Total Licensing August/Summer 2020 issue

August 2020

53

98

Regular Features Comment........................................................................ 6 Global news.................................................................... 8 Legally Speaking........................................................... 75 The Licensing International Page............................. 80 What’s On.................................................................... 82

60

Europe Update from France................................................... 28 The World of Toei Animation................................... 29 TF1 - Life Beyond the Pandemic.............................. 32 STUDIOCANAL - Leading Euro Studio................ 34 Classic Brands from El Ocho in Spain.................... 40 Festival of Licensing Unveiled................................... 42 Studio 100 are Protecting Bees............................... 43 Little Hoots - A Memory-Keeping App.................. 44 MeteoHeroes - Podcasts Launched........................ 52 Interview: Waell Oueslati, Crunchyroll................. 69 MDL - One-Stop for Italian Licensing.................... 70

UK 18

North America KFS Launch LGBTQ+ Comic Series...................... 45 NASCAR Pandemic Update..................................... 74

56

Latin America Fashion Collaborations in Latin America............... 56 ViacomCBS Latam Latest.......................................... 58

Asia Licensing Japan moves to October......................... 38 India - Opportunity in Crisis.................................... 46 Roi Visual Remake Nursery Rhymes....................... 51

70 54

4

Miffy - Asian Origins, Global Reach......................... 53 The China Licensing Industry 2020 Report.......... 76

Global Moonzy - from Russia to the USA.......................... 54 Getting Involved in Esports...................................... 60 The World of Classic Properties............................. 62 The Licensing Community Goes Virtual................ 64 Diversity - Content to Include Everyone.............. 66 The New Disruptor - Over Consumption........... 72

Co-Publisher Francesca Ash francesca@totallicensing.com

Co-Publisher Jerry Wooldridge jerry@totallicensing.com

Editorial Director Rebecca Ash becky@totallicensing.com

Business Development Manager Jo Cassidy joanna@totallicensing.com

Office Manager Helen Bowerman helen@totallicensing.com

Japan Agent Roger Berman, ZenWorks rmb@zenworks.jp

TOTAL LICENSING LTD 4 Wadhurst Business Park Faircrouch Lane, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6PT UK Tel: +44 (0) 1892 782220 Fax: +44 (0) 1892 782226 www.totallicensing.com enquiries@totallicensing.com

Member of

© 2020 Total Licensing Ltd All illustrations are reproduced by permission of their owners. No part of this magazine may be copied or quoted without permission from the Publishers first. Total Licensing Ltd does not warrant or assume any legal liability for the accuracy or legality of contents, images or advertisements submitted to the magazine. Opinions of the contributing writers are their own and do not reflect the opinion of Total Licensing Ltd. Printed in England

6

Welcome to our Summer issue of Total Licens- to total $23.36 trillion this year, a 5.7% drop from ing. This issue is published later than usual - in last year. Considering the massie disruption, that August - following the additional issue which we doesn’t seem a huge amount. However, it is prepublished in May to try and keep the industry dicted that recovery for most countries won’t abreast of what was happening during these very acome until 2022 because it will likely take over a strange times that we are all living through. In year to return to pre-pandemic levels. fact, just to blow our own trumpet for once, I In terms of trends, China’s retail market will think we are the only licensing trade to publish overtake the US for the first time this year. Chimore issues than usual during this time as well na’s retail market is predicted to hit over $5 trilas developing our website to include up to the lion with the US slightly behind at $4.89 trillion. minute news each and every day. We believe that Interestingly, according to forecasters, brick and nobody can claim to not know what is going on mortar store closures will have a smaller impact in the industry. on China since its retail market depends less on Whilst it may seem that the it. Ecommerce already made bottom is falling out of the up 34% of China’s retail sales Current Percentage of market, in reality it is really in 2019, compared with only seeing a paradigm shift in retail sales via ecommerce 11% in the US. It is expected ways of doing business. that the US will return to its Business is still continuing China........................... 34.0% top spot in 2021 before being and and growing, despite eclipsed by China once again UK............................... 18.0% in 2023. Meanwhile, Japan and being turned upside down, compared with what we USA............................. 11.0% India will compete for a distant are all accustomed to.

Australia .................... 10.0% third place with India expected The two key pillars of the to displace Japan next year.

Germany.......................8.8% Western Europe, the US and industry – Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe France............................6.0% Hong Kong are expected to see – have both transitioned to Italy.................................5.7% the biggest drops. In Europe, virtual events. Expo took France, Spain and Italy will see Brazil..............................4.8% the worst declines. Hong Kong place in June and all credit to Informa for bringing tois an exception: While it congether an online event that helped to bridge the tained the coronavirus relatively well, its market gap.Yes, it wasn’t the same as being in Vegas but it shrunk last year as it suffered from protests and was a good alternative. the US-China trade war, and this trend will conAs we go to press, it has just been announced tinue because pandemic-related job losses will that Brand Licensing will be an all-virtual event, weigh heavily on consumer spending. transitioning to a Festival of Licensing over a four- The pandemic has been horrendous and unweek period. Details of how it will all work are precedented. But life does go on, maybe not in still emerging but, again, it will at least provide the way it used to, but the industry will survive our industry with a focal point, even if we can’t all and, no doubt, some will thrive. Who would have meet in London. thought that working from home was the normal But the licensing industry is nothing if not cre- way to work? And that facemasks was a new, and ative. Whilst the shops were firmly shut, online increasingly important, licensed category. shopping was buoyant. Web sales are up significantly year over year as the virus still keeps many In January I said that I wished the UK press shoppers at home and away from physical stores. could find something else to talk about other However, interestingly online spending is re- than Brexit. ported to be tapering, according to new research Well, clearly, be careful what you wish for! from Adobe Analytics, as consumers are returning, cautiously, to brick and morter stores.

Francesca Ash Jerry Wooldridge On a worldwide basis, retail sales are predicted Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

With Thanks to this Issue’s Contributing Writers: Gregory Battersby Martin Brochstein

Trudi Bishop Rodrigo Chavez Edmund J Ferdinand

Rutika Malaviya Silvia Zuñiga

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

DISCOVERY’S SHARK WEEK Discovery, Inc recently announced its list of merchandising partners for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2020, television’s longest-running and most anticipated summer event, airing Sunday, August 9th to Sunday, August 16th with an lineup of original sharkthemed programming. This year’s consumer products program includes new and returning partners across apparel, accessories, toys and publishing categories.

New for 2020, Smathers and Branson, the personalized accessories company, launched a line of Shark Week themed hand-stitched needlepoint accessories including belts, hats, card wallets, koozies and key fobs in July available at SmathersandBranson.com. The apparel company RSVLTS is joining Shark Week with men’s apparel including short-sleeve button ups, neckties and pocket squares available on rsvlts.com or through the @rsvlts Instagram.

Also new, men’s and women’s apparel company The Forecast Agency debuted an apparel line at the end of July retailing at Urban Outfitters, PacSun

8

and DesertDreamerLA.com.

Proving the success of the Shark Week licensing programming, an extensive list of partners has returned in 2020.

In the toy category, Build-A-Bear is back for a third year with their Shark Week collection. Great White Shark arrived in store in July, and Saw Shark is the newest online exclusive. Mattel launched Shark Week-themed UNO in July. Bright Kingdom returned with a line of shark playsets available at CVS and plush shark toys by Dandee will be available at Walmart and Ahold. In the publishing category, Meredith is partnering on a sharkthemed bookazine, The Ultimate Book of Sharks, which will be available on newsstands in August.

A number of accessories partners are returning for this year’s Shark Week as well.

Knockaround Sunglasses is returning for a sixth year, and launched its special release shark-themed sunglasses on July

14th on Knockaround.com with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Oceana, a charitable organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans on a global scale, and Discovery’s charitable partner.

Sock Fancy is back for a third year with a line of unisex socks, that launched in July on SockFancy.com. Freestyle Watches is back for year two with a new collection of its Classic Shark timepieces available with digital or analog movements which launched in July at Freestyleusa.com, Ron Jon’s, Tilly’s, Zumiez and other fine retailers. Freestyle also launched a limited series of its signature leash and clip watch straps made to accessorize Apple Smart Watches which launched in July and are available exclusively at Freestyleusa.com.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

ROLLING STONE SIGNED TO BULLDOG Bulldog Licensing in the UK has recently been appointed as the European licensing agent for Rolling Stone – the authoritative voice in music, entertainment and politics. Established for 50 years, Rolling Stone spans print, digital, social and events, and is now looking to leverage its brand, develop products and reach its extensive audience in new ways.

In the US, the Rolling Stone licensing programme is already underway with brand owners, Penske Media Corporation already working with licensees in-

cluding Anheuser-Busch’s brewery Elysian Brewing for a Rolling Stone Lager, publishing deals with Alfred Publishing, Sellers Publishing, and Meredith, puzzles and games from Spinmaster companies and location based experiences including the Rock Room on Holland America Line ships and the Rolling Stone Bar & Grill at LAX airport.

Rolling Stone has an enormous monthly footprint of 42 million people across its platforms, who access the brand for its stunning photography, insightful reviews, in-depth interviews and award-winning journalism.

Across social media, Rolling Stone has 5 million Facebook fans, 4.5 million Instagram followers and 6.3 million Twitter followers worldwide. The UK is one of the strongest audiences and provides over 1 million unique users and 6.8 million page views each month to the rollingstone.com website. Across Continental Europe, the brand enjoys a huge footprint with local editions in Italy, Germany and France reaching millions of people every month.

Discussions are already well underway with licensees across a diverse area of products with announcements expected very soon.

Kevin LaBonge, VP Global Partnerships & Licensing at Penske Media Corporation said, “We’re delighted to be working with the team at Bulldog Licensing as we expand Rolling Stone into new formats. Rolling Stone is a hugely iconic brand around the globe with millions of touchpoints every month in Europe alone. With Bulldog’s rich history of delivering large scale licensing programmes for iconic media properties we are excited to tap into their experience and energy to grow the Rolling Stone brand even further.”

Rob Corney, MD of Bulldog Licensing, added, “Rolling Stone is a true icon in the music, entertainment and politics industry and has a huge, dedicated audience. We’re thrilled to have them on our roster and are looking forward to building a consumer products program across the diverse core classic and vivid culture graphic collections.”

WILDBRAIN CPLG TO REP RICHARD SIMMONS WildBrain CPLG has been tapped by Plaster Partners LLC to represent the iconic 1980s fitness expert Richard Simmons worldwide. WildBrain CPLG is now developing a crosscategory licensing program for Richard Simmons targeting adults across key categories, including accessories, food and beverage, footwear, fitness and sporting goods, publishing, health and beauty, social stationery, and digital applications. WildBrain CPLG has secured its first wave of partners for Richard Simmons in North America, brokered on behalf of Plaster Partners LLC, the brand marketing venture from Richard Simmons’ longtime manager Michael Catalano and licensing executive Brittany Straede.

Kicking off the licensing program are: NECA for games, toys, action figures and boxes; Funko for figurines; Mad Engine for apparel and sleepwear; Pyramid for posters and stationery; TF Publishing for calendars; Fun.com for dress-up; and Super Impulse for

10

novelty gifts. The first products are scheduled to launch in the market for holiday season 2020.

Alyssa Gourlay, Director of Business Development at WildBrain CPLG North America, said, “Richard Simmons is one of the most iconic figures in fitness, recognised internationally for his infectiously positive attitude and energetic home workouts.

With the surge of interest in his vintage work-out routines on YouTube, as people discover exercise content they can enjoy at home, we’re looking forward to bringing consumers an exciting range of products reflecting Simmons’ colourful and hi-octane personality, while also tapping into the nostalgia for the 1980s home aerobics genre.”

“We’re thrilled that WildBrain CPLG will be leading the charge to bring all things Richard to a global audience,” said Simmons’ manager Michael Catalano. “Richard continues

to be one of the most revered and loved fitness personalities of all time.

His licensed line will be pure Richard – fun, motivational and inspiring.”

Richard Simmons pioneered the home-fitness video revolution of the 1980s, bringing inspiration and fun to the masses through his dance and exercise programs. Simmons is best known for his high energy and flamboyant personality and remains a fixture in the pop culture lexicon. After more than thirty years, his “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” workouts remain the bestselling exercise video series of all time.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

FRED SEGAL TO OPEN IN SOUTH KOREA Los Angeles-based experiential retailer Fred Segal has announced recently that it is continuing to expand internationally and will open a new location

in South Korea in Q1 2021. Fred Segal is partnering with Hanwha Group to open a location in Seoul within the Galleria Luxury Hall, South Korea’s

preeminent department store featuring the world’s leading luxury brands.

The Galleria Luxury Hall is a flagship store situated in a well-known and high-traffic shopping area, raising Fred Segal’s profile within one of Korea’s largest metropolitan centers.

“We’re excited for Fred Segal to launch at Galleria Luxury Hall, one of the world’s most prestigious retailers, offering customers in South Korea a unique shopping experience that captures the style and culture of Los Angeles,” said Jeff Lotman, Chairman and Owner of Fred Segal. “With more store openings in North America that will be announced soon, this deal solidifies Fred Segal’s position as a global brand with an enormous growth trajectory.”

Fred Segal’s innovative and forward-

thinking approach to retail and unique understanding of the Los Angeles scene has made the company appealing to international brands who are looking to diversify their offerings and attract new customers.

“Galleria Luxury Hall is the first exclusive retailer of premium brands in Korea,” said Brian Pang, Senior Vice President of Galleria. “We know Fred Segal will exceed the expectations of customers who are looking for a new and innovative retail experience.”

Since its establishment in 1961, Fred Segal has been synonymous with LA style and pop culture. As a pioneer of the shop-in-shop concept, the brand connects with customers through experiential retail and is responsible for launching and discovering the biggest names in beauty and apparel.

PEPPA PIG JOINTS BRITISH OLYMPIC TEAM! Hasbro recently unveiled a collaboration with Team GB in the UK that will see Peppa Pig join the British Olympic team as a special children’s ambassador to get kids excited for the summer Olympics in Tokyo – rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 – which is set to be one of the most watched sporting events of the year.

Big Inspiration for Little Piggies is a new campaign designed to get the nation’s kids moving and into the spirit of the Olympics by cheering on their favourite national athletes. The campaign will be underpinned by a busy roster of live events, retail activations, digital content and bespoke merchandise.

“With a year to go until the Olympics there couldn’t be a better time to inspire young kids and their families to get active” said Hasbro’s Marianne James, VP EMEA Consumer Products. “Our Big Inspiration for Little Piggies campaign is a great opportunity to tap into the enormous interest surrounding the Olympics to both support the Team GB athletes and nurture a lifelong love of sports in the younger generation that will leave a lasting legacy.”

Partners are lining up to produce exclusive new consumer products across categories including toys, apparel and accessories, stationery, home gifting and publishing. The campaign will span multiple touchpoints with a brand-new bespoke style guide featuring innovative new designs that put Peppa and all her friends right into the action with unique sporting outfits and active wear to inspire a range of Team GB licensed

12

merchandise for children, placing the preschool brand in good company with Team GB’s official mascot, Pride The Lion.

New branded content is also being developed across digital channels that will harness the popularity of Peppa Pig and Team GB by encouraging children and families to take advantage of the global sporting event and promote an active, healthy lifestyle.

Throughout summer 2021, Hasbro will be readying a packed calendar of interactive marketing activities that will see Peppa Pig model her very own Team GB kit at various events across the country, sports-related meet-and-greets, experiential displays, retail activations and fun competitions hosted at multiple locations.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

RIKI SELLS RIGHTS TO YEAH! GROUP FOR VIETNAM Vietnam based Yeah!

Group Corporation has acquired nonexclusive AVOD rights for animated series Kikoriki and Pincode produced

by The Riki Group. The IPs will be available in English and German languages at the popular kids YouTube channels owned and operated by Yeah1 across the globe excluding Russia and CIS. The Vietnamese media corporation acquired the rights for 2 seasons of the Kikoriki animated TV series in 2D (216 episodes) in English, 1 season in 3D (52 episodes) in English and 1 season in 2D (52 episodes) in German; 104 episodes of Pincode in English.

The deal has been signed for a year.

The Kikoriki animated TV series premiered first in 2003 and is the longest broadcast animated TV series in Russia. The series was produced in 2D (216 x 6’ 30’’) with one season produced in CGI (52 x11’). It was localized in 13 languages and distributed in over 70 countries.

Pincode is an edutainment spin-off from the Kikoriki series for kids up to 12 years old as well as for the whole family. The science adventures project comprises 104 episodes of 13 minutes each and engages kids to explore the world of innovations, technology and discoveries.

CHUPA CHUPS CHILLED DRINKS IN JAPAN This July Toyo Beverage, headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, launched Chupa Chups chilled cup drinks. The milk based chilled drinks have been developed under license from Perfetti Van Melle and are available in convenience stores, merchandise stores and drug stores across Japan.

The first flavour, Chupa Chups Strawberry Cream, was launched on July 14th. It is one of the most iconic Chupa Chups flavours that takes consumers back to their childhood and the drink delicately reproduces its characteristic creamy and mild taste with a hint of strawberry.

The drink is served in chilled cups of 190ml. In August another flavour will be launched.

14

Commenting, Toyo Beverage team said, “We decided to make this collaboration since we both provide customers with deliciousness, fun and happiness. Furthermore, Chupa Chups has a high brand awareness and everyone from any generation has enjoyed a Chupa Chups sometime in life.

We wanted to give Chupa Chups a unique image with the delicious taste of the real lollipop, and the result has been this unexpected and tasty Chupa Chups drink.”

MASTERCHEF CASINO RANGE

Gander Group and Endemol Shine North America, producers of the hit culinary competition series Masterchef on FOX have recently announced a partnership for a series of branded kitchen products for the casino industry in the U.S. market.

The one-of-a-kind product line to include cookware, bakeware, appliances and gadgets will be offered exclusively to casino guests to create a new Masterchef experience in the kitchen.

“I speak on behalf of our clients and Gander Group team when I say we are thrilled to be partnering with this incredible brand,” adds Gander Group CEO Josh Blake. “Home has taken on a new meaning for all of us over these last few months, and we look forward to being able to create cookware that can inspire creativity and elevate home-cooked meals.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the fantastic team at Gander Group to bring high quality and unique Masterchef cookware, kitchen tools and textiles, barware and appliances to the casino market,” said Amber Sheppo, SVP Licensing, Endemol Shine North America.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

NEW PROJECTS FROM FLYING BARK PRODUCTIONS With a raft of new service projects and a recent animated film release, the team at Flying Bark Productions has been busier than ever despite the global Coronavirus pandemic.

LEGO’s new Monkie Kid I.P has already been released with a bang and is based on the Monkey King legend from the Chinese novel Journey to the West.

The team at Flying Bark Productions was brought in to produce and direct the TV series including specials for the global toy brand.

present alternate realities in the Marvel universe. The show is set to premiere on Disney+ in 2021.

With the closure of cinemas halting the Australian theatrical release of Flying Bark Productions’ newest animated film 100% Wolf, the movie instead celebrated its PVOD release late last month following its official selection for the Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival 2020. The film is available to rent on Google Play, iTunes, Fetch and

The first episodes which premiered in China on 1 June 2020 have already reached over 43 million views and coincided with the launch of eight LEGO Monkie Kid themed play sets.

In addition, the Sydney based studio is producing the animation for three episodes of Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated What If…? The anthology series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and features stories that

Foxtel Go. Starring the voices of Akmal Saleh, Jai Courtney, Jane Lynch, Magda Szubanski, Rhys Darby and Samara Weaving, the story of 100% Wolf centres on Freddy Lupin, heir to the leadership of a family line of werewolves. Positive he will become the most fearsome werewolf ever, Freddy is in for a shock when on his 14th birthday his first “warfing” goes awry, turning him into a poodle.

With three other major projects in various stages of production including the third instalment in the popular movies aimed at pre-schoolers, Maya the Bee: The Golden Orb; a feature length spin-off of the Mia and Me franchise; and the 100% Wolf television series set to air on the ABC later this year, Flying Bark Productions successfully managed to transition its team of over 270 employees to a work from home environment.

Barbara Stephen, CEO Flying Bark Productions said, “The global animation industry has remained working (albeit slower than usual) during the COVID-19 crisis despite a complete shut-down of nearly all other forms of drama production around the world. The costs but relative stable revenue has complicated the business, however the willingness of clients, broadcast partners (in particular the ABC) and Australian Government partners to be flexible has supported our company in a way which has enabled us to sustain significant employment for our crew. Our teams will have produced 3 theatrical feature films, 2 television specials and 74 episodes of the highest quality animation releasing over a 12-month period at a time when we feel the world is in need of some laughter”.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TALKING TOM Outfit7 Limited is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Talking Tom this summer. Tom made his global debut in his first game in July 2010 and became an overnight sensation. 10 years and 13 billion game downloads later, Outfit7 invited Tom’s fans to participate in a special “POK-A-TOM” event from July 20 to July 30, 2020, to mark the milestone. The challenge: Can fans poke Tom 10 billion times in 10 days?

The 10th-anniversary event took place in four of Tom’s most popular games: Talking Tom Cat, My Talking Tom, My Talking Tom 2, and My Talking Tom Friends. During the celebration, the pokes will be displayed on a digital “POK-AMETER” on the Outfit7 website. At the end of the challenge, if 10 billion pokes were achieved, every player was gifted with a generous in-game currency bundle. The more users poke, the bigger the reward!

“Fans have poked Tom almost too many times to count since 2010,” said Xinyu Qian, CEO of Outfit7. “Over 400 million fans play the games every month, so we wanted

16

them to be included in the celebration.”

Over the past decade, a lot has changed for Tom. He inspired the Talking Tom and Friends franchise, which now includes 23 mobile games, digital video content that’s received over 56 billion views, and there’s even a Talking Tom movie in development. The original Talking Tom Cat game was named as one of Android’s “Most Downloaded Games of All Time”.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

MILANO LICENSING DAY TO TAKE PLACE IN SEPTEMBER Milano Licensing Day will take place on September 15th – one of the first licensing events that will happen following the pandemic.

Milano Licensing Day’s format comprises business networking, screening, pitch sessions and special events. Held at the NHow Congress Center in Milan in the heart of the fashion and design district, last year’s event attracted an audience of 670 attendees with 80% licensees and buyers.

For this year, exhibitors confirmed to date include Boing Turner, CPLG Wildbrain, ETS, Hasbro, Lega del Filo d’Oro, Mondo TV, Panini, Ra.Com, Rainbow, Planeta Junior, Starbright, Toei Animation, Viacom Paramount, Universal and WWF Italia with further companies in the pipeline.

The day starts with a welcome breakfast with ETS and continues with a Viacom lunch and a Hasbro cake party. Pitch sessions will take place hosted by ETS, Rainbow, Rai Com, Viacom, Planeta Junior, Monto TV and Hasbro.

Special features include a Kids Marketing Day talk with Doxa and Promotion Magazine and a live broadcast press event with Assogiocattoli on the state of the li-

censed toy market.

