Total Licensing Autumn 2020

Fall/Autumn 2020

40

98

32

Regular Features

North America

Comment...................................................................... 10 Global news.................................................................. 12 Legally Speaking.........................................................106 The Licensing International Page...........................108 What’s On..................................................................110

Licensing Opportunities with Olstncrafts............. 40 Interview: Jamie Stevens, Sony Pictures.................. 58 Interview: Fred Soulie, Mattel TV............................. 92

Europe

47 UK 18

Update from Studio 100............................................ 18 Mondo TV - Right approach for right brand......... 20 Asmodee Licensing enters the market.................. 26 Magic Light - New Productions and Licensees..... 30 Classic Children’s Book Brands............................... 32 Interview: Talking all things Pokemon..................... 36 The World of Crunchyroll........................................ 38 TF1: Brands are society benchmarks...................... 43 Spain Market Overview................................................ 46 El Ocho - New Licenses.................................... 47 News from the Marketplace............................. 49 The Latest from Mercis............................................. 66 Festival of Licensing Introduction and Format................................... 61 Exhibitor Previews.............................................. 61 Sanrio - the value of Friendship............................... 72 Cover Story: Rainbow SpA.....................................102

Russia The market after the First Wave............................. 77 Focus: Riki Group........................................................ 80 Made in Russia MIPCOM Preview.......................... 82 Russia: Not all Doom and Gloom........................... 85

90 72

8

Asia Beyblade - Familiar in Strange Times...................... 56 Robocar POLI Song Song Museum......................... 74 Interview: India’s Guarav Marya............................... 88 Asia Animation goes virtual...................................... 97

Global The Impact of Digital working on IP....................... 94 Is there a future for Live Events?............................. 95 What is the future of film merchandise?............... 98 Nostalgia comes into its own.................................104

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

10

2020 will be seen as a year that most people want to forget. It began with Australia on fire and a virus in China which many of us took little notice of. Then the virus moved into Europe and the US and we all went into lockdown. Coming out of lockdown and we began to think of other areas of concern – in the US, it’s election year with all that this entails. In the UK, we’re still negotiating our divorce from Europe. Meanwhile, deadly fires are ravaging the North West of the US, and the Amazon… and it’s only September. The way the year is going, I fully expect a meteorite, a plague of locusts and the possible demise of Santa Claus to round off what has been a horrific time!

As we go to press, we have had six months to get used to the ‘new normal.’ With the exception of Licensing Day Milano and Cobrandz, both of which took place ‘live,’ industry shows have either been postponed to next year or have gone ‘virtual.’ And this includes other events on the industry calendar such as Awards ceremonies etc.

But where the events have become virtual ones, many have succeeded in not only creating something new but also something that excites the industry.

Yes, we’ll miss the palm trees, the parties and the cocktails at the Majestic, but MIPCOM has become MIPCOM Online+, a six-week long digital event comprising keynotes, screenings, conferences, intel, pitching, networking, exhibition and more, and incorporating the key parts of MIP Junior.

Of course, Brand Licensing Europe has morphed into The Festival of Licensing. This four-week event, which again includes exhibits, keynotes, seminars and much more, cleverly avoids the pitfalls of many virtual shows by splitting the event into three geographic regions, each run on the individual time zone.

It is interesting to think but if somebody had suggested the Festival format a year ago, most people would have rejected the idea of a ‘virtual’ show. How different life is today! The industry is, without a doubt, getting behind this clever initiative with a myriad of exhibitors and sponsors showing their support. I think everybody wants, and needs, this to work well. After all, the way things are going with the pandemic, this could be the new normal for a while.

The industry is, without doubt, coming to terms

with life as it is now. Retail is different and those that invested time and money into their digital and online offerings, are seeing the benefits. The demise of the shopping center has been long discussed. This is just another nail in its coffin as more and more consumers, around the world, turn to online shopping as a safe, and easy, way to get what they want and need.

However, retail sales in the US and Europe are generally going up now. Granted they suffered dramatically in March and April but, a few months later, they are showing signs of growth again. In the UK retail sales in August grew to above prepandemic levels – a full 3% higher than in February and manufacturing and services grew at the fastest rate for seven years during the same period.

Of course, the big winners have been the online retailers. Amazon’s profits soared in the second quarter, some 40% higher, year on year.

And, at a time of a shrinking workforce around the world, Amazon hired 175,000 new people during the pandemic. Interestingly, in terms of online groceries which had previously been a relatively slow area, Amazon expanded delivery capacity by over 160%.

Of course, while we all get used to new ways of doing business (it’s becoming hard to remember a time before Zoom or Teams!), there are other things on the horizon that could affect us.

In the UK (and Europe), the conclusion of Brexit looms with all its implications and uncertainties.

Will the UK tie down a trade deal with the EU before the December deadline? At the moment the odds are pretty evenly stacked.

