Chocolate and gaming go well together, as indicated by the number of limited-edition chocolates featuring characters with roots in interactive gaming that have popped up in the last couple of years. The pairings make sense in that chocolate is a popular choice as a snack during gaming sessions, and the products’ collectibility mirrors an element […]
Tag Archives | Nintendo
Boba Tie-Ins Bubble Up
By Karen Raugust on January 25, 2024 in Character/Entertainment, Food/Beverage, International, Licensing, Promotion, Retail
Bubble tea, or boba—a creamy, tea-based drink containing tapioca pearls—was invented in Taiwan and has been spreading around the world, including into the U.S., where boba drink outlets are becoming ubiquitous at malls and elsewhere. The U.S. bubble tea market was forecast to reach $464.29 million in 2023, up 6.9% from $434.11 million in 2022, […]
Made by Hand
A number of deals of late have involved limited editions of handcrafted products. The increasing tendency to include handmade products as a component of a licensing program is not a trend that has arisen suddenly. Rather, the strategy has gained strength steadily and rather stealthily over several years. Recent examples cut across a variety of […]
Fun with Footwear
When it comes to adult-skewing lifestyle collaborations with entertainment properties, footwear is a frequent area of focus. Recently, a very small but high-profile handful of in-world footwear initiatives have taken this phenomenon to the next level, attracting significant attention among fans and the media: Red Wing Shoes paired with Nintendo for a real-life version of […]
A Good Game for Beauty Brands
By Karen Raugust on April 4, 2022 in Character/Entertainment, Health/beauty, Interactive gaming, Licensing
Beauty companies have been among the most active of corporate marketers when it comes to entering the virtual worlds of gaming and the metaverse. Many have been creating promotions and/or offering digital palettes to be used within the games, for example. Conversely, owners of video game properties have increasingly been dipping their toes into physical […]
Game Play
Three leading toy companies recently signed renewals of existing licensing deals tied to mainstream video game properties, or otherwise expanded their current assortments. This is a reminder of how the toy-licensing landscape has changed over time from almost entirely TV- and film-based to an environment where video games, one of today’s major leisure-time activities, play […]
Take a Seat
Gaming chairs represent one niche of the interactive-gaming peripherals and accessories segment that has seen strong interest from the licensing community. Billed as enhancing performance as well as comfort during game play, game chairs were first associated with esports-, gaming-, and gaming influencer-related IP, which still comprise the core of the market. But licensing activity […]
To Promote, or Not To Promote
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many companies put their plans on hold for product launches, marketing and media campaigns, publicity, and the like. But some have decided that an uninterrupted presence in consumers’ minds will help position them for success, or at least survival, once the peak of the crisis has passed. They have therefore […]
Sketches and Scribbles
Last week, Firefly Brand Management announced that it had signed on to represent professional doodler Todd Goldman for licensing representation. That follows on the heels of Striker Entertainment being retained by the Doodle Boy. It turns out that a long list of professional doodle artists from around the world promote their hand-drawn patterns and characters […]
Mobile AR Gaming Levels Up
Niantic’s Pokémon Go, the first hit augmented-reality mobile game, came out in July 2016. More than three years later, the game was still generating $1.4 billion in annual revenue, as of December 2019, according to SuperData. In fact, the title single-handedly drove 81% of the $1.7 billion in total revenues for all AR mobile games […]