following its launch earlier this year, the new, rebooted series of comedy adventure Danger Mouse has been a huge hit in Australia and New Zealand with fantastic ratings on ABC3 and TV3 respectively. Toys and publishing will be rolling out to retail in October, with DVD already in market, with all categories supported by a robust marketing and PR campaign.

FMK has recently signed a deal with Just Projects for shopping mall activations and character costumes, which will launch later in Q4 2016. DC Thompson are also lined up to release their Danger Mouse magazine down under in early 2017.

huge crowds and delighted young and old alike. This October will also see Tree Fu Tom leap into Macquarie Park in Sydney for a Spring Into Nature Event, featuring a live Tree Fu Tom show, VIP appearances and Meet and Greets, along with a fun and educational nature walk. The theme of the event is nature and will encourage families to get out and about and learn more about Australia’s natural world.

Meanwhile girls’ pre-school property Kate & Mim-Mim continues to strike a chord with its target audience with fantastic ratings on its recent launch on 9GO!, showing at 8.30am and 1.30pm weekdays, and 1pm on Sundays.

Mini but mighty superhero Tree Fu Tom is also a success in the region. Just Projects launched their live shopping mall activations and character meet and greets during the school holidays in July, which drew

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SPECIALISTS IN APPAREL, HE

EADWEAR & HARD GOODS

SUPERCHARGE YOUR BUSINESS WITH NITRO CIRCUS

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itro Circus successfully completed a sell-out tour of Australia earlier this year on the back of a sell-out tour of the United Kingdom. The Bugg Report attended the final show in Melbourne which was hosted by Peter Maule, Global Head of Licensing at Nitro Circus and Elizabeth Vitale, Director of Licensing at Velocity Brand Management (VBM).

Nitro Circus is based on an Action Sport Collective concept and is the brainchild of stuntman and daredevil, Travis Pastrana. Nitro Circus combines many forms of freestyle tricks on dirt bikes, push bikes, roller

skates and just about anything else with wheels. Travis was one of the first to venture into freestyle motocross and extreme sports, something he has been known for since his early days as a Motocross & Supercross racer in the United States.

The extensive touring program and DVDs that have been available over recent years have paved the way for Nitro Circus to become a major merchandise platform over coming years. We had the chance to speak to both Peter & Travis to learn all about Nitro Circus and better understand the key drivers and the future potential of this amazing spectacle.

Questions to Travis...

Travis, there have been many extreme sports platforms like Crusty Demons, Metal Mulisha & Nitro Circus. Where did Nitro Circus begin and how has it evolved over the past 10 years?

Travis Pastrana

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Nitro Circus began as a lifestyle. A bunch of people who were really passionate about action sports who found a way to fund the craziness.

Gregg Godfrey took his passion for film making and made a few motocross movies but really needed to get someone on the inside to get the best riders in his films so they would sell. I was that guy. He came to me when I was 18 years and one day old and said, “hey, do you want to base jump a motorcycle into the grand canyon?” I said “hell yea, what

Brand Licensing Europe - Edition 23

else can we do that’s never been done before?” We’ve been traveling the world filming and documenting the craziness ever since.

With the rise of the internet and the instant satisfaction of social media, we’ve had to change from making DVD’s to focusing on live events. The world is evolving quickly but fortunately we’ve been at the forefront of this change. I couldn’t be more fortunate that we have been able to find more and more people with the same passion, love and drive for these crazy sports. It’s an amazing group that expands on a daily basis but we haven’t really changed our company goals... just the path we take to get there.

Nitro Circus has been described as “An Action Sports Collective.” Can you provide us with your perspective on this label?

Nitro Circus is an Action Sports Collective that continues to grow as we find more and more people with our similar passion. It’s not just motorcycles or skateboards. We don’t care what you look like or how cool other people consider your sport. We bring together the people that have similar mind sets and try to help them push past the boundaries of what was impossible yesterday. Nitro Circus helps athletes from all disciplines progress as safely as possible and with the most guidance from the best athletes from all over the world.