A further special feature is a Food Brand area with Perfetti Van Melle brands, and Brandgenuity with Unilever Algida Ice Cream brands. Universal will sponsor the large catering area with a Minions Café.

According to organiser, Paolo Lucci, the event has been prepared with maximum security “We have face masks and sanitizing gel for all attendees as well as a QR coded check-in system, along with temperature scans and selfmanned catering pods,” he explained.

“Many of these requirements may no longer be necessary in September but we want to be prepared according to the current restrictions.”

For more information, contact Paolo Lucci – paolo.lucci@luccitm.com or visit www.milanolicensingday.it

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE With millions of Americans spending more time at home and rediscovering the joys of baking bread, churning butter, tending food gardens, or coming together to face uncertainty and weather challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the classic family brand Little House on the Prairie is providing many with welcome comfort and relevance as a wholesome property representing the pioneering American spirit of resilience and can-do determination.

“In uncertain times, it’s comforting for consumers and licensees alike to be able to turn to a trusted and familiar brand like Little House on the Prairie and, recognizing that, we are happy to be able to give these licensees the opportunity to grow their Little House lines,” said Spotlight Licensing and Brand Management President Carole Postal as she recently announced two licensees have amended existing licensing agreements with property owner Friendly Family Productions in order to expand their Little House on the Prairie offering.

Litographs has expanded its Little House on the Prairie Collection to include Puzzles, Hoodies and Shower Curtains. As with the Totes, Posters, Scarves, Tshirts, Pillows and Blankets already produced under Litograph’s license, each product in the collection features stylized designs incorporating text from the Little House on the Prairie books.

18

MALORY TOWERS WildBrain has secured its first wave of international sales for season one of Malory Towers (13 x 30’), the new live action series based on Enid Blyton’s popular book series.

Co-produced by WildBrain and UK production company King Bert Productions for WildBrain Television’s Family Channel (Canada) and CBBC (UK), the series has been picked up by broadcasters and streamers including: BYUtv (US), CBC’s streaming service CBC Gem (Canada), ABC (Australia), ZDF (Germany), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland), SVT (Sweden), NRK (Norway), Toonix and HBO (Nordics & CEE), and Hot (Israel).

Cheryl Taylor, Head of Content for BBC Children’s, said: “Malory Towers set the template for popular British boarding school stories and it’s no surprise that so many territories have responded to this classic title.

Darrell Rivers is a truly iconic character – sparky, independent and a fierce warrior against injustice. She shone a bright light on the potential of all girls at a time when expectations were very limited. The books have inspired generations of young readers and we’re delighted that so many young viewers are getting the chance to meet Darrell and her friends.”

Marie McCann, Senior Director, Children’s Content for CBC Kids, commented, “We’re excited to give Canadian families the chance to dive into the rich world of Malory Towers again and again on CBC Gem. With its double whammy of old-school charm meets girl power, Malory Towers will no doubt be the next great family must-watch series.”

All episodes of Malory Towers will be available to stream on the free CBC Gem streaming service in Canada beginning Friday, August 28.

Deirdre Brennan, EVP Content Partnerships at WildBrain, said: “The response to Malory Towers has been fantastic and we’re thrilled that so many leading platforms will share this series with families internationally.”

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

RUBIK CUBE AMBASSADORS SIGNED Rubik’s Brand has now recruited over 125 official ambassadors from around the globe to promote the world’s favourite puzzle. These Cube advocates range from education specialists, mosaic artists and magicians to speedcubers and athletes.

The USA-based You Can Do The Rubik’s Cube ambassadors use the puzzle in their classroom for educational purposes, to help teach mathematical, engineering and design concepts. They believe in the power of creative problem-solving using the Cube and are advocates for its origin in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Cube is known to be a brain teaser and respect is granted to those who complete it. Cubing leagues have

emerged around the world, with top ‘speedcubers’ competing to see who can solve it the fastest.The intelligence, creativity and colourful origin of the puzzle have also led to the Cube being used in fun and playful ways, such as through the creation of mosaics, art and magic tricks.

It is through these specialist skills that Rubik’s has identified ambassadors who not only celebrate the vision of the brand, but advocate its educational,

play and creative elements. Rubik’s ambassadors connect with other cubers and potential puzzle-solvers through their own media channels, as well as through Rubik’s channels. They are Rubik’s most loyal and trusting fans who ultimately just love to play, be challenged and solve!

American Max Park stars in a documentary film that is set to grip TV viewers worldwide when aired for the first time on Wednesday July 29 2020 in a new Netflix original documentary, The Speed Cubers.

The new film follows the paths of Max Park and Feliks Zemdegs who compete in highly charged World Cubing Association championships.

Max Park has autism, and the film provides a glimpse into his personal situation and how a six-sided Cube has changed his life and opened up friendships with fellow cubers.

Feliks Zemdegs, aged 24, from Melbourne, is the only speedcuber to ever win the World Cube Association championships twice and you see him battle with Max Park who is now just 18 years of age.

Hayley Woodward, Head of Global Marketing at Rubik’s Brand said, “Rubik’s has supported the World Cubing Association championships for many years and I’ve been lucky enough to witness several competitions at first hand . This new film has been independently produced and its launch in the 40th anniversary year of the Rubik’s Cube going global is pure serendipity. What’s great is that you don’t have to be an elite speedcuber to enjoy the subject and it opens the minds of those considering the benefits of solving a Cube. We are thrilled because Max Park is an official ambassador to Rubik’s and is now inspiring others to learn to Cube for the first time.”

REDAN SIGNS ODDBODS One Animation has secured a deal with leading independent pre-school magazine publisher Redan Publishing to launch its global preschool comedy brand Oddbods in Redan’s Fun to Learn magazine titles in July.

Oddbods featured in the monthly magazine Fun to Learn Favourites in July followed by the 3-weekly Fun to Learn Friends from August.

In addition to Oddbods games, puzzles, word searches and colouring activities, the magazines will host competitions for readers to win Oddbods plush and dress up merchandise.

The deal covers the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Julie Jones, Managing Director at Redan Publishing, said, “When deciding on which new characters to add to our successful pre-school compilation magazines, we take into account how on trend the brand is, whether it will work from an educational standpoint and most importantly will it be popular with our readers.

What attracted us to Oddbods is the wonderful mix of unique characters.

Every child will be able to relate to one of the characters and this encourages children to celebrate difference and individuality especially when it’s all presented in such a fun and humorous way.”

ORIGINAL COLLECTION FROM POKEMON AND CASETIFY Following a sold-out series released last year, Casetify and The Pokémon Company have once again teamed up to deliver another original collection.

Channeling a nostalgic ‘90s theme which pays homage to when the first

20

Pokémon video games were released, the collaboration introduces many new designs for a variety of lifestyle products designed by Casetify. The first drop of the three-part series debuts on August 12.

The premium quality accessories will showcase the fan-favorite Pokémon Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle on drop-resistant cases, incorporating the colorful styling and Casetify elements.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

SHANE THE CHEF FIGHTS WASTE Too Good To Go, the world’s largest food waste-fighting app, has recently launched a new children’s recipe competition for the summer holidays. The #EasyRecipeasy Children’s Challenge will encourage children to learn about the topic of food waste in a fun, creative and interactive way.

The new challenge follows the brand’s first children’s poetry competition, which received over 1,000 entries from school children across the UK, and Too Good To Go’s #EasyRecipeasy chef collaboration in April 2020.

Open for UK children aged 12 and under, the #EasyRecipeasy Children’s

Challenge invites children to write and design their own recipe cards, utilising one or more of the country’s

most wasted foods including bread, potatoes, milk, eggs and bananas.

From toasties to milkshakes, over-thetop omelettes to banana pancakes, anything goes. Recipe cards will be judged on recipe resourcefulness, creativity of the design, food waste fighting flair.

The #EasyRecipeasy Children’s Challenge has the support of the popular children’s animated character, Shane the Chef, whose series airs on Channel 5’s preschool strand Milkshake.

Each of the five most wasted foods has been matched with an episode of Shane The Chef to provide recipe inspiration for children taking part in the challenge.

Shane the Chef is the first ever British animation series to focus on healthy eating for kids and aims to enthuse young children and families with a passion for fresh, healthy food and cooking.

Too Good To Go will serve up even more recipe inspiration over the course of the summer months on its social media channels from notable chefs and influencers.

Commenting on the project, Helen Howells, Joint Managing Director, Hoho Entertainment,said, “Shane the Chef is thrilled to support this hugely important waste food initiative. And encouraging kids to come up with their own recipes is just the sort of thing Shane likes to do in his own kitchen. Let’s Get Cooking!”

PUCCA AT PULL&BEAR Pucca, the iconic character who starred in 170 countries and was revived thanks to Planeta Junior, continues her fashion success. Pull&Bear, the Inditex brand for spirited young people with a fresh, fun style, who respect current international trends and like urban influences, is the latest major fashion brand to join the Pucca universe, with the global launch of a T-shirt featuring her image.

The new T-shirt is now available worldwide in all Pull&Bear stores and its online store. This has been achieved through a deal between Planeta Junior, Padma (the manufacturer) and with the support of Pull&Bear, which joins other designers and enters the Pucca universe.

Pucca’s bravery, daring, fun, maturity, zero prejudice and great message of love based on the idea of ‘being yourself’ is not only winning the hearts of millennials and young adults, but also the fashion industry itself. Spanish designer María Escoté has already launched the Pucca x Mariaescoté, capsule and Italian fashion brand White created the True Love capsule.

Pucca and her South Korean universe are also one of the reasons for the increasing interest in Korean culture driven by the success of K-Pop.

RICKY ZOOMS INTO AUSTRALIA EeOne has announced new broadcast deals for its all-bike CGI-animated preschool series, Ricky Zoom. The 52 x 11 min episodes from series 1 of Ricky Zoom launched on Nickelodeon’s preschool channel, Nick Jr., in Australia from Monday, 20 July, 2020, with new episodes airing weekdays at 10am. From November 2020 Ricky Zoom will also begin airing on Australia’s Channel 9 to further accelerate exposure in the region.

Since it debuted on screens in late 2019, Ricky Zoom has raced to success achieving outstanding ratings in multiple markets. The show’s combination of speed and cool stunts has introduced a world of biking adventures to mini bike-lovers. Nick Jr. is already home to the series in both the US and UK, whilst Australia’s Channel 9 joins a growing list of broadcast partners bringing the show to a global audience. These include CCTV (China), Channel 5 Milkshake! (UK), Clan TV (Spain), Discovery Kids (Latin America), Thai PBS (Thailand), Gulli (France), Karusel (Russia), Minika Cocuk (Turkey), NRK (Norway), RAI (Italy), Spacetoon (MENA), Super RTL (Germany), SVT (Sweden), Treehouse (Canada) and Youku (China).

22

Pick up copies of Total Licensing at Milano Licensing Day and at Cobrandz in Paris

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

SPACETOON AND THE MOSHAYA FAMILY IN STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Spacetoon, one of the biggest family content providers in MENA, has recently signed a strategic partnership deal with The Moshaya Family, the family-friendly content creator in the Arab world, to take the most recognizable YouTube family channel beyond content creation by making a jump into consumer products and a real expansion into the digital media world throughout an original animation series.

Through this agreement, Spacetoon will turn YouTube family titan channel in MENA into a true lifestyle franchise across a variety of consumer products including toys, animation series, video games, FMCG specially designed to targeting and entertaining kids and families.

The Moshaya Family franchise will grant Spacetoon an opportunity to introduce this promising franchise to the toy industry market.This will record a successful step in bringing a new life to gives kids and families unlimited experience full of edutainment tools.

This official partnership announcement was followed by the revealing of the new brand identity for The Moshaya Family including, a new logo that reflects the sense of coherence with a direct connection with the family members who each one of them has a huge fan base in MENA. The new brand identity is considered to be the first action towards building a strong brand positioning in the market for The Moshaya Family. As a result, this will pave the way for companies which look for partnership opportunities to boost their businesses through high-quality products for kids and families and help them create great experiences for their customers.

Commenting on this parentship, the Commercial Director of Spacetoon, Ahmad Weiss said, “This is truly one of the most exciting partnerships that we have ever involved with. We’re so thrilled to be collaborating with the pioneer in the family content creation in the region to provide new experiences for kids and families throughout a variety of consumer products.”

He added,: “Being in the family entertainment industry for over 20 years has made us closer to the consumers especially parents in a way that helps us win their trust. This couldn’t have been done without the massive support of our global and local partners.”

Muhammed Moshaya, the founder of The Moshaya Family YouTube channel said, “We are so thrilled for this opportunity with Spacetoon. We have always been interested in enlarging our work throughout in many fields such as toys and licensing, but it was difficult to find the right partner. Now with this alliance we are so excited to finally see the results coming to light.”

The fruits of this partnership will come to light this year in the shape of a new original Spacetoon animation series, and many other merchandising strategies.

Following this announcement, Spacetoon has already partnered with Toy Pro, a Dubai-based company specialized in toy distributing and licensing, to launch a toy lineup for The Moshaya Family brand in the markets alongside working on wide range of consumer products.

24

MIGHTY MIKE TeamTO has joined forces with licensing agency This is Iris to unleash Mighty Mike - the world’s most licensable pug – in the UK. Mighty Mike’s licensing career in the UK will be launched with a prominent platform on both CITV and Cartoon Network’s Boomerang Channels.

“Mighty Mike is a show with great appeal. The characters’ incredible photorealism and the non-stop comedy make this show ideal for a great range of products. We are delighted to be working with TeamTO on this exciting property and look forward to updating our partners on Mighty Mike’s potential and standout performance on CITV,” said Sarah Lawrence, This is Iris.

Patricia de Wilde, TeamTO’s VP of Marketing added, “We are delighted to be working with the experienced and talented team at This Is Iris.

With Sarah’s uniquely creative and quality-driven approach to licensing, and great platforms on ITV & Boomerang, Mighty Mike could not be in better hands.”

The agreement follows a first publishing deal in Italy with high-end publishing outfit Edizione Play Press, for sticker, coloring, magic coloring, and activity books, being sold in kiosks nationwide. Other licensing agents taking Mighty Mike across the globe include Surge Licensing (US), France Télévisions (France), and Uyoung (China), supported by outstanding performances on Universal Kids, CBC & Family Channel, Boomerang, France Télévisions, ABC, Super RTL, and Tencent among many others.

TOTAL LICENSING

ADK EMOTIONS NY GEARS UP FOR THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF BEYBLADE IN 2021 Japanese IP specialist, ADK Emotions NY Inc., unveiled that iconic archived episodes from the global anime and toy franchise Beyblade have debuted on the brand’s official YouTube channel. The classic Generation 1 content is now available to watch on demand, kickstarting a celebration for the brand and laying the foundations for its 20th anniversary in 2021.

Focused on exploring the two-decades rich history of Beyblade, ADK Emotions NY is embarking on a nostalgic journey back to the origins of the global phenomena. With weekly classic episode drops in both English and Latin American Spanish, the brand’s YouTube channels, which boast more than 2 million subscribers (ex.

Asia), is connecting with a groundswell of rekindled fandom laying the foundations for the forthcoming milestone anniversary.

All of the episodes are being promoted by a robust social media campaign that serves both Beyblade demographics: the long-time fans, who have responded to the nostalgia of the campaign, and a new generation of fans keen to discover the classic con-

26

tent for the first time. The Beyblade Geeks, long time Beyblade YouTubers have also come on board to release a special episode that will give fans past and present alike, a chance to dive into

New content in the form of Beyblade Burst has been championed by international broadcasters and it has enjoyed a profile presence on Netflix and YouTube where ADK has seeded

the storylines and concepts of Generation 1.

Buoyed by the social media buzz generated by the classic content campaign, ADK Emotions NY will be releasing brand new Beyblade Generation 1 apparel which will also be available this summer on Amazon.

more than 1600 videos and achieved 360 million global views. The addition of classic content is the perfect kickoff to what promises to be a comprehensive and coordinated campaign of fresh content and bold new consumer products that will take Beyblade into its third decade.

ADK Emotions NY will continue to engage Beyblade Burst fans in as many ways as possible in the latter half of the year.

In September, a digital EP featuring the series theme songs will be released on all major digital distribution platforms including Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play Music, meeting the fans fervent demand for music.

Beyblade Burst’s successful year will be crowned by an exciting digital activation in the fall which will bring together both Beyblade influencers and fans alike.

Stay tuned for more details as ADK Emotions prepare to celebrate yet another thrilling year for Beyblade Burst.

TOTAL LICENSING

FRANCE Following months of lockdown, it is refreshing that events are beginning to open up around the world.

One of the first licensing events to take place is Cobrandz which will be held on 10 and 11 September in Paris.

On the following pages we cover some of the activity around Cobrandz and others working in the French market.

Cobrandz, the former Kazachok Forum, has been expanded and extended to include an exhibition, presentations and talks, meeting spaces for one to one meetings and a content and partner search hub.

As Nathalie Chouraqui explained, “Cobrandz’s promise is to bring together, all the major players, products, services and more who wish to develop new business opportunities including sponsorship, partnerships, collaborations, content and licensing.

For more information or to register, contact Alexia Uvon, alexia@kazachok.com +33 (0) 9 86 87 51 29.

Or visit www.cobrandz.fr

28

CHEF CLUB COOKS UP NEW PRODUCT LINES Chefclub, the ‘eat-ertainment’ brand, is a French digital cooking brand founded in 2016. The brand has grown rapidly worldwide as a result of its spectacular cooking videos distributed on social media. The company’s mission is to bring people together in the kitchen through the creation of fun, inspirational, and approachable content, products and services.

Chefclub’s unique position between food and entertainment resonates well beyond the sphere of cooking enthusiasts: with more than 1 billion organic views every month and 80 million followers, Chefclub is the fastest growing global brand on social media.

In France, Chefclub is the number one cooking brand on social media with over 10 million engaged followers across all social media platforms with 210 million monthly views.

Chefclub operates five digital thematic channels, Chefclub Original, Chefclub Light & Fun, Chefclub Kids, Chefclub Daily as well as Chefclub Cocktails addressing key target groups and needs.

The brand is already successful in publishing with a 17-titles collection of inhouse cooking books sold D2C and D2R in France. Chefclub Kids new offering launched in July with a cook book based on the World’s Recipes along with the Cheflcub Kids cups and new products to come by the end of the year. New licensees include Playbac which is releasing a line of stationery products this year and Larousse which has launched a Chefclub cookbook adapted to food processor, Companion from Moulinex in January.

Recently, Chefclub has partnered with DoohYouLike in France to offer consumers an engaging omnichannel experience, mixing videos of creative, fun recipes with synchronized multi-broadcasting on social media as well as on 55O screens directly in grocery stores. Together they announce the creation of “the Culinary Advertising Agency” in France. The new culinary advertising service will offer food & beverage brands an innovative, turnkey solution that includes the creation, production and broadcast of cooking videos by Chefclub on social media featuring the advertiser’s product, as well as simultaneous broadcast in small-size grocery stores via DoohYouLike screens.

Chefclub will be exhibiting at CoBrandz and is looking for partners in food & beverage, promotion, tableware, home decor, home textiles and magazines.

CRUNCHYROLL AND CGR EVENTS LAUNCH MY HERO ACADEMIA Crunchyroll and CGR Events are releasing the long-awaited My Hero Academia second movie in French cinemas from August 20th My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising will be released in a French-subtitled version in more than 100 movie theaters across France, Belgium and Luxembourg from August 20th to 25th, to the delight of the many fans of the superhero franchise. The film will also be previewed at a special event in the legendary Parisian theater Le Grand Rex in Paris on August 18th!

The storyline surrounds Class 1-A who visit Nabu Island where they finally get to do some real hero work.

The place is so peaceful that it’s more like a vacation … until they’re attacked by a villain with an unfathomable quirk! His power is eerily familiar, and it looks like Shigaraki had a hand in the plan.

But with All Might retired and citizens’ lives on the line, there’s no time for questions. Deku and his friends are the next generation of heroes, and they’re the island’s only hope.

With more than 3 million copies sold by the publisher Ki-Oon and a very committed fan community, My Hero Academia is the greatest manga success of the last ten years in France.

The TV show has four seasons now, broadcast on Toonami and J-One, and available on Anime Digital Network (ADN) platform and on DVD/ Blu-ray at Kazé.

The brand universe of My Hero Academia has been extended to many merchandising products, such as the multi-platform video games edited

by Bandai Namco, which released My Hero: One’s Justice 2 on March 13, as well as toys and figures developed by Bandai.

TOEI ANIMATION Dragon Ball will be on all industry fronts by year’s end and beyond. In France, 100 movie theaters across the country committed to showing a movie marathon of the latest Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super films on July 17th and 18th. Dragon Ball Super is also set to make its television broadcast debut on Spacetoon in the MENA region.

On the merchandising side, Toei Animation Europe has finalized an extensive collaboration with Casio that will see the launch of an exclusive Dragon Ball Z G-Shock watch on August 22nd.

In apparel, the French men’s clothing

retailer célio will debut a Dragon Ball Z collection in September.

In toys and games, Bandai, Abysse Corp and Winning Moves are all on board to release new items. In advance of the roll-out across France, Spain and the UK, Toei Animation Europe will team up with Fnac, Jugettos, El Corté Inglés and Smyth’s Toys to set up retail activations.

Further, Bandai will oversee an extensive television promotional campaign when upcoming toy line is ready to launch in France, Italy, Spain and UK.

One Piece maintains its staggering EMEA success as new episodes continuously air throughout the region. On TFX, One Piece is the third most viewed show by kids ages 4-14.

On ADN, it’s been rated the most watched series during the April-May period. Beyond the television series, One Piece remains the #1 manga publication in France.

Further, the One Piece symphonic tour is still moving forward and expected to play in venues across Europe beginning April 2021.

In licensing, One Piece’s ongoing success underscores its appeal in a vari-

ety of categories. Luxury office supply designer Moleskine is behind a series of trendy One Piece notebooks released across EMEA from June. Toei Animation Europe’s partnership with Casio’s G-Shock is also extending to One Piece, with the release of a One Piece watch on July 22nd.

If the preceding developments weren’t enough, Toei Animation Europe is also managing the long-awaited return of Digimon, the worldwide phenomenon that defined the 2000s. Digimon Adventure is the newest series of the beloved original Digimon series that debuted in 1999. The series features a rejuvenated look and feel inspired by our modern digital world. It launched to wide acclaim on Japan’s Fuji TV in April and is now broadcast in simulcast through SVOD platform ADN and on pay TV J One in France and Crunchyroll across the EMEA. Supporting the series is an ongoing licensing relationship with pop culture apparel manufacturer, Bio-

Toei Animation Europe’s indelible foothold in the global animation industry continues throughout 2020 as the company prepares its latest licensing initiatives. world, which is designing a series of clothing and gifts.

When Digimon first launched, the Internet was in its infancy. Yet, the series looked ahead by imagining a vibrant, digitally connected world. Fast forward 20 years and the many trends foreseen

by Digimon are now a reality. Similarly, Digimon Adventure uses our modern Internet to craft a vivid, surprising and ever-evolving online universe inhabited by unforgettable characters.

