LIMA Report Discloses Over $100 Billion in Retail Sales of Character and Entertainment Licensed Products

LIMA recently released their latest report on the licensing industry. The article ‘Frozen’ A Mixed Blessing For Licensed Merchandise As Business Changes – Report highlights many sales figures from the report including the $107.2 billion in retail sales from Entertainment and Characters. Disney's Frozen generated enormously successful sales of licensed merchandise. However, Frozen was so successful that it “was viewed as ‘freezing out’ other attractive licenses.”

Ugly Doll to Be Offered in 4000 KFC China Stores

Uglydoll has partnered with KFC China as revealed in Uglydoll secures KFC China kids' meal promotion . Various products will be offered through the restaurant's kids' meals. The Uglydoll brand was first introduced to the Chinese market in 2013. David Horvath, creator of Uglydoll, states "The promotion with KFC in China is a tremendous promotional opportunity to generate brand awareness for Uglydoll throughout the region."

Kate Spade Wants It All

Kate Spade is rapidly expanding its range of products through several licensing deals. Details are contained in Kate Spade brand wants it all: kids, home, cupcakes, PJs  New products that will soon appear include: athleisure apparel; a children's collection; sleepwear; kitchen accessories; bakery accessories, and; assorted home merchandise. Licensing partners involved are: Beyond Yoga; Tawil Associates; Carole Hochman; Lenox; Magnolia Bakery; E.J. Victor; Kravet, and; Jaipur.

Batman in 3D

The first officially licensed 3D printed Batman figures are now available in Europe as revealed in Launzer and DC Comics unveil the first officially licensed 3D printed Batman. The figurines are being produced by i.Materialise, an online 3D printing service.  More DC Comics superhero and villain figurines are on the horizon, as Launzer has secured a deal with Warner Bros. .

Unique Licensed Items For Sale on Etsy

Wikipedia describes Etsy as "a peer-to-peer e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and supplies, as well as unique factory-manufactured items". In a new twist, Etsy is exploring expansion into licensed products as detailed in Etsy Runs Pilot Program to Test Licensed Merchandise. Etsy has been conducting a pilot program with Lionsgate since late last year. Sellers create and sell officially authorized and licensed items for the science fiction film The Divergent Series: Insurgent. The items can be seen here: The Divergent Series: Insurgent Fan Art.

When You Think Caterpillar, Think Smartphone

The Commodore Pet was one of the first personal computers introduced in 1977. Kodak was one of world's largest photography companies. The Commodore Pet has long since disappeared from the market. And Kodak has fallen on hard times, filing for bankruptcy protection in 2012. Now both brands are releasing an Android smartphone as reported in What’s Old Is New as Commodore, Kodak Brands Re-Emerge on Android Devices. Not to be outdone, the successful Caterpillar company also has a ruggedized smartphone under the Cat licensed brand.

Rebuilding the Dior Brand

The successes and failures in building the Dior brand are discussed in  Dior Beauty Exec Talks Modern Day Brand Building. One of the problems the Dior brand encountered was it had both a beauty brand and a fashion brand. They were in totally different offices, and not speaking to one another. The result was brand confusion. Another problem was that the Dior brand expanded to include over 500 licensees. This destroyed the Dior brand identity. The past six or seven years Dior has been repairing these problems and has successfully rebuilt the brand.

Star Wars Merchandise Awakens

It has been 16 years since the release of Star Wars Episode VI Return Of The Jedi. After the long wait, Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens is set for release on December 18, 2015. Already there a plethora of articles describing Star Wars merchandise, everything from apparel to watches to a smartphone app. Here are a few of the articles: Huge Variety of Licensed Star Wars Merchandise Available at Walmart on September 4; The world of Star Wars vintage apparel collecting; Design By Humans Releases Officially Licensed Star Wars Apparel; Nixon Releases Official 'Star Wars' Watches, and; Your Galactic Hub: Inside the New, Totally Essential 'Star Wars' App.

It's a New World for Branding Celebrities

The traditional profit sources for talent has been film, TV and music arenas.  As megabuck movie and TV deals became harder to come by, bigger agencies began to diversify their income streams. The article Hollywood Agencies Look for New Ways to Brand Clients as Competition Grows discusses the new breadth of money-making possibilities for talent. Celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres, Kim Kardashian, Eva Mendes, Nick Cannon, Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore, and Sarah Jessica Parker have all launched new retail products.

Minions Makes Huge Opening Splash

Minions had a gigantic opening weekend, taking in $115.2 million, the second-best animated opening of all time. The article 'Minions' takes over box office. Why $600M in marketing was worth it attributes a large part of the successful opening to an enormous marketing program. Minions are found everywhere from McDonald's Happy Meals to General Mills cereals. Comcast and its partners spent a combined $593 million publicizing the film.

New Bratz Collection Released as Barbie Sales Nosedive

I find myself puzzled by the press release Bratz® Is Back And Better Than Ever. I recall reading articles about the Barbie doll such as Mattel’s Barbie sales down for a third consecutive year and Barbie sales dive 21%, pulling down Mattel's profit. Now MGA Entertainment has partnered with Toys"R"Us to offer an exclusive online pre-sell of a new Bratz collection. It seems like an odd time to release a new collection for the Bratz fashion doll. I must be missing something.