Your passion and dedication to Nitro Circus has seen you become the driving force behind the creation of this amazing entertainment platform. Can you take the extreme element any further?

There are no rules in action sports.

Go as high as you want, as fast as you want, and spin or twist or move however you chose. Every time it seems that progression has slowed down, someone seemingly reinvents the wheel. The safer we build the landings, the higher they go... It’s my job to make sure the safety increases at a rate as quick or faster then the riders skill levels. It’s actually a tougher job than most would think... but that’s the beauty of our sports.. nothing is impossible... it just takes a little bit of math and a lot of practice.

I noticed with interest during your Melbourne show that your team members are very respectful and demonstrate a high level of manners. Is this culture something that you have engendered into the guys and girls?

Action sports started out with a “rock star” image. Most of the successful action sports brands before us cultivated this image of “freedom” in a way that seemed reckless and disrespectful at times. Growing up with a marine for a father, he instilled hard work and respect as the foundation for everything I do in life. Nitro Circus has continued that and we built a family. The comradery and respect among the riders is unlike any “work” environment I’ve ever witnessed. When people say what are you most proud of in your life, I usually smile and answer “family.” Not just my immediate family... but all the men and women who I have the privilege of touring the world with doing what we love.

You have obviously devoted much time to plan the staging and choreography of the show. Did you set out to have the running order so slick?

It’s been awesome to have the opportunity to tour the world and really perfect the live show. All the

riders help make every night something special but it wasn’t always like that. In the first two years the riders would present all of our ideas to Mike Porra and had to rely entirely on his past experience of running live shows. Mike did an amazing job. Honesly, I’m amazed at how well he was able to take our small “family,” add in so many new people and new ideas in the live format but not change who we were or what we were about... he got Nitro Circus from day one.

The market today offers so many entertainment products for consumers to buy into. What is Nitro Circus’ key selling point?

The key selling point for Nitro Circus is the product. We don’t try to be anything we are not... The riders are really great at what they do. They sign autographs and talk to kids because they want to. We are always changing ramps or redesigning bikes or building contraptions because we are constantly searching for something that will be bigger, better

www.buggreport.com.au

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NITRO CIRCUS

ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING YOUTH ENTERTAINMENT BRANDS

LICENSING

VIDEO GAMES, APPAREL, TOYS, SPORTING GOODS, HOME

SOCIAL MEDIA OVER 150 MILLION TOURING 100+ SOLD OUT SHOWS

TOTAL IMPRESSIONS EACH MONTH

TELEVISION

LICENSING OPPORTUNITIES PETER MAULE peter@nitrocircus.com CASSIE DOMBROWSKI cassie@nitrocircus.com

nitrocircus.com

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and more fun. The audience can see that. Everything is genuine and people really seem to appreciate that.

How do you plan to ensure longevity for the Nitro Circus brand and what is the one thing you will do to help guarantee this?

As for longevity, there has been a cycle in the past with action sports that we need to break. Action sports build from the ground up. Starting with passion and genuine excitement... then money comes in and the level of competition rises but some of the fun is lost and it’s really tough for kids to make it to the top without sponsorship or some type of help. Eventually the passion dies and it goes underground for a few years... then the same process starts again. So, Nitro Circus, in order to continue to grow will need to attack from three directions.

Firstly, we need to be able to provide a way for athletes to make a living year round in an environment that encourages creativity and fun (touring the world with your best friends and pushing yourself on jumps that have forgiving landings to allow progression without injury). Secondly, have a place where up and coming athletes can practice with the newest and safest technology available... for free... (Nitro Academy of Excellence - we have one in California, one in Maryland and one in Australia). Thirdly, there needs to be a continually evolving World Championship caliber event that evolves yearly as the athletes do. An event that stimulates the creativity which got these athletes excited about these sports in the first place. This championship event will give sponsors a gauge of who truly is the best and most progressive athlete in the world (the World Games). This event has to be open for anyone to qualify or there will never be new faces.

What is the origin of your loyalty to Suzuki and the number 199? Do they both play a role within the Nitro Circus brand?