And, in the US, the November elections could see an escalation of trade wars, if the current incumbent is re-elected, that could have a dramatically negative affect on global trade.

In the meantime, assuming no plague of locusts or meteorite, we’re really looking forward to connecting with a lot of our readers and advertisers at the Festival of Licensing. Do drop by our ‘booth’. We’ll have our latest issues of Total Licensing, Total Brand Licensing and Total Licensing China available for you to read. And a few other surprises, as well!

Francesca Ash Jerry Wooldridge Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

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

Edmund J Ferdinand Lera Paksyalina

Mariya Rogozhina Marina Semenikhina

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

LATEST RAGDOLL PRODUCTION LICENSED Award-winning production company, Ragdoll Productions, has brought in Brands With Influence to manage the licensing for their new animated series B.O.T. and The Beasties which will be transmitted in the UK on CBeebies early in 2021.

The series has been developed by Anne Wood and the team at Ragdoll’s studios in Stratford upon Avon. Drawing on their experience in the preschool market, the series follows the trials and tribulations of a loveable robot called B.O.T. (Beastie Observation Transmitter) as he discovers new worlds and all manner of new Beasties that inhabit them.

The BBC has acquired 50 episodes of the new series and B.O.T. is now set to become a stalwart of the schedule.

Crucial to the development of the series and its appeal has been Ragdoll’s research and development process where all the characters have been tested with the target market for appeal and comedic value. The result is a show that immediately attracts the pre-school audience and then keeps them engaged through strong visual comedy and imaginative play.

Talking about the appointment Martin

Lowde of Brands With Influence said, “We have been working with Ragdoll for the last 18 months through the development phase of this exciting new series and it’s fabulous that we are now able to share this great show with the licensing industry. With a strong commitment from CBeebies across their platforms and a great production team at Ragdoll the series has all the ingredients needed in a new show.”

Brands With Influence are now organising a series of live online screenings and presentations.

Talking about the appointment of Brands With Influence, Chris Wood of Ragdoll said, “We are delighted to be working with the team at BWI. Our new pre-school B.O.T. and the Beasties series is full of fun through silliness, play and imagination and has masses of potential for licensing as we have seen first-hand how children love to interact

FRESH PRINCE CAPSULE COLLECTION LAUNCHED To commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s premiere, the Fresh Prince clothing brand recently unveiled a new limited-edition capsule that is exclusively available at the newly-launched Fresh Prince online store.

The 30-piece unisex collection – known as the 30th Anniversary – features an array of premium apparel and accessories, including jackets, tees, sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats, masks, bags and more that are inspired by The Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, along with his Grammy Awardwinning music partner DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The nostalgic capsule came out exactly 30 years to the day that the pilot The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air first premiered on television on September 10, 1990. The inaugural episode (titled “The Fresh Prince Project”) focused on Smith’s character as he moved from the streets of West Philadelphia to Bel-Air, Los Angeles to live with his wealthy relatives.

“Very rarely do television programs have such a significant cultural impact 30 years after its release, but to generate this type of excitement in 2020 is really a testament to the fans,” DJ Jazzy Jeff said. “This is really a celebration of a legacy and it’s incredible watching the series evolve into a fashion brand and influence an entirely new generation.”

Visit Total The 30th Anniversary collecLicensing at this tion pays homage to Smith’s year’s inaugural Philadelphia roots and also Festival of Licensing pulls inspiration from his BelAir experience in the show,

12

such as starring on the Bel-Air Academy basketball team.

Each piece features patterns and prints inspired by the show and the fashion trends of the 90s.

The Fresh Prince clothing brand and online store first launched in May 2020 with a 10+ piece unisex Summertime collection that was inspired by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince’s 1991 smash hit Summertime.

Both the brand and store launched in conjunction with a live virtual block party on the @FreshPrince Instagram account that featured live sets from several of the biggest DJs in the world, including Jazzy Jeff, D-Nice, Just Blaze and Clark Kent, among others.

The capsule launch also comes in the same week that Smith formally announced that NBCU’s Peacock had picked up two seasons of the dramatized reboot of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which is based on the viral video created by cinematographer Morgan Cooper.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

GRAHAM SALTMARSH TO HEAD UP LICENSING INTERNATIONAL UK Licensing International has appointed industry veteran Graham Saltmarsh to head its division in the United Kingdom as Managing Director.

Saltmarsh’s appointment marks the beginning of a bold new chapter for Licensing International in the world’s

second-largest licensing market. In this role, Saltmarsh will be responsible for advancing the business of licensing across all sectors of the industry in the UK, creating programs in support of current members and developing initiatives to meet the needs of future members, as well.

