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Feature Although Elmendorff has observed “increased demand for well-established properties”, he says Studio 100 is also still interested in bringing new children’s titles to the L&M market. “We produced the fun-packed animation series K3 and the live-action series Ghost Rockers,” he says. But he acknowledges this is a tough market: “The challenge in developing licensing and merchandising for a new property is that the series has to air successfully and engage with the audience to achieve the necessary brand awareness. The focus should always be on involving the target group as fans. With children having access to many forms of digital media and spending more time using devices, we have added products like apps and online games to our portfolio.” To stand any chance of breaking into the market with a new property you need a clear USP, adds Amy Moynihan Heyward, president of Genius Brands International. Having worked with industry leaders including Disney, Hasbro and McDonald’s, she believes that the key for an independent company like Genius is to find a way to differentiate yourself in a crowded market. “The way we did it was to focus on content with a purpose,” she adds. “All of our shows, such as Secret Millionaires Club, Thomas Edison’s Secret Lab and Baby Genius, are about enrichment. With the first two, we have created hugely successful resources that can be found in schools across the US. We’ve also developed interactive content for online and mobile platforms.” The idea of content with a purpose has also been carried through to the company’s L&M activities. “Our view was that the pre-school segment had become very commoditised,” Moynihan Heyward says. “So we redesigned and relaunched the Baby Genius brand in a way that was much more in keeping with the key rhythms of a young child’s day, paying more attention to each of the six-month segments that make up the first three years of a child’s life. The result was a portfolio of 60-70 new products that we feel are much more reflective of a child’s experience.” Interestingly, the educational edge provided by Genius also provides another kind of opportunity: “Schools are crying out for quality resources and there are plenty of responsible brands that want to talk to families. At Genius, we are able to bring them together in a way that benefits both sides.” Viacom (VIMN), like Disney, Time Warner,
“There is no guaranteed magic formula for kids L&M success. But it goes without saying that the key is in the character itself” Mark Kingston Hasbro and Mattel, has a wide array of brands — some 360, to be exact — covering every age range. Picking out highlights, Mark Kingston, general manager and senior vice-president of Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP), EMEA and Australia, says: “Exciting properties for us currently are Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants, Paw Patrol, Dora and Blaze And The Monster Machines. Turtles, for example, continues to do incredibly well for us in toys, retaining its position as the number-one action figure and number-three toy license globally. With the recent launch of Half Shell Heroes and infant offerings using the 1980s TV show, we have Turtles spanning all demos from infant to adult.” SpongeBob — “the ultimate evergreen property” — has been making inroads into fashion, Kingston says, while Paw Patrol “is a preschool smash both on air and in product”. He adds: “This year will see launches across the EMEA region in almost all categories from home, back-to-school, food and apparel.” Dora is also interesting, with the original preschool show only now beginning to hit markets such as Russia and Poland. At the same time, an older version of the show, Dora & Friends, started rolling out internationally at the end of 2014. Kingston says: “The new iteration builds on the qualities of Dora The Explorer that kids love, but offers a new way to engage
with Dora in a new setting, with new friends, new music and different kinds of stories. This presents opportunities for new product, especially toys and fashion-forward apparel.” Asked to explain the success of the Viacom portfolio, Kingston admits: “There is no guaranteed magic formula for kids L&M success. But it goes without saying that the key is in the character itself. It’s essential that kids can relate to them and want to know more about them. In addition, a property that lends itself well to toys always has an advantage, as the link to product is so naturally established. Furthermore, any property that can appeal to more than one demo [such as SpongeBob or South Park] also has increased potential for L&M success.” In terms of market trends, Kingston says: “Properties like Angry Birds and Minecraft can come from nowhere and make us all think about different ways of launching and maintaining L&M properties. Turtles shows that retailers can generate significant business from a classic re-imagined franchise. However, new properties like Paw Patrol can quickly establish themselves across markets.” When it comes to breaking properties on to the market, Kingston says that brands like Hello Kitty and Angry Birds show that free TV is no longer the “must have” that it used to be. “That said, free-to-air is still the quickest and easiest way to engage with large kids’ audiences — and their parents,” he adds. “Across EMEA, we have incredibly strong partnerships with the likes of TF1, Clan and in the UK Channel 5 [which Viacom now owns]. However, that doesn’t stop us finding new ways to engage our target audiences through our websites, apps, recreational partners and, of course, product.”
DHX Media is in the process of rolling out Teletubbies
preview magazine I September 2015 I www.mipjunior.com