I’ve given up all of my sponsorship so I can fully get behind those people who want to get behind Nitro Circus and our athletes. Of course I still have my loyalties but at the end of the day, I don’t want to hold back Nitro Circus or the athletes in it because of something personal.

Questions to Peter...

Peter, you are in a fortunate position where you are beginning with a clean slate from a merchandise standpoint with Nitro Circus. What are the three most important aspects of your global plan here?

Finding best in class licensees who have a reputation for bringing real innovation to their respective categories and a heritage of broad and strong retail distribution. Providing our partners with a portfolio of tools and support to be successful, including world class creative assets along with the ability and opportunity to integrate into our 360 degree IP business. Provide support like retail pass through rights into our show as well as athlete appearances etc.

Secure anchor retailers in key markets and promote awareness and drive traffic back to stores through live event marketing, TV advertising, athlete support and strong social media.

What are the three most important product categories for Nitro Circus that you will look to develop and launch first?

We are very fortunate that our brand allows us to cut across a wide cross section of categories throughout both hard and soft lines. With that said, our key initial areas of focus include ride on products/sporting goods, video games, toys and apparel/headwear. We plan to move into other areas including party goods, stationary, posters, home décor.

My loyalty to Suzuki and my number 199 are more personal than business. Suzuki was always there for me when I was a motocross racer and I like to repay that favor by not leaving them for a paycheck this late in my career. I bleed yellow. The 199 was my racing number throughout my career so I’ve held onto it in everything I do.

You have recently become a fully-fledged Nitro Circus sponsored rider after 10 years with Red Bull. This is a big call. Why the change now?

I’ve had a lot of amazing sponsors that have helped me over the years. Red Bull gave me the wings to be able to do what I do for a living and I’m forever appreciative of them. Nitro Circus and Red Bull aren’t a competing brand but they are both media companies to an extent.

Peter Maule

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“

Our goal is to secure appropriate bricks and mortar retail partnerships in key markets.

We have talked about your ability to be flexible with retail partners in terms of being able to bring the spectacle to their door. Can you give us a brief insight into how you will achieve this?

We are fortunate to have a massive touring business that covers all four corners of the world. We rotate each year from regional outdoor events to capital city arena shows.

This allows us to be in market in large and smaller cities with our tour, promotion and athletes. We have successfully completed in-store signings with the athletes, and head office demos with the best athletes in the world.

I notice that you have recently launched your online store (www. shop.nitrocircus.com). Outside of your own Nitro Circus platform, will you look to expand your offer to other online players?

We plan to secure global deals in categories that command expensive or elaborate tooling or designs like toys, construction sets, and video games, but remain committed to finding best in class localized licensees who understand in market retail and consumers.

We spoke about the official rider merchandise being available to the consumer; how will this play out?

Yes, but our goal is to secure the appropriate anchor bricks and mortar retail partnerships in key markets and ensure we are leveraging their e-commerce capabilities. Our fans are both socially and digitally active and we need to provide access to Nitro Circus consumer products where they like to shop.

Nitro Circus is truly an aspirational brand and our fans want to wear and ride what our riders do. We will be working with licensees to time when and what will be going to retail and outfit our riders in shows to support retail placement. All this combined with in-show messaging driving consumers back to retail which will be our biggest weapon.

How does the event merchandise program fit into your global strategy?

As Travis is such an important part of the overall brand, will there be merchandise ranges dedicated specifically to him, or other riders for that matter?

Our event merchandise is designed separately from our licensing and more traditional consumer products division. We treat this segment as “concert or souvenir� style merchandise rather than lifestyle or performance products.

In terms of selecting your key partners, will you focus on global arrangements or will you look to localise your deals by market?

Yes. We are working on a fully expanded line of Travis Pastrana 199 headwear, apparel and socks. As of January 2016, Travis moved from Red Bull exclusively to Nitro Circus and we certainly plan to leverage this iconic shift.

What markets will launch first?

Based on our tour plans and brand awareness, we are focusing on North America, UK and Australia with Europe and South America to follow. We are in discussions with several key licensing agents currently to help us develop European countries and will announce appointments at Brand Licensing Europe this October.

