Science, maker, and activity kits—some with licenses attached—are a big trend within the toy business, from STEM packs centered on coding and circuitry to chemistry sets focused on slime or cosmetics. A mini-trend within the category, notable at this year’s New York Toy Fair, was the pairing of licensed properties with plant- and nature-related science […]
Archive | Character/Entertainment
Team Mentality
The biggest entertainment/character licensors and their licensees are enhancing fans’ sense of belonging and engagement with a bit of team spirit. Initiatives take different forms: Choosing sides. Several of Disney/Lucafilm’s licensed Star Wars products, from NVidia’s computer graphics processing units (GPUs) to Ample Hills’ ice cream, give consumers two alternatives from which to select, the […]
Construction Paper
Paper engineering (the art and science of creating pop-ups and paper sculpture) has inspired a growing, albeit still small, product category dubbed paper art. The sector has attracted a number of entertainment/character licenses over the past 18 months or so: Lovepop announced early in December that it had introduced a 3D paper art collection tied […]
Out of Sight
Licensors continue to show interest in utilitarian product categories that at one time would not have been considered for licensing. One example: electronics and computer components such as memory cards and graphics processing units (GPUs), as well as batteries. These items have been attracting the attention of entertainment/character licensors of late: This month, Disney/Lucasfilm and […]
Reflected Glory
Three recent hot-markets scenarios in the entertainment/character segment arose after a licensed property or product made an appearance in an unaffiliated TV show or film: Netflix’s Stranger Things, which takes place in the 1980s, featured a Halloween costume incorporating a hand-made Ghostbusters logo on a pair of Reebok sneakers from the era. The cameo led […]
Characters on the Runway
One indication of the ongoing importance of pairings between high-fashion labels and licensed properties from outside the world of fashion is the strong presence of such collaborations at the spring and fall Fashion Weeks and Design Weeks in the world’s capitals of high fashion. These have become key moments to debut joint collections on the […]
Books and Bonus Content
Book and comic book publishers have long sought some sort of added value to differentiate their licensed titles from their competitors’, give retailers something exclusive, and entice consumers. These perks historically have been likely to take forms such as premiums (e.g., crayons or collectible toys) affixed to the cover; design elements (foil or sparkles, a […]
Anime Every Day
Anime TV series, from mainstream examples such as Pokémon to superfan favorites such as Yuri!!! on ICE, have long been popular in Western markets, albeit rising and falling cyclically, as is the case for any trend. Recently, widespread optimism about the long-term prospects of the genre has led a number of large organizations to stake […]
Retailers and Reality TV
Three recent retail exclusives involving reality TV series and their stars provide an illustration of how these types of shows can be a good fit for relevant product categories in the bricks-and-mortar environment: Project Runway, which airs on Lifetime, paired with JCPenney for a line of branded women’s clothing. Collections inspired by the winner of […]
Subscription Crates for Kids
The entertainment/character-driven portion of the subscription box industry to date has been dominated by so-called “geek-and-gamer” properties—videogames, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comic books, anime, adult-focused animation, and the like—with end users skewing toward male teens and adults. A number of kawaii-themed boxes also exist and tend to appeal to women. While there is some spillover attraction […]