Anderson Entertainment - like father like son

Anderson Entertainment, the production company set up by the legendary Gerry Anderson, is looking forward to strong growth in 2021, with new content launching across multiple media platforms enhancing the company’s compelling brand offering. But it’s Anderson Entertainment’s merchandising and retail business that could enjoy the biggest boost in the coming year.

Anderson Entertainment

Classic content, new concepts, quality products: the Anderson Entertainment directto-consumer strategy

“We want to turn great ideas into content and products that positively impact kids and adults across the globe. It’s an extension of my dad’s – and my – attitude to programme-making: make things you love. Be positive. Inspire and excite people. Always be interesting. Never be boring.” Writer, director and producer Jamie Anderson (pictured above) has a strong view of what Anderson Entertainment, of which he is the MD, should be all about – and it’s clearly inspired by the ideas that made his father, Gerry Anderson, so successful. On the content side, the classic Gerry Anderson shows from the 60s and 70s – like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Space: 1999 – were followed by a second, highly productive phase between 1980 and the early 2000s, one that brought to the TV screen popular shows like the animated New Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct and Terrahawks. New development and production continues to this day but are now targeting multiple platforms rather than just linear TV, with a number of projects under way, including Firestorm, the imminent reboot of Terrahawks, and the full cast audiodrama podcast First Action Bureau. Anderson Entertainment is also in the business of merchandise and retail, and it clearly has a solid content base on which to build. Its ecommerce site, the Gerry Anderson Store, is central to its direct-to-consumer merchandising strategy. Launched in 2015, the online store boasts an expanding list both of licensee-supplied product and new Anderson Entertainment-sourced items such as Christmas jumpers, apparel, gifts and calendars. While the popularity of the site is undoubtedly growing among new customers, it can also boast enviable repeat business: over 30,000 loyal customers regularly visit and buy from the online store. In fact results for the financial year 2020 to 2021 are expected, for the first time, to top three quarters of a million pounds. Shopify, the all-in-one commerce platform powering over one million businesses worldwide – and a major force behind independent online retail – has said the store is in its top one per cent of fastest-growing brands worldwide. And there’s much more to come. The store already has a strong online and social media presence but, to support its increasing popularity, Anderson Entertainment has begun investing in additional marketing and product development. In particular it is also building on the strength of its direct-to-consumer business and working with new partners. This year will also see many more products – and product categories – launching on the store’s site and through other online and physical retail outlets. This strategy is already working. “The site saw a 100 per cent lift in sales month on month between October and November,” says Jamie Anderson, “but,” he adds, “November figures are likely to be overtaken quickly once December figures become available. We’ve had good sell-through from Christmas jumpers and calendars in particular.” There’s another, highly significant reason for this expansion effort. Anderson Entertainment recently signed a new cross-category licence with ITV Studios, the underlying rightsholder for many classic Gerry Anderson properties. Under the terms of the new agreement, Anderson Entertainment is now able to build on the global recognition of the Gerry Anderson portfolio, expanding its ranges of product derived from classic brands like Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, UFO and Space: 1999 – notably in apparel, publishing, toys & figures, homeware and giftware – and sell them worldwide. Importantly, the new agreement also enables the company to build sales opportunities with other retail partners. As Jamie Anderson says: “It’s a sort of perfect storm for us. We have more rights, demand from fans is growing

and new content is on the way.” The online store business in particular can now look forward to new opportunities – but it’s already in a good position. The pandemic, the ensuing lockdown and the ongoing limitations to movement have not hindered the store’s success. In fact it has now celebrated its fifth year in business with 50 per cent year-onyear growth. In 2021 Jamie and his team at Anderson Entertainment will build on this. “The ITV Studios agreement and a stronger focus on marketing and product development will combine to increase the presence of merchandise on the market,” he says. A number of categories already show strong potential – publishing in particular. Gerry Anderson properties have inspired a huge amount of published material over the past 60 years, much of it – comics, annuals, tiein books – ideal for development into

special publications for long-term fans. At the same time of course apparel, homeware, stationery, gifts and collectibles always have massive appeal. As Jamie Anderson says: “Who doesn’t want to have a Thunderbird 2, or a Stingray or a Space 1999 Eagle on their desk? It’s a dream for many office desks and man caves – and rightly so!” Music (a strong feature of all Anderson shows thanks in particular to the legendary composer Barry Gray), posters, digital and audio products, and even escape rooms also have potential. But, says Anderson, this won’t be about trying to label as many products as possible with a Stingray or Joe 90 logo. “As long as the partner or the manufacturer understands what the spirit of the show is and has some love of it, that’s what matters,” he says. “This isn’t about logo slapping.” Future merchandising plans will also build on new IP. Which is why we now have First Action Bureau, a free-to-access audio drama podcast developed and produced entirely in lockdown by Jamie Anderson and Nicholas Briggs, best known as the voice of Doctor Who’s Daleks since 2005. The 10-episode first series launched on the 1st of October. Set in 2068, the mission of First Action Bureau is to use big data and artificial intelligence to predict and prevent criminal activity before it occurs. But what does the Bureau’s best agent do when she suspects a conspiracy within the Bureau itself? The all-star voice cast of First Action Bureau includes Nicola Walker (Spooks, The Split), Genevieve Gaunt (Harry Potter), Paterson Joseph (Noughts + Crosses) and Sacha Dhawan (the new Master in Doctor Who). Not only has First Action Bureau been a great way to encourage awareness of Anderson output at a tough time for broadcast production; it has also been popular enough to justify a special edition CD collection – and a second series. And more new content is coming, but, as Jamie Anderson notes: “It’s also important to say that our appeal is to a diverse audience. Some parts of the market were kids in the 60s, 70s and 80s – although repeats and new IP are building a younger following too.” That’s no exaggeration. Some of the best-loved Gerry Anderson shows were still being repeated decades after they first appeared. Then digital streaming took over through initiatives like Britbox, which has announced a growing Gerry Anderson collection as part of its Out of This World offering. The first quarter of 2021 will see the launch of Stingray and Secret Service, joining Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds and Space: 1999. Further expansion is expected in the course of the year. In fact a growing number of SVOD platforms are now promoting classic Anderson Entertainment series. Showings of Terrahawks on Amazon Prime are attracting strong interest and other platforms like Shout Factory, Comet and Pluto are helping to build a new, younger following alongside the longer-term fanbase. What may these days be considered traditional platforms are also getting in on the act; the free-to-air Forces TV is showing UFO, the Horror Channel has recently transmitted episodes of Space:1999, and DVD and Blu-Ray continue to enjoy good sales. Which brings us back to the ‘perfect storm’ – Jamie Anderson’s plan that the growth of the store and the expanded merchandising opportunities from established content will help to fund the development of new IP like First Action Bureau and Firestorm. This will add to his company’s merchandise base, which will, in turn, reinforce the strength of the company’s direct-toconsumer approach. All of this has benefitted from cross-pollination between different IPs, which is another key element of Anderson Entertainment’s plans. You certainly wouldn’t want to bet against this strategy. In fact you could say that Jamie Anderson is basing his company’s forward-thinking merchandising business on the entertainment philosophy that has made the Anderson brand portfolio popular for over 60 years. As he says: “The approach to licensed output may have changed over the years, but the content we’re building our licensed offering on hasn’t. It’s about the same thing it’s always been about: using science fiction and science fantasy to entertain and inspire.”