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“The streamers are fantastic,” Caroline Tyre, VP of global sales and rights strategy at WildBrain, told delegates at the TV Kids Summer Festival this year. But, she cautioned, “you can’t necessarily launch toys off them.”
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Indeed, the viewing model on SVOD—binge and repeat and then on to the next thing—makes building a brand a challenge. So does the dearth of available metrics from the SVOD services. “They don’t need to give us ratings because they aren’t presenting to advertisers like linear programmers are,” reports Jonathan Abraham, VP of sales and business development at Guru Studio. “When you go to retailers or even licensees, they want to know: what’s your stats, what’s your engagement, who’s watching, what is your rank?”
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Leading executives in the licensing and merchandising space discuss encouraging toy sales, the return of location-based experiences and the rise of the metaverse.
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The executive VP of Peanuts Worldwide at WildBrain discusses what’s in store for the lead-up to the landmark 75th anniversary in 2025, taking a multigenerational approach to managing the brand and being a lifelong fan of Charles M. Schulz’s best-known creations.
SVOD is emerging as kids’ preferred destination for content in the U.S., according to a recent study from The NPD Group; of note, Netflix orig inals gained 7 share points in 2021 despite overall kids’ viewership slipping by 17 percent.
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That dynamic is opening up new conversations among buyers and IP owners, according to Francesca Newington, director of POP Channels at Narrative Entertainment in the U.K. “We are aware that cross-pollination is really important when it comes to the brand getting as many eyeballs as it possibly can. If you’re going to launch a com mercial franchise, you want to be across as many plat forms as you can. It seems that it isn’t that detrimental to each platform that it is on—it seems to be successful for each one. So I think there’s quite a large conversation to be had around this.”
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While broadcasters, AVOD and SVOD platforms and rights owners hammer out the optimal ways to deliver broad exposure to shows, the good news is that the licensing and merchandising industry is in rather good health given the challenges of the pandemic and macroeconomic concerns. And new opportunities are emerging constantly, including in the metaverse. Mattel and Nickelodeon are among those betting big on vir tual experiences and NFTs—expect others to do the same, as we spotlight in our trend report in this edi tion. We also hear from Tim Erickson, who is oversee ing the beloved Peanuts brand at WildBrain, about how that classic Charles M. Schulz creation is being positioned in the marketplace today ahead of its land mark 75th anniversary in 2025. —Mansha Daswani
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In the U.S., the toy industry has been proving its resilience despite an economic climate that seems poised to shake consumer confidence and spending patterns, with a 2 percent increase in sales to $11.4 billion for the first half of the year, according to The NPD Group. The encouraging spending growth in 2022 comes on the heels of record-breaking sales in 2021 and 2020, when U.S. toy industry sales were up by 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
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A s attendees descend upon London for the 2022 edition of Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), they will do so amid an L&M market whose health is far better than the dual hurdles of a global pandemic and inflation would seem to allow.
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For ADK Emotions NY, Beyblade Burst has been a topperforming IP in the L&M business since it launched in the U.S. in 2016—and its toy sales have been consistently good. “Toys have always been our top-selling category,” says Alexis Wilcock, licensing manager at ADK. “Overall, we’ve launched over 80 SKUs for the brand and are continuing to expand our list of licensing partners worldwide.”
Leading executives in the licensing and merchandising space discuss encouraging toy sales, the return of location-based experiences and the rise of the metaverse.
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“While the toy industry has pulled back to growth of 2 percent, this is remarkable as only 6 of the 14 industries that NPD tracks posted growth at all in the first half of 2022 following two years of extraordinary consumer spending,” said Juli Lennett, VP and industry advisor for NPD’s U.S. toy practice. “This speaks to the resiliency of the U.S. toy industry during these uncertain economic times.”