Accessories You Can Expect to See at Comic-Con

In the spirit of the San Diego Comic-Con convention the article ThinkGeek SDCC ’15 collection brings Star Wars, Tesla, GOTG reviews accessories from comic and cult-classic titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Knight Rider, the Avengers, and Star Wars. Have you ever wanted a watch with vacuum tubes? If so, the Tesla Watch featuring two vacuum tubes is for you. Other items that you might be interested in are: the Knight Rider K.I.T.T. USB Car Charger, the Black Widow Light-up T-Shirt, or the R2-D2 Bluetooth Speakerphone.

Beginning Friday Minions Will Be Everywhere

Minions opens in North America in 4,301 theaters Friday. Internationally, Minions has already debuted with $141.5M in 26 markets. The movie's promotions are revealed in  ‘Minions’ Lines Up Biggest Promo Push In Uni’s History With McDonald’s And More. Universal has stated that the promotional campaign is its largest ever. At the center of the promotions is a McDonald's Corp. campaign directed at both adults and children. Other companies involved in Minions promotions are General Mills, Tic Tac, Amazon, Hostess, and Comcast.

Marvel Comics Launches Secret Wars Blitz

Marvel Comics is launching a large merchandising program around Secret Wars, a 2015 comic book story line. The original Secret War series was released in 1984-1985. Details regarding the new program are found in The Spoils of War: How Marvel Is Merchandising Secret Wars For The Mass Market. The Marvel merchandising effort emulates those for blockbuster films. Secret Wars products will be available in stores such as Target and Hot Topic. Licensees include: Mad Engine, Mighty Fine, C-Life, Cafe Press, Bioworld, Silver Buffalo, Funko, and Cardinal.

Timeless Betty Boop Returns to Comics

When I was at the doctor's office the other day, the nurse's blouse had a picture of Betty Boop. It struck me how long Betty Boop has endured. The article Betty Boop Returns In New Dynamite Series reports that Betty Boop will now return to comics for the first time in 20 years. It's hard to imagine, but Betty Boop was first introduced in 1930. There are now nearly 200 Betty Boop licensees in the U.S. and almost twice as many internationally.

Entertainment Licensing Risks and Rewards

Entertainment characters generated $107.2 billion in sales in 2014 with $6.2 billion in royalties. However, there is risk associated with picking the right character as reported in Entertainment Licensing Risks Grow As Global Sales Swell To $107B. The number of movie franchises and TV characters keeps growing. Meanwhile, young buyers meanwhile are turning away from corporate logos and towards properties with vintage characters such as Marilyn Monroe and characters from the 1985 movie The Breakfast Club.

Brand Licensing Europe 2015 Drawing Near

Brand Licensing Europe 2015 will be held Oct. 13-15 in London. The article New categories join Brand Licensing Europe line-up lists several new categories that will be featured at the show. Additionally, there will be 44 new exhibitors. The new exhibitors include: Pepsi, Stanfords, Now That's What I Call Music, Lee Stafford, PGA Tour, Vimto International, and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Hello Kitty to Become Movie Star

Say Hello to Sanrio’s $200 Million ‘Hello Kitty’ Movie reports on a movie expected to cost between $150-240 million to produce and market.  The movie hopes to buttress the character's annual sales averaging over $600 million. Since appearing in 1975, Hello Kitty has achieved billions in revenues. These sales are generated from over 50,000 licensed products. The movie's debut is anticipated in 2019.

Holy Comic-Con Batman!

Several new toys will be revealed at next week's Comic-Con 2015 in San Diego as reported in Comic-Con 2015: These Are The First 'Batman v. Superman' Action Figures. Comic-Con takes place from July 8 through July 12. Booths displaying new Batman and Superman toys include: Funko, Mattel, and Hot Wheels. Mattel will also have a 12" Wonder Woman Barbie on display. Be still my heart.

Gears of War Success Spawns Merchandise Sales

The Xbox One game Gears of War has generated over $1 billion in revenue since 2006. The article Margin Makers: Guide to Gears of War merchandise reports that a new title, Gears 4, will be released in 2016. Several licensed products based on Games of War shown in the article include: a Marcus Fenix action figure; an assault helicopter; a backpack; a belt and buckle, and; metal dog tags .

Batman and Superman Flee New York

DC Entertainment made New York its home for nearly 80 years. In 2013 it decided to move to Burbank. Details of the move are contained in Inside DC Comics' Secret Vault: Batman, Superman and New York-to-Burbank Move. As DC Entertainment and Warner Bros became more intertwined, it became clear that it would be advantageous to locate their headquarters in the same city. In March, more that 100,000 comics and 8,000 hardcover books were packed into 600 boxes and moved from New York to Burbank under tight security.

