The Bugg Report Magazine - Edition 12

+ Sesame Street Feature Interview  + Apparel and Fashion  + Mattel Feature Interview Including Key Industry News, Feature Interviews, Retail Spy and Wide Eyes News from the Tube!

buggtoysandlicensing.com Edition 12

RUBIE’S DEERFIELD PTY. LTD. ABN: 26 122 874 079

5-7 Corporate Ave, Rowville, VIC 3178, Australia admin@rubiesdeerfield.com.au T: 03 9755 7739

www.rubiesdeerfield.com.au

From the Editor Welcome to our very first Bugg Toys & Licensing magazine here at the Las Vegas Licensing Expo. Producing a magazine for this event has been something we have wanted to achieve ever since we launched our publication, back in 2008. We believe that as Australia continues to grow as a vibrant player in the Global Licensing Industry, it is really important to let our industry know just what is happening in the ‘Land Down Under’.

To add to that, we would like to thank all of the companies and industry people who have helped us to get this magazine to market for the first time here in Vegas, and we look forward to more of the same for Brand Licensing Europe later this year in October. I think you will find our feature interview in this edition with Mattel’s Jesse Dunne a very interesting read. Jesse was recently in Melbourne and we had the chance to sit down and learn about the Mattel business and it’s outlook from a Global perspective. As always we would love to hear your feedback, and opinion on this new edition, so please send your comments to info@buggtoysandlicensing.com and we will be in touch!

As I mentioned earlier, Australia is continually growing from a Licensing Industry perspective, and we were lucky enough to have Charles Riotto visit us in Melbourne last month to host a Networking Function for the local Australian Licensing Industry. The event provided a range of industry people the opportunity to meet-and-greet with Charles and listen to some updates from the Global President of the Licensing Industry Merchandiser’s Association (LIMA). Charles spoke on a range of topics, including the new and improved licensing.org website, which will be significant both locally in Australia and globally.

We encourage you to visit the new site and if you are a current LIMA member, make sure you register your company profile on LIMA net.

I also thought I would talk briefly about this new day and age that we now live in, where Social Media seems to be the life-blood of our society. How many couples do you see at restaurants sitting opposite each other, both absorbed in what is on the screen of their iPhones? Maybe they were tagged in a photo on Facebook, they just received a Snap chat or they needed to Tweet their current status, it doesn’t really matter

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because neither one is paying attention to the other! It makes me think that this new era of online Social Media is gradually eating away at the real deal, social interaction between REAL people. What is it that Sean Parker said in ‘The Social Network’, “we’re going to live on the Internet!” It seems he was right, but at what cost? I believe that cultures have traditionally been built on authenticity in the past, but it’s a scary prospect now because the term ‘selfie’ doesn’t seem all that authentic to me?

In this new era of ‘instant access’ to just about anything that is happening Globally via your iPhone, I would have to agree with Kanye West when he is asking, “where is the culture at?”

My point is simply that I hope in the future we see things shift back to the way they were, when people could enjoy the ‘here and now’ and not be more concerned about ‘checking in’ on Facebook or filming a video of the concert rather than actually enjoying it in real time! Don’t get me wrong, I think platforms like Facebook and Twitter have benefited us in so many ways, for instance they have given our publication new ways to get our news to you, our readers. I guess what I am saying is that there needs to be a point where we get inspiration from real-life activities as well as from the people we follow online through Social Media! And as Mattel would say, ‘Think Differently’!

Bugg Toys & Licensing has been compiled as a guide to Toys and Licensing. The views and opinions provided are based upon the views and opinions of its writers.

In no way is Bugg Toys & Licensing a factual guide to Toys and Licensing and does not take responsibility for how the information provided is used by its consumers.

Bugg Toys & Licensing PO BOX 491 Berwick, VIC 3806 Australia P: +61 3 9769 3963 E: info@buggtoysandlicensing.com

Contents

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Jessi Dunne – Global Interview – Mattel

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Naz Cuevas Interview – Rovio Entertainment

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Fashion and Apparel Industry ‘down under’ in spotlight

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The Maura Regan big Interview – Sesame Workshop

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SKYLANDERS – THE PIONEER OF TOYS TO LIFE 2014

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Jessi Dunne interview – Part 2

Bugg Toys and Licensing continue with Part 2 of our interview with Jessi Dunne – GM & SVP of consumer products Mattel. We were able to talk more about the global strategy for Mattel Consumer Products.

Our conversation also included Mattel’s acquisition of the HiT Entertainment brand portfolio and what opportunities this brings to Mattel now and in the future.

We discussed Mattel’s acquisition of HiT Entertainment and how HiT brands will complement the overall Mattel portfolio. Jessi was quick to point out that the HiT portfolio represents a fabulous opportunity for Mattel to leverage the powerful pre-school position HiT has established in the market as well as being able to tap entertainment content and live events expertise to fuel growth of the entire Mattel portfolio. In particular, Thomas will be of huge importance to Mattel’s preschool business and brings exciting synergistic opportunities to the Fisher Price business. The popularity of Thomas in the Asia Pacific region combined with the investment and reinvigoration of new toy lines, content, creative and marketing initiatives such as the 2015 70th anniversary shows there is huge global growth potential for consumer products.

Jessi referenced the recent HiT Entertainment announcement that a brand new CG-animated series of Bob the Builder has entered preproduction and two series of 52 episodes of

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the popular pre-school show will be produced and is due to be delivered late 2015. This gives Mattel another potential powerhouse preschool brand to add to the portfolio.

Jessi also points out that there is an enormous amount of history surrounding Fisher Price (est. 1930), Barbie (est. 1959) and Hot Wheels (est. 1968) which is yet to be fully capitalized upon. Jessi’s creative team intends to use this incredible brand history to tell a broader story and to develop CP programs which leverage this material very differently to what has been seen before.

Providing the inspiration and guidelines and then empowering the Mattel organisation to engage licensing partners to bring their expertise to our products in innovative and creative ways is central to Jessi’s strategy of building the global CP business.

Jessi wants Mattel to be viewed as the Licensor of choice and is single minded about being the partner licensees and retailers want to work with. She wants Mattel to be the best at what we do and the way we do it and

is a great believer in developing long term collaborative partnerships.

We talked about how Mattel is working towards global integration of toys and consumer products. Jessi commented that Mattel is a brand-focused organisation fuelled by content, entertainment, live events and experiences and the consumer products team is working with toy colleagues to identify synergies which bring our brands to life in a more integrated way.

Jessi is very serious about building brands, understanding consumer touch points and prioritizing their portfolio around product categories. The business is now organized around three areas – Publishing, Hardlines and Softlines – and global category heads have recently been appointed to develop global platforms and partnerships which drive local market growth.

Following her visit to Australia, Jessi was impressed by how the team is thinking differently and she is enthused by the enormous growth potential for Mattel’s

core brands in the market. “There is a lot going on in Australia! The retail dynamics are changing and we need to read the play and lead the way with the great partnerships we have established and are continuing to build. There is real opportunity here and I can’t wait to be back to celebrate our success.”

In terms of Mattel’s position in the market she is less interested in ranking, and far more focused on making sure that Mattel continues to improve market share in every product category year on year.

Clearly her knowledge and passion for building brands and CP programs on a global basis will see Mattel lead the industry over the coming years.

“It’s an exciting time to be at Mattel as we create the future of play. I have so much confidence in the team and our partners to make it happen” explained Jessi.

Mark Scott – Director, Licensing/ Consumer Products, Mattel Australia/New Zealand Phone: +61 3 9425 5333

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©2014 Viacom Overseas Holdings C.V. ©2014 Viacom Overseas Holdings C.V. ©2014 SPINMASTER PAW Productions Inc. ©2014 MTV Networks. SpongeBob SquarePants created by Stephen Hillenburg.

FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES

For Australia and New Zealand Licensing opportunities please contact: Rita Viola at Haven Licensing, rviola@havenlic.com.au

www.nickelodeon.com.au www.nickelodeon.com.au www.nickjr.com.au www.nickjr.com.au

The #1 entertainment brand for kids unveils its largest content pipeline ever With its largest-ever content pipeline unveiled earlier this year, new and evergreen pre-school properties, a slate of successful and far-reaching activations and two highly-anticipated feature film releases, Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) comes to the Las Vegas Licensing Expo with ‘something for everyone’ in Australia and New Zealand.

At the annual advertising upfront presentation in New York earlier this year, Nickelodeon Group president Cyma Zarghami announced the network’s largest content pipeline ever -ten new series across every genre and across multiple platforms, all tailor made for the tastes of today’s post-millennial generation of kids.

“Our mission has been to create and deliver funny content that will resonate with today’s kids, and we are well-positioned to do that through our schedule of fresh hits, a deep pipeline of new series, tent-pole events, ratings momentum and innovation on all platforms,” said Zarghami. “Our pre-school slate reinforces Nickelodeon’s standing as the best place for shows that are both smart and fun, powered by great stories, relatable characters and a meaningful curriculum that has been our hallmark.”

Leading NVCP’s pre-school line up is powerhouse evergreen brand, Dora The Explorer. Now in her 13th year, Nick Jr. constantly evolves Dora to keep her fresh with today’s parents, carers and kids through the development of new style guides, television specials and live events in shopping malls and theatres, attracting over 150,000 attendees across Australia and New Zealand in 2013. Fans also engage with her at SeaWorld Gold Coast and Sydney’s new Wet’n’Wild. As part of Nickelodeon’s three-year partnership with Tennis Australia, Dora held ‘court’ at Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open at the “Kids Tennis Day”. Dora continues to star on the silver screen during special screening events with Hoyts Jnr cinemas and hit retail shelves in the health and beauty category through Nuturecare Nappy Pants and Colgate, further strengthening this beloved property’s ability to nurture pre-schoolers as they grow.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles season 2 is currently on Nickelodeon, and season 1 is Channel 11’s #1 rated kids show, airing Sunday mornings at 7.30 a.m. in Toasted TV’s prime time slot.

PAW Patrol launched on Nick Jr. last September, and pre-schoolers and parents have fallen in love with adorable canines Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Zuma and Skye who, together with their 10 year old tech savvy owner, protect the citizens of Adventure Bay. Around the world PAW Patrol has debuted and remained Nick Jr.’s #1 rated show, and it recently launched on Channel Nine in Australia and on TV2 in New Zealand. Spin Master has launched their highly coveted line of toys including figures, vehicles, plush, talking plush and play sets in the US; Funtastic will debut these toys in Australia in September 2014 and in New Zealand Planet Fun are the master toy licensee.