Alongside the new series is the feature film, Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna, released on Japanese screens last February, and set for a S2 2020 release across EMEA. Meanwhile, Bandai Namco Entertainment is working on the multi-platform videogame, Digimon Survive which will be released early in 2020. Still riding high from its phenomenal international hit with Dragon Ball FighterZ, Bandai Namco Entertainment is ready to sweep the gaming industry once again with this latest title. Digimon Survive is a tactical RPG that features an allnew cast and story set in the Digimon universe.

As the year continues, Toei Animation Europe looks forward to managing unique and compelling campaigns across all industries.

Despite the year’s unprecedented public health challenges, Toei Animation Europe and its many partners are ready to launch new programs on behalf of Dragon Ball and One Piece.

At the same time, Toei Animation Europe is leading the ambitious comeback of the popular series, Digimon Adventure, which swept the world in the 2000s.

Dragon Ball: © Bird Studio/ Shueisha, Toei Animation One Piece: © Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation Digimon Adventure: © Akiyoshi Hongo,Toei Animation

29

TOTAL LICENSING

FRANCE

SOPHIE LA GIRAFE PROGRAM GROWS WITH NEW PRODUCT LINES DeLiSo, has been developing their Sophie la girafe program in order to cover all of baby’s needs since Sophie’s creation in 2011. From baby clothing, publishing, wooden toys, diapers to home linen, she is now present in many categories in France and around the world. With currently over thirty licensees worldwide and 15 French licensees including Théo bébé, Auzou Publishing, Trousselier, Janod, Renolux, Novatex and Ilado, the program keeps on growing.

Among the latest licensees in France, Auzou Publishing presented its first Sophie la girafe book: an awakening book, with incredible dimensions: 47 x 34 cm and several touchable textures. Auzou is already finalizing others stories to cover 2020.

Ilado offers a Sophie la girafe maternity bells necklace to rock baby throughout pregnancy and Angel Cosmetics has presented its baby fragrance products with a scented skincare water and eau de toilette.

Sophie la girafe will also shortly launch hearing protection for babies.

Other products are new to the French market including reusable diapers from Charlie Banana, a decoration kit for all occasions including baby shower, birth or anniversary from Haza, markers, fingerpaint, aprons and everything you need to develop baby’s creativity by SES creative.

The Sophie la girafe program operates directly from the head office in France. For other territories, such as the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, South Korea...etc, where Sophie la girafe is also strong, she now relies on experts to handle the brand. In 2021, Sophie la girafe will celebrate her 60th anniversary.

For this occasion, a full universe has been imagined around an artistic birthday party. Most of Sophie la girafe’s French licensees are already thinking about new collections to mark this event.

Sophie la girafe was born in 1961 in Paris, France. Made from 100% natural rubber, Sophie has soothed generations of teething babies who also love to hear her squeak when squeezed.Today, Sophie la girafe is still produced with 100% natural rubber derived from the latex from the Hevea tree and goes through 14 manual operations before completion. Moms trust Sophie and recognize the brand as a key ingredient in a newborn’s gift basket.

BROADCAST DEALS FOR XILAM French animation studio Xilam Animation has secured a pair of deals with Nickelodeon for its short-form series CGI series Athleticus (60 x 2’15) and animated comedy Mr Magoo (78 x 7’). In a global deal, Nickelodeon takes exclusive pay-TV rights to two seasons of Athleticus covering Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America. The broadcaster has also acquired all TV rights for Athleticus in Benelux, Italy, Vietnam, Philippines and Argentina. Additionally, Nickelodeon has picked up the exclusive pay-TV rights for Xilam’s hit comedy series Mr Magoo in the UK, where the series has launched on Nicktoons.

“We’re very excited to be building upon our successful partnership with Nickelodeon and to see the broadcaster become home to two further shows from our slate,” said Morgann Favennec, EVP Distribution at Xilam Animation.

“With its charming characters and humorous stories, we know families all over the globe are going to love watching Athleticus and following the fantastic response to Mr Magoo in the UK, we’re very much looking forward to bringing the series’ hilarious hijinks to new audiences.”

30

CYBERGROUPE DEBUT 50/50 HEROES At the 2020 MIFA, in Annecy, France, Cyber Group Studios, announced that its brand-new animated series 50/50 Heroes, developed with pubcaster, France Télévisions is now in production. Key European broadcaster partners will be announced soon.

The 52 x 11’ 2D-HD comedy series, aimed at children from 6 to 10 years old, follows the adventures of Mo and Sam, half-brother and sister, aged 11 and 9. One day they find out that they have inherited some powers from their greatgreat-great-grandma who had a fling with a superhero many moons ago.

But, as half-siblings, they must share these powers down the middle. As a result, these two superheroes run half as fast and turn half-invisible!

No latex suits for these heroes, and no missions to save the planet. But having superpowers can be actually very cool when you are a kid. What about using it to get this ice cream or to go to the movie theater with your friends while you have to be somewhere else with your mom at the same time! All our half-brother and half-sister Mo and Sam will need to do to make these superpowers work is simply to be on the same page…. But this will be quite a challenge!

50/50 Heroes is based on an original idea of Romain Gadiou and Chloé Sastre, co-writers of Cyber Group Studios’ Mirette Investigates and the Tom Sawyer animated series.

TOTAL LICENSING

Life Beyond the Pandemic...

Although the pandemic is not yet behind us, Back to School is just around the corner and TF1 Licences has good news to share and great IPs to highlight! This article focuses on two of TF1 Licences’ key properties. Regarding the effects of the lockdown, TF1 Licences has managed to avoid a major impact on negotiations in progress, particularly because their licensees are agile and their business is a long term proposition. The French government has also protected companies with financial contributions which were welcomed to support the economy.

The Q1 and Q2 royalties from their permanent lines will be impacted but the moderately good news is that the Q1/Q2 are not the big income drivers in the year. The main royalties in terms of entertainment are expected in Q3 and Q4. If lockdown would have taken place at Christmas, the licensing economy would have been massively impacted. Since many agents make

30% of their business Q1/Q2, it is always better to do 50% of 30% than 50% of 70%.

The “Camping Paradis” case study is a good positive example despite the adversity of launching a start-up during lockdown. Camping Paradis (JLA Productions) is a French family show that has been broadcast on TF1 channel for the past 15 years. It is an entertaining family program. Early this year, TF1 Licences were very proud to license and enable the launch of twelve real “Camping Paradis” branded camping grounds across the country with their licensee 5C. It was a big risk to launch camping grounds during the pandemic and lockdown not even knowing if the opening was going to happen. It is the first time in France that a “new generation” camping grounds affiliation network is directly inspired by a non-animated TV show. France is the leading European country in term of camping (8023 camping grounds), and

the second in the world behind the USA. Almost 6 million French families go camping each year, i.e. 68% of the camping’s customers. The turnover of the camping business was 1 billion euros in 2000, 2.6 billion in 2018, and is estimated to reach 4 billion in 2025 (source: FFCC Fédération Française des Campeurs, Caravaniers et Camping-Caristes).

The setting of Camping Paradis is more than inspired by the TV show: signs colors codes, welcoming porch, small electric car, staff uniform and

31

TOTAL LICENSING dis camping grounds have exploded! The licensee never gave up. With the pandemic situation, the objectives have changed and the top priorities are, of course, to respect national health regulations and social distancing on site, and also to help camping keep the same income as last year when they were not affiliated to the brand. At the time of writing this, all of the objectives seem possible whilst business is really not easy for unbranded competitors. And the 2021 objective? About 40 or 50 campsites in the Camping Paradis network!

entertainment. But the values of the show are important as well: kindness, sharing and conviviality… the campers are the actors of their favorite program! For the camping owners, the license Camping Paradis is powerful. Thanks to the brand’s popularity and appeal, and to the entertaining concept, when bookings opened early March, the 12 Camping Paradis sites were showing a performance up 70% for the low season, and 66% for the high season vs. the previous year.

At the end of the day, the camping grounds have been authorized to open since beginning of June and, as it won’t really be possible to travel abroad, the French are really into local vacations, reservations for the new Camping Para-

32

Miraculous Ladybug is another example of a beautiful French success story thanks to the producers Zag and On Entertainment, and it is also a worldwide blockbuster. The TV series is supported by impressive ratings – 32,5% ratings share amongst 4 to 10 year old children (Source : Médiamétrie Médiamat from January to early June 2020, Season 3) – and federating values such as children’s empowerment. A few significant numbers: Ladybug is #1 favorite heroine of girls 9 to 10 years old (Source: Junior City 2019). More than 150 million products have been sold worldwide, which represents $650m in retail sales. This is the work of the 300 licensees around the world. The app has also been downloaded more than 150 million times, and the 2 video clips of Lou and Lenni Kim have generated more than 180 million views. Last but not least, Miraculous has won 13 awards globally, such as the Best Animated TV Series at Teen Choice Awards (2018)

and also 2 prizes in France in 2020: Best Licensee of the Year 2020 for L’Amy Group (glasses) and Best Licensed Product of the year for Epopia (Correspondence Kit).

A new season, new songs, new movie… one of the strengths of Miraculous is the constant production of content, and the great visibility that it gets. In France, the TV series can be watched on TF1, but also TfouMax, Netflix, Disney Channel and Disney+.

In the next few months and while seasons 4 and 5 are in development, TF1 will broadcast two TV movies taking place one in New York, the other one in Shanghai. A musical Live show will be launched in Paris, in the second semester of 2020, then across all the territory with more than 60 representations. Regarding the toys and games market, the retail sales of Miraculous products have increase by 70% (in value) in 2019 vs. 2018 (Source: NPD) and a brand-new range of toys is currently being developed by Playmates and Zag Lab and will be distributed by Bandai.

The brand now has about 60 licensees across the territory among Ferrero, Guess, Hachette, Lexibook, Panini, Dujardin, IMC, Pez, Cecop, La plume dorée… covering all major categories including publishing, food, apparel or dress-up (best seller).

Last but not least, Miraculous has partnered with UNICEF and Paris Municipality to communicate on social distancing in a dedicated video clip broadcast on TF1 and online.

A good way to help kids to develop new habits!

TOTAL LICENSING As part of the Vivendi Group, STUDIOCANAL is the leading European studios in terms of movie and television series production.

Alongside this, STUDIOCANAL has a very active licensing division, headed up by Valerie Rolandez-Barrios.

Across all their brands, STUDIOCANAL currently has over 160 active licenses with more than 25 million product sales.

Total Licensing talked to Valerie to find out more about STUDIOCANAL’s activities and to hear some of the news that they will be launching at this year’s Cobrandz in Paris.

“Our licensing activities are very much developing across three key pillars – our library licensing, Ips around programs and series that come out of the Canal+ group and, of course, our family division where we are developing brands based on children’s learning or entertainment. With these, the values of kindness, friendship and tolerance are very important aspects of everything we do for families,” explained Valerie.

On the library side, STUDIOCANAL owns over 6000 movies. Valerie continued, “Of course, we don’t have licensing rights for all of the movies but we do work very successfully on some key brands, such as Terminator 1 and 2, Rambo 1, 2 and 3 and iconic Vintage horror movies and nouvelle vague Godard movies. We work closely with our worldwide US-based agent CLC.” On the STUDIOCANAL IP side, Valerie and her team work on various series and programs produced by Canal+. “A good example of this is the Validé series – centred around French rap. During the lockdown, this was uploaded by 20 million viewers,” continued Valerie.

But perhaps the Family side of STUDIOCANAL’s licensing business is the most active. Following two successful movies, The Adventures of Paddington television series, which has already received excellent ratings in the US and in the UK on Nickelodeon, is coming to France and will begin airing in September this year on Gulli. STUDIOCANAL are the agents for Copyrights on Paddington in France.“We are very confident that Paddington will be a great success in France,” explained Valerie. “And a third film is already planned for 2022.”

A further major property for STUDIOCANAL is Ernest et Celestine.

The series is based on children’s books of the same name published by the Belgian author and il-

34

lustrator Gabrielle Vincent, and surrounds the improbable friendship between a mouse and a bear.

Next year will see the 40th anniversary of the publication of the first book, as well as Season 2 of the TV series on France TV. And an Ernest et Celestine movie will also launch in 2022, following the success of the first movie which was Oscar-nominated.

STUDIOCANAL have already appointed WDR to handle the brand in Germany and television will begin in Germany on KIKA. Asiana Licensing has also been appointed to handle the property in South Korea.

Samsam is a further series being licensed by STUDIOCANAL. Based on the idea of friendship and family, the first animated series launched a couple of years ago and is currently on Netflix. The brand already has 65 million YouTube viewers.

STUDIOCANAL also have a couple of big event movies in their portfolio. Around the World in 80 days will launch theatrically in Summer 2021 with an animated series, written by the writer of Ice Age 2, to follow in 2022.

STUDIOCANAL see a huge opportunity with products such as publishing

and apparel as well as toy lines and board games to tie in with the series.

Another movie in the works is The Wolf and the Lion – a story of animation protection and friendship which will be in theatres from April next year.

And so to Cobrandz in September where, in addition to their portfolio of properties, STUDIOCANAL will debut a new movie, A Boy Called Christmas which has a powerful cast and special effects as it revisits the Christmas legend. STUDIOCANAL are partners with Netflix on the movie which will launch during the latter part of 2021. STUDIOCANAL have already appointed Copyrights as their agent for the UK and Germany for the liveaction movie. The movie is an adapta-

tion of the children’s novel by Matt Haig and will be directed by Gil Kenan.

Valerie Rolandez-Barrios is clearly excited at the opportunities that the new movie presents. “A Boy Called Christmas is very much a new take on the Christmas story and already has an amazing cast including Maggie Smith, Toby Jones and Jim Broadbent.”

“Around the World in Eighty Days” © 2021 – COTTONWOOD MEDIA – STUDIOCANAL – FRANCE 3 CINEMA – UMEDIA. All rights reserved.

SamSam: S.Bloch © Bayard 2000 E&C: © 2020 FOLIVARI / MELUSINE PRODUCTIONS / SO-NORD / RTBF - OUFtivi

TOTAL LICENSING

FRANCE

DANDELOOO CLOSE DEAL FOR NEW SERIES Emmy Award-winning French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has closed a deal with Czech animation production company, Krutart for the new 2-D series Kosmix (26 x 5’).

The deal sees Dandelooo acquire exclusive worldwide distribution rights to Kosmix, a fun astronomy for kids’ series co-produced by Krutart and Czech pubcaster Czech Television.

Targeted at 4 to 8-year-olds, the series follows the adventures of Kit a lovable, brave and curious little robot as he explores the universe in his space travel TV show.

Every episode focuses on a different planet or a space object with a simple personality. Kit our tour guide around the universe visits them always leading to an adventure. Through his explorations, he learns how space works and given the fact he is not a very experienced explorer he often runs into trouble but in the end that’s what helps him to learn.

Dandelooo is also pleased to announce that two of its films Shooom’s Odyssey and Hungry Bear Tales are part of the Official Selection in the Short TV Films in Competition category at this year’s Annecy 2020 Online.

Winner of the best shorts film - Category Up to 6 Years Fiction at Prix Jeunesse International 2020 and awarded the Best Animated Short Film for children at ANIMA 2020, Brussels, Shooom’s Odyssey (1 x 26’) produced by Picolo Pictures is a 2-D TV Special targeted at preschoolers.

One of the Hungry Bear Tales Special in competition is part of the 26 x 7-minute series produced by Czech film and TV production company Bionaut. The series is an animated comedy about two bears who share a cozy house in the forest.

In addition, Dandelooo is thrilled that the touching 26-minute animation Mum is pouring rain has been selected for the Work in Progress (WIP) conference at Annecy 2020, a first for a TV special. The 30-minute WIP, with a question and answer session, offers the chance to discover the various stages of animated feature films and TV series in production.

Finally, the completed 2-D animation series Stinky Dog commissioned by France Televisions is set to launch, with two episodes airing on the SVOD platform OKOO during MIFA. Co-produced by Dandelooo, Folivari, France, Belgian production company Panique! and Catalan animation studio Pikkukala, Stinky Dog is based on the famous series of books written by Colas Gutman, illustrated

by Marc Boutavant and published by l’ecole des loisirs.

36

ON KIDS & FAMILY PRESENT A STRONG CATALOG As part of the Mediawan Group, ON Kids & Family produces animated films and series on an international scale.

They are leaders in the animation market and their studio capitalizes on a strong catalogue of iconic brands, such as The Little Prince (Best animated Film: Cesar Award in 2016), Tall Tales, and Robin Hood. They are also the co-producer of the phenomenon TV series Miraculous with a feature film is currently in production.

With Licensing & Merchandising at the core of its strategy, ON Kids and family, is constantly looking for partners and new products.

In terms of licensing, Robin Hood is a key IP among TF1’s kids’ programs, rated in the top 3 and beating viewing records. The series is also broadcast on Disney Channel and after two successful seasons, Robin Hood will return with a new season in 2021. (In total, there are 3 seasons 156 X 11’) Based on Antoon Krings’ best-selling books, (and after an Oscar-nomination for best animated movie), the TV series Tall Tales is currently being broadcast on France 5, and soon on Kika, Discovery Latam, POP etc. Several products have been developed in the publishing sector and also in toys (puzzles, memos, plush, tableware, outdoor accessories, musical instruments etc.) The series comprises 52 X11’.

Some 46 years after its launch, the famous toy brand Playmobil is still one of children’s most popular toys, amongst both boys and girls. Playmobil will launch two new franchises in 2020: Novelmore is a new medieval fantasy line, together with a television series; and Everdreamerz is a new collectible concept for girls.

Finally, The Enchanted Village of Pinocchio is an animated TV series adapted from the world-famous Italian folk’s tale (by Carlo Collodi). This brand-new IP, scheduled for 2021 on RAI (Italy), ZDF (Germany ) and on France Television is an enchanting adventure filled with comedy in a 52 x 11’ format.

TOTAL LICENSING

LICENSING JAPAN RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd. has announced that the 10th Licensing Japan - Character & Brand Licensing Trade Show, originally scheduled to be held from April 1 - 3, has been rescheduled to October 21 - 23, 2020 at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan, due to growing concerns related to COVID-19.

38

Organised by Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd. and supported by: Character Brand Licensing Association (CBLA), the show will now be held with even more grandeur. Over 1,800 properties from 200 exhibitors will be showcased. To boost the licensing business after the coronavirus suspension, leading licensors have already confirmed their participation as exhibitors including: Gaia (The Walking Dead, CupOfTherapy, Probity Europe), Green Camel, (Rilakkuma), Capcom (Monster Hunter, Resident Evil, etc.), Fuji Television Network (Chuggington, Pa Rappa the Rapper, Gachapin & Mukku, etc.), Sekiguchi (Monchhichi etc.), Fujiya (Peko, milky, etc.), etc.

Besides these, companies with various ranges of properties will also be present: from fashion brands (Anap.) to art/ design properties (Keith Haring, JeanMichel Basquiat, V&A etc.). Many international exhibitors, including those in the Korea Pavilion and Taiwan Pavilion, are also expected to exhibit.

Increasing numbers of licensees visit Licensing Japan each year.

Those in attendance include decision makers from product planning/sales promotion departments of various manufacturers and retailers. In addition, visits from corporate public relations departments have been increasing recently, confirming the trend that characters/brands are used for corporate branding. With quality exhibitors and visitors, Licensing Japan has established itself as the best platform for the business of licensing in Japan and Asian markets.

The online Matching System, introduced two years ago, enhances networking opportunities. 1,010 appointments were fixed through the system in 2019, and even more business negotiations are expected to be conducted this year for merchandising/collaboration. The show will be held inside CONTENT TOKYO 2020, the largest, comprehensive show in Japan, covering all categories of content market, such as film, TV, animation, game, music, publishing, etc.

This brings synergy to Licensing Japan. www.content-tokyo.jp/en/

There are just a few exhibiting spaces left, so if you are interested, please visit www.licensing-japan.jp/ex_en/ visitor-eng.licensing@reedexpo.co.jp +81-3-3349-8507

TOTAL LICENSING

El Ocho Licencias y Promociones has always wanted classic brands to be a part of their portfolio.They have found that these brands have incredible power and recognition, most of them become a part of the pop culture and are loved by all targets: adults that grew up with them, children that see new versions of the brand or are encouraged by their parents to love them as much as they did when they were younger. One aspect about classic licenses is that even during the difficult times, like the ones we are living through, they are not subject to drastic changes in demand. The following includes some of El Ocho’s most notable classic properties:

Dragon Ball: Dragon Ball was first created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The series was first adapted by Toei animation in 1986 with Dragon Ball and later in 1989 in Dragon Ball Z. In 2015, Toei animation released a new series, Dragon Ball Super: the threat of Majin Buu has passed, and Goku and friends are all living in peace. The day of Bulma’s birthday party arrives, and everyone gets together again for the first time in a while. Then Beerus, the God of Destruction appears. The story finally moves beyond the universe, into a new phase. Dragon Ball is loved by children who watch Dragon Ball Super on Boing TV and by adults that watched the original series and Dragon Ball Z. With over 35 years of trajectory Dragon Ball is stronger than ever and one of El Ocho’s most successful brands. El Ocho has signed deals with the best retail brands such as Zara, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Uniqlo, Desigual and Sprinter, and much more is still to come from this incredible brand.

Mafalda

Mafalda is a 6-year-old girl who worries excessively about everything that is happening in the world, listening day by day to the bad news from radio or television, but always hoping that someday world peace will be fixed and achieved.

Mafalda was born on September 29, 1964 as a comic story in the Argentine press, developed by the graphic humorist Joaquín Salvador Lavado (Quino). With more than 50 years in the market, the concerns expressed by her and her friends within the comics made her very popular worldwide. Mafalda is timeless, and her visual appearance is so attractive that it resists the passage of time and adapts to any product. The continued presence of the brand makes it easy for even the youngest to recognize her.

Asterix Asterix is a French comic series about warriors, who have adventures and fight the Roman

xx

TOTAL LICENSING ated by Famosa in 1968. It was relaunched in 2007 with a new aesthetic and was positively received by the public. It is a symbol for the yesterday´s girls/mothers of today who can find a reference of values and esthetic models for

Empire during the era of Julius Caesar. Asterix was created by writer René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo and debuted in 1959 in the French comic magazine Pilote. Asterix is a beloved characters in popular culture with over 380 million books sold in 111 languages, 10 animated movies and 4 live-action movies. Asterix is a timeless brand for all generations.

Pinypon Pinypon is a mini-doll with infinite combinations, which allows girls to create infinite worlds - infinite combinations to create infinite worlds.

The Pinypon brand enjoyed very high popularity in the 80s and 90s that still persists among parents. But over the years, the tastes of boys and girls change. In 2009 Famosa successfully

relaunched the brand. And as more novelties and more variety was demanded, in 2018 a new brand full of adventures was launched, Pinypon Action! “Mix & match” is the value of the game that defines the fun and infinite possibilities of the brand. Children can have fun with Pinypon Toys, change her face, her hair, her dresses, and accessories.