The Bugg Report would like to thank Travis and Peter for this interview. We really appreciate the opportunity to learn about Nitro Circus and wish you the best in the future to further build the brand globally. www.nitrocircus.com

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BRAND NEW BOYS/GIRLS 6+ COMEDY ACTION TV & DIGITAL PROPERTY

40+ CHARACTERS

All rights reserved - Gross Empires™ - Copyright 2015 © imaginators.tv

For licensing enquiries or more information please contact www.buggreport.com.au 23 imaginators at info@imaginators.tv

Gross Empires GROSS EMPIRES WILL BE CONQUERING A TRADE SHOW NEAR YOU SOON...

R

yan Beaird has been a cartoonist for well over ten years now - he started out his working career in the banking and finance industry in the City of London and during that time he worked for financial institutions such as Schroders, Gartmore, State Street, Bank of New York and Morgan Stanley.

Having been made redundant in the financial crash of 2008 he decided rather than going back to a role in finance he would pursue his creative cartooning path and sell his humour cartoon greeting card designs to independent retailers and distributors. He was syndicated by PIB Features and DPA (German Press Association) for his newspaper cartoon strip ‘Jack and Runty’ which launched in newspapers in India, LATAM and Europe in 2012.

In 2013 he became the Marketing and Operations Manager of the

Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) UK, which involves assisting the membership base, organising events and running educational seminars.

“For the past three years I have been immersed in the world of licensing and I believe licensing to play an important part in the commercial success of a kids Intellectual Property.”

Gross Empires started out as a few pencil sketches back in 2013 before I started my role at LIMA. It has now taken over three years of honing and getting the property right for pitching officially to the networks which I will be doing straight after Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) at MIPJunior.

I’ve received a lot of wonderful feedback from the industry throughout the development process and getting the property to look like a commercial success in

Ryan Beaird is developing the grossest kids cartoon ever made!

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toys and collectables from the development stage was always in the forefront of my mind. For the past year every spare minute outside of LIMA has been spent drawing, writing and developing the Intellectual Property; Ben Bocquelet creator of the amazing world of gumball presented a ‘making of Gumball’ seminar at one of my LIMA UK young professionals networking events in the summer; he gave some great advice and a warning that holidays and any social life is now out for the next five years.

Getting the story-lines and concept of the show took about a year creative feedback was important and it involved constant discussions with friends from the UK children’s media industry - a great mentor has been Keith Chapman who invited me to a lot of lunches at the Ivy and gave me some great advice on how kids TV shows are made. The wonderful team at Superawesome (Paul Nunn Chief Commercial Officer) - allowed me to showcase the character development for Gross Empires on their PopJam app; it was a great way of testing what characters the kids liked and any character designs that got negative feedback (kids can be honest with their opinions!) were pulled from the development.

It was a great way of testing the property and achieving over 25,000 followers on PopJam proved to me that the property has the makings of a potential hit. It now stands at just under 100,000 fans across all the Gross Empires social media channels which for an unsigned property is incredible.

Trying to find a casting agent for the boys and girls lead characters in Gross Empires was proving difficult, as any kid’s media producer will tell you finding the right voice to fit the characters is one of the hardest challenges in production. I wanted to keep the production local to where I live so I sent the property details to the head of drama at Bedford School literally round the corner from my home who I thought could find me some local casting agents.

producer will tell you getting the vocal talent confirmed is a huge step. The property will be a 26x22 comedy action adventure 2d series and with ten scripts already written for the show we are in animatic production phase; we are looking at launching Gross Empires ‘Mini’s’ in early 2017 which are going to be snack-able content around 2mins in length for release on the Gross Empires social media channels to engage and build even more on the fan base.

Jonathan Hooley head of Drama at Bedford school called me in literally a few hours later and I pitched the property to him, rather than giving me some phone numbers of local agents he pitched the idea of the boys from his drama class playing the parts. The majority of the curriculum in drama in UK schools is focused on traditional plays and Shakespeare and he thought that the boys learning how to do VO for a cool new cartoon would be something they would love to do and would be educational as well.