“We are being inundated with calls asking when products will be on shelf and are busy signing licensees to launch the PAW Patrol CP programme in ANZ from September 2014” said Tom Punch, Managing Director, Haven Licensing.

NVCP’s wide stable of properties has continually proven popular with kids of all ages, and Qantas has recently introduced play packs on all domestic and transTasman flights for its younger passengers.

The complimentary 32-page Qantas Nickelodeon Play Pack features SpongeBob SquarePants, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Dora the Explorer and PAW Patrol in addition to games, stories, activities and quizzes relevant to kids.

With over 10 million toys sold worldwide, the award-winning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was the biggest boys toy action brand last year and shows no signs of slowing down.

Celebrating thirty years since the four reptilian brothers first appeared in print, they return to the big screen in a live action/3D CGI Paramount Pictures feature film collaboration with one of the original creators, Kevin Eastman, and director/producer Michael Bay. The highly anticipated movie’s trailer received 31.4 million views in its first week of release – higher than any other movie opening in 2014 – and the countdown is on until it makes its debut in the US on August, 11th September in Australia and 18th September in New Zealand.

Hot off the catwalk in Milan and a high profile collaboration with recording artist Pharrell Williams, SpongeBob SquarePants continues to captivate kids and the young at heart around the world. SpongeBob has over 100M+ Facebook friends, 1M+ Twitter followers, holds strong as the #1 kids and family title on iTunes, #1 show and #1 gaming property on Nick.com, and the #1 Nickelodeon show for all DTO partners and Netflix. Christmas 2014, SpongeBob and friends will be turning the silver screen yellow with the world’s favourite sea creature’s second full-length feature film released through Paramount Pictures on December 18th in Australia and 26th December in New Zealand. In support of the highly-anticipated movie, there will be a range of film toys released through HeadStart, books from Scholastic, apparel, homewares and more.

For Australia and New Zealand Licensing opportunities please contact: Rita Viola at Haven Licensing rviola@havenlic.com.au BUGGtoysandlicensing.com

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The Promotions Factory is a group of innovation, design, manufacturing, marketing and distribution divisions all coming together to deliver a unique single source strategy to our clients.

Rob, it is not easy developing and bringing to market Consumer Products promotions such as your Micro AFL figurine range.

Who came up with the idea?

TPF have led the industry in licensed figurine retail promotions for over 10 years. We have been trying to find an AFL solution for many years, as it difficult to formulate a mechanic that has all teams represented equally.

Our General Manager of Retail, Giles Musker, was the brains behind the AFL figurine concept after seeing the success of similar promotions for other sporting leagues in Europe.

Dealing with large retailers and the governing body (the AFL) can be a challenge from a planning perspective. How long did it take you to bring this promotion to market?

We turned the Micro Figure program around incredibly quickly.

We took the idea to the AFL in mid 2013, with a plan for a launch in 2015, as we would usually allow at least 12 months to develop any figural-based product.

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Coles loved the concept so much that they wanted the product in the season kick-off 2014!

TPF have a 20 year relationship with the AFL and we were fortunate to have great support from both the AFL and AFLPA, who were on board with the program from the start, and were incredibly helpful in fast-tracking the approval process during development to meet our tight timelines.

With 30 different players on offer including rare Brownlow Medalists, it must have been a challenge dealing with players and player managers to secure sign off on their likenesses.

Getting the player likeness spot-on was really important to us, and we believe it to be key to the program’s success. We worked with one of the top sports caricaturists in the country, Paul Harvey, on all of the player artwork to achieve a stylized, broad appeal, that is still true to the player’s features.

Additionally, the AFLPA were extremely supportive throughout the entire program, and always provided prompt, clear feedback which really helped in speeding up the approval process.

Who were some of the most enthusiastic players?

Collingwood Football Club, and former Collingwood Captain and player Nick Maxwell were extremely enthusiastic about the program. They loved that the Micro Figures gave kids an opportunity to collect their very own footy heroes at home. Their support was integral to the launch and the media coverage received by hosting the press conference and Micro Figure launch at Collingwood’s home the Westpac Centre.

Dane Swan & Scott Pendlebury were keen supporters form early on, putting their hands up to MC the press conference.

Dyson Heppell & Daniel Rich were both quick to get involved; posting via their social media accounts within days of the launch. Nick Reiwoldt was also a continued supporter.

The mechanics of this program, which includes a blind packaging aspect, must create a high level of anticipation with the consumer. Was this decision made as part of the overall marketing direction?

Due to the number of teams and players involved in the program, and to drive repeat purchase and collectability we chose to blind pack the figures.

The Micro Figure program has proven that it is the players that are the heroes for the younger market. Kids are on the hunt for all of the star players, regardless of club.

Did you use social media to enhance the program?

Yes, social media has played an integral role in raising awareness for the AFL Micro Figure range. We coordinated a strong social marketing campaign between Coles, the AFL, and TPF for the launch, but following this online activity has primarily been driven by the fans.

The buzz around the program saw trading pages pop up on Facebook within a week, and Instagram has been flooded with photos of collectors dream teams. We have seen the Micros pop up all over Twitter too; from player posts, to famous footy fans.

I anticipate that you would have supplied your figures in large numbers? Can you give us an insight into how many Micro figures you sent to market?

TPF have 25 years experience in the industry with toys and promotions running programs with all the major licenses such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Mr Men, The Simpsons

and Disney/Pixar and many more. While we can’t reveal the numbers, the AFL Micro Figures program is up there with the largest volumes that we have produced for a single promotion in Australia.

bags are packed as required. As you can imagine, with 35 different players across 18 teams, it was extremely beneficial having an experienced team on the ground in China to ensure all product was 100%.

We have experienced steady sell through since the launch, and we expect strong sales to continue for the remainder of the footy season with Series 2 launching middle of July.

Have you had any feedback from Coles as to the success of the promotion?

I understand that you are soon to launch a similar program with the National Rugby League, can you tell us a little about this activation?

The sheer task of developing this program, must mean that you have a very well organized and skilled manufacturing operation in the Orient? Can you tell us a little about this?

The entire operation in China is managed by my joint CEO Simon Strapp, and Operations Director Lincoln Harbottle who both live in Hong Kong.

We have a fully-fledged product development and sourcing team in Hong Kong. We also have our own factory and office in Shenzhen, China. We are a very experienced manufacturer of collectables.

The program has been hugely successful for Coles, and has well and truly surpassed all expectations. We are excited to announce the launch of the NRL Micro Figures in July, as well as Series 2 of the AFL Micro Figures.

Annelies van Doorn International Sales and Marketing Manager TPF T +61 3 9520 1151

One of the most challenging aspects to control was ensuring the player assortment was correct per CDU, and ensuring all foil

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inment Rovio Enterta & © 2009 – 2014 rved.

ANGRY BIRDS™ All rights rese

For All Australian Licensing Enquiries, Contact Wild Pumpkin: P: (+61) 3 9274 2900 E: info@wild-pumpkin.com

Ltd.

LICENSING INTERNATIONAL PTY. LTD.

NAZ CUEVAS INTERVIEW Our very first impressions were that Naz has a clear plan on how she intends to develop the global Consumer Products programs for Angry Birds and their new and emerging brands. We sat down with her and posed a number of questions relating to her vision for the business now and in the future.

Naz, I understand you joined Rovio from Fremantle Media. What was is it that attracted you to this organisation, which began as a Gaming company and has become a cultural phenomenon?

What attracts me most about Rovio is their desire to build something that’s here for 100 years and not just 100 days. Not only do I get to work with some of the brightest, most creative and most savvy business people in the world, but we are all committed to building, evolving and shaping this into something that’s never been done before.

It was never about cashing in on a popular game title, it’s about carefully nurturing niche programs and partnerships that surprise fans of Angry Birds, explore ways to bridge digital and physical engagement experiences and developing exciting and robust new IP that keep the company poised for tremendous future growth.

We notice that you have an unparalleled audience, which cuts across all of the key online platforms. With this global audience how do you intend to organize your Consumer Products program to connect with the consumer?

Bugg Toys and Licensing was fortunate to catch up with Naz Cuevas Executive Vice President of Global Consumer Products Licensing – Rovio Entertainment during her world Consumer products Licensing Summit.

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For us, it’s truly always about the fans and giving our fans the products and experiences that exceed their expectations and keep them engaged. In order to do that and keep our brand relevant, it’s a matter of proactively establishing deeper relationships with best in class partners around the world and developing world-class products and experiences that reflect who our fans are and what they represent. We also listen to our fans and respond accordingly. Finally, when you’re talking about a large global audience, you also have to adapt yourself to local cultures, trends, styles and events and find ways to make our characters resonate on a local level which we do by working with licensing agents and affiliate offices who are our eyes and ears on the ground in our key markets.

You have an Angry Birds movie set to premiere in July of 2016, what do you believe will be the most powerful benefit to the brand for the future?

Every Rovian works under the premise that Angry Birds is a brand that is here to stay for the long term. While its initial success has been phenomenal, even more phenomenal has been its proven STAYING POWER. It’s still the #1 downloaded game of all-time and consumer products continue to tell the story of our characters and engage with even wider audiences. As for our future, the Angry Birds movie is one of our large scale initiatives being released over the next 3 years and it benefits our partners tremendously because they know for a fact that this is a long term investment opportunity.

Our ability to adapt and evolve our characters and their stories and worlds is one of the most powerful benefits of our brand and our partners know they can bet on us to deliver.

We understand that one of the things you have initiated at Rovio is a much more structured ‘Internal Active Collaboration’ Is this part of becoming a fully integrated entertainment company?

Absolutely. With success comes tremendous opportunity and we’re now structured in a way that allows us to collectively work together to explore opportunities from a number of different angles but in a collaborative way. Instead of looking at an opportunity from a business unit specific angle, all business unit heads are encouraged to nurture and explore ways to develop multiple touch points to maximize the initial opportunity.

An experience with our brand can evolve from a plush toy, to digitally convert into a benefit in the gameplay that can cut across our ToonsTV while finding a clue in our publishing books to then redeem it at one of our location based entertainment places.