Nancy Nancy is the most important doll brand cre-

xx

their daughters, through Nancy.

Since the relaunch, with its new style and developed products, Nancy is currently positioned as the leading brand in its category.

MasterChef MasterChef is the most successful televised talent show in the world that has become a classic series in Spain with El Ocho as its licensing agency.

During MasterChef, kitchen lovers from all over will try to showcase their talent to a ruthless jury made up by Pepe Rodríguez, Jordi Cruz and Samantha Vallejo-Nágera.

The contenders for the title of Master Chef will prepare their best creations for the most demanding guests, cooking in adverse conditions, for a whole army or the most illustrious of dignitaries, in unique settings and with time always racing against them. 15 candidates will take part in a unique experience, learning alongside great national chefs, and competing and working to achieve a dream: to be the first Spanish Master Chef.

TOTAL LICENSING

INTRODUCING...

After much deliberation and consultation, Brand Licensing Europe will transition to an all-virtual event for 2020.

In its place will be a Festival of Licensing - a never-beforeseen month-long celebration of the business of brand licensing, in partnership with Licensing International.

Running from 6-29 October 2020, Festival of Licensing is a four-week, large-scale virtual gathering bringing together the licensing industry to connect, learn, strike deals and do business on an international stage. It will be the most inclusive global licensing event to-date and builds off of the momentum of the Licensing Week Virtual event, which was held in June.

Festival of Licensing will comprise four regionally tailored events in key licensing territories, each powered by the Global Licensing Group’s worldleading event brands: Week 1 which takes place on 6 – 8 October will focus on Europe. Week 2, on 14 and 15 October will highlight Asia.Week 3 on 20 to 22 October will concentrate on North America and Latin America and Week 4, on 28 and 29 October will feature the Licensing Leadership Summit. The territorial weeks will be time-zoned around the specific territories.

The Festival will comprise exclusive brand and property showcases from exhibitors and will also highlight untapped talent through live Licensing

42

This! And Pitch the Brands competition finals.

In terms of content, live keynote headliners from the some of the world’s most influential brands, will address the most pressing topics of the current and ever-changing business environment. There will also be 100+ hours of live and on-demand, territory and category specific content to guide businesses through the new consumer landscape. A retailer-only space with educational content and expert Q&A sessions will also be available.

In terms of networking, there will be opportunities to meet, do business and strike deals through the Festival Matchmaking Service, allowing both pre-planned online video meetings and impromptu exhibitor drop-ins.

On the lighter side, there will be a programme of live daily evening entertainment and experiences in each region and the event will also include a Community and Wellbeing program focusing on business/career advice and mentoring, an industry fundraiser and well-being workshops covering physical, nutritional, creative, psychological and social needs.

The festival will conclude with Licensing Leadership Summit taking place 28-29 October. Originally scheduled as an in-person, senior-level gathering of the industry’s C-Suite and thoughtleaders from brands, agents, manufacturing and retail, the new virtual offering will draw on key learnings from the previous three weeks and future-looking topics that will facilitate debate and shape the future of the industry.

Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group Vice President, Anna Knight, who heads up the licensing division explained her thoughts on the new Festival.

“We are incredibly excited to announce Festival of Licensing and proud of the opportunities and experiences it offers to the global licensing industry.

Although the decision to transition Brand Licensing Europe to an all-virtual event was a difficult one and we will miss seeing everyone at ExCeL this year, I’m proud that we have a comprehensive offering in its place and look forward to the European event kicking off Festival of Licensing.”

“We have had great feedback from June’s Licensing Week Virtual, so we know that there is huge potential and appetite for industry connection during this challenging time when meeting face-to-face is difficult. Our partners are telling us that driving domestic and international connections, discovering new IP and brands and learning how to navigate the new consumer landscape are paramount to the health of forward-planning for the business of brand licensing, and Festival of Licensing will support all of these needs.

We also want Festival of Licensing to offer amazing experiences for everyone who joins us.

One of the joys of virtual is that it can make the previously impossible possible, and we plan to use the power of the platform to fuel the imagination, delight and inspire in a fitting celebration of this industry and the people within it.”

TOTAL LICENSING

STUDIO 100 HOW MAYA IS PROTECTING BEES More than any other bee, Maya the Bee, as an ambassador, is giving a face to bee protection. As a testimonial for the promotion “Save the bees with Maya the Bee” with supermarket chain Rewe in Germany, the important topic also has a reach and a visibility that gives it the necessary attention.

In addition to her own ‘Project Poppy Meadow’, this Rewe promotion in Germany is therefore a decisive part for Maya as an ambassador for bees and insects - and biodiversity - not only in 2019 but also in 2020.

In terms of the promotion with Rewe, more than 4,300 German rewe stores were involved in the campaign with over 40 million customer contacts.

Rewe Germany have been able to create or upgrade 4.37 million square meters of flowering areas since 2009 In addition, Rewe Germany was able to donate €130,000 from the campaign itself to NABU (Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.) - a German non-governmental organisation dedicated to conservation at home and abroad, for the benefit of insect protection

Maya the Bee - Project Poppy Meadow Flower meadows are blooming less and less, the habitat of Maya’s friends is threatened - it is time for action!

Maya the Bee has been actively involved in bee protection and conservation since 2018 with her ‘Project Poppy Meadow’. (As rights owner of the popular brand Studio 100 Media aids by donating and helping to plant up more than 30,000 square meters of flowering areas in Germany in 2020).

The initiative’s website informs parents and children about the importance of bees in our environment in a playful way and shows them what they can do at home to protect the bees.

Planting tips and handicraft instructions for nesting aids encourage children to take part and child-oriented explanations make the importance of biodiversity and the sustainable use of nature understandable.

Maya Playgrounds in Slovakia On a different note, Studio 100 Media and one of Europe’s leading food retailers, Lidl, have announced that the Zihadielko Playgrounds featuring Maya the Bee and her friends are proving to be a huge hit in Slovakia.

The Zihadielko Playgrounds, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, was launched in 2016 by Lidl Slovakia as a reaction to the lack of safe playgrounds for children. Over 40 modern safe Lidl playgrounds at a cost of approximately 3.5 million Euros have been built since its launch with another 10 playgrounds planned for 2021.

The playgrounds are branded with Maya the Bee showing playful and fun visuals of Maya and her friends.

The aim of the CSR project is to support health and fitness, enable families to spend time together in the fresh air and aid children’s development with active movement in a fun way.

Cities and towns throughout Slovakia competed for the Zihadielko playgrounds through a national competition set up via public voting on the Zihadielko website.

Since the beginning of the project more than 16 million votes have been garnered in a country whose population is approximately 5.45 million. In the first two months of 2020 there was a new record of more than 5 million votes cast.

The Zihadielko Playgrounds project goes hand in hand with a broad loyalty campaign taking place in the Lidl stores now for the fourth year in a row. Every year a new item of tableware designed with Maya the Bee and her friends is offered – so far there have been mugs, bowls, plates and this year a set of cutlery is also available to Lidl customers.

The protection of insects and the preservation of biodiversity are matters of concern to us all. We are more and more aware of this today than ever before.

What is important here is to integrate effective measures into everyday life as easily as possible, to impart knowledge and to convince the heart, and not just the head, that preservation is essential today and for future generations.

43

TOTAL LICENSING

If you’ve never heard of LittleHoots… get ready to smile. The LittleHoots memory-keeping app has helped families worldwide capture over half a million quotes, conversations and stories with their children. It’s the largest database of quotes from young children on the planet! Parents love it because the Creation Engine™ instantly styles and saves memories. Everyone else loves it because the wit-and-wisdom of pintsized perspective is good for the soul. These little gems are profound, honest and unexpected… we couldn’t make them up if we tried!

LittleHoots is currently looking to work with licensees who need these gems of joy to light up their products.

For information, contact Lacey Ellis, Founder at lacey.ellis@littlehoots.com.

44

TOTAL LICENSING

KING FEATURES LAUNCH FIRST LGBTQ+ COMIC SERIES Rae the Doe follows the life and times of a doe named Rae and her punk skunk girlfriend Mimi.

Other characters include her roommate, Pascal the Bat, her eccentric, trash-loving friends Cybil the Moth and Lottie the Opossum and Sawyer the Squirrel, the voice of reason

fectly balanced meal of compassion, joy, realism and self-deprecating humor,” said Tea Fougner, editorial director of King Features Syndicate. “As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I love seeing queer characters who exist not as tokens but as fully realized people — or, in this case, cute wood-

within the group. The comic is full of jokes, satire and the occasional groanworthy pun and covers themes of LGBTQ+ acceptance and coping with anxiety and depression. Rae the Doe ran as an independent webcomic for two and half years before it was picked up by King Features for syndication. In that time, Brinker published a book, animated two Christmas specials and drew 400 comics. Now, Brinker continues the story of Rae with new content on Comics Kingdom that’s syndicated to online newspapers and digital publications.

As King Features’ first LGBTQ+-centric comic, Rae the Doe continues the syndicate’s mission to offer new and diverse voices a platform in comics.

Olive Rae Brinker joins syndication newcomers like Six Chix creator Bianca Xunise and industry powerhouses like Rhymes with Orange’s Hilary Price in raising the standard for diversity and inclusivity on the comic pages.

“I don’t remember when I first stumbled upon Olive’s comics, but I very quickly became a huge fan of her work and I am so thrilled that we are able to bring Rae the Doe, Mimi the Skunk and all of their friends to a bigger audience. Rae the Doe serves up a per-

land animals. Olive has created a wonderful cast of characters who tell us it’s okay for life to get you down, but also remind us that it’s possible to find happiness even in small things, which feels like a really important message to carry with us when we’re living in complicated times.”

“Getting a comic syndicated has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, so I’m beyond excited about this opportunity. Rae the Doe started as a warm-up exercise for my thesis film back in college. Before working on my film, I would draw a comic to get my art muscles loosened. At the time, I had zero expectations for it beyond that,” said Brinker. “Thank you to King

Features for giving me this opportunity and thank you to all the amazing fans, whose boundless support has gotten me to where I am today.”

On a different note, King Features Syndicate, along with their local agent Copyrights Asia, announced the release of two new television commercials featuring Popeye and Olive Oyl in promotion for J-Oil Mills’ olive oil products.

The commercials released by J-Oil Mills, headquartered in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, advertise their products, Ajinomoto Olive Oil and Ajinomoto Olive Oil Extra Virgin, in collaboration with Popeye and Olive Oyl. The first commercial, Olive Oil Let’s Olive Intro Version, began airing on March 19, 2020 and a second commercial, Olive Oil Let’s Olive Spring/Summer Version, was released on March 26, 2020.

“Japan is an important market for King Features’ iconic characters Popeye and Olive Oyl, especially as we are in the middle of Olive Oyl’s 100th anniversary celebration,” said Carla Silva, VP and general manager, global head of licensing, King Features.

“As promotions help boost brand awareness and reaffirm brand relevance, they have been a large part of our strategy there. We are thrilled to see the continued expansion of the Popeye brand within the territory through this creative and entertaining promotional opportunity with J-Oil Mills.”

King Features Syndicate, recently announced the launch of LGBTQ+ comic series Rae the Doe from illustrator and cartoonist Olive Rae Brinker on ComicsKingdom. com.

45

TOTAL LICENSING

OPPORTUNITY IN CRISIS

By Rutika Malaviya Founder, CEO & Editor-In-Chief Licensing Corner/ Rooh Entertainment rutika@roohentertainment. com For the more detailed in-depth report visit: www.licensingcorner.com

Today, the entire world is facing a very difficult phase as the outbreak of Covid-19 hit people’s lives and put businesses at stake. In India, the impact of the outbreak is relatively low compared with other countries, but business across the nation has affected largely due to the governmentmandated lockdown. The outbreak led to a preventive lockdown across the country for more than three months as of now (started on 25 March), bringing the economic activity to a standstill. The lockdown has affected jobs and spending capacity of close to a quarter of the Indian population, who work in the informal sector comprising daily wage workers.

46

Aatmanirbhar amid Indo-China Tensions!

The Rise Of India’s Licensing Industry India’s Licensing & Merchandising industry is undergoing a drastic paradigm shift in a way the consumers now pick up products from retail shelves. Consumer being spoilt for options, Brands today have to not only demystify the products that aren’t so enticing but also create an experience with the product for these consumers.

I would say that the work for brands to attract consumers has increased 2x to get the numbers at sales rolling and soaring high!

Brand Licensing was not only unknown but least sought after in earlier years, and today as we compare recent past years, almost every industry is embracing brand licensing, extensions and collaborations as a medium to provide value to consumers and making them pick the product. The trend is especially seen in Lifestyle brands and in content licensing where the mass appeal is the key to the brand and hence the two big players from respective industries join hands to appease the target audiences. Some of the recent examples of these would be Fashion Designer Manish Malhotra with MyGlamm for range of beauty cosmetics to Satyapaul with H&M on printed sarees and scarfs and the IPL team - RCB

Royal Challenges Bangalore’s Lounge to connect with the RCB Fan Base.

The key to this experiential licensing is also mainly because of how digital has evolved in each of our lives. Consumers have become extremely smart to call out on a brand or any marketing strategies like endorsements and thus even when you as a brand invest heavily in these endorsement deals, it fails to give you ROAS & ROI. Being digitally wired has enabled us to even have direct contact with the celebrities and brands of our choice. This gives brands a huge bandwidth to connect with their fan base or consumers as an opportunity to convert it into sales.

Thus, when a consumer is absorbing so much of content virtually what they most lack & crave is for a ‘real’ contact with the friends, family or stories of the brands they associate with even as a consumer. This gives birth to the experiential marketing & licensing for a brand and an opportunity to hit that node of emotions and feel a connection. Having said the above, the licensing industry has seen a decline in number of deals closed due to uncertainty in the market with the lockdown while the retail segment has being hit widely.

It is only seeming to rise back to normal as the lockdown restriction eases and compels licensors, licensees and

retailers to bring about new innovative product lines.

India’s retail sector Retail sales in India are now forecast to reach INR66,394bn (US $878.4bn) in 2020 (post-COVID estimates) compared to INR64,892bn in 2019, a growth of 2.3% compared to the original forecast of 12.4%, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company Consisting of 70 million small, medium and big traders with 450 million people, it generates a monthly business of around US$70 billion. However, due to the pandemic, the retail trade has reportedly lost a whopping US$30 billion in the last fortnight alone, as stated by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

After the announcement of the lockdown, only around 7-8 per cent of the modern retail trade was functioning, with the sale of only essential items permitted. While the retail industry also comprises fashion, accessories, electronics, etc, only 8 per cent of the industry’s modern trade sells essential items. However, it is significant to consider that if just 8 per cent of the industry is functioning, it will take a long time to bounce back from the losses. In addition, a 70-100 per cent

TOTAL LICENSING sales decline can be observed across categories – most evident in clothing, household goods and furniture.

Indian retail and shopping as an experience is also undergoing a paradigm shift with new trends emerged as an aftermath of COVID-19’s impact on economy.

Retailers also believe that the pandemic has presented several opportunities for the trading community, irrespective of their scale or category.

This opportunity could simply mean a product extension, trying out a different line of business, or innovative ways of marketing. Opportunity could also be in the form of new collaborations and partnerships. One of the opportunities is going omni-channel to give consumers seamless and comprehensive shopping experience across all platforms. Retailers can enhance their sales if they adopt omni-channel capabilities

Momentum in online, app-based sales to continue for retailers Several retailers, which earlier started selling essential items - like food and grocery - via online and app-based channels, have now started offering several items in general merchandise such as apparel, appliances, and electronics through these platforms.

Many large brick and mortar retail chains that faced sharp declines due to lockdown restrictions and consumer footfall in non-grocery categories, which later switched to online during the lockdown have now reported a spike in sales from digital channels, and expect the momentum to continue as consumers prefer to order digitally despite restrictions are being eased.

The frequency of shopping is still not back to normal but the ticket size is up significantly. Shoppers are opting for home delivery as a safe option.

Big Bazaar has seen a jump in orders for home delivery through bigbazaar. com, Whatsapp ordering and ordering by phone. Similar trends were also witnessed by cash and carry retailers such as - Walmart, Metro Cash & Carry and Lots Wholesale. Its ecommerce sales have grown 4.5x after lockdown. It had launched a new e-commerce app which has seen half a

million downloads.

Increased digital adoption during the lockdown phase has led to a faster acceptance of omni-channel ways of retailing. We foresee that the trend of consumers opting for online shopping is likely to continue with rapidly evolving consumer preferences and attitudes. Retailers and businesses are embracing the change and preparing for transformation in order to provide a seamless shopping experience to their consumers.

According to a data analytics firm GlobalData, the e-commerce market in India is slated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.6 per cent between 2019 and 2023 to reach INR. 7 trillion (US $98.4 billion) by 2023. As consumers are increasingly shifting from retail shopping to online purchases due to fear of getting exposed to disease vectors such as cash and point of sale (POS) terminals, e-commerce payments are set to record a steep increase of 25.9 per cent in 2020 itself.

Malls on the other hand, witnessed 77 per cent degrowth while high street retail showed a decline of 61 per cent in business in the first half of June, as compared to the same period last year, with consumer sentiment remaining low to physical shopping even after lockdown relaxations The sentiment was reflected in categories like quick service restaurant

(QSR) and restaurants (dip of 70%), followed by apparel and clothing (69% decline), and jewellery, watches and other personal accessories (65% decrease), A lot of retail still remains closed, which is hurting businesses and, as a result, the economy.

INDIA

Post Covid Impact: Consumer Behaviour: Consumers are experiencing a decline in their income and savings. Therefore, they are cutting back on spending, except for household essentials. In addition to this, consumers are also spending on stay-at-home entertainment, over-thecounter medicines, and health supplements. They are expected to shop online across many categories and are increasingly adopting digital and lowtouch activities such as online streaming and digital payments. Also, consumers are stockpiling the essential goods now required for their families.

Neighbourhood grocery stores have gained relevance again and there is an increase in online purchase and home delivery as most of the items are vanishing from kirana stores. There is also a surge in first time online buyers and it mostly comprises the older generation looking for essential products.

Shoppers’ behaviour is likely to be different when the lockdown ends, which includes maintaining sufficient supply of products at their homes. There will

Many Consumers have switched retailers and shopped new websites during COVID-19, and most expect to continue this after the crisis.

Have you used or done any of the following since COVID-19 started?

Intent to continue Shopped new grocery store

40%

57%

Changed primary grocery store

35%

50%

Switched to a ‘generic’ brand

35%

69%

Shopped new website: basics

28%

64%

Shopped new website: non-basics

22%

66%

Source: McKinsey & Company COVID-19 Indian Consumer Pulse Survey

47

INDIA

TOTAL LICENSING be continuity in buying online of both essential and non-essential supplies.

Consumers will also resume visits to stores or malls on condition they get a trusted safe environment. But, these visits will not be frequent now and will be time limited. Lastly, the biggest change that behaviour of Indian consumers will undergo is adopting planned or focused purchases.

Supply chain and inventory impact: While some of the categories would be affected by the inventory pile-up due to the lockdown, several other categories might end up running into severe supply issues and there-

very hard as manufacturers always focus on distribution to this segment since it constitutes a significant majority of the retail sector.

The only downside they might face is a cash-flow crunch. Kirana stores are known to offer rotational credit. Even if they reduce this during this period, their cash flow might be affected because many of them have to go and pick up the stocks paying cash.

Mass merchandise stores: Supermarkets might have a relatively lesser impact because they are largely selling essential products. However, hypermarkets might face the brunt of this

Looking beyond COVID-19, Indians expect to reduce in-person activities such as travel, attending events and going to the mall Expectations for consumer behaviour after COVID-19, relative to pre-crisis Net Intent Shop online

17%

39%

44%

27

Work from home

28%

31%

41%

13

Shop in physical grocery stores

32%

46%

22%

-10

Shop in physical stores - non-grocery

34%

44%

22%

-12

Go to movies, concerts and other events

54%

26%

20%

-34

Go to the mall

49%

32%

19%

-30

Domestic travel

49%

34%

17%

-32

International Travel

58%

27%

15%

-43

Decrease

Stay the same

Increase

Source: McKinsey & Company COVID-19 Indian Consumer Pulse Survey

fore stock out situations, as manufacturing is almost at a standstill for various categories.

Fund flow and working capital impact: Retail is essentially about the fast rotation of working capital, which is inventory. Clearly the inventory status is going to affect this in a significant manner.

Kirana or the small standalone stores: The impact on them might be minimal and could even be positive to an extent. Their business model has a tight OPEX and core base of regular shoppers. If the supply side is sustained, these stores might even see a growth in patronage. Supply chain constraints might also not hit them

48

shutdown because most of them are in malls. Even the standalone ones need to sell food and FMCG categories. As hypermarkets tend to have much higher inventory levels, that is going to be a serious issue.

Their profitability would also be hit because the higher margin categories like apparel would not sell in the lockdown and lower sales even after the lockdown. The inventory of various other categories like apparel, etc., in a hypermarket would have to be liquidated through massive discounts.

Consumer durables & IT product stores: These stores would also be hit hard. First is the loss of sale from the seasonal high of certain categories

linked to summer like air-conditioners. Next would be the supply chain bottlenecks that manufacturers would face because of disruption from Chinese vendors. Last but not the least is the shopper behaviour of postponing high ticket purchases in a period of uncertainty and gloom.

Apparel and other lifestyle stores: One of their biggest challenges is going to be excess stock.

The existing stock from the previous season plus the summer lines would put tremendous pressure on these businesses. Physical stores would have to liquidate stock from the previous season to create space for fresh stock.

End-of-season sales and massive discounts might have a very limited effect because of the current sentiment.

If the next season lines are usually sourced from China, the retailer might have some relief as orders might not have been placed or the stock might not even have been sent by the vendor. The other dimension of inventory from China is the sentiment and concern about products from China. Any retailer who has inventory of such products might be affected due to Indo-China tensions!

Discount formats might benefit as they would be able to source inventory at throwaway prices as their shoppers are drawn by low prices and not the latest fashion or trend.

However, the e-commerce sector is assisting people by bringing solutions both virtually as well as services to their doorstep. Conversely, for the retail sector in the country, it said that it may take at least 9-12 months to recover from the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The festive season in India in the latter part of 2020 is expected to help retail, but this will entirely depend on how soon the pandemic is brought under control and employment is back on track.�

The future of Licensing and Retail is arguably more interesting and uncertain. We will see stores behaving more like websites and websites behaving like stores. The technology is going to transform how we live, embrace the fan based products and how we shop.

Technology will take a front seat in both sides of the industry.

TOTAL LICENSING

INDIA

ANIMAL PLANET X WROGN USPL’s apparel line Wrogn, in association with India’s leading wildlife channel Animal Planet, is launching a new collection - Animal Planet X WROGN. The apparel range aims to shine light on the cause of endangered species. Conceptualised by Black White Orange, Animal Planet’s licensing arm, each style in the range portrays an endangered animal including the Tiger, Sea Turtle, Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and Panda, amongst others.