Saltmarsh has spent the bulk of his career in licensing-focused roles at some of the world’s most influential media companies including BBC Worldwide and Nelvana. Most recently he served as Director of Licensing & Retail for the UK & Nordics at Turner Broadcasting where he oversaw the consumer product and marketing

activities for key properties including Ben 10, Powerpuff Girls and Rick & Morty. Before discovering the joys of licensing, Saltmarsh was a sound engineer and made extreme sports films, so, as he explains, it’s possible he’s responsible for some of the worst music and programs the ‘80s had to offer! Saltmarsh is a passionate supporter of the licensing industry’s Light Fund and has run the London marathon and rowed from London to Paris with a team of like-minded lunatics. According to Saltmarsh, his future fundraising activities will all be beer-related!

“In these trying times it’s more important than ever to bring all the different elements of this amazing industry together to share knowledge and expertise,” says Saltmarsh. “I am looking forward to working with Licensing International and to connecting people who are passionate about licensing and retail to drive the business forward.”

“We are thrilled to have Graham on board, leading the charge in the UK for Licensing International,” says Licensing International President Maura Regan.

“His deep understanding of the UK licensing community, combined with a fantastic ‘can do’ attitude is a wonderful addition to the Licensing International team.”

VIP GERMANY TO LICENSE SHAPE Meredith Corporation has appointed Hamburg-based V.I.P. Entertainment & Merchandising AG as its exclusive licensing agent for Shape fitness magazine.

Meredith is a leading brand-led media company with its fingers on the pulse of celebrity culture, entertainment, food, fashion, wellness and lifestyle coverage.

The company prioritized licensing program development across its key category-leading brands and looks forward to continuing to grow its Shape licensing program to its full potential.

V.I.P. Entertainment & Merchandising AG is one of the leading independent licensing agents in the German speaking markets with a 40+ years track record, who was also recently appointed to represent the University of Oxford.

V.I.P’s CEO, Michael A. Lou, envisages several attractive product categories for Shape and will start with sports and fitness apparel and equipment, over diet meals, slimming products and nutritional supplements. He sees Shape licensing fitness-related services like wellness, yoga, pilates etc. courses and travels.

Meredith’s licensee for the German Shape edition is the leading Hamburg publishing house Bauer Verlag, though the editorial has been outsourced and Lou will foster a close cooperation between Shape licensees and the magazine.

14

VIRTUAL EVENT FROM DISNEY AUSTRALIA Disney Consumer Products in Australia held their first ever Virtual Consumer Products Kick Off event in early September as a unique way to connect and update partners on Disney’s 2021 priorities along with franchise and content plans.

One of the highlights of the event was the awarding of the 2019 Mousecar Awards that recognize outstanding partners for their work in bringing the Disney product to life. Meagan Sanders VP and GM, Star Wars and CPGP said “I want to thank and congratulate all of the 2019 nominees and winners. 2019 was a year of extraordinary growth and innovation for Disney Consumer Products in Australia & New Zealand. It’s a real privilege to work with our partners, and I’m incredibly proud of how we continue to raise the bar on creating magical products and experiences.”

The 2019 Mousecar Awards included a wide variety of categories.

Best Local Product was awarded to Smiggle for their Frozen 2 and Star Wars ranges; Best Integrated Marketing Campaign went to Woolworths for their Lion King Campaign; Best 365 Program was awarded to Target Australia for their Disney Princess and Marvel apparel; Best Emerging Franchise Program went to Zing for their Mandalorian cross-category support; Channel Expansion Award went to Headstart for their Lion King Ooshies, pencil toppers, four inch and series 2 collections; the Hardlines Innovation Award: was awarded Nestlé Purina for their Star Wars pet accessory range at Coles and Woolworths; and the Softlines Innovation Award went to B.box for their infant sippy cups and accessory range. Further awards included Zak as Softlines Licensee of the Year, Mattel as Hardlines Licensee, Scholastic as Publishing Licensee and the Overall Licensee of the Year went to Caprice.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

STAMPS CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF RUPERT The UK’s Royal Mail, in collaboration with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Brand Development, recently announced the issue of a set of eight stamps to mark the 100th birthday of Rupert Bear. The stamps feature the

artwork of Alfred Bestall, who wrote and illustrated more than 270 Rupert stories after he took on the role in 1935. The set is made up of four pairs of stamps, each pair featuring two illustrations from one of Rupert’s adventures - Rupert’s Rainy Adventure

(1944), Rupert and the Mare’s Nest (1952), Rupert And The Lost Cuckoo (1963) and Rupert’s Christmas Tree (1947).

Rupert made his first appearance in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Herbert Tourtel, who wrote the stories, was an editor at the Express, and his wife, Mary, was the illustrator.