It’s like different spokes on the wheel, where each business unit has the ability to offer something special to the opportunity for a more fully-realized, more robust experience.

It is clear to see that the launch of your new brand Stella will follow a much more traditional launch plan that will focus on Marketing, Games, Toons, Consumer Products including Books and Publishing, will this be something you will adopt as a strategic approach now?

It may seem that the launch of ‘Stella’ behaves like a traditional way of doing things in the entertainment and licensing worlds but I will say that it is a perception.

In reality, we are in the midst of doing something that has never been done before.

We are creating a brand new franchise from the ground up and supporting it with games, original animation shorts to play on our ToonsTV platform and developing a targeted, niche Consumer Products line that aims at aging up our product offerings.

The digital space is a sacred place that evolves so rapidly that something that was new today may be old next week. Taking this into account, how does one ensure that a game will be relevant but at the same time epic, while building an important story line that needs to monetise AND delight simultaneously?

How does one ensure that each business unit fully executes tailored strategy for such an amazing proposition when there are external market factors taking place?

While we’re going a little more traditional in our approach to sustaining and evolving classic Angry Birds, Stella gives us an opportunity to go a little more upscale, a little more fashion-forward, all while delivering engaging game and video content to entertain a mass audience.

We will always be strategic but I wouldn’t pinpoint one particular template that we use to launch a brand. Each brand deserves a tailored approach.

As part of establishing Angry Birds and Rovio as an evergreen property we see that you will introduce many new and exciting Style Guides to support your new brands, Go, Rio 2 and Epic. How do you see this initiative affecting your Consumer Products programs in the future?

Having new and innovative visual assets is absolutely key to keeping our products fresh and culturally relevant. So, it’s essential to continue introducing new Style Guides to support our brands, spin-offs and mash-ups that provide inspirations. New style guides will also help us in our desire to evolve the look and feel of our characters and ensure the longevity of the brand. Style guides are the content of consumer products and we will focus on collections and culturally relevant localization of our brands, for we see content as a ‘service’ to our partner.

Toons, your new online short story activation has already seen 2 billion views. How do you see this playing out as part of your brand building architecture?

Toons is vital to our transformation as a fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to adding new shows based on Rovio IP, over the next few months and years, ToonsTV will also continue to add new third-party programming and we are in active discussions that will increase our broadcast partners around the world, solidifying ToonsTV as a premiere destination for world-class entertainment content. This is a tremendous marketing tool for us and also offers unparalleled advertising and brand partnership opportunities for brands that are looking to reach our massive audience that continues to grow.

However that is not what we focus on.

We focus on the quality and creativity of the content, we focus on widening the distribution so every fan has access to it.

In true Rovio fashion, the people that work on both the animation content as well as on the video distribution side are true creative geniuses who passionately think about what they’re delivering as a service and an opportunity to engage further with our fans.

The emergence of cobranding and cross media experience such as your Angry Birds Star Wars partnership is driving consumer demand. Do you see Rovio continuing to develop this initiative?

Cross media experiences are also a key part of our long-term strategy for Angry Birds.

These are the experiences that delight our fans and that continue to keep us part of popular culture. While I cannot provide any specifics, we have a number of exciting initiatives in the works; however, each opportunity is analysed to ensure we remain true to our core values and true to our long term strategy. It’s not a one-off opportunity for us, it’s a collective investment that we take very seriously.

Naz, along with your Consumer Products background what are the most obvious benefits to the business as a result of you moving to head office in Finland?

By moving to the head office last year, I’ve managed to centralize and streamline our CPL efforts, which has not only allowed me to build a world class CPL team including

sales, product development, finance, legal, creative, account management, administration, product integrity, and brand development but also allowed me to put processes in place that put our partners and our fans first.

I’ve also made some strategic investments into the operational tools and services that are required to run a global entertainment licensing division, while also investing into the future growth of our brands pipeline.

We’ve really listened to our partners and have proactively streamlined our business practices and processes.

In addition, by being in Finland I’m closer to our game and animation studios, as well as other business units with whom we collaborate and discuss daily and can affect change rapidly.

Lastly, I’ve also made some recent key senior-level hires to help us better manage our business around the world and prepare us all for the continued success of Angry Birds and future Rovio IP. And finally where do you see the Angry Birds business in three years time?

Continuing to fly high! The future is bright for the Angry Birds franchise as we solidify our position as an entertainment brand.

In addition, we are setting ourselves up for what is to come in a proactive way.

We consider ourselves lucky to have this opportunity and constantly look for ways to improve, learn and collaborate.

I would also say it is important to note our future includes more than the Angry Birds franchise and we promise to continue to disrupt the market with our innovative ways to develop, nurture, and launch exciting new experiences.

Rovio Entertainment Ltd, PR P +358 400 214526 media@rovio.com

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THE BIG BRANDS ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIA We take a look at the Australian apparel and fashion industry.

This highly competitive industry is a key indicator for the brands business.

Along with the arrival of many global brands, the market is changing and evolving more or less on a daily basis.

BTL go to market to see what is happening and speak to the major players in the licensed apparel space about their current position, about the market, how they interact with brands, the retail environment and how they see the future of the business.

As online retailers and new competition enters the market there is no doubt that there needs to be a re organisation of how we think about transacting business and as a result new innovation is required to determine how we take brands to market.

The market is rumoured to be worth close to 13 billion at retail, therefore there is understandably a lot at stake.

The entry into the Australian market of many of the global fashion and apparel retailers has been based on them realising that having southern hemisphere stores gives them a chance at a second bite at the cherry for a seasons designs.

In this article we focus on the three most significant players in the Licensed and brand apparel business in Australia. Caprice Australia which now includes the John Harris Group, Designworks who are part of The Pas group and Hotsprings apparel company.

We reached out to the three main men running these organisations and asked their opinion on current market conditions, the state of licensing, retail and their outlook for 2014 and beyond.

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Brendan Santamaria – MD Designworks Australia Current market conditions We are currently experiencing a very difficult economic climate. We have had an economy in deficit for the past few years and as a result we are seeing a very conservative consumer.

Despite conditions showing some signs of improving we are not expecting this to have a significant impact on the retail market in the short term.

The state of brands and licensing We have seen brands and licenses show growth over the past 12 months despite the current market conditions. New retail channels, expanding into international markets and new product categories have allowed us to grow our brand and license portfolio significantly.

With consumers becoming more savvy and demanding choice and quality, coupled with the direct sourcing model employed by many Australian retailers, brands and licenses are the only way to achieve a point of difference and remain relevant for our customers.

Retail conditions The Australian retail market is ever changing. The increased pressure on consumer spending has resulted in a deflationary market and our belief is that the change is here to stay. Our focus will be to adapt to these changes and ensure that we are able to react and maintain growth.

We have seen a number of global brands enter the Australian market in recent years.

These new brands are generating excitement around retail and consumers are heading back into store. Through our group businesses, we are seeing evidence of increased trade in the outlets in which these global giants are located. Anything that gets shoppers into store is a real positive.

Your key brands & 2014 outlook 2014 will see a great deal of growth opportunity for Design works. We are not only focused on growing our existing relationships, working closely with the likes of Mattel, Marvel, Paul Frank and Mooks but are aggressively pursuing brands into the Active wear space through new partnerships with Everlast and Slazenger. The introduction of these brands will see our brand division grow and strengthen in 2014 and beyond.

Paul Cannon – CEO of Caprice Current market conditions The last 12 months for Caprice Australia has been a very exciting time as we have transitioned the acquisition of the John Harris Group apparel business into our everyday core operations now delivering a full turn key solution for retail.

The business has been able to leverage our category width to drive key retail and licensing activations.

Our soft goods solution now includes, apparel, footwear, home wares and bags and allows for the delivery of coordination cross categorylicensed solutions for our key retail partners.

The state of brands and licensing Our licensed and branded portfolio continues to perform well and we have seen good growth in all key franchises and categories in the past 12 months.

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Encouragingly our teen and adult programs has resonated exceptionally well in the DTS and specialty channels with our core consumers.

For Caprice, product is at the heart of what we do and is one of the reasons we have been in business since 1959.

Retail conditions The retail market in Australia is challenging as an ever-increasing need to chase the same consumer and dilute product and retail differentiation. We continue to experience a change in retail ranging expectations that is reducing the width of license offerings with a stronger focus on evergreen content driven licenses. This coupled with a deflationary price market necessitates that we must continue to drive a value proposition that meets all current market requirements.

The globalisation of retail has also seen many new entrants into our retail landscape.

We work very closely with all our retail partners to drive product and in store activations and this has seen some amazing results for all parties.

Outlook for 2014 and beyond The outlook for the 2014/15 is really strong as our key licensors and principles have great and compelling content coming down the pipeline.

Matching our great product and content with best in class retail relationships and activations.

We are fortunate to partner with market leaders in licensing and ensure that our business is the leader in content driven licensed merchandise for the Australia and New Zealand markets.

Caprice leads the way in licensed product through innovation and product development. Offering retail tailored solutions across apparel, homeware, footwear and bags.

31 - 49 EASTERN ROAD SOUTH MELBOURNE. VICTORIA 3205

CAPRICE

+ 61 3 9922 2500 TEL + 61 3 9922 2699 FAX EMAIL sales caprice.com.au

www.caprice.com.au

Wassim Gazal – Joint Managing Director Hotsprings Apparel Current market conditions Market conditions continue to be challenging. The new order in Australian retail presents many threats, with new players entering the market and the plethora of choice from online retailers. In a mature market with little organic growth, we may see a period of consolidation whereby businesses are merging and are looking for scale and back-end synergy to gain cost efficiencies.

Due to competitive market forces, price architecture is paramount in meeting consumer expectations on value.

In order to maximise ROI and achieve sellthrough on the floor, retailers are narrowing their ranging and there is a preference to consolidate the number of skus and add more depth to their buy.

The state of brands and licensing Price deflation on key items has widened the gap between the generic offering and the licensed offering and in my view this calls for a review in relation to royalty rates, length of term and minimum guarantee expectations so that they fall in line with market forces.

We need to take reference from global licensing industry norms. The Australian market needs to adapt to intensified competition and licensing principals need to scale their expectations in-line with international standards.

Retailers are approaching licensing commitments with conservatism and derisking their exposure with reluctance to commit to a brand long term.