“I’ve been associated with Wrogn since inception and we take some exciting initiatives season after season. I couldn’t be happier that Wrogn is taking a step in the direction of creating awareness around animal endangerment.” Said, Virat Kohli, the face of WROGN. Adds Bhavik Vora, Founder & CEO, Black White Orange Brands Pvt. Ltd, “In the tough times the world is going through, it is important to build something relevant. What better way to spread awareness on endangered species among the youth of today, than collaborate with leading players in the segment - WROGN and Animal Planet. We worked closely with the Animal Planet team for almost a year, to conceptualize the art that you see on the range and it’s fantastic to see it come to life.”

The Animal Planet X WROGN apparel will be available in over 250 counters across retail channels like Shoppers Stop, Central, Pantaloons, WROGN’s exclusive stores, Myntra. com and on www.Wrogn.in. Launched in 2014, WROGN is a break-away youth fashion brand which is inspired by its distinctive sense of style and the youth appeal of cricketing genius, Virat Kohli targeted towards open minded and progressive young men, who like to make their own choices in life. The men’s casual wear brand offering showcases razorsharp attitude and Wrogn has become a mainstay in the

wardrobe of young Indian men. The brand is experimental in its ethos and product philosophy and it encourages the male youth to question the status quo around them. The brand is available across the country at over 100+ Cities India, Sri Lanka and Nepal through exclusive brand outlets,

large format retail stores & multi brand outlets along with its online presence on Myntra & Wrogn.in.

Virat Kohli is the biggest name in sports today in India An Indian cricketer who currently captains the Indian national team A right handed top order batsmen, Kohli is regarded as one of the best batsmen in the world.

Founded by Bhavik Vora, Black White Orange brands represent a number of key brands including the Universal portfolio, Dreamworks, Hasbro as well as Paris Saint-Germain and Game of Thrones, British Motor Heritage, Discovery Channel, King Features, Paramount Pictures, MGM, and a number of Indian brands including the Kolkata Knight Riders, Bahubali and Honey Bunny Ka Jholmaal.

SCHNEIDER BRAND LICENSED IN INDIA Schneider has partnered with LicenseWorks, one of India’s premier licensing agencies for strategic brand extension licensing, to help them expand their business in India through licensing partnerships with best-inclass manufacturers and retailers across various categories. The licensing program builds on established brand awareness for the Schneider brand and its reputation for quality, great design and innovative technology.

Schneider was founded in 1934 by the Schneider brothers, a winning team composed of a visionary engineer and a charismatic leader. For more than 80 years, Schneider has been committed to making innovative technology available for all. A pioneer in home electronics, the brand offers

a wide range of high-quality products comprising of Televisions, Audio, Small Household Appliances, Large Appliances, Mobile Phones and Computers among others. With a highly capable R&D team, the brand has a dedicated division to develop products as well.

Pranav Anand, Managing Partner at LicenseWorks said, “Schneider is an iconic brand and we are proud to represent them for brand licensing partnerships in India. This provides prospective Indian licensees with a tremendous opportunity to develop strong and growing businesses across a wide range of categories. Brand Licensing is a highly-effective and proven business model that enables entrepreneurs to develop and launch high-quality branded products, build distribution and scale up their busi-

ness quite rapidly.”

Speaking about the alliance, Mr. Philippe Samuel, CEO, Schneider Consumer Group said, “We are excited about working with the experts at LicenseWorks, who are known for their strategic thinking and strong connections in the Indian market. India is an important market for us and by working with LicenseWorks, we can offer new licensees the opportunity to pair their innovation with our brand to grow their sales & market share in the target category.”

LicenseWorks pioneered corporate brand licensing in India and helps its clients expand into new product categories and channels, which in turn helps these clients strengthen brand loyalty as well as create new revenue streams.

49

INDIA

TOTAL LICENSING

CHHOTA BHEEM Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd. was established in 2001. Today it the unique distinction of being the leading Indian 2D & 3D animation original content provider among kid’s channels which includes Pogo, Cartoon Network, Disney, Discovery Kids and Hungama. Green Gold is the creator and producer of Chhota Bheem, Super Bheem, Mighty Little Bheem, Mighty Raju, Arjun The Prince of Bali, Krishna Balram, Chhor Police, Luv Kushh.

Green Gold set up its Licensing and Merchandising division in 2008. Today with over 70 authorized licensees and winning the Star Retail award

consecutive for 5 years, the division has grown big in name and reputation.

Green Gold Events activated in 2010 and has been a part of all the small, medium and major activations, events, meet & greet and promotions which Green Gold has undertaken with malls, kids exhibitors, live performances in India and abroad.

Green Gold created Green Gold Pictures in 2012 and has produced and released two entitled Chhota Bheem & the Curse of Damyaan in 2012 and Chhota Bheem & The Throne of Bali in 2013. In May 2014 it released the first Mighty Raju movie titled Mighty Raju Rio Calling. January 2016 saw the release of the third theatrical movie of Chhota Bheem, Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure. The most recent Chhota Bheem theatrical was Chhota Bheem Kungfu Dhamaka, released in May 2019.

The Chhota Bheem franchise now comprises 11 seasons with over 300 episodes, as well as 26 television movies and the three theatrical movies. It has a viewership in excess of 60 million. In terms of licensing, more than 100 product categories are covered through over 100 active licensees and 4000 skus. The property is the most licensed IP in India and digitally more than 25 million apps and games have been downloaded.

A spin-off franchise, Mighty Little Bheem, aimed at younger children is currently airing on Netflix and is the leading show in the preschool genre on the platform.

50

CHACHA CHAUDHARY AND GUMMYBEAR Toonz Media Group is a 360-degree media powerhouse with over two decades of unparalleled experience and one of Asia’s most active animation production studios. Established in 1999, Toonz produces over 10,000 minutes of 2D and 3D CGI kids and family content every year and has worked with almost all leading entertainment studios, channels and networks across the world.

Two Toonz brands stand out for the success achieved in terms of L & M: Chacha Chaudhary and GummyBear and Friends. Brand Monk Licensing, Toonz Media Group’s Licensing & Merchandising partner, manages the L&M assets of Toonz globally.

Chacha Chaudhary is one of the most loved comic characters in India. It has been an integral part of India’s pop culture ever since it was first created by legendary cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma in 1971. Season 1 of the series was launched on Disney in June 2019 following an exclusive TV deal with Toonz.Today the Chacha Chaudhary series is live on Disney Kids Channels network in India, as well as the Disney+ Hotstar VIP platform.

In the L&M scene, a whole range of Chacha apparel and accessories such as caps, key chains, purses, mobile covers, bags, shoes, cushions, pillow covers and even payment cards are popular.

Apart from this, Google is providing free Chacha Chaudhary Ecomics on its free Wi-Fi enabled 100 railway stations in India in 18 languages and Chacha Chaudhary is also the unofficial ambassador of Swachcha Bharat Mission of Government of India.. Next year marks the 50th year of Chacha Chaudhary.

Toonz Media Group partnered with GummyBear International Inc to produce an animated series of GummyBear and Friends.

Season 1 of the series is already a hit on YouTube with over two billion views on the official Gummy Bear YouTube channel. The most successful GummyBear and Friends merchandising products and branding in China include apparel, a themed train carriage, medication cases, furniture, jewelry and themed rooms in hotels affiliated to IPTV. “Both Chacha Chaudhary and Gummy Bear and Friends are extremely successful IPs with very strong fan following. Chacha Chaudhary is an icon in India and people of all age groups easily relate to this character. Whenever we have launched a Chacha product in the market, it has always been a sure-fire hit. Gummy Bear, on the other hand, is a brand with a global appeal and immense merchandising scope. Together with strategic marketing plans and celebrity endorsements, both the brands have created extremely remunerative merchandising opportunities for us, while also helping us forge new business partnerships.” said P Jayakumar, CEO, Toonz Media Group.

TOTAL LICENSING

ROI VISUAL TARGETS THE GLOBAL MARKET FOR NURSERY RHYMES ROI VISUAL is targeting the global market for nursery rhymes with their new production of RobocarPOLI SongSong Museum, - a musical animated film consisting of 25 popular nursery rhymes that have been re-created.

Roi Visual recently announced that it will target the global nursery rhymes market in earnest through Robocar POLI SongSong Museum that aired for the first time on the 2nd of July on EBS 1TV. The newly launched RobocarPOLI SongSong Museum has recreated 25 classic nursery rhymes including ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ which is one of the most popular songs in the world, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’, ‘Rain, Rain, Go Away’, and ‘Five Little Ducks’ into a music video format to be delivered in 26 episodes of musical animated films.

Nursery rhymes form the key content of some of the most popular channels on YouTube.

Since they are songs that have been loved by many generations, they are

less likely to undergo change in response to trends or preferences. But

competition is still fierce as many IP characters are foraying into the field.

Director Junyoung Eom of ROI Visual who oversaw the entire production expressed her confidence that “RobocarPOLI SongSong Museum features a high quality of music that is incomparable to other musical animated films,” adding that “a significant amount of effort was poured into the creation to make it into a new classic in the category.”

ROI Visual plans to form various partnerships to strengthen its distribution of its music in Korea, but also plans to promote their music more globally, through global music platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.

Since its first broadcast in 2011 on EBS, Robocar POLI has been broadcast in 35 languages in 144 countries around the world and have received a lot of love from children over the past decade.

The main series and related content are offered at the moment on Netflix and 14 channels on Youtube.

For more information, visit www.roivisual.com

51

TOTAL LICENSING

MeteoHeroes

The animated series... the licensing campaign... and now the podcast!

MeteoHeroes, the new series from Mondo TV about six superpowered kids who protect the environment, has finally arrived on Cartoonito in Italy. And now a MeteoHeroes podcast is planned. Its aims? It will support the brand and the licensing campaign while highlighting the wider environmental message of the series and, of course, entertaining the show’s fans.

MeteoHeroes, the highly anticipated environmentally themed animated series, is finally with us; it has been showing on Cartoonito in Italy since July 6th. Other EMEA countries and channels have already been secured.

The adventures of six superpowered kids helping to save the Earth from threats to the environment is attracting not just viewers but licensed output. It’s also promoting a positive message in a fun and entertaining way.

But there’s much more coming from this new Mondo TV co-creation with Italian forecasting group Meteo Expert - Icona Meteo; a podcast is planned.

The MeteoHeroes animated series is about six little superheroes, equipped with special powers that allow them to unleash the power of the elements.

Operating from a secret base on the Gran Sasso mountain, where they are trained to control their powers, they teleport around the world to save the Earth from climate change, promote respect for nature and protect

52

the world from the evil Maculans and their leader Dr Makina, whose only aim is to wreak havoc on the environment.

Arriving in October on all main podcast platforms, the first five episodes of the MeteoHeroes Podcast will coincide with the arrival in Italy of some new TV episodes. They will also herald the appearance of the first licensed products at retail.

The MeteoHeroes Podcast will be fun and informative, with the familiar voices of the six little stars taking the show’s message beyond the TV screen and onto the new podcasting channel, where they will tell young listeners about how they can contribute to the fight against pollution and the negative effects of global warming.

But the podcast will also raise brand awareness. In fact this new ‘branded podcast’ is the first inspired by an animated series. But that’s not all. MeteoHeroes product packaging will contain a special QR code; kids just need to frame it with their smartphone to listen to the podcast.

This is an ingenious tie-in, building on the show’s strong licensing appeal. In fact MeteoHeroes’ enormous potential has already attracted a number of major licensees. The values of sustainability and respect for the environment will be reflected in the show’s carefully devised licensing programme, along, of course, with the excitement, fun and great characters central to the

show’s appeal. Early licensees include Giunti (books and activity books), Pea & Promoplast (planning a range of pocket money toys via its Play Around division), Playpress (magic pen and colouring and activity packs), Mondadori (a monthly magazine), Eu.Promotions (loyalty promotions), Ravensburger (puzzles and games) Koch Media (home video), Kimbe (costume characters for meet-and-greet activities).

Many other licensing negotiations are ongoing or completed, including a range of Easter eggs for 2021.

The first licensed products will be on shelves by October 2020 – perfectly timed for the podcast launch that many of them will help to promote.

Much of the team behind the TV show is working on the podcast, which perfectly complements the show and extends its reach. Kids – of course – understand the podcast concept and are used to 24/7 access to brands; this way they can have MeteoHeroes with them at any time of the day.

As Luigi Latini, CEO at Meteo Expert Icona Meteo, said, “The MeteoHeroes project was designed to reach a large number of children in Italy and other territories, delivering important messages about the environment, respect for nature, pollution and recycling.

This podcast is an important part of that project. It keeps the show’s fans connected with the environmental issues the show highlights, and, like the show, it does so in an appealing and entertaining way.”

Valentina La Macchia, Licensing Director of Mondo TV, adds, “This new ‘branded podcast’ is aimed at a whole generation of young digital natives who find it entirely normal to access information on both TV and podcasts and to use smartphones and QR codes to add value to their product purchases.

The podcast reinforces awareness of the MeteoHeroes brand and the licensing support it is building while also underlining the show’s important environmental message.”

TOTAL LICENSING

Asian origins, global reach Exciting new partners are welcoming Miffy in her 65th anniversary year.

Dick Bruna X Le Sportsac A limited-edition collection has been created by global lifestyle brand Le Sportsac based on world-famous Dutch picture book writer and graphic designer Dick Bruna.

This release is actually Bruna X Le Sportsac and offers not only iconic Miffy designs but also unique designs from his “Black Bear” pocketbook covers.

This limited-edition collection aims to expand awareness to a whole new generation and includes bags, pouches, backpacks and wallets.

Prints featuring both Miffy and Black Bear designs illustrate the artist’s work throughout his entire career.

These products were made available in Japan followed by Hong Kong, China Southeast Asia, the US and Europe from June onwards.

mainland China and their own online stores on amongst others Weibo and Tmall.

Miffy X Eastern Camel Chinese fashion apparel brand Eastern Camel from Fujian has created a wide apparel and accessories range for infants, kids and adults.

Over 500+ stores in China is the current brick-and-mortar count and this Miffy collaboration will be targeting the high-end segment of young and modern consumers.

Miffy X Ledin This anniversary collection is made with fashionable and energetic young adults in mind. A mix and match between single items with Miffy elements creates positive messages to truly experience the fun of “less is more”.

Ledin is a popular clothing brand with over 200 brick-and-mortar stores in

A series of exclusive Miffy stores will be opened in the course of 2020, starting in Shanghai.

Strathberry China Made famous by its quality design, Spanish high-end leather and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, high-end UK fashion brand Strathberry has created a limited edition Miffy collection.

United in finding beauty through simplicity and clean lines, the beloved Dick Bruna character appears on

iconic Strathberry silhouettes.

Signature colour palettes combine to create a playful range both inherently Strathberry and quintessentially Miffy. The Dick Bruna ethos of simplicity and curiosity resonates with the Strathberry approach towards design, where powerful storytelling originates from recognizable shapes and colours and the superfluous is avoided in favour of functionality and clean lines.

Worldwide sales focus on Strathberry stores, Strathberry online and high end retailers.

The limited-edition collection of leather handbags, purses and other accessories will launch in China first through Shanghai Reel Store and online supported by Wechat and Weibo social media channels. The global roll-out began from the 19th of June and all products can be found on www.strathberry.com.

More on: Miffy www.miffy.com More information info@mercis.nl

53

Interview TOTAL LICENSING

Kenn Viselman talks to Total Licensing about his latest project - bringing Moonzy into the U.S marketplace Tell us about Moonzy and how you became involved?

Moonzy is one of those incredible projects that comes around once in a decade that reinvigorates the marketplace like Peppa Pig, Dora the Explorer, The Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank Engine and even Barney.

As soon as I saw him, I knew that he was going to be the next big sensation in the children’s and family space.

He’s physically so fun and funny. His empathy, compassion and excitement about exploring the world around him is contagious and children can’t seem to get enough of him.

“Moonzy is destined to be the biggest furriest friend of my career” Kenn Viselman

54

We hear stuff like that from virtually everyone in the industry… how amazing, how special their project is, but is there a way you can substantiate that statement about children not being able to get enough of him?

Honestly, I think I can… here goes…

Moonzy has over 9.2 BILLION views on YouTube making him one of the most watched children’s series in history. His series is also the #1 rated series on commercial television in EVERY country that he airs in. But just to substantiate his commercial prowess, he has sold over 20 million books and 6 million magazines and millions of pieces of plush just within Eastern Europe.

Why do you think that the timing is right to introduce

Moonzy now … in the middle of a pandemic?

There are actually two answers to that question. The first is because Moonzy is filled with what I like to call “moondust and moonbeams” but actually it is Love & Hope. And quite honestly that is what the world really needs right now especially for the youngest of children. Children pick up emotional cues from the adults in their lives and right now with all this uncertainty, it’s a great time for children to be exposed to something that shows them how wonderfilled and rewarding the world can be to offset some of the scary stuff that they are seeing on TV that suggests it is a big bad world out there.

The other answer is a practical business answer. There is a growing need for more and more content as additional streaming services and alternative broadcasting outlets enter the fray. The problem is that the pipeline has been drastically effected by Covid 19. So even though audiences, broadcasters and streaming services alike are all desperate for more content, there is not any available.

And then here comes Moonzy with these extraordinary metrics - like a bright light on a dismally dark day.

In other words, I don’t think that the timing could be more perfect.

Will Moonzy be different for the Americas?

Basically the answer to that is both a

resounding “YES!” and “ABSOLUTELY NOT!” I spent a great deal of time with Claus at Ink and Svetlana and her team at Melnitsa so I could understand what their goals were for Moonzy and to see if we were aligned. At first there was some culture clashing, if I were to be completely honest. And it made me second guess moving forward… But there was just something about this furry friend that kept calling me back.

I believe that Moonzy is stronger as a result of our initial disagreements.

It is very hard for creatives in general to make changes to their work in order to accommodate other markets.

These guys (and gals) have been very

TOTAL LICENSING open to making the modifications necessary to make Moonzy be part of the fabric of life in each of the territories into which he is being introduced.

It is essential to not “lose the magic” that is weaved into this wonderous world that has already been created and so profoundly established in other parts of the world, and yet at the same time it is essential to Moonzy’s success that he be tweaked potentially for each new market he enters into.

We are creating a new theme song as well as tweaking some languaging and revoicing the episodes on the screen.

We are also looking at other ways to make Moonzy at home in the Americas… We are talking about three Mini Holiday Themed movies (initially) and other new creative that is being designed specifically and sometimes exclusively for this market. The team has created a great global style guide and now we are addressing specific needs for the Americas.

The itsy bitsy Entertainment Company is known globally, why are you only doing the Americas?

We, my team and I, (and I’ll get back to them in a minute), work really intensely in these markets which make up more than half of the world’s business. This is the same territory that I “controlled” for the Teletubbies and when the pandemonium hit, we were besieged. I cannot imagine being responsible for more especially in this ever-changing uncertain world.

So many things are changing at the same time that the marketplace needs more attention than ever and I want to make sure we get it right… it’s too important. Claus and his team at INK control the global rights for Moonzy and I’m delighted that we get to help shape his future.

Now back to my team. I have been reconnecting with many of the team members from the day when we introduced Teletubbies. It’s really fun to be working with them again, but also pragmatically speaking… it is essential to have a team that knows how to handle a project of this level.

Have you had any unexpected obstacles bringing Moonzyt stateside?

It’s funny you should ask that question and I am in a particularly honest mood today so put on your proverbial seatbelt. I’m just kidding, but the answer is YES! I have spent many a moment scratching my head.

EVERY broadcast/streaming partner that we have met with has been wildly impressed with Moonzy and his sales metrics. EVERY one of them has said that they believe that Moonzy is going to be a mega-hit, but yet (while there is great interest and we will hopefully be making an announcement soon) some of them have walked away not because they don’t believe in the project but because their corporate mandate does not allow them to get involved in any project unless they control all rights in all mediums. A couple with whom we met have conflicting policies where their big bosses don’t want to see “massive piece of IP” going to their competitors, but at the same time they are demanding to control all rights.

So the simple question is rationally why would an independent production company who has worked pains-

takingly to prove that their project is viable to attract the interest of a broadcast partner, then give all their rights and control to them after they proved the viability of their brand? It makes no sense. In fact, although this is likely to get me in trouble, I am going to tell you about one broadcaster.

They were trying to sell me on why we should relinquish control by telling me that their YouTube was on fire… only to discover that Moonzy had nearly 5 times more views than their ENTIRE catalogue COMBINED. I suggested, cheekily, that perhaps they wanted to put their YouTube page within ours.

The good news is that the majority of the people we have engaged are really excited about working with us on making Moonzy at home in the Americas.

Have you started licensing for Moonzy in the Americas?

It’s funny how many contingency plans we have created for Moonzy… right now we are very focused on closing a broadcast / streaming deal. However, I am starting to explore publishing and a few other categories that I believe stand alone and are independent of broadcast.

For more information, contact moonzyinfo@gmail.com

55

TOTAL LICENSING

By: Silvia Zúñiga Director of Marketing Collaborations Tycoon Enterprises www.tycoon.mx

BRAND EXPERIENCES AND FASHION COLLABORATIONS A powerful way to stand out in the licensing industry The licensing Industry has been changing in recent years and nowadays, great product development is not enough, it takes more to succeed. A brand strategy needs to leverage the advantages of digital and social media platforms and use them creatively in order to connect to fans and consumers and keep building a story of value around the brand.

Everyday there is more competition and it’s important to think creatively to stand out. That’s why more than ever it is important for brands to strengthen the link with their fans beyond TV, films and even consumer products, through Brand Experiences, which everyday show us the importance of including them in any brand and marketing strategy.

Tycoon in Mexico has been working hard to adapt to the changes and incorporate the new trends, looking to bring these opportunities and strategic alliances to the brands they represent, in order to make them stand out in innovative ways in their markets.

They share here a couple of meaningful examples brought together by their group.

However, more than ever, they are still trying to figure out how recent healthcare events will impact the business. So far, the pandemic has taught

56

people that they should be ready to reset and re-orient to new external circumstances. There is an important challenge ahead in creating meaningful experiences in the new and uncertain scenarios with limited social interaction.

HELLO KITTY FLOWER & GARDEN FESTIVAL MEXICO CITY 2019 was a special year for Hello Kitty as the beloved character celebrated its 45th Anniversary and as a part of the celebration, Hello Kitty filled with tenderness the Flower & Garden Festival at Polanco, one of Mexico City’s trendier and most important neighborhoods, from April 4 to 7.

Every year the streets, shops and stores of the area are covered with flowers for 4 days and last year Hello Kitty became the star of Lincoln Park where a three-dimensional wall made of carnations, polar roses and wallflowers were placed in the children’s playground area for everyone to visit.

Alongside a creative Communication and PR Campaign, Tycoon and Sanrio also organized a special social media contest in which the best photo would receive a special gift. Visitors could have their picture taken in front of the

wall, people waited for over an hour to have amazing and creative picture taken.