Beyblade Burst, as an interactive toy brand, still benefits mightily from being a presence on the physical shelves of brick-and-mortar retailers. “The opportunity to be in-store with product has always been top of mind,” says Wilcock. “There is nothing quite like a kid pulling on their parent’s arm in the toy aisle, asking to expand their growing collection of Beys and showing up in person to battle in a tournament with theirWilcockfriends.”also notes the parallel need to have an e-commerce presence, mainly as Covid-19 accelerated shifts in buying patterns worldwide, as well as the value of having robust online spaces for fans to interact with each other and the Beyblade brand. “Our social media channels have become hubs for fans to geek out about their favorite Beys and replicate the same kind of word-of-mouth buzz we used to only see on the playground. We are focusing on executing more physical events now that the current climate has
“The L&M business is in a good place,” says Anna Knight, senior VP of licensing at Informa Markets, the organizer of BLE. “Licensing International’s global survey showed it is now valued at over £300 billion ($350 billion) for the very first time—and that’s following Covid-19 and hard times at retail.”
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Konami’s commitment to growing its overall social media marketing strategy across its brands.
merchandising rights of the Naruto franchise for Europe, Hunter x Hunter for EMEA, Lucky Luke for the world and an assortment of other Média-Participations Group brands.
—Konami’s Jennifer Coleman
For Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! business, brick-and-mortar remains key. “That is where the trading card game is sold and where our fans and players can interact and play with each other at Official Tournament Stores,” explains Coleman, noting the sense of community this fosters for its fans.
Jennifer Coleman, VP of licensing and marketing at Konami Cross Media NY, says that the L&M business for anime brands is “going gang-busters” and lists the company’s two strongest categories at the moment as collectibles and apparel. “We will continue to focus on those categories while we look for other avenues of growth in our category mix,” says Coleman, who notes
“We will look for new ways to engage in an authentic way with fans to keep them abreast of the latest products, events and happenings for our IPs,” she explains.
Mediatoon Licensing, which specializes in European comics and Japanese anime, manages the licensing and
“We will look for new ways to engage in an authentic way with fans.”
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Not only is Konami expanding its e-commerce presence in its efforts to offer more inventory, styles and products to fans of its brands, but it’s also rolling out pop-up shops and other avenues for in-person buying. E-commerce “is crucial for the merchandising success of all of our IPs,” says Coleman.
“Although e-commerce is growing, the majority of our merchandise sales are still in shops,” says Leclercq, noting IP-specific plans for pop-up stores in China and Europe. “Moreover, we’re managing two e-shops: one entirely
“Limited pop-up shops and fan conventions are retail options that have been very successful for us in the recent past, and we will continue to explore opportunities for sales growth there.”
Grisù, a new CGI series from Mondo TV Group, is bringing the beloved character back for a generationnewoffans.
Jerome Leclercq, CEO of Mediatoon Licensing, also sees the benefits of dividing brand-building resources between instore and event retailing and online sales.
allowed us to, in addition to maintaining and expanding our digital presence so that fans can have multiple touch points with the brand,” adds Wilcock.
In terms of digital extensions, Mediatoon is trying to further grow its brands through its streaming and webtoon platforms, as well as via NFT projects, e-shops and its video game sister company, Microids. In the coming years, Leclercq believes that “metaverses and webtoons will bring out new brands very quickly.”
We mostly find people are using it right now for socializing, communicating and gameplay, and they’re becoming creators. Shopping is emerging in it. It’s more about brand awareness and affinity than about actual shopping.”
ADK Emotions NY continues to expand the franchise,Beybladewhichincludestheseries
W ilcock notes that despite the expansion in the digital dimension for brands, slowly emerging out of the worst of a global pandemic has meant that people are more eager than ever to connect in person once again. “Location-based experiences can feel like a balm to the years of isolation we’ve all experienced,” says Wilcock. “There’s nothing like a Beyblade fan being able to find and battle with other Beyblade fans at a con or tournament. Brands have an opportunity to
“It lowers frustration barriers to people doing the things they want to do,” adds Kleeman. “You can be a gamer—you can play a game or make a game. You can tell stories. You can be part of somebody else’s stories. You can learn. You can teach.
“We are focusing on executing more physical events now that the current climate has allowed us to. ”
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shirt! Where’d you get that?’—digital collectibles will take on the same social clout.”
The company’s digital extensions include the mobile app games Beyblade Burst and Beyblade Burst Rivals , which have both seen significant engagement around the world. “We think about these apps as creating another space for
dedicated to consumer products from French and Belgian comics in limited series and the other dedicated to both comics and merchandising.”