In my opinion, we as an industry need to adapt to this change of mindset and be more agile and approach licensing deals with greater flexibility.

Retail conditions We have just come through 3–4 years of retail price deflation. Purchasing behaviour is now heavily influenced by the reduction in price points driven by retailers such as K-Mart, Big W and now Target, who have conditioned customers to expect everyday low prices.

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Retailers are getting strong sales on products that are on-trend and fashionfocused whilst also hitting the mark on price. Consumers are increasingly savvy with their purchase behaviour and are well educated in terms of where to shop for value. Retailers need to earn their trust with a continuity of value propositions.

So what does the future look like with the steady arrival of global icons into our market?

With Zara (10 stores) and Top shop (4 stores) that were two of the earlier arrivals now being joined by H&M (3 stores) Uniqlo (2 stores) the stakes are high. It is rumoured that H&M have the potential for 50 plus stores here in Australia.

For licensed brands, we need to go to retailers with a different approach that includes intelligence that is objective and has been researched independently ie with focus-group findings and consumer behaviour data.

Upon entering the H&M store in Melbourne’s GPO, the first thing that hits you is the pricing and the diversity of range across male, female, sport, kids and home wares. You can be sure that the others have their sights on similar expansion. Given that many of these retailers are global, their buying power can be leveraged across many markets.

There needs to be a level of conviction based on fact as to why the property has potential to deliver for the retailer. Retailers are risk adverse due to all the market threats they face and thus it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to build a compelling case to de-risk their investment.

Then we have the local players including Premier Investments portfolio of retailers comprising Just Jeans, Portman’s, Peter Alexander, Dotti, Jacqui E and Jay Jays. Now headed up by Mark McInnes, this operation is well organized and they have a track record of success.

Outlook for 2014 and beyond We believe we will experience a continued consolidation period in the next year until we get clarity on Target’s strategy in relation to licensing. K-Mart’s foray back into licensing may effect a re-shaping of price architecture, which will play out in the next 12 months.

Evergreens will always have a place and sustain the market, however their continued longevity will be determined by how well their positioning and distribution is managed. I believe there will be an increased focus on branded licensed opportunities that present value and longevity for a retailer.

Ultimately, a protocol and culture needs to be developed whereby licensors and licensees work harmoniously and hand in hand when approaching retailers.

Licensors and licensees need to be united in asking the hard questions about commitment and loyalty to a property.

In return, it is our responsibility to support the retailers by bringing the best of the best global licensed brands to market and understanding the challenges they face.

Country Road Limited is also a player in the game. They bring Country Road (over 500 stores) Country Road Trenery (211 stores) and Witchery Mimco (306 stores) to market.

The Pas Group is another equity firm with a significant footprint into the local market.

They have brands Metalicus (29 stores) Review (32 stores) Black Pepper (88 stores) it is understood that they have plans to expand these to 250 stores.

The question remains, will the focus of new entrants and a strong contingent of existing players already in the market result in the industry growing significantly on the back of this competition and excitement. It has already been raised that e commerce for fashion brands in our market is challenging, based on the size of our population. It has been reported that Uniqlo and H&M have already begun to improve the store traffic in Myer and David Jones in Melbourne CBD. There is no doubt that this frenetic activity will result in everybody becoming more resourceful and creative in how they go about their business.

From an Industry standpoint we are hopeful that the market will grow significantly.

Over the intervening 18 years I have worked on almost every DreamWorks Animated movie. The most memorable is definitely Shrek 2. A lot of Australian licensees came along for that ride and we still reminisce about just how huge that movie was and the incredible amount of merchandise our consumers avidly purchased!

After 20 years of making movies, DreamWorks has many well-known and wellloved properties, which are the foundation of their new franchise strategy – Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, Dragons and more. The success of the recent Woolworths Heroes program is proof of their popularity.

DreamWorks lights up with animation exhibition in Melbourne.

Director and producer Steven Spielberg, music executive David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg founded DreamWorks Animation SKG way back in 1994. Today DreamWorks Animation has grown to become the most prolific animation studio in the world. From its first feature film Antz, which screened in 1998 through to the hugely popular How to Train Your Dragon 2, which is still current, they have continued to roll out great movies with great story telling.

It is interesting to note that the DreamWorks movie portfolio has delivered great merchandise and promotional programs here in Australia over the past 20 years.

The recent Woolworths DreamWorks loyalty program is another good example of the evergreen power of these brands.

The world-class exhibition, which is ‘DreamWorks Animation’, opened recently in Melbourne at the Australian Centre for Moving Image. Jeffery Katzenberg took the time to come to Australia to open the exhibition on his way to China where they have an Animation studio in Shanghai.

It opened on the 10th of April and is planned to run through to the 5th of October.

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We spent some time recently visiting the exhibition, which is assembled first with the characters tracing their evolution in the movies followed by the stories which explores the process of constructing a feature length narrative and finally the worlds focusing on their environments.

The sheer scale of the material assembled is amazing and the ‘Experience’ which is a 180 degree immersive environment featuring never seen before footage from How to Train Your Dragon in 3D is amazing.

Gail Mitchell (owner of Fusion Agency) who manages the brand in Australia has been involved with DreamWorks from the beginning. She managed the brand whilst she was with Hasbro Licensing before it moved to Fusion. She remembers the huge hits of Shrek, Shrek 2, Madagascar and the like. They drove significant consumer products programs, promotions and live events. Disney is often touted as the pinnacle when it comes to animation and movies, however DreamWorks and their contribution in this field comfortably hold their own.

Gail put some thought into her ride with DreamWorks and gave us the following quote: “I have had the pleasure of working with DreamWorks Animation since 1997 when we launched DreamWorks here in Australia with a fabulous event at the Plaza Ballroom. Our focus back then was very much theatrical.

Our focus right now is on the Dragons franchise. We have a strong TV series on Cartoon Network and ABC3 and a movie opening on June 19th which has received some of the best reviews I have ever read, and a 2nd TV series also launching in June.

Now that’s content, and that’s what builds a franchise, and that’s why we are so excited to be working with DreamWorks Animation on a strategy that makes absolute sense and is sure to be successful!”

We also talk to two of the original partners of DreamWorks here in Australia, Keith Brown of Showtime Attractions and Tony Gerard from The Five Mile Press about their great experiences driven by the movies and characters from the studio.

Keith remembers some of the earlier DreamWorks movies and the powerful results they were able to deliver for his events organisation.

Showtime Attractions has been involved with DreamWorks since 2001 with the original Shrek movie being the first license to be partnered with. Over the years DreamWorks has proven to be the strongest brand portfolio across our diverse licensed events program.

The Australian Shopping Centre Industry are great supporters of the DreamWorks properties, ensuring that they partner with Showtime on presenting DreamWorks branded events to the general public.

They always plan to deliver shows around the movie and DVD release times ensuring that these shows are always sold out.

A major Shopping Centre group survey was completed recently reporting that more than 3.2 million people have enjoyed Showtime Attractions DreamWorks brands such as Shrek 2 directly and 10.5 million indirectly throughout Australia and in New Zealand.

Our strongest brands, which have been part of our DreamWorks portfolio, include Shrek, Madagascar, Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda.

Working with the Glendale Studio, Showtime Attractions has been one of the few entertainment companies to work with a large production house on being able to present characters for every DreamWorks Animation brand.

Showtime enjoys an on going relationship with the studio and look forward to having the opportunity of creating shows around their future properties.

Tony Gerard has been involved in publishing business for many years now. He has always valued his relationship with DreamWorks.

When asked to comment on his experiences over the journey he said: “Working with DreamWorks has been a great experience, most of the time we worked with Kristy Cox who was head of publishing up to the end of last year and they have always

helped with swift approvals. DreamWorks have had the best launches over the years at licensing shows and have had plenty of their big stars attend most of those nights. Their PR is second to none and the McDonalds partnership has been excellent.

We are very excited about their new management team and we have a very experienced team looking after publishing and expect some serious growth in the years to come. We are looking forward to publishing all the next DreamWorks movies for years to come.”

Tony also gives some insight into the publishing highlights of the DreamWorks properties during his long involvement: “The Five Mile Press has published all DreamWorks animated movies since Shrek 2 in 2004. Over The Hedge was the only

exclusion. Tony Gerard published all the prior movies starting with ‘Ants’ at Pan Macmillan.

We have been fortunate to have sold millions of books over the journey, one of the more outstanding results being Shrek 2, we sold in excess of 1.2 million products as a result of this movie. Some of the other more outstanding results have been with the Madagascar Franchise and How to Train your Dragon. The Croods was a surprise and worked really well for us.

We have won two National POPAI merchandising achievements awards for our displays for DreamWorks movies, namely Shrek and Madagascar.

We produce all of our books in house with the exception of a handful of third party co-editions with international licensees that we have worked with. We have sold many hundreds of thousands of our editions to other countries in many languages including UK, Italy, Portugal and Russia.

A diverse portfolio of retailers have taken our formats over the years, including supermarkets, discount department stores, booksellers and department stores, Australia Post, toy shops, newsagents and even theme parks are regular supporters of our great brands.

We love the fact that people of all ages enjoy these films even though they are kids movies, they attract the parents as they have something for everybody.

Our How to Train Your Dragon 2 product range was sold out before we had shipped and we are looking forward to the longer shelf life of these brands as the DVD releases are a great promotional event and the TV shows are working well. When we were in Italy this March How to Train Your Dragon books were in the best-selling lists due to the popular TV series, not the movie that is due mid-year.”

Gail Mitchell – Fusion Agency P +61 2 9439 5511

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A STRONG WORKING RELATIONSHIP Celebrating a 14 year partnership, Showtime Attractions has represented DreamWorks Animation movies with Live Events & Shows, Interactive & Craft Villages, Red Carpet VIPs, Product Launches and Character Meet & Greets.

Head HTTYD2 advert_FA.pdf

Office -14/05/2014 Melb T: (03) 9770 NSW / ACT T: (02) 9607 6333 QLD T: (07) 5519 4521 1 5:16 8000 pm WA T: (08) 9534 6053 SA T: (08) 9535 5630 showtime@showtimeattractions.com.au showtimeattractions.com.au

Guess How Much I Love You goes from strength to strength in Australia For twenty years the words and illustrations of the iconic picture book, Guess How Much I Love You, have spoken to and touched the hearts of millions of people around the world. To support the twentieth anniversary, a year-long programme of celebrations will commence in Spring 2014 and continue throughout 2015.