Over 400 photos were published and Hello Kitty had over 7 million hits on social networks and over 6 million hits in print and online media publications!

Not only brand experiences and digital strategies but also fashion collaborations are on the rise as well.

Entertainment characters, celebrities, corporate brands and fashion designers join forces to develop capsule collections targeted at adults, children, and families too.

HELLO KITTY X ALEJANDRA QUESADA Hello Kitty’s 45th anniversary celebrations brought more big surprises.

Mexican designer, Alejandra Quesada, is a true Hello Kitty lover and has made a name in fashion thanks to her designs with very cute details, which had led her to sell her collections in places as far away as Japan.

The Hello Kitty x Alejandra Quesada capsule collection, gave a twist to her very sporty collection, with more than sixteen designs, which included tennis shoes, T-shirts and sweatshirts to deliver a very casual style inspired by

TOTAL LICENSING

the street style but also a pair of super kawaii heels, beach sandals and transparent blouses targeted at teenagers and young adults; all its prints were a tribute to the beloved character and were available exclusively at 60 stores run by Liverpool - the most important department retail chain in the country - in November 2019 with amazing success.

Collabs are an interesting and viable marketing strategy if the product and the association between both brands make good sense. It´s important to select whom will you associate with, to create unique and exclusive mini-collections, alongside both usual offerings.

GUDETAMA X PAY´S Gudetama, one of the funniest characters ever created by Sanrio, that represents all of us in our secret moments of pure laziness, inspired Mexican designer PAY’S who surprised our market during third quarter of 2019 with a collection that amazed the fans.

PAY’s, a Mexican clothing brand that stands out for its alternative and different collections which are also characterized by being genderless, successfully blended Gudetama’s irresistible yet relaxed charisma to create a collection of soft leisure clothing that included t-shirts, ponchos, sweaters and pins, with a super comfortable design and incredible colors.

Gudetama x PAY’S launched with an amazing event on August 2019 at Casa Salt, an independent clothing store located in Condesa, an ultra-hip and

stylish neighborhood in Mexico City.

More than ten designs were made available on their own website, showroom and independent stores and it was their best-selling collection during last year.

THE SIMPSONS X NEW ERA MEXICO Partnerships between character and a lifestyle brands seem to be successful worldwide. Working together in innovative ways, can lead to exciting synergies, as the one Tycoon brought to the market and was recently launched with New Era Mexico, inspired by the influence that the beloved Simpsons family has had for decades within the pop culture landscape of Mexico.

The first drop of the capsule collection with 6 designs, was launched on December 2019, these focused on the show’s most iconic themes and characters as Bart, Homer’s classic doughnut, Krusty and Duff beer.

A second drop was released on Q1 2020, with 4 styles of Itchy and Scratchy, and in Q2 three more pieces came out inspired by

famous baseball team, The Isotopes.

The collection showcased the show’s distinct voice, merging both brands DNA, with amazing caps created for adults and children as well.

From partnering with global brands to looking for local collabs, there are opportunities rising for renown Mexican talent.

As the greater the affinity and emotional link between the designer with the character, the more successful the collab will be.

The popularity of collaborations does not seem to slow down on the fashion world as they typically enhance both brands’ greatest strengths, and communication cross over becomes interesting and valuable for both parties involved.

Brand collaborations help increase brand reach by using mutual communication efforts and platforms, reinforcing brand image of having the latest fashion trends, gaining positions among new targets, offering consumers something unique and a variation to the usual products available in the market.

In conjunction, these can lead to remarkable experiences and outstanding products, and of course to increase in sales.

Tycoon is the largest Licensing network in Latin America with offices in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

They are proud to represent some of the bigger brand names in Entertainment, Corporate and Lifestyle and are devoted to delivering the most passionate and professional licensing programs in the region.

57

TOTAL LICENSING

VIACOMCBS NETWORKS LATIN AMERICA FROM PRESCHOOL TO EMERGING IP ViacomCBS Networks (VCN) Consumer Products Latin America offers a diverse portfolio spanning animation, preschool, kids, youth and adult licenses from Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures and CBS. The company is committed to providing key partner development and innovative marketing solutions, ensuring the highest quality product offering across some of the world’s most powerful TV and entertainment brands and properties.

In 2020/2021, they are putting the full power of the ViacomCBS ecosystem behind their most valuable IP, a global footprint that spans broadcast, cable, streaming and premium TV, feature films, and experiences. Their offerings span multigenerational properties from SpongeBob to Star Trek and Top Gun; classic and cult favorites like The Godfather and irreverent youth culture brand MTV; Garfield, Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avatar for their super fans; emerging IP including Bala and Club 57, in addition to their slate of powerhouse preschool properties Baby Shark, Blue’s Clues and PAW Patrol, among others.

PRESCHOOL PAW PATROL In terms of the preschool portfolio, PAW Patrol is the number one entertainment franchise for preschoolers and a global phenomenon with a massive global footprint in over 170 territories through a TV series, toys, consumer products, digital experiences and live events.

On YouTube, the Paw Patrol official channel and the Nick Jr channels have, between them over 6 billion views. The series is viewed in 350 million

58

households in 170 territories and in 30 languages, with 24 million viewers in Latin America alone.

A new PAW Patrol season – Dino Rescue – launches in October with the PAW Patrol movie premiere in August next year.

BLUE’S CLUES A remake of the groundbreaking, curriculum-driven interactive series Blue’s Clues, Blue’s Clues & You! has a new generation of preschoolers searching

for clues with beloved puppy Blue and new live-action host Josh (Josh Dela Cruz).

The series features new CG-animation for Blue and Magenta, brand-new elements and refreshed iconic items from the original series including an updated Handy Dandy Notebook equipped with smartphone technology and the return of fan-favorite characters.

The new Blue’s Clues & You! Series is winning big with preschoolers. YouTube views are up 85% since the show premiered in March with a total of 168 million views and 7.9 million viewers in Latin America.

The product line will launch in Latam in 2021 with a line of toys through Just Play, the property’s master toy partner.

BABY SHARK Baby Shark launched on YouTube in November 2015 and took the world by storm, amassing 5.8+ billion views and becoming the second mostwatched video in the platform’s history.

With music, characters, story and dance all combined together, the song recorded a 20-week-streak on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned a viral phenomenon #BabySharkChallenge, generating over one million cover videos around the globe.

Nickelodeon will debut Baby Shark’s Big Show! (working title) with an allnew original holiday special this December, with premieres rolling out across its preschool platforms in 2021.

Baby Shark is the second mostwatched video on YouTube and appears on 13 YouTube channels in different languages.

Baby Shark will continue to be released in short form on YouTube and the toy line will debut in Latam in 2020. Following the US launch, the series will roll out on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels internationally.

EMERGING PLATFORMS CLUB 57 Nickelodeon Latin America’s hit musical series Club 57 revolves around teens Eva and her brother Ruben who accidentally travel to 1957. Combining music, dance and time-traveling adventures, the kids must find a way

TOTAL LICENSING A publishing line launched in 2019 with Penguin Random House and Editorial Vertrice and upcoming product launches include apparel, accessories, back to school and stationery. A second season is currently in pre-production.

BALA

to return to the present day without changing the past.

The series has been viewed by more than 19 million people in Latin America and is the number one show during its timeslot with girls 7 to 14 in Argentina and Mexico, as well as girls 4 to 11 in Argentina.

It is the leading show on FTA broadcaster Telefe’s (Argentina) children’s programming block at weekends. In all there have been more than 69 million video views through all platforms.

Bala is currently the star of Nickelodeon Latin America’s IG Live show, Nick en Casa, and continues to increase her popularity as a singer/songwriter and social media sensation. The Nick star, who is also passionate about the environment, just recently launched her English-language YouTube Channel, Hey Bala, for her fans in the US. To date, she has more than 8 million followers on YouTube and 3 million on Instagram with 129 million video views.

Back to school product launched at multiple retailers in Mexico including Chdraui, Sears and Sanborns. In addition, BTS exclusive presale took place on Amazon in Mexico this July featuring backpacks, lunchboxes and pencil cases.

Accessories, electronics and instruments, board games, dolls, publishing and stationery will roll out this Fall at retailer Liverpool in Mexico. October will see the launch of apparel at the Palacio del Hierro retail chain in Mexico.

Bala’s latest single, Pijama, is set to debut in October and an environmentally-focused digital show – Planeta Bala – is currently in pre-production.

PINGUIN CONTENT - NEW OPPORTUNITIES As a hotbed of creativity and positivity, Pinguim Content has seen the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as a chance to explore new possibilities for both its brands and licensees.

Latin America’s leading animation production company, whose hit shows include Earth to Luna!, Fishtronaut and Ping and Friends, created a dedicated in-house licensing team early last year to strengthen the relationship between their brands’ content and the licensed products, and generate new opportunities with licensees.

It has paid dividends, with ten new licensees gained and footholds in previously unsigned categories including beachwear, childcare, socks and accessories, healthy snacks, eggs and home décor. Yet when the pandemic started back in March, they realised that they needed to refocus to overcome the crisis and help their licensees in these uncertain times.

Luckily imagination and ingenuity are second nature to the team at Pinguim,

who set to producing digital content – including videos, posts, games and brochures – for their partners which helped them to maintain a bond with their consumers on social media, while entertaining children and explaining the pandemic to them.

With physical stores closed, Pinguim teamed up with a new partner, e-commerce experts Privalia, to offer stock for sale online for licensees without web shops. Featuring banners, email marketing and social media ads, the digital campaign helped sales of books, toys, backpacks, apparel and chocolate. In addition, Pinguim organised segmented Facebook and Instagram campaigns for licensees with their own e-commerce sites to reach out to new consumers.

Pinguim also found opportunities to develop new products, such as the fun and adaptable protective children’s masks produced by their beachwear licensee Honre. And, anticipating a demand for outdoor family activities in the future, Earth to Luna! bikes and ac-

cessories will soon be available.

Earth to Luna! has enjoyed a 65% growth in Instagram fans and a 35% increase in YouTube views over the past few months, and has gained six new licensees, bringing the total to 29.

With this increased demand boosting the power of the brand, it’s clear that Pinguim’s creativity and adaptability is having a positive effect.

59

TOTAL LICENSING

By Rodrigo Chavez Head of Marketing Arena Esports GG roch@arenasports.gg

GETTING INVOLVED IN ESPORTS It is no secret that esports have taken the world by storm in the blink of an eye, but it is not something that was built in one day, this industry has been growing for a while.

Since the beginnings in Starcraft tournaments “Brood War Tournament World Championship” in 1999 with the 16 top ranked players in the world and a prize pool of 14,000 USD, to the League of Legends World Championship 2019, with the champions of different leagues competing around the globe in their own regions with a prize pool of 2,200,000 USD (Which isn’t even the largest sum among esports competitions). The esports scene has evolved along with its audience, thus becoming one of the more attractive places for brands, who can find a target that is quite elusive nowadays, being a ‘tech savvy’ ad-blocker generation with an extremely short attention span.

Though it can be argued that today’s audience chooses what they see given the vast amount of online on demand content with platforms such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+, Prime Video, etc, there are numerous passion points that unite communities and gather them through common interests that could only be experienced through a screen until now. Cyber friendship ex-

60

ists, and has existed for a long while, it was a simple evolution of pen pals through the natural growth of technology. The same can be said for videogames, as arcades went out of fashion and slowly began to disappear, the home arcade became ‘en vogue’ in the same way, these home consoles began to develop online capabilities which allowed you to play with people from all over the world without leaving your home, which in turn started the creation of clans and communities within the games and their ecosystems.

This same online system game evolution allowed competition to level up to the point where big tournaments and stories began to permeate and mark the industry to this very day, as is the case of a Quake tournament in 1997 where the prize was no other

than a Ferrari 328 GTS from Johnn Carmack’s (The lead programmer for games such as Quake,Wolfenstein, and Doom) personal collection; another famous moment in tournament history was in EVO 2004, before the birth of twitch and before multi-million dollar prizes, Daigo made a miraculous play that will forever hold him in the halls of esports legends. Thanks to Dota’s crowdfunding prize system their most important tournament. The International has a base prize pool of 1.6 million USD and has scaled up to 2.8 USD thanks to the in-game release of the compendium, a proto season pass that only costs 3 USD. Nowadays The International can boast a 24 million USD prize pool.

The first time an esports tournament took place in traditional a sports stadium, it was in Madison Square Gardens. This splits the esports venue game into a before and after. Given that esports tournaments used to be celebrated in expo centers, we now see the potential of esports to fill up stadiums with a demographic that until recently was thought to only enjoy online events.

The franchise system that originated from the Overwatch League and eventually permeated into League of Legends and Call of Duty has made a very

TOTAL LICENSING

robust and solid esports scene, with stories and rivalries that are a part of said scene to this very day, establishing a sports-like environment with transactions, player and brand development, transactions, etc.

As you can tell, esports already possesses a rich and powerful history that has, through the years, grown in an exponential way in order to become the mainstream product we have come to know and love. We value esports for their story and essence, not because they are the latest fad. That is why you should not undermine this as just a hobby, or a bunch of geeks that just prove to be the more talented than others. There is a lot of training, preparation, even diets, workouts and a lot of hard work to reach peak performance.

The audience has also grown and evolved throughout the years, as they would with traditional sports. With teams, fans, legends, and stars that have blazed their trail in this industry until they become Hall of Famers, Idols, and icons. Players that have accomplished the impossible, reactions that happen in milliseconds and simply breeze by the untrained eye. It is one of the industry’s goals that anyone can recognize these moments, making esports accessible and easily enjoyable to anyone.

According to the Newzoo 2020 Global Market Esports Report, the gaming industry generates 159 Billion USD with a 9.3% year-on-year growth, it is forecast to generate a 200.8 billion revenue in 2023. This is today’s market that keeps growing, becoming one of the most profitable industries out there, and the esports audience knows it. Because they are continuously targeted by media and brands, but not always in an assertive way, sometimes making the target feel used or simply manipulated, because the brands that try to really get involved in a correct way, or at least familiarize themselves with the environment, sometimes send awkward messages, falling in the nerd stereotype or simply just messing with the games they play. This kind of mistake generates a negative impact with the esports scene, and this is an outspoken environment so the backlash can be hard. Therefore, brands should be not only interested but involved as well, in order to become a part of the industry instead of simply seeking the audience’s consumption.

grateful one. They support brands that help propel esports. Once a brand becomes involved and brings actual value to an esports community, the audience will latch on and transform it into an endemic brand. We may think of the target as young, but it is a target that is still molding their interests and opinions about ideal futures such as the car they will drive or the watch they will wear. It is time to think only of the now and visualize this audience based on their value and potential.

Therefore, should a brand become involved in a positive manner in this industry, they will not simply reach a new target, this very target will become an advocate for said brand, an impossible feat for other media. In today’s market there are agencies and experts that could help you find your way in esports to successfully get involved in esports.

When you are a part of the community the audience (which has been ignored for the last 15+ years and is finally being taken seriously) is an extremely

61

TOTAL LICENSING

Licensing Classic Properties Why they are more important than ever

In uncertain times, consumers will turn to trusted brands to bring them comfort and remind them of better times.

Hello Kitty, which celebrated its 45th birthday this year, has seen a raft of deals secured across Iberia and Germany by WildBrain CPLG. In Spain, WildBrain CPLG has inked a number of direct-to-retail collaborations for Hello Kitty with several global fashion retailers with product hitting stores from September. This summer saw Joumma Bags launch its Hello Kitty luggage collection, Industrias Plasticas Igor’s kids’ sandal collection become available online, and Arluy gear up to launch its cookie range. Additionally,

62

retailer El Corte Inglés recently featured Hauck’s Hello Kitty go-kart in its promotional activity; Air Val launched a beauty set and Personal World introduced a mobile phone case range.

For Germany, WildBrain CPLG has been growing Hello Kitty’s toys and games offering, having recently scored new deals with Joy Toy, p:os handels GmbH, and Nelson Verlag in der Carlsen Verlag, with additional partners for puzzles, outdoor toys and wooden toys to be unveiled soon.

These new deals build upon the worldwide partnerships Sanrio already has in place for the iconic Hello Kitty brand.

WildBrain CPLG also represents Pink

Panther in EMEA and Russia and has secured a wave of new fashion and apparel partnerships for the classic brand. Key recent deals brokered by WildBrain CPLG include a partnership with contemporary fashion brand LC23 and popular sportswear company Diadora for a footwear collaboration with two limited edition trainer designs inspired by the elegance and surreal humour of the Pink Panther.

Additionally, French lingerie brand ETAM has launched a nightwear collection.

P.D. Eastman’s timeless classics, Go, Dog. Go! and Are You My Mother?, are extending outside of books on a limited collection of products by Random House Children’s Books. This branded line of product includes a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, t-shirts and onesies by Out of Print, bamboo dinnerware sets by Zrike and baby blankets and swaddles by New Castle Classics Gibbs-Smith Publishers’ brand, BabyLit, is a wonderful way to introduce young children to the world of classic literature such as Little Women, Great Expectations, Moby Dick, Secret Garden, Wizard of Oz, Romeo & Juliet, Frankenstein, and many others.

The BabyLit classics series, from Gibbs-Smith Publishers, written by Jennifer Adams and illustrated by Alison Oliver, has been adapted and simplified to appeal to babies and tod-

TOTAL LICENSING Cutting the Gordian Knot of Classic Game Licensing

By Greg Beitchman, Chief Revenue Officer at Antstream Arcade When it comes to retro games, the topic of licensing can be contentious. The prevalence of downloadable ROM’s and emulators that allow gamers to play almost any game in existence form the bedrock of the global retro gaming community. Yet, almost universally, these downloads represent unauthorized use of a company’s copyrighted works.

This issue has dogged the retro gaming community since its beginning, and you don’t have to look far to find cases of companies stepping in to protect their IP from piracy. This is obviously very frustrating for players wanting to play old-school and class video games that, in many cases, can no longer be played any other way. The appetite to play these iconic games is there, the technology is certainly there, but the ability to do so easily and legally is hamstrung by the complexities of licensing the many thousands of classic games that exist out there in the wild.

Retro games exist in a uniquely fractured licensing landscape. While the rights to games like Pac-man and Space Invaders are easy enough to locate and work with, the rights to many classic titles are held by businesses that aren’t even aware they are holding them. Or they are held by corporate entities that are long since defunct and exist to do nothing more than keep a hold of intellectual property. In some cases, the trail of rights ownership goes entirely cold, with who owns which rights being lost in the sands of time.

And this doesn’t even touch on just how fractured the rights to some games have become.

While larger rights holders like Nintendo or Atari have kept most of their rights all neatly packaged together, it’s not uncommon to find some 30/40-year-old games with multiple rights holders for each component.

The game engine, the in-game music, its characters, official logos used dlers and teaches early concepts such as counting, colors, opposites, sounds, and shapes through classic literature.

Over 2.8 million books have been sold and titles include Little Women, Great Expectations, Moby Dick, Secret Garden, Wizard of Oz, Romeo & Juliet, Frankenstein, among others.

As Pokémon approaches its 25th anniversary next year, the franchise continues to cement its status as an iconic classic brand.

With multiple touch points across Video Games, apps, Pokemon Trading

in-game can all be split off and held by different entities decades later thanks to deals that were written down on the back of a napkin.

Here at Antstream Arcade, we’re using cloud-streaming to give gamers access to thousands of classic games from gaming’s long and varied history. That means engaging with gaming rights holders, from one-man bedroom operations who struck gold with a cult game all the way up to the modern gaming giants who are still licensing the games themselves decades after they first launched. This often means editing the games themselves by removing items like official logos and the parts of the game to which it is impossible to find the rights.

It’s no exaggeration that securing rights to games is the hardest part of what we do, even when dealing with games which have been forgotten and unplayable for years.

Tracking down and securing even the most difficult of rights has and will continue to be a challenge even with all the tools available. It’s a painstaking process, but when we do make the connection, the value we bring to IP holders goes beyond monetization, it’s about audience analytics, game play stats and feedback that ultimately helps them and their businesses grow.

Just like how the rise of Spotify and Netflix caused a drop in piracy, we’re hoping we can do something similar for retro games. We know there is an audience out there that wants to play the classics of the 70s, 80s and 90s, and we’ve found that when there is a way to do so legally, while simultaneously supporting the creators of the games they love, they are more than willing to do so.

Card Game (TCG), animation and licensing, Pokémon continues to innovate, connect and expand its fanbase worldwide.

Keeping it centre stage is a range of exciting activity across all its platforms throughout 2020.

The recent expansion passes for the record breaking video game Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield – which took total Pokémon Video Game sales to almost 350 million – introduced The Isle of Armor, with The Crown Tundra following in autumn, both giving fans new areas of the Galar region to explore.

Recently announced games include New Pokémon Snap for Nintendo Switch, a photo-snapping adventure through unknown islands that is a contemporary update of the 1999 game; also on Switch plus mobile devices Pokémon Café Mix, is a fun puzzle game set in a café visited by Pokémon and Pokémon UNITE will be the first strategic Pokémon team battle game.

Players face off against each other in

five-on-five team battles.

Classic characters play a huge part in Born Licensing’s business. The licensing agent who solely focuses on licensing in the area of advertising and marketing is known for their work on advertising campaigns which often leverage classic characters.

Earlier this year Born Licensing launched a new campaign created by Saatchi & Saatchi London for leading UK insurance firm Direct Line. David Born, Owner of Born Licensing, and his team worked on the campaign for 12 months prior to launching in March. They helped Saatchi & Saatchi and Direct Line explore over 150 different characters for the campaigns, with 3 being chosen across 3 different 60 second spots.

The selected characters were RoboCop, Bumblebee from Transformers and Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They each featured in their own action-packed spot highlighting a type of insurance offered by Direct Line.

63

TOTAL LICENSING

Going Virtual At the start of the pandemic, the licensing industry quickly realised it had to adapt to wildly different circumstances. The industry is noted for its relationships and business taking place face to face. It was evident from the beginning, as the first factories and retail outlets began to close, that the financial losses would be vast, and that this would affect every area of the industry.

Chiefly among the concerns were all the upcoming trade shows and events that were set to take place over 2020.

Nearly all of the shows were postponed or cancelled altogether with many of them choosing something they

had never done before – a completely virtual platform for what in 2019 had been a physical show.While these have been incredibly difficult calls for the event corporations involved, there has been a definite need for the industry to still come together in some capacity – and to lay the groundwork for a financially optimistic 2021.

Licensing Expo 2020 rebranded as Licensing Week Virtual, and saw enthusiasm and participation from an industry that has excelled in adaption.

The event saw over 32,000 unique content views and 2,900 digital meet-

64

ings took place across the five-day online event. Organized by the Global Licensing Group in partnership with industry trade association Licensing International, took place June 15-19.