DIGITAL WORLDS
fans to battle with one another, and they’ve allowed us to expand our reach to all corners of the globe,” says Wilcock.
ADK’s Wilcock also sees the future potential of metaverses, particularly regarding the social aspect. “As we enter the age of the metaverse, the merchandise we bring into our digital lives becomes increasingly important,” she says. “Just as physical products allow fans of an IP to bond and connect in person—e.g.: ‘Hey, I love your Beyblade
—ADK Emotions NY’s Alexis Wilcock
As David Kleeman, senior VP of global trends at research and strategy consultancy and digital studio Dubit, sees it, we are still in the very early stages of metaverses—so early that it almost eludes a clear definition. “You may have heard the expression that the future is here; it’s just not equally distributed,” says Kleeman. “Well, the metaverse is here, but it’s in pieces, and we need to put it together. The great thing about that is that we can envision the metaverse we want, not just take the one handed by the big companies or anyone like that. We can build a metaverse that is great for kids, building on the brand equity we as television executives have built over the years.”
Leclercq adds, “We are fortunate to be part of a large publishing and entertainment group, which allows us to work in 360 degrees and activate all the leverages that brands need since our group includes a video game publisher, a streaming platform and a theme park. This year, we have a lot of events around the 20th anniversary of Naruto , notably a musical show that will tour in ten cities in France—and I hope in the rest of Europe next year.”
Alma’s Way , a preschool series made by Fred Rogers Productions for PBS KIDS and sold by Sinking Ship Entertainment, held an event to celebrate the launch of its new digital game, The Alma Train , at New York City’s Grand Central Station last month. The Alma Train Party
“Although e-commerce is growing, the majority of our merchandise sales are still in shops. ” —Mediatoon Licensing’s Jerome Leclercq
at Grand Central Station featured activities and stations from renowned institutes from the Bronx, Alma’s hometown, including The Bronx Children’s Museum, The Bronx Zoo and The Bronx River Alliance, and the New York Public Library.
The interactive event enabled the brand’s young fans to take photos with the Alma costume character, play the new The Alma Train digital game, meet real female MTA subway conductors, learn traditional Puerto Rican Bomba dancing and more.
with its proprietary Sip With Me children’s cup line of products and dinnerware that is slated to launch at retailers nextThespring.CGIseries, which follows zebra and unicorn hybrids that enter the dreams of young animals to take them on adventures to learn social-emotional skills, has premiered on NBCUniversal’s Peacock in the U.S. and is debuting around the world on additional platforms such as Kidoodle.TV (U.S.), Astro (Malaysia), Truecorp (Thailand), La Teletuya (Venezuela) and Viu (Hong Kong).
Brand-buildinginitiativesforSinkingShip’s
Alma ’s Way have included a digital game that was launched with a live event in New York this past summer.
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In the global content industry, there remains an ongoing debate about the value and demand of known IP versus original ideas—and the same goes for the licensing and merchandising industry. A new property that aims to break through in the L&M space is Zoonicorn , for which Toonz Media Group has signed licensing agreements with E Graphic Design and SRM Entertainment. E Graphic Design will produce custom-designed wallpaper, wall decals, acrylic frames and PVC for the preschool brand that will be available on the company’s website this fall. A division of Jupiter Wellness, SRM Entertainment will use Zoonicorn
create spaces for connection and to attract new potential fans who don’t want to miss out on the fun via in-person and physical events. We are focusing on executing more physical events now that the current climate has allowed us to, in addition to maintaining and expanding our digital presence so that fans can have multiple touch points with the brand.”
wanting to buy merchandise for it, you need to have a specific hook,” she says. “Brands that are inherently collectible also have a huge advantage because they create a reason for buyers to keep coming back.”
She adds, “In our case, kids want to replicate what they’re seeing in the content they’re consuming—whether that be battling as they see in Beyblade Burst QuadDrive, connecting to the characters in the show by wearing them on their apparel or back-to-school gear or building their collections of Beys, stadiums and launchers.”
