In a deal announced just this week, Hasbro licensed British company Bamboo Bamboo to create limited-edition children’s bamboo dinnerware featuring Peppa Pig, sold online. Bamboo dinnerware has been available for a long time, and is billed as eco-friendly as well as safe, durable, lightweight, and easy to clean. With the increased attention on sustainability over […]
Archive | Character/Entertainment
Controlling the Narrative
By Karen Raugust on November 21, 2022 in Character/Entertainment, Interactive gaming, Licensing, Toys/Games
For years now, toy companies have been launching or acquiring entertainment and gaming studios, in the hopes that bringing these businesses in-house will strengthen their ability to control their all-important forays into TV, film, and interactive gaming productions based on their proprietary brands. There has been some news on this front since the start of […]
Think Pink
By Karen Raugust on November 10, 2022 in Character/Entertainment, Design and content themes, Fashion, Licensing
The current Barbiecore trend is thought to have gotten its start in 2019, fueled by fans on Pinterest and then Tiktok and Etsy. It has only gained steam since then. The brand, launched in 1959, has a midcentury-modern sensibility that is attractive to many consumers, as well as the nostalgic appeal of a favorite childhood […]
Top Toys for Tots
With the holiday season quickly approaching, major retailers and key consumer publications have released their predictions for the top toy gifts of the year. Together, these lists offer a snapshot of licensing in the toy industry, which typically reflects trends in the broader character/entertainment licensing sector as well. Here are some takeaways from an analysis […]
Walks on the Wild Side
By Karen Raugust on September 15, 2022 in Character/Entertainment, Experiential licensing, Licensing, Publishing
Nature trails have become a popular form of experiential licensing for children’s book and entertainment properties, especially in the U.K. Here are some examples from the past few years: Among Penguin Ventures’ many experiential activities for Peter Rabbit are winter activity trails in 90 locations managed by the U.K.’s National Trust. The trails launched in […]
Bringing the Beats to Kids’ TV
A handful of classic rappers have made forays into the children’s entertainment and content arena, and sometimes into related licensed products, in the past year or so: Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC partnered with Nickelodeon and Paramount Global last November in a wide-ranging deal in which McDaniels lends his voice to the new Noggin series […]
Copyright Has Its Day in Court
Most consumer products licensing programs are centered on trademarked intellectual property, but copyrighted IP is often involved as well. So it is interesting to look at a number of recent cases involving copyright infringement across a variety of creative industries. These types of situations occur regularly each year, but the frequency seems to be on […]
On-Screen Representation
Children’s entertainment properties, particularly television series, are increasingly including characters with visible disabilities—that is, they use wheelchairs, leg braces, or crutches—as part of the main friend group portrayed on screen. They are shown living their everyday lives and participating fully in the group’s activities, modeling inclusion and normalizing disabilities for young viewers. Some examples: MixMups […]
Linking Licensing and Learning
By Karen Raugust on April 25, 2022 in Character/Entertainment, Education, Educational products, Licensing
Teachers and parents continue to be concerned about learning loss and the deepening academic struggles many children have faced since the start of the pandemic. That has likely been one factor driving several licensors and licensees that are active in entertainment/character licensing to forge new deals in the education arena. Licensing of educational products is […]
Wrestling Groups Pin Down New Deals
Last week WWE announced a multifaceted partnership with Fanatics. This is just the latest in a string of initiatives that have surfaced in the past year or so involving wrestling-related IP. Properties and brands at the forefront include: WWE. Its long-term, global deal with Fanatics encompasses e-commerce (including a reintroduction of the WWE Shop); licensed […]