Ryan Beaird will be attending MIPJunior as a first time producer for imaginators.tv the day after BLE and will be looking for distributors, networks, co-production studios, development investors and also licensees for Gross Empires.

We did a deal whereby he would act as imaginators.tv Voice-Over Director, supervising the boys on the day of rehearsal/recording and he would arrange the use of the school theatre and music studio to record the Gross Empires promo and pilot episode. So after a difficult decision in choosing the actors from the drama class we now have a team of superb vocal actors from Bedford school (left-to-right on opposite image); Sarmukh Hundal (Pharynx), Rowan BashettaPollitt (Reuben Randall), Ryan Beaird, William Hayward (Gondry) and Dominic Russell-Smith (Travis Randall) all playing the lead characters and all are adding something special to the show.

We also have another ten boys from the class all confirmed as playing the smaller parts so as any

“I think Gross Empires has the potential to become a huge standalone hit like Moshi Monsters, Spongebob and Ben10; it looks like a digital property as well as a TV format and with the comedic scripts already in place it will engage with boys 11-13 and also the cartoon fantasy violence will appeal the younger boys 9-11.

“The feedback from the kids on social media and the cast from Bedford school has been awesome and better than I could have ever imagined; kid’s love the characters already and I can’t wait to see them brought to life in animated form.”

For more information visit or email www.imaginators.tv www.grossempires.com letsdoadeal@imaginators.tv

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LICENSING INDUSTRY MERCHANDISERS’ ASSOCIATION THE RELEVANCE OF LOCAL MARKET LEADERSHIP

T

he International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) ticked over its 30th year in 2015. Over more recent years the membership base has continued to show positive growth internationally.

To this end, more than half of our members now reside outside of North America. We now have local offices in the UK, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico and Australia. We also have professional representation in India, The Middle East, Turkey and South America.

All of this has provided a solid platform for the International markets to continue to grow over the coming years. So I wondered, what is an Association and what does it stand for? This led me to Google the definition of an Association. There were many references available, however the one that summed up exactly what we are trying to do with LIMA is:

“

The world and our industry are experiencing lightning fast change on a daily basis. I suspect that many of us have not fully come to grips with what this means to our businesses and what the impact will ultimately be!

There remains no doubt that we can work our way through this much easier as a collective group.

The relevance and importance of local market LIMA membership has now become key.

I wanted to point out how a LIMA membership can help you connect more fully to the licensing business with the minimum of fuss.

It’s no secret that most of us are “time poor” when it comes to business. We have too much to do and not enough time to get things done! LIMA can help you. We can connect you and inform you via the LIMA information hub. Don’t underestimate the value of not having to search for information when you need it!

Local LIMA membership is a mindset.

It requires you to buy into the team.

Definition of an Association: Collaboration between like Companies.

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What you put into it is what you will get out! There is a significant range of services and benefits that make it very worthwhile.

In terms of market intelligence, there is a never-ending barrage of information that hits your email inbox and social media platforms.

“Go with LIMA” and we will provide you with an unbiased and balanced perspective on “what’s hot and what’s not!”

There are three things you need:

• LIMA eNews • LIMA News Link • Inside Licensing Why is it key to become a LIMA member? It’s simple, it provides an inclusive platform to help you become a greater part of the licensing industry. We come to you, we set the agenda and we provide you with the direction to make the key decisions in your business that will set you apart from the rest!

We have a common goal; we can provide you with strength of numbers and collaboration.

Broadly, we can offer you the following tangible benefits; independent market intelligence, networking, free meeting space,

Collaboration in the LIMA Australia Licensing Lounge at the 2016 Australian Toy, Hobby & Licensing Fair

education, free research and recognition of excellence.

As I have already pointed out, LIMA offers you inclusion. We can offer you strength of numbers, which will allow you to collaborate with your peers to simplify the business. LIMA is where you go to “connect” There is a requirement by you to embrace the association and contribute freely to realise the full benefits and services on offer.

We offer access to the only official educational accreditation in licensing, the “Certificate of Licensing Studies.” This course takes place annually and comes at a cost of $850 USD for LIMA members.