The virtual conference and exhibition secured 4,477 attendees globally from the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, among others. Furthermore, 2,933 virtual meetings were scheduled throughout the five-day period and on average, attendees spent 23 hours + on the event platform. The virtual event showcased the immense and timely need for developing new and nurturing existing industry connections, as well as future-looking and educational sessions for the licensing industry, which generated $292.8 billion in global sales of license goods and services in 2019, according to the Licensing International 6th Annual Global Licensing Survey.

Most attendees engaged with seven pieces of content. Each day of the event featured content mirroring the experiences and content commonly found at Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe and was organized into the following categories: Brands & Lifestyle, Character & Entertainment, Art & Design, and Emerging Categories.

Several of the Licensing Week Virtual’s 30 sponsors represented the most popular sectors from the 6th Annual Global Licensing Survey from Licensing International which included the entertainment/character (44 percent of total global licensing market) and corporate brands (21 percent).

Licensing Week Virtual sponsors in

those categories included ViacomCBS, Neopets, Peanuts, and The Smurfs.

It was announced shortly before going to press that, after much deliberation and consultation with customers, attendees and industry partners, Brand Licensing Europe 2020 will transition to an all-virtual event. In its place, the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the organisers behind BLE, are introducing Festival of Licensing, a never-before-seen celebration of the business of brand licensing, in partnership with industry trade association Licensing International.

Running from 6-29 October 2020, Festival of Licensing is a four-week, large-scale virtual gathering bringing together the licensing industry to connect, learn, strike deals and do business on an international stage. It will be the most inclusive global licensing event to-date and builds off of the momentum of the Global Licensing Group’s Licensing Week Virtual event, which exceeded expectations in its inaugural launch in June.

Festival of Licensing will comprise of four regionally tailored events in key licensing territories.

The festival will conclude with Licensing Leadership Summit taking place 28-29 October. Originally scheduled as an in-person, senior-level, global gathering of the industry’s C-Suite and thought-leaders from brands, agents, manufacturing and retail, the new virtual offering will draw on key learnings from the previous three weeks and future-looking topics that will facilitate debate and shape the future of the global licensing industry.

TOTAL LICENSING

The Children’s Media Conference (CMC) was re-invented as a week-long online conference of children’s and youth content, with webinars spaced at convenient intervals so that lockdown life could still go on.

Online content will remain accessible to registered delegates until 30 September.

The CMC Keynote Panel considered the ongoing implications of the Black Lives Matter campaign on the children’s and youth audience, and on our industry that serves them. Key figures in the campaign joined this important discussion to open CMC 2020: Sonita Alleyne OBE, Master of Jesus College Cambridge; Miranda Wayland, Head of Creative Diversity at the BBC; Prof.

Kevin Clark Founding Director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University (US); Adam Campbell, Director of Product at Azoomee/ Da Vinci Media; Larissa Kennedy, NUS President.

Children’s Laureate and celebrated author Cressida Cowell (How To Train Your Dragon) was the creative keynote for virtual conference, which ran with the uniting theme of Still Here Right Now. CMC Editorial Director Greg Childs said: “Our industry, and our world, is going through a period of intense disruption and reckoning – and it is more important than ever to gather together (virtually) to discuss how we respond to and grow from this as a community. We are delighted to be welcoming an opening keynote panel of dynamic speakers who will unpack how the Black Lives Matter movement impacts both our industry and the vitally important young audiences we collectively serve, as well as an incredible mix of activists, educators, creatives, changemakers and researchers who will be speaking across the event. We look forward to galvanising our delegates for the year ahead with the same blend of camaraderie, insight,

home truths and inspiration they’ve come to expect from the CMC.” CMC re-interpreted its 2020 theme from ‘Right Here Right Now’ to ‘STILL Here Right Now’. Now more than ever kids and young people need their media-makers to come together to consider how they are being served, what the future holds, what works and what doesn’t, how to improve the diversity, commitment and engagement of kids’ media content and to have some fun exploring creative and business innovation.

As a reflection on conversations between Hyve, the organiser of Autumn Fair and planned exhibitors and visitors, the decision has been made that Autumn Fair 2020 will not

ries of digital market weeks, the Influencer Choice List will recognize the top toys and games from Toy Fair Everywhere as voted on by a select panel of leading family and toy influencers in the Clamour network. The picks will be revealed as the industry gears up for fourth quarter in an announcement tied to the Toy Fair Everywhere market week in September.

“Social media marketing has become a powerful tool in connecting with today’s generation of kids,” said Marian Bossard, executive vice president of global market events at The Toy Association. “Thanks to this partnership with Clamour, we are helping exhibitors get their product in front of top-tier digital content creators from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, while also recognizing the passion and innovation toymakers bring to our industry.”

“With audiences stuck at home depending on YouTube to entertain the family, the impact of influencers has

take place this year and will return as an in-person event in 2021.

Autumn Fair is now working closely with partners and clients to deliver a virtual forum open to all exhibitors and visitors this September with exclusive seminar content and practical advice designed to educate and inform participants. More information on the virtual forum will be available on the website in due course.

Fuelling retail whilst bringing people together is at the heart of what we do. Spring Fair will be taking place 7-11 February 2021 as the next buying opportunity, and Autumn Fair 2021 returns 5-8 September 2021.

The Toy Association has teamed up with Clamour, producers of the largest annual industry summit for professional online video influencers, for the first-ever Toy Fair Everywhere Influencer Choice List.

Open exclusively to exhibitors of the Association’s Toy Fair Everywhere se-

never been more important,” said Jonathan Katz, co-founder and CEO of Clamour. “That’s why Clamour is so proud to partner with The Toy Association to launch the Influencer Choice List, where influencers voices elevate the products that most resonate with them and their audiences.”

And of course it is not just trade events which have suffered and then adapted - Museums across the globe that announced temporary closures, included the Louvre, the Vatican Museums, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Museums, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Korea’s National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. However, under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome, cultural institutions have shared several informative posts about their collections and other artworks in an effort to continue to share knowledge and culture with the public, despite the closings.

The India Licensing Virtual Expo will take place on 28 August this year.

The online event will comprise an exhibition, an awards event and a series of workshops and seminars all designed to help and educate those in the licensing industry.

For more information, contact Selina Shergill. selina. shergill@licenseindia. com or visit www.licenseindia. com/virtualexpo

65

TOTAL LICENSING

Content That Includes

Everyone

The TV and children’s entertainment industry is acknowledging that it is essential to tackle inclusivity and diversity if it is to retain audiences and keep children engaged. Countless studies have shown that children are more likely to stick with a program where they see themselves, their family or culture represented.

Aiming your content to include children of all skin-colours, non-nuclear families, disabilities, sexual orientation, different religious and cultural backgrounds is especially important today, when children are increasingly aware of the world around them, and can feel marginalised and left-out if they don’t find someone they can identify with on their screens.

Sesame Street was one of the pioneers of this – teaching kids through example that people of all races and backgrounds can live harmoniously in one place, and it is important to embrace our differences.

Some first attempts at diversity through media were often labelled as ‘box-ticking’. In fact, the comedy South Park had a satirical character called ‘Token’, an African-American child brought into the series as as play-on-words of the ‘token black guy’,

66

Why inclusivity as well as diversity in children’s programming is so important

commonly featured on American television shows, a mocking nod to the politically-correct idea of racial diversity on screen by having one black character among white peers.

Today, with global movements such as #blacklivesmatter and #bekind now household names, many content creators have moved on in leaps and bounds beyond the idea that they were satisfying an audience by bringing in a character to appease certain members of the audience.

A report in 2019 (Lemish & Johnson, 2019) examined North American

children’s (up to age 12) television content, including 476 programs with 1,654 main characters.The results were very revealing.

• Sixty-five percent of characters were white and female characters were more likely to be non-white or racially ambiguous than male characters. This is almost representative of the racial make-up of the U.S., as about 60% of the population is White, Non-hispanic and Non-latino (U.S. Census Bureau).

• Only 38% of characters were women or girls, while almost 51% of the US population is female (U.S. Census

TOTAL LICENSING Bureau).

• Female characters were twice as likely to solve problems using magic while males were more likely to solve problems using science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or their physicality.

• Fifty percent of female characters were shown to be wearing revealing clothing and had other physical traits that symbolize “sexiness.” This is twice the number of males that were sexualized.

• The majority of characters were thin, and more females than males were portrayed this way. Research shows that women are vulnerable to images of thinness in media and that exposure can be harmful (Posavac, Posavac, & Posavac, 1998).

• One percent of characters had any sign of physical disability or chronic disease, while 20% of the population lives with a disability (Okoro, Hollis, Cyrus, & Griffin-Blake, 2018).

• Two percent of characters were portrayed as having lower socioeconomic status, when about 20% of children in the U.S. live below the poverty line (NCCP).

Addressing such issues is not something that can be done overnight. But there are many creators who are changing the way content is made.

Heading into its 12th year of celebrating excellence in children’s television and digital entertainment, Kidscreen Awards is introducing a new category for inclusive programming to recognize kids TV content that represents BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), LGBTQ+ and disabled characters in a positive and non-stereotypical way.

In February, the Licensing International Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee commissioned the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media at Mount Saint Mary’s University to conduct the firstever global study of diversity in the licensing industry.

The study is part of the ongoing work of the Licensing International IDEA committee, which is sponsored by the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), with additional support provided by Sony Pictures, Sybo Games and USAopoly.

Licensing International member companies from around the world participated in the study, and their responses were combined with supplemental research and data analysis by the Geena Davis Institute. Key learnings include: • 30.2% of survey respondents report that their organization has a D&I program.

• 17.8% of small organizations (1-50 employees) have a D&I program, compared with 67.5% of large organizations (501+ employees).

• In the U.S., people of color account for 38% of the population, but only 13.5% of CEOs among member organizations.

• Women make up 51% of the global population, yet 24% of member organization CEOs are female, compared with 76% who are male.

“The findings of this study bear out what I think we all already know – there is work to be done when it comes to ensuring inclusivity and equal representation across our industry,” says Maura Regan, President, Licensing International. “This is a moral and a business imperative. Our goal is to provide the leaders of our industry with the knowledge and tools they need to take action and change the status quo. Sharing the findings of our research is just the first step in that process.”

King Features Syndicate recently announced the launch of LGBTQ+ comic series Rae the Doe. Rae the Doe follows the life and times of a doe named Rae and her punk skunk girlfriend Mimi.

The comic is full of jokes, satire and the occasional groan-worthy pun and covers themes of LGBTQ+ acceptance and coping with anxiety and depression. Rae the Doe ran as an in-

dependent webcomic for two and half years before it was picked up by King Features for syndication. In that time, Brinker published a book, animated two Christmas specials and drew 400 comics. Now, Brinker continues the story of Rae with new content on Comics Kingdom that’s syndicated to online newspapers and digital publications.

As King Features’ first LGBTQ+-centric comic, Rae the Doe continues the syndicate’s mission to offer new and diverse voices a platform in comics.

The stars of Rainbow Rangers, made

by Genius Brands for Nick Jr’s US network, are a multicultural team of girls who are also on a mission to defend and protect the world. Surveys showed that both female and male audiences identified with the main characters.

Raydar Media and Mackinnon & Saunders are teaming up to produce a new pre-school, stop frame animated TV series that celebrates friendship, fun and fancy dress. The MIXMUPS, was created by Rebecca Atkinson, Founder of the viral #ToyLikeMe campaign, who felt that there was a need for more visibility of disability on screen.

This new series – developed with support from the BFI’s Young Audience Content Fund – sees Pockets, Giggle and Spin transported from their Helter-Skelter home, through a Magic Box Dress-Up portal, to embark upon costume-filled, problem-solving adventures which address the day-to-day life experiences of children living with and without disability.

Atkinson’s viral #ToyLikeMe brand has helped deliver inclusivity for 150 million disabled children worldwide.

“In MixMups I wanted to create an innovative show and brand, bursting

“There is work to be done when it comes to ensuring inclusivity and equal representation across our industry...”

67

TOTAL LICENSING

“Aiming your content to include children of all skin-colours, nonnuclear families, disabilities, sexual orientation, different religious and cultural backgrounds is especially important.”

68

with fun, magic and play, which would bring disability representation into the mainstream in a way which has never been done before,” says Atkinson.

Raydar Media’s Alison Rayson feels that Atkinson has assembled a team to work on the series with everyone having firsthand experience of disability. “Debbie Macdonald who is also cowriter on MixMups brought Raydar into the team and I feel very blessed that she did. Having a son with Downs Syndrome, I know firsthand that MixMups is the opposite of a “tick box” series.

“It is a character driven, funny show that everyone will be able to enjoy.We wanted to show that all children play differently and that this is something to embrace – MixMups encapsulates the joy of individuality and demonstrates that “there is always another way to play.”

9 Story Distribution International announces the worldwide distribution rights of the new animated series Guitar & Drum. Produced by Punkrobot Animation Studio (Chile) and Hype Animation (Brazil), the 52 x 5’ show is aimed at preschool audiences.

Aimed at children 3-5, Guitar & Drum follows the adventures of two musical instruments who are also best friends.

The series celebrates diversity as an essential part of who we are through a wide range of characters. It addresses cultural topics, personal abilities and different tastes and shows how our differences can empower us to build a better world.

“We are excited to be partnering with the incredibly talented studios Punkrobot and Hype,” said Alix Wiseman,

SVP, Distribution and Acquisitions for 9 Story. “Guitar & Drum is a beautiful series with important messages about inclusivity which we’re thrilled to bring to an international audience.”

“Guitar & Drum has powerful messages of acceptance, respect towards others and empathy. We hope it will inspire children to be kinder to one another, and to see each other’s differences in a positive light,” said the filmmakers, Antonia Herrera and María Elisa Soto-Aguilar.

Little Tiaras, the animated series produced by Melnitsa Animation Studio, owned and managed by CTC Media and CTB Film, introduced two more exciting characters in the end of Season 2. Little Tiaras welcomed two boys – Li Van and Da Vasko to their school of Magic in Wondermont. This makes the series the first animated series in Russia presenting racial diversity of the leading characters (Da Vasko is black and Li Van is Asian).

Ksenia Gordienko, Director of animation department, CTC Media: “No doubt that there’s an evident lack of authentic characters representing diverse perspectives in children’s media.

We’re thrilled that Little Tiaras will be-

come one of the series that will help create a more diverse on-screen landscape that will let little kids see how diverse our world is.We’re very proud to be a first animated series in Russia with racial and gender diverse main characters.”

Moe Shalizi and Marshmello announce the launch of their newest entertainment initiative, Mellodees, a musically-driven video property.

Mellodees will feature Dee the musical robot with music produced by Marshmello, and promises to deliver relevant messages and energetic music for the preschool set and their millennial parents to enjoy.

“Mellodees provides a safe place to learn not only educational material, but also age-appropriate holistic topics such as self-care, diversity, physical and mental well-being, community and culture,” said Krista Carnegie, COO of TSG. Superights has announced new deals signed with several broadcasters for its series Will, and its spin-off series Handico, created by French indie producer Cross River Productions.

These two shows have the distinction of being the first edutainment series about disability.

Both series use a positive, dynamic, and informative approach to educate children about disabilities. Inclusion and understanding are at the heart of these valuable programmes, which Superights is very proud to represent.

Will was purchased by the free-to-air channels TVP in Poland, RSI in Switzerland, and RTVS in Slovakia. Additional purchasers are the SVOD platforms OCS in France, TIM, Vision in Italy, and Megogo in Ukraine. They join VRT and RTBF in Belgium, TV Escola in Brazil, TV5 MONDE, CANAL ONCE in Mexico, MBC in the Middle East, TFO in Canada, MTVA in Hungary, LATTU KIDS in India, Playkids in the US, Wekids in China, Iflix in Southeast Asia, and NOGA in Israel, all of which previously acquired the series.

Handico – to complement Will – has been secured by broadcasters and platforms such as RTS in Switzerland, TV5 Monde,TVP in Poland, and TIM Vision in Italy.

TOTAL LICENSING

INTERVIEW Becky Ash talked to Waell Oueslati, Director of Acquisitions and Licensing, Crunchyroll

Since we met at BLE, how has the business grown and in what areas?

The big change is the ownership: as you know Crunchyroll acquired VIZ Media Europe this year. We were part of a big Japanese Group, and now we belong to WarnerMedia, which is an exciting challenge for us. With this new name we hope to sustain the general enthusiasm around Japanese animation, and continue to provide good quality contents to the licensing industry and the fans.

Our 2 biggest IP’s, My Hero Academia & Captain Tsubasa are performing very well. The first one is the fastest growing Japanese manga/anime prop-

erty today, with a steady evolution in all the compartments of the brand whether it is comic book, video game, toys & figures. The show is streamed everywhere in the world, broadcast on 8 major European TV channels, and has 25 merchandising licensees on board. And we have a lot of discussions to increase the development.

The second one is the most famous football/soccer anime franchise, and we had so many things going on this year with Euro 2020. Unfortunately, since the event was postponed to next year, a lot of our promotions planned linked to the tournament, are also postponed. Our partnership with the French National team World Champion gave us some good visibility, and we are capitalizing on it to keep recruiting prestigious partners.

Obviously times are very different at the moment – how have you adapted and kept business growth and loyal fans?

Not really involved directly with the fans as we’re more on the B2B side, but for the business we made it important to keep the communication going with our licensees during these difficult times to support them as much as we can. The goal is to be ready when things get better.

Is the popularity of anime growing, with different audiences around the globe?

Thanks to the Internet and the massive streaming platforms expansion, Anime is more mainstream than ever, Anime is not a niche market anymore, and we see it with collaborations with “trendy” brands, the international celebrities claiming publicly their love for the genre and the good results. Anime is now multicultural, transgenerational, going from young kids to adults and also gender neutral, appealing to both male and female audiences. Anime has never been stronger.

What about licensing – what are some of your big plans for this?

The plan is to increase the visibility of our main IP’s including Crunchyroll’s existing catalogue, secure more mass market categories with leading partners in order to provide the best products and experience to the anime fans around the world.

69

TOTAL LICENSING

MAURIZIO DISTEFANO LICENSING

A one-stop licensing shop for the Italian market Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) is continuing to pursue its strategy of finding and representing a wide range of properties and IPs with a strong likelihood of success in the Italian market.

It is an impressive portfolio, with associations ranging from animation, sport and music to fashion and space exploration.

As retail and licensing operations resume across Italy, Maurizio Distefano Licensing (MDL) is continuing to bring the skills of its founder Maurizio Distefano and his staff to a diverse target audience and a growing portfolio of brands. It is also firmly focused on a long-planned diversification strategy, which was well under way before the recent Italian lockdown.

In fact, MDL never stopped doing business. Even during the pandemic the company maintained the high level of service to licensors, licensees and retailers on which it prides itself. “Working from home wasn’t easy,” says founder Maurizio Distefano, “but we kept going. We never pulled the plug.”

potential in licensing across toys, plush, apps, stationery, publishing and much more.

But, despite its evident success with children’s brands, MDL is no longer an agency that is mainly associated with a specific age group, although its focus – to cover all licensee needs for the target group – has not changed. Underlining this fact are a number of recent signings aimed at older consumers.

The International Space Archives (ISA) is a perfect example of this. The ISA brand brings together the best still and video imagery of manned and unmanned space programmes into one

MDL has long been a major player in developing successful licensing campaigns for children’s animated properties. Distefano carefully selects the next animated series suitable to be included in a portfolio that features Masha and the Bear, Bing, ALVINNN!!! and the Chipmunks, and Gigantosaurus.

The latest addition to this impressive list is Leo &Tig. The first series (26 x 11) is now showing on Rai YoYo, where children aged from five to 10 years old have responded enthusiastically to the adventures of the curious and brave leopard cub Leo and his cautious friend Tig, a Siberian tiger, in the beautiful Far Eastern forest they call home.

The show’s winning combination of fun with a message of respect and care for the world around us is not only popular with kids, but has enormous

70

photojournalists immortalized some of the most significant events of the 20th century from many fields including celebrity, history, fashion, sports, cinema and nature. There’s no doubt that its iconic images have withstood the test of time. This brand strength, along with the continuing relevance of its imagery, will drive a licensing campaign on which MDL will be working with partners in such categories as apparel, stationery, wall art, puzzles and homewares.

Closer to home for MDL, but also enjoying a worldwide reputation, is La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy’s leading sports daily paper since 1896 and the

comprehensive collection. It’s available for licensing worldwide through LMI Ltd, and now in Italy through MDL, bringing the wonder and beauty of outer space to all product categories for a very wide age group.

And speaking of imagery, since its first issue in November 1936, another MDL property, LIFE magazine, has been the most respected source and collection of photojournalism in the world. Its

most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy.

With an unequalled reach in the adult male market, La Gazzetta dello Sport’s association with pretty much every major sport, from tennis, basketball and Formula 1 to rugby, cycling and, of

TOTAL LICENSING course, football, make it a must-have for fans of Italian sports culture. Apparel, accessories and promotions are some of the categories where this property and its positive associations are expected to offer unmissable licensing opportunities.

But this expanded focus on adult brands doesn’t diminish MDL’s commitment to children’s properties.

In fact, the company is doing better than ever in this market. Its longterm established hit Masha and the Bear continues to enjoy high levels of awareness among Italian families, both as a broadcast property and as a licensed brand, supported by spin-off shows like the very popular Masha’s Tales and the fourth season of Masha Songs, as well as a strong social media and streaming following.

Another well-known children’s property, ALVINNN !!! and the Chipmunks, owned by Bagdasarian Productions, remains one of the most viewed animated series in Italy for children aged 6-10, with new deals covering publishing, stickers, colouring and activity books, confectionery, bottled water for children and apparel.

A more recent arrival, Gigantosaurus, has already inspired a plush col-

lection, a master toy line and a fantastic selection of books, and MDL expects this tale of four curious young dinosaurs to build a strong licensing base – especially as at least three series and a theatrical release are planned.

And of course we mustn’t forget Bing – one of Europe’s most successful preschool properties (and the winner of Italy’s best licensed property award in 2019 from the Bologna licensing show). Bing’s long list of licensees is attracted by the show’s gentle focus on the struggles and achievements of the very young, which have an enormous appeal both to the show’s one-to-fiveyear-old audience and their parents.

But MDL has many other projects under way. It has, for example, been building a growing fashion-based licensed offering, highlighting some of Italy’s most creative young names, such as PREMOLI+DIBELLA, Filippo Laterza and Stefano Cavalleri.

MDL also represents globally famous drinks brands Baileys and Guinness, while style brand Marie-Antoinette, inspired by the life and style of the famous French sovereign, offers excellent opportunities in cosmetics, toiletry preparations, perfumery, apparel, shoes, accessories and home décor.

Another category with a strong consumer base among every age from tween upwards is music – and MDL is offering licensees opportunities in the Italian market with some of the best-known bands and artists in music history.

The MDL rock music roster includes AC/DC, Kiss, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin, The Police and Genesis among others, as well as the classic Imagine LP by John Lennon, the treasure store that is the lyrics of Lennon & McCartney and one of the first and greatest music fes-

tivals, Woodstock. All these music brands use vintage and iconic graphics for licensing that is both on-trend and timeless.

