If you live in a country that celebrates Halloween, especially the U.S., there will probably be a superhero at your door tonight. The top Halloween costumes each year—whether licensed or DIY—tend to reflect current social and pop culture trends. And according to this year’s crop of consumer surveys focusing on Halloween shopping in the U.S. […]
Archive | Character/Entertainment
The Expanding World of Character Collaborations
Collaborations between globally recognized cartoon characters and emerging and established fashion designers have become ubiquitous, with new examples arising weekly. Most of the activity to date has been in the key territories of North America, U.K. and Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan. But the practice is starting to gain a foothold in some […]
Read All About It
When you think of licensed publishing for children, what comes to mind is likely traditional formats such as storybooks, board books, coloring and activity books, and the like. These continue to be the keystones of most licensed kids’ publishing programs, especially when based on entertainment/character properties. But as property owners and publishers look for ways […]
Share and Share Alike
One way to keep a licensing program alive over time is to regularly release new characters, storylines, or art styles that licensees can use to freshen their product assortment. Increasingly, licensors are enlisting their licensees in this effort by facilitating the sharing of licensee-developed assets for new merchandise collections in other categories. NBCUniversal partnered with […]
Pokemon? No.
A search for Pokémon merchandise during a recent visit to Mall of America, in light of the Pokémon Go phenomenon, points to the challenges of capitalizing on a quick-rising trend. Just a handful of MOA’s 520-plus stores are currently highlighting Pokémon products, despite the abundance of visitors who were playing the game while walking the […]
Characters and Causes
A handful of cause-related deals announced this summer, all involving licensed characters, are a reminder of the potential for entertainment to help change behavior in society while enhancing the visibility and reputation of the properties themselves: Disney Channel paired with Girl Scouts of the USA to feature Disney’s new Hispanic princess, Elena of Avalor, in […]
Looking East
Japan has long been a source of children’s properties that have made their mark on the global licensing business, with examples ranging from Hello Kitty to Yo-Kai Watch to Pokémon, the last currently surging thanks to the hit mobile game Pokémon GO. More recently, kids’ entertainment properties from other countries in East and Southeast Asia […]
Exploring the Universe
As always, properties with roots in comic books and videogames commanded a lot of floor space and interest at last week’s Licensing International Expo. These types of IP are characterized by deep and rich worlds that can often serve as a shared backdrop for a variety of mostly separate properties, offering opportunities for characters to […]
Generating Interest With Gen Y
Millennials—consumers ranging in age from 19 to 35 as of 2016—have become a holy grail for marketers of all kinds these days. This is thanks in part to the group’s sheer size; at more than 75 million strong, Generation Y now outnumbers baby boomers in the U.S. In addition, millennial parents are the conduit for […]
Anniversaries in Australia: A Study in Localization
For a global licensing program, the goal is always to find a balance between maintaining a consistent brand image that crosses borders and satisfying tastes in individual territories through localization. Several recent anniversary programs tailored to the Australian market, all based on global character/entertainment properties, illustrate: This year, several local licensees are honoring the 80th […]