The market for toy collectibles featuring real food and beverage brands seems as strong as ever, with demand continuing, new brands launching, and additional licenses being signed. Among the key players: Zuru Mini Brands offers Foodie Minis, which encompass more than 100 grocery brands, mostly from the U.S., Canada, and the U.K, ranging from Bazooka, […]
Archive | Collectibles
Lessons from the NFT Trenches
Even though the NFT market is down in general in terms of value, NFTs can still be an effective means of generating fan loyalty—if they are a good fit with the property and its consumer base, and if they provide those consumers with something they value at a fair price. Achieving the right balance is […]
More NFT IPs Jump Offline
Three leading NFT projects have made significant moves into the world of physical consumer products this fall: The most recent example is VeeFriends, which partnered with Toikido to create a line of plush and vinyl figures based on 10 of its characters. The products will be sold starting on October 17 through Toys ‘R’ Us […]
Leagues Go Large on NFTs
Pro sports leagues from around the world, along with their players associations, have been among the most active property types to date in the world of NFTs. And many tend to think big, signing long-term deals for marketplaces rather than focusing on individual collections of NFTs, although they do that too. This year, and especially […]
Are NFTs The Cat’s Meow?
In the early days of social media memes and YouTube, cat videos were one of the first categories of content to go mainstream. The same phenomenon seems to be happening to a certain extent with NFTs, as the number of cat-related NFT collections is large and expanding, and several have broken through as success stories. […]
They Are NFTs, Hear Them Roar
Women-led NFT projects are starting to proliferate, although they remain a small slice of a landscape that has been male-dominated to date. Female artists, for example, account for less than 16% of the NFT art market and just 5% of NFT sales overall, according to ArtTactic. Most of the female-led NFT projects are positioned as […]
Flipping the Script
Film and TV properties, like other forms of IP, have been getting into the NFT space in a big way. Now a handful of new deals have turned things around by taking NFT-origin properties and developing them for traditional TV or films: Actress Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, partnered with the NFT collective World […]
Non-Fungible, But Also Non-Official
Using a blockchain—a decentralized, shared database—to track the history of a digital or real-life item creates a secure timeline of where that item has been throughout its lifespan, giving purchasers confidence about its legitimacy. As such, blockchain technology is a tool for everything from ensuring the authenticity of collectibles and luxury goods to demonstrating an […]
A Reality Check for Virtual Tokens
NFTs remain one of the hottest areas of interest in licensing, with announcements of deals across property types coming out daily. This month, however, a number of more negative news stories have popped up about NFT programs, including several involving licensed properties. NFTs remain an enticing, brand-new sector for IP owners to explore in their […]
Trading Card Transformations
The trading card industry has been experiencing a number of changes this year, from skyrocketing interest in collecting, to decades-long licensing agreements changing hands, to the emergence of new opportunities including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and collegiate name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Some of the key trends to watch: A pandemic-fueled rise in popularity. Interest […]