Non-LIMA members can participate for $1,950 USD. This represents a significant saving for members.

8 Australians have already successfully completed their studies. Couple this with our brilliant Webinar program which is carefully archived on the members only website and you are sorted on the education front.

We provide the industry with structure and governance and set the direction for the industry to follow.

Our global and local awards programs are carefully planned to recognise excellence in all facets of the business and over recent years there have been a number of successful Australian entrants.

Finally we recognise your talent. Our Rising Star awards are designed to recognise and encourage the younger generation to pursue a career in licensing.

We have the opportunity to significantly expand our membership base across the international markets. This will allow a greater voice in determining policies and directions for our industry. I encourage all of you who are not yet LIMA members to contact your local country Managing Director or representative and sign up today!

We hope that you will consider joining LIMA if you are not already a member and we look forward to working with you.

This article was written by Tony Bugg, Managing Director at LIMA Australia.

To learn more about LIMA Australia, please email Tony Bugg via tbugg@licensing.org or visit the LIMA website at www.licensing.org

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The Resilience of the Gaming Industry GAMING FRANCHISES ARE DOMINATING THE MEDIA INDUSTRY

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aming franchises are dominating the media industry. This may sound like a rather bold statement, but when we look at the facts, it is quite clear who the overall winner is in terms of the revenue generated; in its first month, Grand Theft Auto V outsold the entire global music industry1. Gaming franchises are powerful; they shape entire companies, they define strategy and they build communities. Certain videogame franchises are the cornerstone of major consumer electronics companies. Mario Bros is to Nintendo is what Mickey Mouse is to Disney; the character is instantly recognisable, regardless of whether you are a fan or not. Mario defines both what Nintendo produces as far as product, as well as how it positions the company externally.

Let’s take a moment to look at the film industry in comparison to the gaming industry. Over the past several years, Hollywood has produced some tremendous content that has generated some impressive revenue, with Heath Ledger’s incredible performance in The Dark Knight urging cinema goers to rack up ticket sales of $155 million; the groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece Avatar took in $232 million; T-rex fans around the globe swarmed to

see Jurassic World, earning $296 million at the box office - all extremely impressive figures that reflect these great films.

The post-apocalyptic open world game ‘Fallout 4’ earned over $750 million in 24 hours2.

Whilst the high revenues generated by video games can be attributed to the cost of the game itself, what isn’t captured is the consumer engagement with its content.

Video games often have playable content exceeding 30 hours, compared to a film or television show that might capture a viewer for short periods of time (and maybe not even fully, with users multi-tasking with checking social media, etc.). The gaming industry thrives on creating highly engaging content, and the longevity of a gaming series is quite extraordinary, with studios creating content that is playable 365 days of the year3.

Built for high engagement, the content produced by gaming franchises have the ability to build a loyal fan base quickly that can last for decades. Sonic the Hedgehog reached the ripe old age of 25 earlier this year, and the game remains as popular with kids as it does with the adults that began playing it all those years ago, whilst Nintendo continues to reference its past, making consoles like the original NES as familiar to children as it is to their parents4. By creating ever-engaging content, new releases, and utilising the nostalgia of a brand, fan bases have only increased, and it’s this loyalty that the gaming industry thrives upon.

Pokémon represents perhaps a perfect example of how the power of nostalgia can bolster a new release. When Pokémon Go was released earlier this year, gaming communities were ignited with a new love of the classic gaming franchise. The combination of well known and loved game with the technology incorporated into the app, created a situation whereby fans were reawakened to an old favourite, whilst new players were charmed by the game’s unique offering in the form of Augmented Reality. Pokémon was carried straight into the 21st century by technology that was supported by the brand’s history and longevity. The success of the game cements the fact that gaming franchises are dependent on a number of factors:

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engaging content, a loyal fan base, and technology to keep it relevant. If all of these prerequisites are met, the movie industry has a tough act to follow.

