This year has brought a mini-trend in the licensed publishing industry: actors writing books or comic books that take place in the universe in which they played a role, and more often than not feature the character they portrayed. These books enhance fan engagement, adding layers of interest and authenticity to the reading experience. Three […]
Archive | Character/Entertainment
Fitness Inspiration through Cosplay
Fitness and cosplay intersect in a growing roster of licensing deals pairing characters with workout wear. Many of the pieces emulate superhero garb, which can be inspirational for someone pursuing better fitness, whether by weightlifting or doing yoga or aerobics, while others simply integrate cute, fan-favorite characters to add some fun to a trip to […]
Cozy and Collaborative
Cozy coloring books are one of the trends driving increased sales in the activity book segment within the publishing industry this year. These appeal to all ages, including a significant readership of adults who are looking for mindful activities and appreciate the cute drawings. Unlike the detailed, sophisticated illustrations in the adult or advanced coloring […]
Cute Characters Cheer On Korean Baseball
Cross-licensing programs pairing characters and sports properties have been on the upswing globally, with more teams and leagues and more character IPs getting involved. In South Korea, such initiatives are regular features of the pro baseball season each year. Merchandise almost always depicts the characters wearing the uniforms of the respective teams. The product assortment […]
K-pop and Characters Unite
K-pop artists have long created cartoon-style characters as a way to promote their music and brands, with the creations appearing in music videos, marketing materials, and sometimes merchandise. Recently, K-pop soloists and groups alike have been pairing with existing characters — often from the Sanrio family — to create fashion and other products featuring themselves […]
Get Ready to Be Horrified this Halloween
With the ongoing strength of both licensed experiences and the horror genre, it makes sense that collaborative haunted houses have become a popular form of location-based entertainment in the past few years. Not surprisingly, the partnerships most often involve properties associated with horror or other dark themes, including several examples just announced for fans making […]
Holding All the Cards
Interest in trading card collecting — which, like many hobbies, was rejuvenated during the pandemic lockdowns — is still going strong, with consumer sales of cards on both the primary and secondary markets on the rise. As a result, sports and entertainment properties continue to actively forge agreements in the category. Following are some of […]
Squeezing Out the Licensing Potential of Squishies
Squishy toys have spiked in popularity this year. These playthings have a number of characteristics that are appealing to Gen Alpha consumers and beyond, including their stress-relief properties, their Asian-influenced look-and-feel, and their collectibility. Circana credited squishies, in part, with propelling the 13% increase in dollar sales in the U.S. toy industry in the first […]
A Passion for Romance Novels
The strength of the romance category in the publishing industry has led to several outbound licensing programs of late (as we have covered here and here). These include examples that have crossed into mainstream distribution, such as Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, as well as many more specialist programs targeting bookish readers mostly through e-commerce and […]
Bringing in the Heavy Hitters
Pairings of sports entities and character/entertainment properties — for merchandise, experiences, content, and/or promotions — have traditionally featured entertainment properties with all-ages followings or properties that skew toward the teen-and-older demographic. The former include the likes of Hello Kitty and the other Sanrio characters, the Disney/Lucasfilm/Marvel family, the Minions, and the Looney Tunes, while the […]