With brand new style guide assets available to create new product, 2015 will be full of new designs from Designworks (for apparel), MacDonald Imports (feeding and storage), Jasnor (plush and gifting) and Leutenagger for licensed fabric.

Retail support for the new product ranges launched in 2013 was strong. Big W has become the home of the nursery apparel range with the new Winter line being featured in their Baby Week this August.

Additional retail support was secured with Coles, Adairs and the book channels.

In addition, a second season of the animated TV series ‘Guess How Much I Love You – The Adventures of Little Nutbrown Hare’ is in production with the 26 x 11 min episodes set to broadcast on ABC2 in 2015.

Roadshow Entertainment will build on the success of the four DVD releases from Season One with all new DVD releases from Season Two throughout 2015. A new range of Games and puzzles are set to release in time for Christmas 2014 featuring the characters from the animated series.

“We are delighted with how the new Guess How Much I Love You product ranges have been received in Australia,” said Anna Hewitt, Head of Licensing at Walker Books UK. “We look forward to continuing to build the brand in Australia with Stella Projects, our licensees and our retail partners.”

LAH-LAH’s Adventures: Where stories, friendship and musical fun come together!

Lah-Lah’s Adventures, the latest Australian pre-school music series launched in late April on Channel 7Two. The 13 x 30 minute

episodes proved to be a big hit with viewers and loyal Lah-Lah fans. The Lah-Lah band performed live on Channel 7’s ‘Morning Show’, to promote the new TV series.

In each episode the main character Lah-Lah, the female lead singer helps the boys in the band to solve a problem they have, be it finding a missing drumstick or finding the cause of Squeezy Sneezy’s head cold.

Music is the key theme in each episode and every episode contains two music videos clips. The TV series introduces children to new musical instruments via a daily guest musician and also matches sounds to instruments through the secret sound segment.

All the performers in the Lah-Lah band are professional musicians and this makes for an exceptionally talented band playing catchy songs for pre-schoolers.

ABC 4 Kids will start broadcasting Lah-Lah music video clips from July 2014 prior to the TV series being launched on CBeebies, who will air the 26 x 12 minutes in September.

The Lah-Lah’s Big Live Band tour is scheduled throughout the school holidays in 2014 with the next shows planned for June and then September. Product available at the live show includes DVDs, CDs, dress up costumes, t-shirts, backpacks and a Lah-Lah rag doll.

A limited consumer products program will launch later at retail in 2014 including DVD, CD, books, apparel and the Lah-Lah rag doll.

There is also an app in production, which incorporates games and musical education.

The full licensing launch is planned for mid 2015 with initial negotiations with toy, musical role play, apparel, sleepwear and accessories and publishing currently taking place.

“We want to build a long term licensing program that will support the growing brand awareness of Lah-Lah’s Adventures. We will be working with companies to create great product that remains true to the DNA of the brand which is to help pre-schoolers appreciate music and encourage them to play musical instruments” commented Grahame Grassby, MD of Stella Projects and the Australian Executive Producer of the TV series.

“The intention is for Lah-Lah to become the next global children’s music property coming out of Australia and given the incredible reaction to the first broadcast of the TV series I believe we are on our way, again” said Grassby.

Shaun the Sheep The Movie Star!

Shaun the Sheep is the leader of the flock: he is about to make his debut as the hero of his very own feature length film.

When Shaun’s mischievous plan inadvertently leads to the Farmer being taken away from the farm, Shaun, Bitzer and the Flock have to go into the Big City to rescue him, setting the stage for an epic adventure.

With familiar characters, and a couple of new ones. The feature film employs the trademark stop-frame animation from Aardman. The family friendly movie targets children 4 to 11 and their parents and grandparents.

The Theatrical release is planned for 26th March 2015 and will be distributed by STUDIOCANAL throughout Australian and NZ cinemas. This will be supported by a high impact media campaign including TV, Press, Online and outdoor.

ABC 4Kids will continue to support the brand with a strong broadcast platform throughout 2014, showing new episodes from Series 4.

Roadshow Entertainment has released the latest escapades of Shaun in April titled ‘Hang Gliding’. Further releases are planned for November 2014 and March 2015.

Jasnor plan to promote and roll out plush and gift items throughout independents, specialty and ABC Shops. New items will be available in 2015 to take advantage of the activity around the movie.

Licensing Essentials have joined the flock with showbags, carnival plush and gift and novelty items. They will launch carnival product in September 2014.

Walker Books will release brand new publishing titles from Mossy Bottom Farm and also movie tie in titles in Q1 2015.

With a brand new style guide primed for movie related product and packaging, Stella Projects are currently identifying the right partners for sleepwear, slippers and socks, Manchester, art and craft, promotions, posters and paperbased product.

Contact Lou Elkington for further information, and keep warm this winter with Shaun!

For licensing opportunities contact Louise at Stella Projects at louise@stellaprojects.com

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© 2013 Stella Projects Pty Ltd, Bardel LL Production Services Inc.

How many ways can you say ‘I love you’?

The classic picture book which has sold over 28 MILLION copies worldwide.

This picture book has also been adapted into an animated series that is a TOP rated show on ABC2, with a NEW second series set to broadcast in 2015.

CURRENT LICENSEES:

Designworks (apparel), Jasnor, (toys), Adairs (bedding), MacDonalds Imports (feeding), Leutenegger (homewares), Walker Books (publishing), Roadshow Entertainment (DVD) COMING SOON – games & puzzles Guess How Much I Love You™ and © Sam McBratney and Anita Jeram (2014). Licensed by Walker Books UK Ltd.

© 2013 Aardman Animations Limited and Studiocanal S.A.

Top Rating Kids Show on ABC2 Best Selling DVD 300,000 Australian FACEBOOK fans Brand new movie styleguide

Join The Flock!

helping kids grow

TM and Š 2014 Sesame Workshop

smarter, stronger, and kinder

For Licensing Opportunities please contact Yvonne King at yking@havenlic.com.au

Maura Regan interview

Bugg Toys and Licensing was fortunate to have the opportunity to catch up with Maura Regan – SVP & GM global consumer products Sesame Workshop, during her recent trip to Australia. We speak with her about her role with a global non-profit organisation, which has always nurtured the education of children and their parents.

Leading into the most important licensing event of the year the Las Vegas Licensing Show we talk to Maura about her priorities for the Consumer Products business from a global perspective.

Maura, it is good to have you here in Australia. Sesame Workshop has enjoyed a long and distinguished history in our market dating back to 1975. In terms of directing a global business what are some of the major changes you have seen in the Industry during your time at Sesame Workshop?

We find out a little about ongoing plans for the Australian market and learn more about her outlook on the emerging market in Asia.

We’re fortunate that classic brands like Sesame Street have long rich histories. Good storytelling is at the core of such longevity.

Today’s consumers want to understand the story behind their favourite brands so this gives us a great opportunity to engage with them in fun, fresh new ways.

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In terms if major changes, especially in the US, we have retail consolidation combined with a protracted, sluggish economy.

As such, we have to look for different ways to interact with consumers and extend the brand with unique offerings.

Your career in licensing has seen you in roles with both commercially focused organisations and now with Sesame Workshop. From a not for profit perspective how have you had to vary your outlook on developing a consumer products program with SW? Because we don’t have the deep pockets that some of our for-profit competitors have,

we need to be even more creative with our licensing programs. That’s one reason why we’ve partnered with Produce Marketing Association (PMA)—to promote fresh fruit and vegetable consumption with children and their families. The agreement allows PMA’s community of growers, suppliers and retailers to take advantage of the Sesame Street brand’s strength and influence of Sesame Street without a licensing fee – using characters like Big Bird, Elmo and Abby Cadabby to help deliver messages about fresh fruits and vegetables. We’re able to encourage families to make healthier choices and reach them in different places.

Sesame Street and the characters that have defined the brand, resonate with children all over the world. Has their universal acceptance allowed you to engage more programs of a global nature?

Hasbro is our master toy licensee so you’ll see our Sesame Street offering all over the world. But we also have a global health initiative. In Latin America, through funding from MetLife Foundation, health messages with the Muppets from Plaza Sesamo air on television and are distributed in educational materials and we host community health events for families throughout the region.

In India, through our partnership with Qualcomm, we’ve launched a mobile phone program targeting underserved families.

Users receive messages about healthy eating, hygiene, and emotional well-being through radio programs, video clips, and digitized storybooks – all on their mobile devices. In Australia, we’ve partnered with Kidsafe, the TAC, RACV and Holden, to educate children, parents, and teachers on the importance of simple road safety practices by harnessing the power of the Sesame Street characters.

We believe in the power of the Sesame Street Muppets to help make positive changes in families’ lives no matter where they reside.

As the business of licensing is changing on a daily basis are you open to looking at more creative methods to establish a longerterm deal with your business partners?

We’re open to short- and long-term deals in all channels of trade.

How has the social media revolution impacted your business? Has it been a good experience?

Social media has given us another creative outlet to reach our fans. We post photos, videos, and even Cookie and Elmo tweet!

The reception has been great and we continue to look at other and new social media platforms to post our great content.

I notice you are booked as one of the speakers at the Kids Screen Asia Summit in July. How do you see the emerging Asian markets interacting with your brand?

Sesame Street has enjoyed a long history in Asia. We are thrilled of course to participate in this exciting KIDSCREEN event because of this history. Sesame Street’s demonstrated message of joyful learning resonates particularly well there.

Leading into the Vegas show, what will be Sesame Workshops three major priorities this year?

As I mentioned earlier, we have a fantastic partnership with the PMA and the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) encouraging fresh fruit and vegetable consumption for families. We’re also finishing filming The Furchester Hotel, a brand new children’s series from Sesame Workshop and CBeebies. The Furchester Hotel is about a close-knit family of cheerfully incompetent Muppet monsters who own and operate an ‘almost’ world-class hotel. The Furchester family is joined at the hotel by Elmo, a cousin who is on an extended visit, and Cookie Monster, who has landed his dream job as room service and dining-room waiter.

