The bond between musicians and gaming is growing stronger as more pop, metal, and country acts are associating their names with interactive games, mobile and otherwise, in the casual, adventure, role-playing, casino slot, and other genres. Musicians are not usually associated with any kind of storyline or other premise that lends itself to gaming, aside […]
Archive | Digital
Heading for the Finnish
By Karen Raugust on March 14, 2016 in Art, Character/Entertainment, Digital, International, Licensing
Properties from Finland, especially from the worlds of design, digital entertainment, and publishing, are expanding their activities on the global market this year. Many are classics, or at least well established, but their profiles are on the upswing, each for its own reasons. On the design side, Marimekko, which has been known for its brightly […]
Code Ed: Characters Teach Computer Programming
Computer coding has been a theme of several recent deals marrying licensed entertainment/character properties with educational digital content focused on basic programming skills. Since November 2015: Disney and Lucasfilm partnered with Code.org for a Star Wars tutorial that educates kids on writing code; Code.org has previously worked with Disney on similar programs involving Frozen and […]
Connected Kids and the Dangers of Data Collection
Data breaches involving children’s toys and content have been in the news in recent months. These incidents serve as a reminder to the licensing community of the need for adequate protections when entering the fast-growing world of connected products for kids. In recent examples, hackers were able to: Infiltrate VTech’s Learning Lodge app store, allegedly […]
Following the Crowd
A number of licensors have turned to crowdsourcing to inspire and test new products and categories. To name just a few examples, toy companies such as LEGO and Mattel have implemented innovation programs to allow their consumers to suggest and vote on new toy ideas, while a variety of crowdsourcing sites, Designed by Humans and […]
No Longer Niche?
As little as a year ago there was skepticism as to whether streaming-only entertainment properties, without TV, film, or franchise backing, would be viable for licensing any time soon. This perception is changing quickly. It is not yet known whether widespread licensing programs tied to shows available only on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and the […]
Join the Crowd
Licensees and retailers increasingly want to profit from the popularity of social media stars, whose fame is derived from their presence on YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Twitter, and/or Snapchat. Not only do these new celebrities have ever-expanding and very loyal and engaged audiences, but they can have a great influence on their fans’ purchasing habits […]
It’s Raining Cats, and Now Dogs
The cats of YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms have long played in the licensing arena, with examples ranging from Grumpy Cat, Keyboard Cat, Nora the Piano Cat, and L’il Bub to Henri, Maru, and Venus the Chimera Cat. More recently, a number of pups have been added to the list, […]
Swimming With The Stream
By Karen Raugust on June 15, 2015 in Celebrity, Character/Entertainment, Content, Digital, Licensing
One of the most notable new wrinkles at last week’s Licensing Expo in Las Vegas was the presence of the major streaming platforms, with YouTube, AwesomenessTV, and Amazon Studios all first-time exhibitors. They were talking to attendees about the potential for financing and distributing content, as well as providing a showcase for the licensors of […]
Feeling Good About Emojis
Not surprisingly, the emojis and emoticons that are so ubiquitous in social media, texting, and email are making their way into the physical world as a theme for a variety of consumer products. In the toy industry, Jakks introduced Emoji Bears, a line of plush bears that allow children to express their emotions by placing […]