Despite the fact that the game isn’t actually played on a Nintendo console, Nintendo shares have still skyrocketed since the launch of Pokémon Go5. From this, it’s not hard to see how Pokémon and the rest of the gaming industry can tap into a game’s success to produce products to support the brand and further extend the franchise. A Pokémon Go Wristband to track as you go, a Pokédrone for those hard-to-reach Pokémon and a Pokéball Portable Charger to ensure your battery remains intact, have all been designed since the game’s release, and there have already been some announcements about a pop-up shop in London and a range from Character World6.

Quite clearly, the gaming industry has a huge amount of potential locked up for new products to be developed to support its franchises. Whilst the movie industry is by no means something to talk down in terms of its ability to generate huge amounts of revenue, the gaming world has interrupted its dominance in a big way. Its ability to adapt to changing gamer’s needs and advancements in technology, keeps

it a revenue generating, ever-engaging world of truly excellent content. In my opinion, gaming franchises have created the perfect storm of opportunity to introduce new products that will even further cement the fan loyalty that they already enjoy.

Dan Amos is Head of New Media of Tinderbox, the dedicated digital division of leading global brand extension agency, Beanstalk. For more information, visit www.tboxgency.com or follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/tboxagency Twitter: @tbox_agency Instagram: @tbox_agency -Sources: 1. www.metalinjection.net 2. www.fortune.com 3. www.gamerant.com 4. www.metro.co.uk, www.nintendo.co.uk 5. www.qz.com 6. www.dezeen.com, www.licensemag.com

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Target Australia ON TARGET AUSTRALIA AND THE NEW DIRECTION: EVERYDAY LOW PRICES

A

ustralian retail has been going through a lot of change recently and this past June I had the chance to attend the Target Australia Supplier Forum in Melbourne, which was a platform to update the market on the new direction of Target. Guy Russo and his team gave an in-depth presentation on where the business is at and outlined the new direction.

“It’s something between two pieces of bread; chips and a Coke,” they are Guy Russo’s thoughts on the strategy of fast food restaurant McDonald’s.

There’s nothing complicated about it; just a simple and logical approach to something that doesn’t require complication. Russo applied the same thought process when he took the helm at Kmart in 2008; a business struggling for direction was transformed into a business which has since had the simple goal of “making low prices irresistible”.

Target will be similar; the goal is again to drive volume at low prices, but this time the average purchase price of Target products will be $15.

Think of it like this; Kmart is where you will find the “lowest prices everyday” and Target is where you will find “everyday low prices”.

Who is Guy Russo?

Russo was born in Sydney after his parents moved to Australia early on in their lives and he is one of 7 children, which may explain his approach to business and his focus on simplicity and running a tight ship. His mother and father knew how to budget and save money and he learnt the importance of focus through his father’s business as a taxi driver and his appreciation of his customer base. Since then, Russo spent 34 years at McDonald’s where he ended his time in Australia as CEO and then moved on to become President of Greater China.

Following his time at McDonald’s Russo spent 7 years running Kmart before taking his now current position as Chief Executive Officer of Department Stores at Kmart & Target as well as becoming the acting Managing Director of Target.

Russo believes that where business is concerned, it is important to focus on your job and your job only, not to get caught up in trying to be someone else which is what kills you in business.

Some analysts have labeled Russo “arrogant” and “overly confident” for his forecast on the future of Target, however he makes a very sound

argument when he offers the opposite perspective, where he would say, “I am not confident and I don’t think it will work”. It’s a good point and one that is in-line with Russo’s general approach to most things; keep it simple and focus on what you are good at. For what it’s worth, he does think it will work and he is confident in what the future holds for Target. Russo is not a magician and anything can happen in business but his track record suggests he knows what he is doing.

Kmart as a Benchmark When Russo took over the running of Kmart in August 2008, the task of getting the business back on track was significant and to go from 100,000 lines to 40,000 lines was no easy feat¹. Kmart is set to make a $500 million profit over the next 12-months which is a huge achievement considering that when Russo took over in 2008, Kmart’s first-half earnings were $75 million².

Think of Kmart as the brother and Target as the sister, one is not the same as the other and this is no “Karget” as some have suggested.