The Furchester Hotel aims to promote and build creative problem solving skills for its young viewers. And this year kicked off with Playskool’s Let’s Imagine Elmo toy being unveiled at Toy Fair NYC 2014. This 13-inch Elmo pal comes with three different hats that unlock different imaginary themes and play modes. Place the crown on Elmo’s head to play a game of ‘Prince Elmo Says,’ pop on the cowboy hat to learn about numbers in the ‘Countin’ Cowboy’ game, or put on the sea captain hat for a fun ‘Sounds of the Sea’ game. We’re confident this toy, along with Hasbro’s other Sesame Street offerings, will be a bit hit this year.

As Chairwoman of our industry governing body, LIMA, what advice can you offer to companies who may be considering joining?

LIMA is the leading trade organisation for the global licensing industry. Our mission is to foster the growth and expansion of licensing around the world, raise the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners, and create greater awareness of the benefits

of licensing to the business community at large. It’s incredibly important to support your industry so I would definitely encourage all to join.

Maura, you are fortunate to have strong Television Programming in Australia and NZ, and your consumer products program here is mature and well supported.

What is the next major opportunity for SW in our market?

What a fantastic year! We had tremendous success with a segment featuring superstar Jessica Mauboy and debuted a new segment called ‘Cookie’s Crumby Pictures.’

Australian performer Jessica Mauboy was the first of a string of celebrities to appear in Sesame Street’s 44th season, along with Academy Award and nominated actors including Charlize Theron, Forest Whitaker and Anna Kendrick. ‘Five Kangaroos,’ a clip produced and filmed in the Australian outback by Brisbane-based Carbon Media, showcases the best of Australia’s natural beauty and teaches kids to count. The segment features Mauboy and children from Yipirinya State Primary School in Alice Springs, and it marks the first time Indigenous Australian content has been broadcast on the world’s longest running children’s television program.

In ‘Cookie’s Crumby Pictures’, segments parody the coming attractions of popular movies and reinforce the show’s selfregulation curriculum. For years, Cookie has struggled with intermittent success to consciously control his thoughts, actions and emotions. Through seven hilarious spoofs, including ‘Life of Whoopie Pie,’ ‘The Spy Who Loved Cookies,’ ‘Les Mousserables’ and ‘The Hungry Games,’ viewers see Cookie Monster attempt to master executive function skills – a key component of self-regulation.

Finally, Elmo has emerged as a local favourite in terms of exposure. What plans do you have for him from a Consumer Products perspective in the next 12 months?

Everybody’s favourite red furry monster is popular worldwide and consumers will continue to see him featured in many products in the next year.

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THE PIONEER OF TOYS TO LIFE Skylanders is the brand that launched the Toys to Life concept globally. The platform has been highly successful in Australia with three consecutive years of growth to around 30 million dollars locally in Australia.

As we approach the launch of their latest instalment Trap Team the property continues to resonate around the current platform Swap Force. Their fans are loyal and have a high retention of the brand.

The in store interactive displays have allowed consumers to experience the brand more closely and understand how the characters interact with the game.

41% of 6–7 year old Swap Force owners have all three iterations of Skylanders at home.

Nick Callender is now managing the consumer products program for Wild Pumpkin locally in Australia.

Nick has several innovative activations, which he plans to introduce into the market as the evolution of the brand rolls on.

BTL recently had the opportunity to Interview both Andrea Green who is Director of International Licensing & Partnerships at Activision based in the US and Kathryn Roberts who is the senior brand manager of Skylanders for Activision here in Australia. We learn more about their plans for the property for 2014 and 2015.

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Andrea as Skylanders moves toward the 4th instalment Skylanders Trap Team, do you view the brand as an evergreen program now?

Activision has a strong track record in building long term franchises. Strong innovation, great characters and a fan base that loves our Skylanders games has enabled us to have a consistent place in the retail landscape, with many touch points and secondary locations throughout the store where Skylanders games, toys and licensed products have a major retail presence.

Skylanders are the pioneer brand when it comes the gaming and toy association platform. There have been others that have chosen to follow. What is about Skylanders that differentiate it from the rest?

We are committed to delivering magical, innovative gameplay experiences for kids with every Skylanders game. The Skylanders franchise is driven by the desire to delight the imaginations of our fans with innovations that redefine toys and games again and again.

The consumer products programs for the brand are now well established in most markets. Where do you see the next major up side for the brand in terms of products or promotions?

Utilizing the Skylanders Franchise branding will allow us to get out in front of the typical video game schedule and allow us to put a 365-day stake in the ground. I expect to see more promotions and integrated marketing in market.

What are the three most popular Skylanders characters to date?

Fan favourites include Stealth Elf, Spyro and Eruptor. With each game come new heroes to love. My personal favourites are Stink Bomb, Pop Fizz and Hot Dog. A regional shout out to Snap Shot, one of our new Trap Masters who happens to hail from Australia.

He’s sure to be a star!

What new innovations will we see from the brand in 2014/2015?

Players will experience an exciting new level of innovation in 2014s Skylanders Trap Team through a redesigned Portal of Power® – the Traptanium PortalTM – that captures the magic of bringing both toys to life and life to toys. A new ring of magical energy, which reverses the magic of Toys to Life™, lets players bring digital characters into the physical world. Skylanders Trap Team lets Portal Masters ‘trap’ the most wanted villains in Skylanders and then play them in the game in the battle for good.

Kathryn I understand that you have been working on the brand from the beginning?

As we move into the launch of the next instalment, Trap Team, what has been the most compelling aspect of the brand from your perspective?

What’s most compelling has been Skylanders’ ability to constantly reinvent itself each year through thoughtful, innovating and exciting new ways. The team is always pushing to redefine the toys and games again and again, and it only gets better every year.

Australia has played an important role in the development of the brand, where do we sit in terms of achievement in comparison to other territories In 2013 in Australia, we were the No. 1 Kids Video Game and outsold the #1 Action Toy Figure. Australia is a key market for Skylanders globally and has fully embraced Skylanders since the very beginning.

I understand that the global packaging presentation will now become common across all sub brands? Will this assist you in managing the consumer products programs from a retail perspective?

Our games will continue to be referred to by their specific game names but franchise branding will be used primarily within the licensed products category. It helps merge retailers and manufacturing timelines into one cohesive brand statement.

From a local market stand point what will be the next significant activation for the brand?

Skylanders Trap Team, which will be available on October 2 in Australia/New Zealand, October 5 in North America, and October 10 in Europe.

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SNAP SHOT

DOWN UNDER!

©2014 Activision Publishing, Inc. SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM is a trademark and ACTIVISION is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc.

For All Australian Licensing Enquiries, Contact Wild Pumpkin: P: (+61) 3 9274 2900 E: info@wild-pumpkin.com

LICENSING INTERNATIONAL PTY. LTD.

Maya creates a buzz down under

In September 2014, Maya the Bee: Movie, co-produced in 3D stereoscopic by Flying Bark Productions and Studio 100 Media, will premiere in cinemas in all key territories.

The movie is Studio 100’s first ever animated feature length movie to be released and gives young Maya fans the opportunity to see the cheeky, friendly and curious character on the big screen. The movie will be supported by a heavyweight marketing campaign in all key territories, including Australia and New Zealand The Maya brand boasts an impressive 300 licensing partners internationally and expects to see interest increase and a soar in sales as a direct result of both the movie and the new CGI TV series, which is currently broadcast in more than 160 territories worldwide following

its 2013 launch. This impressive growth has been illustrated further by the announcement that ABC Licensing has been appointed as the representative for the Maya brand in Australia and New Zealand.

ABC Licensing’s programme will launch this September at ABC Retail, the retail arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, prior to the Maya the Bee movie release. Its focus will be on key product categories to include plush toys, games, apparel and accessories which will be available across ABC Shop, ABC Shop online and ABC Centres.

A comprehensive marketing plan to include in-store, online and PR activities will support the launch of the licensing programme and help build the profile of the already internationally successful Maya the Bee brand. Maya fans will now have even more opportunity to more fully engage with and enjoy this fun-loving pre-school brand.

For licensing opportunities, please contact Seligmann.Beatriz@abc.net.au

A L R E A DY M O R E T H A N 3 0 0 LICENSEES WORLDWIDE A long running CGI series (78*13’) On air daily on ABC at 3:45PM A 3D movie on screens in October 2014 in Australia Universal and timeless values Strong message defending nature Fo r l i c e n s i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s , please contact: Seligmann.Beatriz@abc.net.au Australia info@studio100.tv Rest of the world w w w. m a y a . t v

Based on the books written by Waldemar Bonsels “Maya the Bee” © Studio 100 Animation ™ Studio 100 - www.studio100.eu

2014 will see Studio 100, the global family entertainment company, premiere its first movie in cinemas worldwide. This venture into the film industry further demonstrates the impressive growth of the 360 degree business and the popularity of its global brand, Maya the Bee.

Blinky Bill continues to climb Studio 100 International, the leading global family entertainment company, have an exciting year planned for Blinky Bill this year in Australia and New Zealand to further engage fans of the little koala and his friends.

Licensing agent, Merchantwise, recently announced its new worldwide mastertoy partner, Headstart International. The toy manufacturer has been appointed to create products based on the popular Australian character and will work with Studio 100 and Merchantwise to produce a range of Blinky Bill licensed products for children, including plush, figurines, playsets and bath toys.

A true, multi-generational Australian

icon

N e w C G I f i l m i n d e v e l o p m e n t, for release in 2015 Innovative toy company Headstart International will produce plush, playsets and other toys

Fo r l i c e n s i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s , please contact: kerryn@merchantwise.com Australia info@studio100.tv Rest of the world

© 2014 Flying Bark Productions Pty Ltd

Vi n t a g e, C l a s s i c a n d film-based licensing opportunities now available

The launches will coincide with the upcoming release of the new Blinky Bill CGI movie which debuts in 2015. Greenpatch Productions is producing the highlyanticipated feature film in association with Flying Bark Productions, Studio 100’s Sydney based animation studio, and is confident the movie release will spark a wide range of licensed merchandise. This venture into the film industry further demonstrates the impressive growth of the 360 degree business and the popularity of its global brands.

Blinky Bill has a strong 80 year brand heritage based on the children’s book series and long running animated TV series aired in Europe, Asia and Australia. Blinky has an enviable 80% brand awareness in Australia and New Zealand and the licensed range from Headstart will initially be released here in Blinky’s most popular territory. The range will then roll-out worldwide later on.

