An article last week in The New York Times detailed how Disney theme parks’ adult superfans are embracing shoulder plush of Disney characters as their go-to accessory during their visit. The product was introduced in 2018 with a Baby Groot version, according to the article, and there will be 45 different versions across all the company’s […]
Archive | Character/Entertainment
Keeping Tabs on Streamer Strategies
This summer has brought an abundance of news on the streaming front, with implications for owners of entertainment, sports, celebrity, and other property types looking for ways to get their IPs in front of TV viewers: Revenue growth. Several leading entertainment companies called out the revenue increases for their streaming businesses in their recent financial […]
Characters in the Pit
Characters from TV, films, and gaming have increasingly been linked with racing—a high-profile sector within the licensing business these days—for promotional initiatives that, in some cases, include merchandise. Auto racing has been seeing growing interest from younger fans in recent years, and these collaborations serve to both take advantage of that fact and further the […]
Crossover Events Age Down
By Karen Raugust on June 30, 2025 in Character/Entertainment, Content, Demographic groups, Licensing
In the character and entertainment world, crossover events pairing two different universes have long been regular occurrences in sectors such as comic books, superhero movies, and tween and adult sitcoms and dramas. This technique has historically been rare in the preschool and younger elementary-grade landscape, but that has changed in a big way in the […]
An Experience Steeped in Tradition
By Karen Raugust on June 23, 2025 in Character/Entertainment, Experiential licensing, Food/Beverage, Licensing
Afternoon teas got their start in the mid-19th century and have become a classic British custom, popular both with visitors, as a unique experience to remember from their trip, and with some local U.K. residents, as an occasional indulgence. The practice is also established in other countries, especially in Asia. Licensed versions of these experiences […]
Full of Beans
BBC Studios’ deal with Bush’s for Bluey Baked Beans, announced last week, brings attention to a product that is not often top of mind in the world of licensed merchandise. But agreements in this category are not unheard of. In fact, several partnerships involving baked beans, mainly featuring character properties and food brands, have bubbled […]
Movie Fans: Passionate But Disorderly
A handful of recent film releases, most based on underlying properties with major licensing programs backing them, have been in the news lately for the in-theater behaviors of some of their fans. These audience members sing at key times, yell out dialog, throw things at the screen, or otherwise interact with the film, often spurred […]
Putting the Pop in Pop Culture
Pairings of character IPs with soda pops and other soft drinks are not a new phenomenon, but there has been a recent surge in interest in such partnerships globally. While most initiatives are promotional, spearheaded by the marketing departments of film and TV studios and accompanied by other promotional techniques like exclusive content or contests, […]
Anime Is a Hit at Baseball Games
Major League Baseball and its teams, whose 2025 season began late last month, have been increasingly teaming with a variety of Japanese pop-culture properties for products and promotions. Japanese-origin IPs from the worlds of anime, kawaii, videogames, and VTubers are a good fit with the sport in many ways. The league and its teams, especially […]
Classic Toons Assist in the Classroom
Owners of character properties, mostly of the classic variety, continue to forge deals that bring their IPs into PreK-12 schools by way of educational content. Some of the efforts are targeted toward families at home, too, but all have at least some presence in school systems. In the past, such tie-ins would have been perceived […]