Digital Space Routs Martha Stewart

Two prior articles in this blog dealt with the impact of the digital world on brand licensing. The articles are: YouTube Was an Exhibitor at Licensing Expo 2015. Why? and  Move Over Mickey Mouse. Both articles report on enormous revenue generated by those who embrace the internet and social media. In contrast the article How Martha Stewart lost her $2 billion empire  partially blames Martha Stewart's downfall on never embracing "the digital space".

YouTube Was an Exhibitor at Licensing Expo 2015. Why?

YouTube had a significant presence at Licensing Expo 2015. If you are wondering why, the article Licensing Expo: The Bright Lights of YouTube Help Brands Shine will fill you in. It's all about the increasing relevance of internet social media in the Licensing Industry, and the importance of "developing an authentic and interactive relationship with your audience". It's a brand new media for marketing a brand, and those who master it are reaping the benefits.

Move Over Mickey Mouse

The article Stars of the small screen at retail's new hot properties reports that celebrities with millions of fans who follow them on smartphones and mobile devices are becoming becoming increasingly important. Martin Brochstein of LIMA says "The business takes its cues from the popular culture, and one of the places where an increasing number of properties come from is the world of YouTube stars and bloggers." Bethany Mota, 19, has more than 8 million subscribers to her YouTube channel, over 4 million followers on Instagram, and her own fashion line sold at teen retailer Aéropostale.

Short Visual Tour of Licensing Expo 2015

The recently concluded Licensing Expo 2015 saw 16,150 attendees, a 3% increase over last year. Additional information on the show is found in Licensing Expo 2015 is 'most successful show' yet. Notably, one in three attendees come from outside the US. Significant international increases came from Australia, Brazil and China. I attended this years show and thoroughly enjoyed the exhibits and meeting new people. A brief tour of a few exhibits is shown below.

	Grumpy Cat not only had an exhibit, but also made a personal appearance. The line of people wanting to get a picture of Grumpy Cat stretched around the exhibit. Clearly a show favorite. Also one of mine.
	You don't have to look twice at the Dr. Seuss exhibit to know it's all about the magical Dr. Seuss. You just feel good when you are around this exhibit. It lifts your spirit remembering the days when you shared The Cat in the Hat with your children. If you have not done that yet, you have something to look forward to.
	The kathy ireland Worldwide exhibit had a simplistic beauty that stood out. The Licensing Expo inundates you with colors and sounds, while the kathy ireland exhibit was an island of serenity. It was all class. The exhibit staff was occupied every day hosting potential partners in a friendly, inviting environment.
	The Major League Baseball Players Association exhibit featured player's pictures and their licensed merchandise. If you are a baseball fan, you surely would enjoy this exhibit. They were clearly ready to do business with several tables for discussions.
	If you've had thoughts that Hulk Hogan's appeal has waned, they would have been challenged upon seeing the line of people waiting to get their picture taken with the Hulkster. He and Jimmy Hart made personal appearances at the WWE exhibit. They both could not have been more gracious posing for pictures for the line of people that stretched around the large exhibit.
	Skechers had a dazzling exhibit featuring Twinkle Toes. A unique feature of the booth was a theater with repeated showings of what I presume was the Twinkle Toes movie. This exhibit had a clear advantage representing the successful Twinkle Toes product line, and they made the most of it.
	This exhibit featured ugliness, but what else would you expect of Ugly Dolls. A lighthearted exhibit with a popcorn machine right in the middle. Had an easy-going atmosphere with several couches arranged for serious discussions.
	Boy Scouts of America licensing prides themselves in having products of high quality and market appeal. Their exhibit reflected those attributes. As you can see in the exhibit picture, they pay a great deal of attention to doing things well to proudly represent the Boy Scouts.
	Holy Expo Batman! The Batman v. Superman Batmobile was revealed at Licensing Expo 2105. Warner Bros. Consumer Products  displayed the new Batmobile at their expansive exhibit. Also shown were the new Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman costumes.
	Maybe you could not tear yourself away from your Playstation to visit the Licensing Expo. If so, you missed out on the excitement of the Playstation exhibit of Sony Computer Entertainment America. You could have learned about the merchandise for its top games, and the new online Playstation Gear Store.
	The Jewel Branding & Licensing exhibit was different than most as many brands, designers, and artists were represented. Both inside and outside the booth, products they speak for were on display. As you can see, the exhibit exploded with artistry, color, and light.
	A different kind of space that companies can use at the Licensing Expo are the Executive Suites. The picture depicts the Executive Suite for Crayola.  Crayola products are displayed within the suite but not outside. Clearly the suites are meant to minimize the distractions found in the main exhibit hall.
	Seaworld always has a great exhibit at the Licensing Expo, and this year was no exception. They like to let you get up close to some of their unique creatures, who they treated with special care. Always attracts a large crowd.

Martha Stewart Living Begins New Saga

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was sold to the Sequential Brands Group for a reported $353 million. Details are contained in Martha Stewart: The Queen of Home Has Lost Her Throne. At one point Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia  was worth over $1 billion. Over the last seven years annual revenues have slipped from $327.9 Million in 2007 to $141.9 Million in 2014.