Marie-Laure Marchand, International Licensing Director at Studio 100 International, commented: “We are excited to announce our new major mastertoy deal with Headstart.

Headstart is a driving force in the Australian toy industry and will be in the best position to capture the essence of our little koala.

The range will appeal to Blinky’s biggest fans and will support the highly anticipated movie release. Both Studio 100 and Flying Bark Productions are looking forward to seeing the range of Blinky Bill products grow.”

For licensing opportunities, please contact kerryn@merchantwise.com

Cancer Council – raising royalties and helping the fight against cancer Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. In 2011, more than 2000 Australians died from this almost entirely preventable disease, but Australia is not alone – skin cancer occurs around the globe. According to a 2006 World Health Organisation report, over 13.5 million cases** of skin cancer and melanoma occur each year.

In addition to providing evidence-based advice and raising public awareness about how much sun you need and how to protect yourself from getting too much sun exposure, Cancer Council offers a range of high quality, affordable sun protection products.

In addition to our wide range of sunscreens, we license professional companies to manufacture and market a range of products for sun protection including:

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• sunglasses and swim goggles • UV protective swimwear and clothing • hats and headwear • cosmetics with sun protection • pop-up sun shelters, marquees and umbrellas • car window tinting.

Royalties from the sale of Cancer Council branded products fund our research, education and patient support programs.

In 2013, sales of Cancer Council branded sun protection products at retail were approximately A$75 million.

Our products are found in over 5000 retail outlets around Australia – from hat shops to chemists, sunglass kiosks to supermarkets, car dealerships to school uniform outlets, as well as Cancer Council retail and online shops – and in 26 other countries around the world.

All royalties received from the sale of Cancer Council Australia sun protection products help fund research, patient support services and education. ** G lobal burden of disease from solar ultraviolet radiation, WHO 2006.

For further information on Cancer Council licensing opportunities please contact Neil Henney – Licensing P 02 8063 4123 or neil.henney@cancer.org.au

For more strangeness contact: Liz Burnett Director, Consumer Products liz.burnett@fremantlemedia.com.au www.fremantlemedia.com

Š BBC and FremantleMedia Limited MMIX

FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment (FMKFE) is a worldwide leader in family entertainment and one of the most dynamic independent producers, licensors and distributors of engaging and ground-breaking content in the sector.

The division works in collaboration with bestin-class partners to build global franchises that connect with children and families across multiple platforms and touch points.

Visit stand S181 at the show to learn more and meet the team.

Strange Hill High The top rating Strange Hill High will return with its second series to ABC3 in August 2014, creating much anticipation for Aussie kids. The 13x30 minute series follows best mates Mitchell, Templeton and Becky as they return to face a new wave of strange, mysterious and absurd occurrences at Strange Hill High.

The writing team, led by show-runner Josh Weinstein (The Simpsons, Futurama), has pushed the boundaries yet again, introducing a host of spectacularly bizarre new characters and outlandish scenarios.

Josh Weinstein comments: “I’ve worked on some great animated shows, but there is something special about Strange Hill High that makes it stand out above all the rest. Is it the old world craftsmanship combined with innovative use of state-of-the-art technology?

Is it the hilarious writing? Our amazing voice cast? The brilliant directing that makes every episode a mini-movie? Yes, all of these and more. Series two is mind-blowingly good.”

Supported by the release of collectable toy range by Banter Toys, trading cards from Topps, publishing by Hardie Grant and home entertainment from Shock, we’ll see more bizarre adventures, more action and more hilarious comedy moments. Licensing opportunities are available in key categories including apparel, accessories and back to school so get in touch to join our exciting roster of partners.

Tree Fu Tom This magical and interactive action adventure series for 3–5 year olds follows a young boy called Tom who can use movement magic (‘Tree Fu’) to transform into a tiny but mighty magical superhero and travel to Treetopolis, an enchanted world in a tree at the bottom of his garden.

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The series has been sold to over 75 territories worldwide, the broadcast hit was made for CBeebies and has continued to rate highly on the channel for the last two years. The property has a strong licensing program in place with over 25 licensees signed to the brand. The product roll-out launched in 2013 and Tree Fu Tom was the fourth highest new pre-school property of 2013.

The show is growing a solid fan base in Australia, along with spectacular ratings for the first series on TV Four in NZ. Key license categories remain open so contact us to hear more about this magical brand!

Ella the Elephant Ella the Elephant is a bright new animated pre-school show following the adventures of Ella, a sweet, kind and generous little elephant with a magic red hat.

Ella loves to play and explore Elephant Islands with her friends but when her plans to help those around her go awry, Ella uses a little imagination, teamwork and her own special ‘hat magic’ to save the day.

Ella has been enchanting Australian and New Zealand children alike, ranking as the No 1 show in its timeslot among key demographics children 0–15 and girls 0–15 on Network ABC2 in Australia, winning audience shares up to +35% higher than the broadcasters slot average.

A multi-territory master toy partner will be announced shortly and we are now signing licensees for this brand, so if your product needs some ‘red hat magic’, get in touch.

Kate & Mim-Mim Kate & Mim-Mim is a new 3D animated preschool series filled with inventive storytelling that will be twirling onto TV sets on CBeebies in the UK and on BBC Kids and the Knowledge Network in Canada in 2014.

Reflecting the rich inner world of preschoolers everywhere, Kate & Mim-Mim follows the adventures of Kate, a feisty little girl who, together with her toy rabbit MimMim, travels to a fantasy world where MimMim comes alive as a larger-than-life funny bunny playmate!

Grojband When 12-year-old Corey Riffen starts a garage band with his three best friends, he quickly realises that their band sucks – like a lot! It’s not their music or ever-changing image that’s the problem, it’s Corey’s lack of lyrics. He just can’t think of anything cool to write about. That’s until he finds his older sister Trina’s diary, which is crammed with ‘teen angst junk’ – cue Corey and the band secretly using her diary entries for their new songs and kicking serious musical butt!

Made for Cartoon Network in the US, Grojband has been a major hit with Australian kids on ABC2, winning audience shares up to 138% higher than the channels slot average among children 0–15, experiencing growth across the series from launch to finish among all key demographics.

All key categories are now open for licensing – so let us know if you’re ready to rock!

Liz Burnett, Director, Consumer Products FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment, +61 413 238 704 liz.burnett@fremantlemedia.com

Š 2014 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.

In 2014, Hasbro continues to strategically extend the reach of its global franchises, including Transformers, Nerf, My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Monopoly, Play-Doh and Magic: The Gathering across multiple consumer touch points.

Working with a premier portfolio of licensees, Hasbro brings highly innovative, fashionable and relevant lifestyle products and experiences to market across every major licensing category in more than 180 territories.

Throughout the year Hasbro will continue to expand its global branded play strategy supported by first-party research and consumer insight. Focused execution will centre on bringing Hasbro properties to life in unique, innovative ways.

• We will activate the Transformers brand across all key gaming platforms including console, mobile and online with games from Activision, DeNA and Jagex Games Studio later this year.

–– Transformers: Rise Of The Dark Spark, the much anticipated new console title from Activision, releases summer 2014 on leading platforms.

–– Transformers: Universe, an exciting new online game from acclaimed Jagex Games Studio, will be available to play in web browsers starting this summer.

–– Transformers: Legends, the popular mobile game from DeNA, continues to win fans on Android and iOS devices around the globe.

• Littlest Pet Shop fans can ‘Be who they wanna be!’ with a new way to play that offers the freedom to design their own Pet Shop world, their way. Fans can create their own Downtown City, with customisable style sets and figures and pets inspired by the animated series produced by Hasbro Studios.

• Fans can scan the pets they collect to bring them to life virtually in a new Littlest Pet Shop integrated play app which is set to launch this year which allows fans to scan a unique code included on each pet to bring their favourites to life in the game.

• McDonalds Happy Meal programs in multiple countries around the world.

With the reach of the company’s 20 licensing offices worldwide, the team will continue to work with licensees to bring its franchise brands to consumers of all ages in areas such as entertainment, publishing, lifestyle, and digital gaming. Branded play experiences will see further expansion through the appropriate entertainment platforms, innovation in the toy and game categories, and emerging lifestyle categories.

Following is a snapshot of what is on the horizon supporting major licensing efforts in 2014.

Transformers • Transformers: Age of Extinction film releases June 27, 2014.

• Over 100 promotional relationships around the world developed by Hasbro and Paramount to support the launch of the movie.

• Cohesive Transformers branding and packaging across movie, TV and fan programs.

• Brand celebrates its 30th anniversary with numerous celebrations planned around the globe.

• Over 200 licensees will be supporting the launch across all categories including apparel, bedding, publishing, footwear and collectibles.

• Three Global Franchise Programs executed regionally across multiple retailers. All programs being executed across multiple categories and supported by POS, catalogues and digital marketing.

• Combined marketing initiatives, including in-cinema advertising, web and app integration.

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My Little Pony

Monopoly

• Season 4 of the very successful My Little Pony television series launches in over 180 territories around the world .

• As the world’s favourite family game brand Monopoly will continue to engage consumers across multiple platforms.

Whether fans play face-to-face, on mobile or online, participate in the #1 licensed lottery game in the world or take a chance on one of the top licensed slot machines there is a Monopoly experience to fit every lifestyle.

• Expansion of the successful My Little Pony Equestria Girls range into new categories .

• Providing additional depth of storytelling to the My Little Pony universe, Hasbro has over 30 publishing partners worldwide, producing over 200 new publications in 2014 alone.

• Gameloft will continue to deliver new ways to play the My Little Pony game with new entertainment themed updates throughout 2014.

• McDonalds Happy Meal programs in multiple countries around the world.

• Ongoing global retail momentum from Build-A-Bear to Hot Topic, Target, Walmart, Benetton, Top Shop, Primark and Cotton On to name a few.

Littlest Pet Shop • The entertainment momentum continues with the global roll out of Season 2 and Season 3 available at the end of the year.

• McDonald’s game promotions in multiple countries around the world.

Nerf • Expansion of experiential, location-based branded play experiences.

• New fashion program supporting the Nerf Rebelle brand.

• Global expansion of the Nerf Dog range of toys.

For more information please contact Tanya Doyle – Commercial Manager Licensing Hasbro Australia Limited P +61 2 9804 4189 M +61 426 899 004 tanya.doyle@ap.hasbro.com

It’s Showtime!