There will be challenges ahead in the L&M market, notably disruption to the supply chain, increasing energy costs and sustainability, according to Informa Market’s Knight, but there’s every reason to believe the industry will find a way to solve for them. “We have already seen the industry step up and make a difference when it comes to sustainability and have witnessed innovation—particularly within the apparel and toy sectors—in relation to product design and manufacturing.”
content, time, maximum visibility on networks, media in several territories at the same time, a lot of work and luck.”
Grisù, set to debut in the fall of 2023, centers on a young dragon aspiring to become a firefighter. It’s a property for which Mondo sees great potential in the L&M space. In Italy, the licensing program already has partners in the publishing category that will deliver books, activity books, coloring books and sticker albums to the market.
A co-production between Sony Interactive Entertainment España (SIE España), development partner Gammera Nest and Mondo TV Studios, it invites children of all ages to help save the Earth in an action platform game that sees players find hidden items on the screen as they try to protect the world from pollution and decay.
The ability of a new IP to cut through in the kids’ space comes down to the quality of its storylines, visuals, play patterns, world-building and fandom, according to ADK’s Wilcock. “To push past the point of just watching a show to
CHASING BUZZ
—Informa’s Anna Knight
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“We have already seen the industry step up and make a difference when it comes to sustainability .”
Among the properties in Mondo TV’s portfolio with significant brand potential are MeteoHeroes and Grisù. The former, which follows six super-powered kids on environmentally minded adventures, already has inspired its own video game in MeteoHeroes—Saving Planet Earth!
Toonz Media Group has inked a range of licensing agreements for the propertybrand-new Zoonicorn
Konami’s Coleman believes categories can set a property apart, whether a known IP or a newcomer. “In my experience, I don’t believe that [the market] is skewed to known brands as much as I think it is skewed to categories,” she says. “What category your IP falls into is critical for success when under consideration by a licensee or a retailer. There needs to be buzz for the brand happening on social media to help an IP cut through and [find] the right demographic appeal. Everyone is about Gen Z now and how to be seen by that demo.”
Leclercq expresses optimism about the potential in lessestablished IP while noting that the path to profitability can be more challenging. “There are opportunities for niche IPs, even if the market is tilted in favor of well-known and evergreen brands,” he says. “To launch a new IP, you need qualitative
I n 1950, a small number of U.S. newspapers introduced a new comic strip from Charles M. Schulz about a circle of young kids, led by the self-deprecating Charlie Brown, and their trusted beagle friend Snoopy. Over the years, through thousands of syndicated comic strips and a raft of beloved seasonal specials, the Peanuts gang has earned the loyalty of millions of fans across the globe. And new ones are being added every day thanks to a range of initiatives from Peanuts Worldwide, the venture owned by WildBrain, Sony Music Entertainment and Schulz’s family. As the executive VP of the Peanuts Worldwide brand at WildBrain, Tim Erickson is tasked with overseeing this enduring property, including the new shows on Apple TV+, the Take Care with Peanuts initiative and retail partnerships across the globe. Erickson speaks to TV Kids about the lead-up to Peanuts’ 75th anniversary in 2025, taking a multigenerational approach to managing the brand and being a lifelong fan of Schulz’s best-known creations.
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ERICKSON: Everybody wants to deliver the best experi ence for our fans and to live up to the legacy. We all have the same goal. Then it becomes about the approach. It’s having conversations about the businesses we should be in and the types of stories we’re telling. Much of that has already been figured out, so it’s ampli fying key stories Charles Schulz told through the strips. There are almost 18,000 strips. The timeless stories told over all those decades amaze me. So many can be retold
ERICKSON: It was a big decision. I see it as an incredible responsibility to the fans and the legacy of Charles M. Schulz. There’s a lot to live up to. I’m a passionate fan. The business has been thriving for years. We’re in our 73rd year. It was really about what’s next for Peanuts. How do we continue to engage fans as we have in a world that’s changing? The origins are from the news paper. While we still are in syndication around the world, having the comics reprinted, how do we show up on some of these new platforms? Short-form content? YouTube? How do we leverage all the great Apple TV+ content across all these other platforms? How do we bring new fans around the world into the fold? How do we bring new kids into the fold? It’s been interesting to understand how fans worldwide have come to know and love Peanuts. The journey is different depending on where you are in the world. In the U.S., it came to me through a series of different formats—every Sunday, reading the comic strip, and the seasonal specials were a family ritual for us. It was also through products. I still have a grudge—my cousin had the Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, and I was not getting one. It’s a deep connec tion, as you can see! We look to markets that are signifi cant in size for us from a fandom perspective but still
PeanutsEricksonWorldwide
TV KIDS: What most attracted you to taking on oversight of this beloved brand at WildBrain?