Overall then, the MDL offering builds on a strong reputation – developed in under six years – that has allowed the agency to target multiple age groups with an evolving and growing portfolio.

And it won’t stop there. The company’s aim is to go deeper and broader with its representations to be able to

cover all demographics and age groups – from pre-schoolers, kids and tweens to teenagers and adults. The company also wants to work with properties across the board: animated series, of course, but also corporate brands, music brands, sport, fashion, movies – in fact any brand that it feels will work for the Italian market.

That, of course, is the point. Key to the company’s success is the care with which it chooses the properties it represents. “We only represent those properties and IPs that we believe are going to be a success in Italy,” says Distefano. “Quality matters more than quantity.”

And it’s all supported by what MDL feels is an unmatched research service.

As Distefano says,“We always strive to offer our customers something new: new ideas, new approaches and new business opportunities. But these are always backed by the level of service we can provide to both licensors and licensees. We create bespoke projects to suit the needs of all our partners.”

“Our aim is to become a one-stop shop for Italian licensees – where they can find best-selling IPs perfectly suited to the Italian market.”

71

TOTAL LICENSING

The New Disruptor:

By Trudi Bishop, Director, Bee Licensing trudi@beelicensing.com

Acknowledging the earth-sized elephant in the room...over-consumption.

Pivot... Outside the box... Move the needle... Disruption... Sustainable.

Business buzzwords we’ve heard a lot in recent months, particularly in relation to business and Covid19.

One that always bugged me (and I’m not much of a fan of most business buzzwords) is “disruption.” It’s one that is dropped in many business presentations and webinars and is often used alongside “leaders” within their respective sectors. But when I delve further these (often self-professed) “disruptors” or “leaders” are simply driving forward business as usual with only incremental changes in direction.

This is particularly profound when it comes to sustainability and business.

But before I proceed, it’s worth reminding ourselves of a couple of definitions; first “disruption”: “a person or thing that prevents something, especially a system, process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected” And secondly; “sustainability”: “Sustainability focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

Sustainability is an intergenerational

72

responsibility that needs to be taken on by all levels of society, including business and governments. Within the brand licensing industry, the sustainability agenda is moving further up the conversation. While there are some companies making inroads to be truly sustainable, there are many more where this is still used for pure marketing purposes or the shareholder’s CSR check box.

So, we will see a capsule collection of t-shirts or shoes made from recycled bottles, or toys being put into degradable/recyclable packaging and the virtual tapping on the back will reverberate around the trade press or LinkedIn. In the meantime, business is carrying on as usual, profit is still placed before planet and people as we press harder on the accelerator toward 1.5C global temperature rise and beyond.

While many of the moves made by

companies are honourable and important incremental changes, they do not go deep enough to enact the systematic changes required to prevent the environmental disaster we are facing and starting to experience. A wise man (Marc Buckley) once said, “if you slow down or reduce your speed while driving on the highway in the wrong direction, you are only going slower in the wrong direction.” We cannot wait for governments to legislate for the changes we need. As businesses, we need to lead the way and be the disruptors to turn our vehicles around and head in another, truly sustainable direction.

To be a disruptor in this multi-billiondollar industry means addressing the earth-sized elephant in the room – over consumption. Paul Dillinger, vice president of global product innovation at Levis Strauss & Co did just that in a recent interview with Vogue saying, “We should use this painful downtime to think about what we’ve done and accept that these circumstances may have finally ‘right sized’ an industry that lacked the courage or discipline to appropriately manage its own excesses.” Dillinger went on to explain why they are encouraging responsible or mindful shopping, acknowledging the environmental damage jean production has caused, and how they are

TOTAL LICENSING addressing this via their WellThread initiative.

When we think of disruptors in the consumer products world, Tesla usually jumps to mind having led the way on electric vehicle tech. Another is Patagonia – a brand that for more than 40 years has committed to finding solutions for the environmental crisis, leading the way in the ‘right to repair’, selling second-hand gear, as well as being part of 1% for the planet and supporting the sports activism movement.

Iceland supermarkets – a small player in the UK supermarket realm by comparison but big on its values.They have led the charge removing palm oil and single use plastic from all their own brand ranges and continue to challenge their supply chain to do the same.Their leadership and ‘courage’ in doing what’s right has increased their brand awareness and value among consumers.

Outside of the traditional consumer products world there are people and companies who stand out as disrupters on the sustainability stage. Inter-

face, (a global commercial flooring company) is one such company, who have been working toward net zero carbon emissions since 1994 and will achieve this in 2020. They now have the ambitious target of what they call “Climate Take Back” where they want to reverse the effects of global warming. They have embraced sustainability at every level of their business from the beginning and are leaders in the field.

Sustainability is also about transparency. Triodos Bank are founded on the principals of transparency, fairness and sustainability – all their investments are public. They focus on ensuring money is invested in organisations or businesses that are benefitting the world – ecologically, socially etc.

Back in the realm of consumer products, Unilever has announced they are adding the carbon footprint on all their products. This will also then force their existing and potential suppliers to do the same. A ripple in a pond becomes a wave. Alongside this

they are also investing in putting all their brands through B-Corp certification and committing €1billion to green recovery investments. They are leading the way in the FMCG sector.

The common thread among these leaders in sustainability is the acknowledgement of the climate crisis and their full commitment to change direction for the better of people and planet.

Within consumer products and the brand licensing industry I beg the question – are the true disruptors the ones that address the effects our encouragement of over consumption and the current broken capitalist model is having on the health of the planet and therefore us and take responsibility for this?

I will finish with a quote from Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, (a company who changed the whole way we consume music and media.)

“If you have built a chaos factory, you can’t dodge responsibility for the chaos!”

73

TOTAL LICENSING

In common with most sports, Nascar stopped racing in March and April with races cancelled or postponed because of the pandemic.

However, with the return of Nascar Cup Series racing at Darlington Raceway on May 17, Nascar became one of the first US sports to return to live competition. Such was the interest, and the appetite for live sport, that the first race back at Darlington reached an average of 6.3 million viewers on Fox and 31% of the audience was new to Nascar Cup Series racing in 2020.

Across seven national series events at Darlington and Charlotte, Nascar’s return to racing reached 18.6 million unique viewers including 6.8 million new viewers for the Nascar Cup series.

During the lockdown, Nascar was busy and announced the eNascar iRacing Pro Invitational Series shortly after the lockdown was announced. The concept for the series came together quickly, whilst the unpredictability of the environment created a number of challenges to overcome. The concept for the series came together beginning with a few text conversations and eventually expanding to larger conference calls to finalize details. In the end, the entire Nascar commu-

74

nity, spearheaded by iRacing and Fox Sports aligned to provide passionate fans with a unique, fun and competitive experience on race day.The series provided much-needed racing entertainment for sports fans on iRacing, which is often used by Nascar drivers to prepare for race events.

The results were tremendous. Six of the seven eNascar Pro Invitational Series events rank as the highest-rated esports TV programs of all time and the Pro Invitational Series events reached 2 million new viewers who had not watched any of the first four 2020 Nascar Cup Series races.

Like most licensed programs, during the lockdown ecommerce sales continued to rule with the Nascar Shop being the key destination for Nascar product. But since Nascar’s return to racing in May, Nascar shop sales are up almost 200% and year-on-year sales are up over 38% on Nascar shop.

Interestingly, during the lockdown, Nascar saw double-digit percentage increase in sales of toy and videogame

products as fans were playing and engaging with the sport at home.

Nascar Heat 4 was immensely popular, together with Nascar Adventure Force Drash Racers and Nascar Heat 5 launched earlier than originally scheduled on July 7 to accommodate demand during COVID-19.

Other current trends include a surge in demand for Bubba Wallace product following his statement driving a #BlackLivesMatter paint scheme on June 10th. After the Martinsville race, Bubba jumped to the number one selling driver (he was double digits be-

forehand). Overall, year to date, Bubba now ranks as the number two driver overall on the Nascar Shop and the week of June 22, coming off Talladega, Bubba’s product ranked number one on the entire Fanatics Platform (higher than Lakers,Yankees, Cowboys etc).

The Nascar Heat video game franchise, which powers Nascar’s console esports league, the eNascar Heat Pro League, culminates this August with its second championship which will, not doubt, further increase Nascar’s popularity.

With both live and virtual events showing hugely increased popularity, Nascar has been in a great position to weather the pandemic. Their Nascar Cup Series averaged 1.0 million viewers who tuned in every minute, clearly outpacing other esports properties and the social engagement rate outperformed 2019 race day averages.

Finally, in keeping with many other licensors, Nascar has seen both team and driver masks drive a significant amount of volume online as fans look for fashionable and fun ways to wear the increasingly important face covering products.

TOTAL LICENSING

Setting Financial Parameters for a License Agreement By: Gregory J. Battersby and Edmund J Ferdinand It is generally agreed that advances and guaranteed minimum royalties are both integral part of most merchandising agreements. How to sets these amounts, however, is the challenge.

as a prospective licensee, you state, for example, that in year one you expect to sell $500,000 worth of merchandise, and in year two you expect to sell $600,000 worth of merchandise.

A technique that has been used for decades by licensors finds its origin with the now defunct Licensing Corporation of America (“LCA”), originally owned by Warner Bros.

It was described by LCA’s then VP, Murray Altchuler, in the following 1983 interview for The Merchandising Reporter (now Licensing Journal). Murray would go on to create and run the licensing industry trade association known as LIMA (now Licensing International).

When this comes back to me, I’ll look at it, and if I’m working, as an example, with a 7% royalty of wholesale, I don’t have to be a genius to say 7% of $500,000 is $35,000 in royalties in year one. I will call him up and if we think $35,000 is not worth the product category, I will say so at that point and that becomes the subject of additional discussion.

“At the initial stages of the negotiation, we ask a licensee to do a little homework.

Too often, a prospective licensee figures the license will be the panacea for instant success, i.e., all he must do is place a label on a product and it will sell.

We have had occasion over the years where companies that are financially in trouble think that a license is going to pull them out of a financial dilemma. So, we ask him if you have the license, we want sales projections, what are you going to do in the first year and what are you going to do in the second.

Here is where we are probably a lot different than, I suspect, most of the trade.

To my knowledge, every licensor works on a royalty, credited against a guarantee.

Historically, my experience has been that the guarantee asked for by most licensors is pulled out of the air, based on experience, what he thinks the traffic will bear, etc.

We do not do it. If you fill out our form

If we feel $35,000 is enough, I will say to him, “I told you beforehand that our royalty is 7% so that, using your $500,000 projection which would result in royalties of $35,000 in the first year, we want a $20,000 or $25.000 guarantee. At that point, if he says to me: “$20,000 or $25,000, I can’t pay, it’s too large a guarantee”, we are almost at the end of the conversation because I can then only think that he just put the number $500,000 down without any basis or thinking. That is one of the warning flags we get from using our form.

Rather than arbitrarily saying we want a $5,000 or $50,000 guarantee, we let the prospective licensee determine his own destiny. He decides what the guarantee he is willing to give is and we decide whether it is acceptable for the product category.

Not surprisingly, the basis for such a technique remains today.

To see the complete interview and other great stories from the licensing industry, check out my new book, Licensing Tales, which should be available on Amazon by the end of the summer.

Legally Speaking

BOOK AVAILABLE! THE BUSINESS OF LICENSING - The Essential Guide for Intellectual Properties Licensing has has exploded into a $250+ billion worldwide industry at retail and generates more than $7 billion in royalty income for those property owners who are savvy enough to license their properties for a wide variety of consumer products.

About 8 years ago, lawyer Gregory J Battersby and licensing veteran Danny Simon introduced the first Basics of Licensing book. They did a revised version a couple of years later and followed it with a Licensee edition and then finally an International edition. Recognizing that there was a degree of commonality between these editions, Battersby and Simon concluded that it was time for the definitive work on licensing, hence, The Business of Licensing which combines the best of all three prior editions and takes the subject to the next level.

This book takes the reader through the nuts and bolts of how to conduct a licensing program and handle many of the problems that it might face There is a substantial amount of reference material. They have included an expanded history of merchandising, and an extensive collection of the forms that any licensing professional may need which they intend to provide to purchasers with electronic access to the forms via Dropbox.

The Complete Business of Licensing is available at a cost of $39.95 ($34.95 for LI members). https://www.totallicensingworld.com/site/ business_of_licensing

Gregory J. Battersby Battersby Law Group, LLC 25 Poplar Plains Rd. Westport, CT 06880 (203) 454-9646 • (866) 579-9591 (Fax) gjbattersby@gbiplaw.com • www.gbiplaw.com Jed Ferdinand, Senior Managing Member Ferdinand IP www.FerdinandIP.com NY Phone: (212) 220-0523 CT Phone: (203) 557-4224 75

TOTAL LICENSING By: Alice Yang Licensing Team China Toy & Juvenile Products Association WeChat: chinalicensing alice_yang@tjpa-china.org www.tjpa-china.org

The 2020 Report by the CTJPA Brand Licensing Council As the fifth largest licensing market in the world, China has great potential to grow more impressively. To understand the rapidly growing licensing industry in China, The China Toy and Juvenile Products Association (CTJPA) conducted a professional survey and issued the China Licensing Industry Report 2020 this May. It is the only

76

industrial report in the world that focuses on the China licensing sector.

And it is the fourth consecutive year that CTJPA has published this report.

growth year-on-year. The annual Royalty fee in 2019 in China grew USD 0.54 billion.

According to the statistics gained from the Report, the total retail volume of licensed merchandise in China in 2019 reached USD 13.9 billion - a 15.9%

According to the Report, 542 licensors (31.6% growth year on year) were active in the licensing market of China by the end of 2019. And 2,006

Profile of licensors in China

TOTAL LICENSING and regions as the origins of properties in the China licensing market.

After over a decade of development, international companies are recognizing the potential of the Chinese licensing market and, as a result, they are more willing to enter and explore the Chinese market. At the same time, as the licensing market in China continues to grow, more and more Chinese companies realize the importance of brand licensing, and are beginning to explore more opportunities in the business.

properties (36.2% growth compared with last year) and brands had conducted licensing business in China by the end of 2019.

The top most popular properties by category were Cartoon & Animation (26%), Art& Culture (17%), and Fashion, Trend & Lifestyle (14%), and Movies & TV Programs (13%).

More and more museums are entering the licensing business thanks to both government encouragement and market demand. And museum licensing in China is recognized as a category within art licensing. The beautiful merchandise created by museums has become trendy and fashionable in China, and more high-end consumers prefer to choose those products to identify with their lifestyles.

According to the statistics released from Forbidden City, China’s largest museum, their retail volume of licensed merchandise had surpassed USD 223 million in 2017, and the amount of the licensed merchandise reached over 10 thousand SKUs. Art licensing in China

is growing and showing great promise.

China’s domestic licensors have grown up quickly. For the first time, the property quantity from the Greater China

region surpassed the US, and took the largest share in the market. Foreign brands remained popular in the same time, with the US, Japan, EU and UK as the top four regions. What is worthy to note is that the property regions are more diversified with 42 countries

Profile of licensees in China Licensee companies in China cover many different industries, from traditional toys and apparel to the emerging LBE (Location Based Entertain-

ment). Licensee companies have realized the value of properties and are more willing to invest in the licensing business.

In the merchandising licensing field, Chinese licensees cover 13 main industries. The top 4 licensee industries are Toys/Non-Video Games (17%), Apparel/Accessories (15%), food& beverage (12%), Gifts/Collectibles/Souvenirs (9%). Together, these take more than half of the licensees.

The most impressive increase goes to the category of food and beverage, increased from 9% to 12% in the whole category pie in 2019. As the consumption became more competitive in the market, how to get attention from the consumers is a question the manufacturers thinking every day.

Brand licensing offered them an ideal way to be spotted immediately among

77

TOTAL LICENSING parks, films, co-productions and retail shops, they are creating an ecosystem to bring consumers in and foster a broader buzz and awareness, by themed space licensing together with retail sales.

According to the investigation, the Report found there is a good increase of merchandise sales driven by licensing.

Nearly one third of licensee companies (32%) admitted that they have gained more than 50% increase in sales because of licensed merchandise.

Consumers’ behavior and licensed merchandise

all the similar products on the shelf.

More licensees in food and beverage are beginning to cooperate with licensors to keep their market share and growth.

Included in the merchandising field, more forms of licensing cooperation are explored. Licensing in tourism, exhibitions, live shows, education pro-

78

grams have become popular too.

Location Based Entertainment remains as a positive trend in the industry. Themed exhibitions in shopping malls, themed coffee bars, themed restaurants, themed convenience stores, themed painted and decorated planes and metro‌ all have witnessed a boom in recent years. With theme

As China’s licensing industry become more mature and continuously increasing in terms of economy, consumers who earn more money are more willing to spend money on what they want, instead of what they need.

The most welcomed licensed merchandise in the market were toys (18%), apparel (16%), and food and beverage (13%).

Thanks to the smartphone, online purchasing is so easy for every average Chinese, and online shopping plays a big role in the purchasing of licensed merchandise.

Also, when asked about the price that consumers are willing to pay for licensed merchandise compared with regular products, 86 percent of the investigated consumers accepted that licensed merchandise is more expensive than other regular products. More than half of them accepted a price that was over 50 percent above the regular cost.

TOTAL LICENSING

By Martin Brochstein SVP Industry Relations and Information Licensing International www.licensinginternational. org

It’s All About the Experience How many times over the past few years have licensing executives found themselves talking about “experiences” rather than products?

As we noted in the most recent edition of Licensing International’s Annual Global Licensing Study, “Both the Location-Based Entertainment (+9.8 percent) and Services (+7.1 percent) sectors had strong above-market growth as many licensors continue to look for new non-traditional sources of revenue that don’t depend on the availability of shelf space in a physical retail store.”

Think licensed escape rooms, touring shows, play areas, theme park rides, hotels, restaurants and such. Some brands developed their own pure play store experiences, such as The Crayola Experience and the licensed Nerf Challenge.

At the same time, retailers and mall developers have been working hard to give shoppers “experiences” to draw them out from behind their screens and buy from physical stores.

The idea of “retail as theater” took hold, particularly among department stores. Meanwhile, malls encouraged, developed and recruited activities to engage kids and their parents to get

them to both visit and stay longer. The idea was to give consumers something not available online.

The fact is, most of these merchandising concepts, designed to promote the “you gotta be there” feel, are being rethought as retailers necessarily focus on keeping shoppers safe – and feeling secure.

“At the moment safety is of paramount importance to retailers and they need to figure that out before they expand or move onto new concepts,” says Project Partners Network’s Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf. “Retailers are still going to need to entertain, surprise and delight customers, so [in-store] experiences aren’t going away” as a way to drive store traffic.

Brands and products are essential to that effort, and need to adapt. Fragrance, cosmetics and skin cream samples, once freely applied to shoppers’ skin, will now be replaced by individually packaged versions. Trying on clothes may become a thing of the past or, for retailers that try to maintain the practice, they’ll need to develop systems for sanitizing and redisplaying unpurchased items. In the toy aisle, will manufacturers need to move away from the “Try Me” packaging that attracts little fingers?

Responses to these and other challenges will help shape the future of consumer-facing businesses in general, and the licensing business in particular.

The industry entered 2020 on extremely sound footing. Global sales revenue of licensed merchandise and services grew to $292.8 billion in 2019, a 4.5 percent increase over the $280.3 billion generated in 2018, according to Licensing International’s Annual Global Licensing Study. The 4.5 percent growth is the largest percentage increase for the industry during the six years in which Brandar Consulting has been conducting the Global Study for the association.

While there’s no doubt about the effects of the global pandemic, last year’s growth is evidence of the strong, productive, and profitable business model that bodes well for continued success, as the world economy works its way out of the shockwave that interrupted commerce for all but essential goods.

The 2020 Annual Global Licensing Industry Study, can be downloaded (www.licensinginternational.org) for free by all Licensing International members ($975 for non-members).

The report includes multiple breakdowns of the licensing business by country, region, property type and product category, in terms of both revenue generated, as well as the royalties earned.

It also includes commentary on trends and developments within the licensing industry.

80

TOTAL LICENSING

License India Virtual Expo Magic Digital Trade Expo (V) Cobrandz (L) Milano Licensing Day (L) Festival of Licensing (V) Licensing Expo China (L) China Licensing Expo (L) MIP Junior (L) MIPCOM (L) Licensing Japan (L) Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (L) The Licensing Awards (L) Hong Kong Licensing Show (L) British Toy & Hobby Fair (L) Nuremberg Toy Fair (L) Kidscreen Summit (L) New York Toy Fair (L) Australian Toy Fair (L) Bologna Licensing Trade Fair (L) MIP.TV (L) Licensing Expo (L)

Aug 28 www.licenseindia.com/virtualexpo/ Sept 1 - Nov 1 www.magicfashionevents.com Sept 10 - 11 www.cobrandz.fr Sept 15 www.milanolicensingday.it Oct 6 - 29 www.brandlicensing.eu Oct 10 - 12 http://www.licensingexpochina.com/ Oct 21 - 23 www.chinalicensingexpo.com Oct 10 - 11 www.mipcom.com/mipjunior Oct 12 - 15 www.mipcom.com Oct 27 - 29 www.licensing-japan.jp Nov 9 www.brandlicensingawards.co.uk Dec 16 www.thelicensingawards.co.uk Jan 11 - 13 2021 http://www.hktdc.com/fair/hklicensingshow-en Jan 19 - 21 www.toyfair.co.uk Jan 27 - 31 https://www.spielwarenmesse.de/fair/language/1/ Feb 7 - 11 https://summit.kidscreen.com/2021/register Feb 13 - 16 www.toyfairny.com/ Feb 28 - March 3 www.toyfair.com.au April 12 - 13 www.bolognalicensing.com April 12 - 15 www.miptv.com May 25 - 27 www.licensingexpo.com

This list of events was correct at the time of going to press. However, as so many events have been postponed or cancelled due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is liable to change. Please check the relevant website for up to date information. As some events have transitioned to online, the events are marked (L) for live events and (V) for virtual events.

Totallicensing.com is updated several times a day with up to the minute news, features, views and more.

Make www.totallicensing.com your home page and keep fully up to date on what’s happening in the industry.

ADK Emotions.................................................................11 Beano ................................................................................... 7 China Licensing Expo .....................................................79 Cobrandz ..........................................................................27 El Ocho .......................................................................40, 41 King Features ..................................................................... 9 Licensing Awards ............................................................... 8 Licensing International ...................................................83 Licensing Japan .................................................................39 Mercis .................................................................................. 5 Milano Day of Licensing .................................................23 MIP Junior/MIPCOM ......................................................37

82

Mondo ...............................................................................25 Monogram ........................................................................13 Moonzy .............................................................................84 Rainbow SpA ....................................................................21 ROI Visual ..........................................................................19 SEGA .................................................................................17 Studio 100 ........................................................................15 STUDIOCANAL .............................................................35 TF1 Licences ....................................................................31 Toei Animation .................................................................29 ViacomCBS .................................................................1, 2, 3 List correct at time of going to press.