We’ve Added New Brands and New Events to the portfolio

From the ground up, let us entertain you…

SHOWTIME ATTRACTIONS is a premier entertainment provider whom have the Australasian rights to some of the biggest and best licensed characters and brands from around the world!

ESTABLISHED in 1995 Showtime Attractions has presented quality premium licensed live character shows, meet and greets interactive, villages, craft activity creations, product sampling and giveaways and gaming zones. From large festivals and shopping centres see how Showtime Attractions can take your brand, or get your product into the homes of Australia.

Head Office - Melb T: (03) 9770 8000

WA T: (08) 9534 6053

NSW / ACT T: (02) 9607 6333

SA T: (08) 9535 5630

QLD T: (07) 5519 4521

E: showtime@showtimeattractions.com.au showtimeattractions.com.au www.facebook.com/showtimeattractions

GET YOU R BRAND NOTICED

International Enquiry Catherine Li, Assistant Manager Hong Kong Trade Development Council T +852 2584 4366 catherine.wy.li@hktdc.org Australian Enquiry Cloris Long, Marketing Manager Hong Kong Trade Development Council Sydney Office T +61 2 8986 2803 cloris.long@hktdc.org

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Hong Kong

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OUR INDUSTRY LEADERS COMMENT! Another year has flown by and we are all back in Vegas again for another exciting licensing show. We asked some of our industry leaders to provide us with some commentary in relation to the Australian market. We also asked them for their most significant upside in their particular businesses and the biggest challenge.

Claire O’Connor – Director Nickelodeon Consumer Products Australia and New Zealand The Future is Orange!

For me ANZ is an exciting territory for licensing and punches well above its weight vs. total population and size of retail. With such a diverse culture there is a strong consumer appetite for licensing and opportunities for our brands to out perform globally. Dora The Explorer is a prime example for Nickelodeon where Australia ranks #2 after the US in terms of retail performance.

Nickelodeon’s biggest upside in the last 12 months is the powerhouse brand Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that continues to dominate at retail and on screen. Plus a 5-year partnership inked with Village Road show’s SeaWorld theme park.

I would say everyone’s biggest challenge is the wealth of brands now available and for consumers the myriad of choices. Our biggest question both from a programming aspect and CP is how do we keep ourselves relevant? We’re very fortunate at Nickelodeon as we create our own content through extensive research with kids and mums and with our recently ramped up content pipeline our future is very orange!

For 2014 and beyond, the strength behind our core brands of Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm continues to build. The incredible pipeline of content coming from all parts of The Walt Disney Company is ensuring we are connecting with our audiences of all ages and meeting their demand for great storytelling, innovative products and on platforms where they are being entertained.

The red-hot run of Frozen, the highest grossing animated film of all time, will continue to power the licensing business as the demand for products is unprecedented.

With Lucasfilm, the excitement for Episode 7 and the launch of Star Wars Rebels on Disney XD will propel the franchise to new heights, and Marvel is firing on all cylinders with upcoming studio release of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers, Age of Ultron in 2015 and various TV touch points.

Elie Mansour – Head of Consumer Products BBC Worldwide Aust/NZ

Gail Mitchell – Managing Director The Fusion Agency

Despite increasing downward pressure on pricing across all retail and the exponential growth of online space compared with traditional brick-and-mortar’s, we are excited about the opportunities that the diversification of the market will bring our key brands.

This has been a fabulous year for Fusion.

We have run the largest promotion we’ve ever worked on. I’m sure everyone saw the DreamWorks Heroes collectible program.

Needless to say, it was a huge success, as was the duplicate program with Countdown in New Zealand.

We had great success with last year’s Doctor Who 50th anniversary, which through a series of live events, our dedicated e-commerce store, four pop-up shops across three cities and cinema screenings, we were shown once again, how passionate and engaged our Australian fans are. The excitement around the brand continues to grow as we wait for the new season, featuring the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor, played

by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi.

A new deal for Top Gear will see us partner with one of Australia & New Zealand’s biggest automotive retailers, offering refreshed products and exciting in-store displays.

We have some great new children’s programs in the pipeline, to compliment our existing slate, with shows like Sarah and Duck and Hey Doggy currently offering a variety of opportunities for pre‑school product ranges.

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Pete Bird – GM of Licensing and Consumer Sales, The Walt Disney Company, Australia and New Zealand

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In year four of Fusion, we have broadened our base of Principals whilst endeavouring to not duplicate our efforts in any one field. We now play in the animated movie, TV programming, publishing, gaming, online and heritage fields.

We also act as Brand Champions for established IP’s, each with a distinctly different marketing strategy. That is probably one of our biggest challenges – thinking and acting laterally and breaking the mould as a rule rather than as an exception.

Liz Burnett – Director Consumer Products Fremantle Media Australia 2014 is an exciting year for Fremantle Media Kids & Family in both the Australian and New Zealand markets, with launches of key shows Ella the Elephant and Grojband, and new series of Strange Hill High and Tree Fu Tom coming soon. Our titles air on every major network around the globe delighting children and delivering an impressive track record of ratings success that provides a platform to create leading franchises from strong licensing programs – and AU/NZ is no different.

Our biggest challenge will be cutting through in such a crowded marketplace – however we feel confident that our properties offer something really special to local kids. And the most exciting news is still to come, so watch this space at the show!

Mark Scott – Director Licensing/ Consumer Products Mattel Australia What an exciting time for the licensing industry in Australasia! Our retail landscape is undergoing transformational change with the arrival of the ‘fast-fashion internationals’.

Domestic mass market and department store retailers are repositioning their offer to ensure they have the right product offering for a more value-conscious consumer. Factor in the growth of on-line retail and the dynamics are like we have not seen before. Mattel have a complete 365-days-a-year brand portfolio covering all demographics from infant to adult. As the ‘licensor of choice’ we want to build strategic partnerships with retailers and licensees to drive long term growth across all channels and we have some of the strongest brands in the market. At Mattel, we Think Differently.

Yvonne King – Director Haven Licensing We’re feeling pretty buoyant about the year ahead. The past couple have been tough, but we really feel like we’re at the bottom of the cycle now & heading on a slightly upward trajectory! General instability amongst the majors has proven challenging – vacant buyer ships, management changes, overstocks, cancellation of orders & OTB… consolidation of suppliers & sku’s… repositioning, changes in strategy – it’s been the most difficult retail environment we’ve seen in our 20 years of business.

Preston Kevin Lewis – Managing Director, Warner Bros. Consumer Products Australia, New Zealand and India Blockbuster films are proving hugely powerful drivers of consumer products success for us in 2014. The Studio’s release of the resoundingly successful Godzilla, from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, along with the highly anticipated final film in The Hobbit Trilogy, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), are just the tip of the iceberg. We are supporting the in-region licensing and merchandising programs for these theatrical releases, building on their success with the roll out of cross-category licensed products already proving hugely popular among consumers.

Another key opportunity for us in 2014 is the power and popularity of DC Comics. It’s Batman’s 75th anniversary year and the DC Comics Super Hero is going from strength-to-strength. We’re leveraging the popularity of the DC Comics brand with several local market activations including major retail partnerships, as well as unique apparel design collaborations with iconic Australian fashion labels Black Milk Clothing and Peter Alexander.

Commercial clip licensing remains a key business opportunity for WBCP ANZ. The Warner Bros. clip library is still the largest entertainment library in the world, and recent award-winning advertising and marketing campaigns by brands that have already utilised this resource means we’re seeing this area grow exponentially.

Our strategically aligned partners – our licensees, retailers, advertising agencies and themed entertainment relationships – are the foundation of our business and will continue to drive key opportunities, decisions and product ranges in the region. By linking our partners’ products and services with our globally recognised properties, they are able to forge unique and long-lasting bonds with consumers and countless opportunities for growth.

In terms of challenges, the ever-changing retail landscape in Australia is consistently pushing us to deliver the very best and brightest in everything we do. Our commitment to working in close collaboration with our world class strategically aligned partners means we find ourselves turning these challenges into very real opportunities.

That said there is some great new energy coming out of some key players – Myer are making some very exciting moves in licensing and in store, Best & Less are doing some of the best executions of licensed brands we’ve ever seen, and with Kmart fired up to carve back their share of Australia’s multi-billion dollar licensing business at retail it’s all (finally!!!) looking pretty positive!

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CHARLES RIOTTO MAKES A VISIT TO AUSTRALIA LIMA Australia recently hosted Charles Riotto (LIMA global President) on his trip to Melbourne.

During his time in Melbourne we visited new and existing members from the Melbourne and Geelong area. We are delighted to announce that Cotton On, who are a local apparel and accessories retailer based in Geelong have recently joined our organisation.

We look forward to working with them.

LIMA continues to develop it’s footprint in Australia and our goal is to assemble 100 members here locally in the next 18 months.

As we move closer to the global licensing show in Las Vegas, I am pleased to confirm that Australia submitted six entries to the LIMA global awards. We are fortunate to have received four nominations for Australia.

Best character or Toy brand licensee Softgoods Black Milk clothing – Harry Potter leggings – Warner Brothers Australia

Best location based or experiential Scooby Doo Live musical mysteries – Warner Brothers Australia

Best Art or Design program Eric Carle – The Very Hungry Caterpillar/ Haven Licensing/Joster Loria Group

Best Sports or Sports Entertainment Licensee Footy Suits Pty Ltd – National Rugby League – all in one baby grow apparel product Australia We also hosted a local Networking function at Habitat Bar in inner city Melbourne.

40 of our local members were able to attend.

Charles was keen to provide a global update and an insight into the Vegas events for this year. He confirmed that pre registrations for the LIMA licensing university and other functions are up on last year.

There will be an Asia Pacific drop in event this year at the show, which will be hosted at The China Pavilion We look forward to seeing our local members at the show

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For more information on LIMA Australia, please contact Tony Bugg T +61 3 9769 3963 M +61 418 321 837 tony@buggsolutions.com.au

Top Mark Scott – Mattel, Charles Riotto – LIMA, John Louie – Mattel, Preston Kevin Lewis – Warner Brothers, Keith Brown – Showtime Attractions Above Tony Bugg – LIMA Australia, Charles Riotto – LIMA, Noel Thurlow – Jasnor, James Thurlow – Jasnor