TV KIDS: Tell us about working with the Schulz family and WildBrain’s L&M and content-development teams to ensure you’re all on the same page about how Peanuts is positioned.
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have a lot of room for growth and opportunity—places like China, where people are coming to know Peanuts in a completely different way.
TV KIDS: How are you maintaining that multigenera tional appeal the brand is known for?
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ERICKSON: Some elements celebrate the content you see on Apple TV+, like The Snoopy Show . There’s a look and feel to that. There’s been an evolution of our character design over the years. Whether it’s through consumer products or experiences or content, it needs to be consistent. The Snoopy Show looks different than the original comic strip. So if we’re doing some thing that celebrates the original comic strip, it will be all about that. Signage and marketing will be consis tent. Then if we’re doing something around The Snoopy Show, and let’s say it’s very kid-targeted, it will look to that with a level of consistency. We have spe cific style guides and guidelines to ensure that we get that level of consistency.
TV KIDS: What are you hearing from the parents and caregivers of the new fans whose first exposure to Peanuts has been through the Apple TV+ content? What are they responding to?
in a different format. Snoopy in Space is such an authentic relationship that dates back to the early ’60s with the Apollo program. It’s just as relevant today as it was then. Everybody involved with Peanuts is focused on quality first. If it’s not going to live up to an appropri ate quality, we don’t want to do it. There are construc tive conversations around the approach. Through the lens of Snoopy’s imagination, would he have thought this versus that? What would Charles Schulz do? You have to try to do your best to interpret. We’re fortunate that both Jean [Schulz’s widow] and Craig [his son] are involved with our business. And then there’s a lot of training that goes on. Every day I learn many new things. The teams are hungry to learn, whether it be at Peanuts Worldwide, the WildBrain team working on content, or Creative Associates [Schulz’s studio] in Santa Rosa. Everybody’s eager to learn and say, what is the most authentic way to tell this story?
TV KIDS: The 75th anniversary is coming up in 2025. Can you tease any of the plans for that milestone?
ERICKSON: It will be a celebration of the rich heritage and legacy. We’re still pulling together those plans, but it will go across every aspect of how fans engage with us. So everything from experiences to products to con tent, marketing, you name it. It’s an opportunity for fans to celebrate what they love about Peanuts. We want to ensure that our approach encompasses all those reasons to engage. It’s still early days.
ERICKSON: Number one, quality storytelling. There are a lot of timeless themes that have always been in Peanuts’ storytelling. We provide inclusive content for everybody to celebrate and enjoy. Space explo ration resonates with people. And providing family time. We’ve seen that from the beginning with our holiday specials. We’re still seeing that. We have shows primarily targeted toward kids, though fans of all ages are watching. Then we have other specials that we regularly drop on Apple TV+ that are created for fans of all ages and a great opportunity for fami lies to come together.
TV KIDS: What’s been the L&M approach for all the great new content on Apple TV+?
ERICKSON: First, we answer a few questions: Should we be in a specific business, and who should we target? Who is making the purchasing decision? What is the
aesthetic? What is the storytelling we want to make sure that we’re driving? It’s different for preschool- or kid-targeted programs. As you get into the kids’ space, you start to see psychographics have a huge impact on the direction. For example, if you’re a gamer, there are some similarities within that community. How do we apply our approach to specific interests and ensure we have opportunities inclusive of all of our fans? In many cases, we’ll do things that appeal to an entire family. We spend a lot of time creating those strategies. Hear ing back from our fans is critical. And seeing what sells and what doesn’t sell. You learn quickly what your fans like and don’t like.
The Snoopy Show is part of WildBrain’s deal with Apple TV+ for new content.Peanuts
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