Kmart is Kmart and Target is Target.

What Russo implemented at Kmart has put the business back into a position in the market where they know who they are, and that is “lowest prices, everyday.”

Kmart’s new commercials which communicate this message to consumers are something created by Russo’s partner Andre Reich and his marketing team, and they certainly hit the mark. These commercials are fun, clever and they clearly get the

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message across as to who Kmart are and what they are trying to do. If you haven’t seen them, do yourself a favour and check them out here: www.kmart.com.au/tvadverts Who is Target?

That is the question that Russo has been employed to answer, and he knows that this will not be a “quickfix.” It is Wesfarmers who have provided the opportunity to fix Target and by “fix,” I am referring to addressing the $140 million of write-downs and the $55 million loss Target will record in 2016. Target currently takes $3.5 billion through the till and records a loss, something that Russo refers to as “naughty.”

The business also has enough product choices to fill every seat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground three times over and yes, that’s 300,000 for those who are counting. In order to address the question of “Who is Target?”, the things that Target are not or will not continue to do are important. Firstly, the current problem with Target is not with people, it is a lack of strategy and direction. Having enough customers’ in-stores is not the problem either, Target doesn’t need to drive “more customers” to their stores, but better service the ones they already have.

Under Russo, Target will shift their focus to direct-sourcing and underperformers and loss makers will need to be demoted; four weeks cover in-store will be the goal. There will be no more “mid-year” catalogues or Toy sales and because people currently have difficulty finding what they want in-store, less choices will be required. The Cafes in some Target stores will also be removed because after all, Target is not in the coffee business.

Of the 100 catalogues that Target currently produces, this will be cut in half and there will be no “new stores” or “renewal” programs (there will be one new store in QLD). To

borrow a phrase from Russo to explain where things are at; it is clear that you can be “premium” or “volume,” but anywhere in between is no-mans land.

The New Target As Target Chief Operating Officer Andre Reich would put it, Target is “Australia’s most loved retail brand” and this is something that is important to the business in terms of its future. Target is not exiting brands, however suppliers will need to fit the new strategy and in a nutshell the new Target will be focused on “volume and low prices,” where brands are concerned.

Fashion will again be a focus, fashion with a small ‘f’ that is, and Russo has brought back designer Anna Milner to re-ignite the division for Target. To be clear, Target is not getting out of Toys either. Russo likes to think in terms of bodies and not percentages, so there are 8 million kids in Australia who are opportunities for Target and all the more reason to continue to sell them, just with a new strategy.

The new direction is simplicity and Target will be a 365 days-per-year business with a motto of “better and best.” Where stores are currently a mixed-bag of appearances, the new direction will see a uniform approach and a standardised look and feel where products will be allocated to sections and this won’t be changing week-to-week or store-to-store. To use an example from Russo, you will find licensed mugs in the kitchenware department, not the licensed mugs department.

You can think of the new Target as the knives, forks and plates that you use every night, not the ones you bust out for special occasions and as Russo would say, “If you breath, we want you as a Target customer”. If things go according to plan then growing Target to a $4-5 billion business is not out of the question.

“

It’s something between two pieces of bread; chips and a Coke.”

The Future There is a lot of uncertainty in the retail industry in Australia and questions are asked as to why there seems to be a lack of strategy and focus from retailers. The same cannot be said here. There is in no way a lack of direction with Target now and it is refreshing to learn about the new strategy. Quite simply, if you are a supplier and want to do business with Target you will need a product that can be purchased in large volumes at a low price and that sells 365 days of the year. All things considered, that will mean re-thinking manufacturing, product and pricing for many suppliers, if not all of them.

Like many things in the modern day and age though, it will come down to new innovation and providing products that customers want which they cannot get elsewhere. If suppliers can deliver something that fits the Target model that Target cannot source for themselves, then the future looks bright. In summary, Target is only one retailer in the marketplace, however given the new guidelines; it is a great opportunity to look at new product offerings to fit the new direction. Like everything, changes happen and there will be things to address as the business evolves, but the direction is set and the focus is real for Target. www.target.com.au -1 2

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