Soon after the stories appeared, they started being reprinted in books. The Rupert Little Bear Library Series ran to 46 issues and was published periodically between 1928 and 1936. In total, Mary illustrated 89 stories, which were later reprinted in books. She retired in 1935. Her replacement was Alfred Bestall, an established artist. In total, he wrote and illustrated 224 Rupert stories for the newspaper and provided 47 other stories, mostly for the Rupert Annuals. It is his illustrations which are reproduced on the stamps.

When Alfred Bestall took over writing and illustrating the Rupert strip, a tradition evolved whereby every picture had a rhyming couplet underneath, plus a few lines of story text to accompany them.

While books of reprinted Rupert stories appeared in the 1920s, it was

decided that an annual publication would appear every Christmas. It was titled, Monster Rupert. The first volume was issued in 1931 and continued up to 1934, ceasing after Mary Tourtel retired. In 1936, it was decided that the Rupert Annual would continue, featuring Alfred Bestall’s illustrations.

From 1942 to 1949, the Annuals had card covers due to wartime, but board covers returned in 1950, when over 1.7 million copies were printed.

Such was the popularity of the annuals, that even in paper rationing during the Second World War, the government sanctioned sufficient paper for the annuals to be printed, to help boost the morale of the public. Rupert Bear annuals have been published every year since 1936.

In 1970, The Adventures of Rupert Bear aired on ITV. It ran for seven years, with over 150 episodes produced over four series.

Philip Parker, Royal Mail, said, “We celebrate the 100th birthday of Rupert, one of the most-loved characters in children’s literature. He has introduced successive generations of children to a wonderful make-believe world of magic and adventure.”

NEW ANIMATED SERIES FROM PLANETA JUNIOR Planeta Junior has signed with Fourth Wall to produce two new kids’ animation series: Milo and Superpigs.

Fourth Wall Animation, an emerging independent producer of animated entertainment content for the whole family, was selected by Planeta Junior to partner on two new animated series. Superpigs and Milo now join the list of other Planeta Junior productions, which includes: Power Players, Gormiti, That’s Joey, Squish, Pio Rocks! and Tilly.

“Fourth Wall is one of the rare companies that excels at transmedia storytelling and is capable of creating lovable characters that are intended to work beautifully both in books and in animation series. Superpigs and Milo are the perfect example of Planeta Junior’s content strategy, which is to produce highly original stories with the best independent creators.” Diego Ibáñez, International Commercial Director, Planeta Junior.

“There is a natural synergy between Fourth Wall and Planeta Junior. We share the same commercial ambitions, as well as a passion for creating high-quality, engaging, character-led content. As well as an excellent distribution & licensing pedigree, Planeta are also underpinned by impressive publishing roots – so has a similar group business model - making them the perfect partner for Fourth Wall.”

16

Joe Moroney, CEO, Fourth Wall.

Milkshake!, in the UK has commissioned Milo, with support from the Government funded Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), through the BFI. Superpigs (26 x 22’) is for 5-9-year-olds and brings a very modern twist to classic fairy tales as the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood are given superhero status as they fight criminals and the Big Bad Wolf. Comedy, mystery, action and drama combine in a series that values teamwork as the way to solve cases.

TOTAL LICENSING

Studio 100 Media is an international production and distribution company within the children’s and family entertainment sector. Based in Munich, Germany, the company is a 100 percent subsidiary of Belgian firm Studio 100. The company develops and acquires new content, engages in coproduction and co-financing activities and is also responsible for the international distribution of its own- and third-party rights. Studio 100 Media’s business model is the perfect vertical and horizontal integration of its IP’s. In marketing its license rights, the company pursues a global strategy within sectors ranging from Content Distribution, Licensing and Home Entertainment through to Theatrical Movies, Stage Shows and Theme Parks.

Studio 100 Media are exhibiting at the Festival of Licensing where they will be concentrating on four key properties..

100% Wolf 100% Wolf is a CGI comedy adventure animation comprising 26 x 22 minute episodes. There is a movie currently available and the TV series will follow in 2020/2021.

The storyline surrounds the adventures of Freddy Lupin, heir to a proud family line of werewolves, who in shock on his 14th birthday his first

guest, Theo, a young bee with a prosthetic wing, is also joining Maya’s adventures.

Mia and me Mia and me is a fantasy adventure mix or live action and CGI animation.

There are now three seasons totalling 78 x 23 minues with season four currently in production as well as a movie.

The series features the fantastic ad“warfing” went awry, turning him into a ferocious… poodle.

Enrolled in the mysterious Howlington Academy, Freddy tries to prove that despite his appearance, he still has the heart of a werewolf.

Maya the Bee Maya the Bee is a CGI adventure animation aimed at preschool with 130 x 13 minute episodes now across two seasons.The television series, together with two movies, are currently available and a new movie will launch early next year.

The new season two features 52 new

adventures with Maya and her very best friends, including the ants patrol peacekeepers with their star duo, silly Billy Joe & dumb Jimmy Joe. A new

18

ventures of Mia and her friends in the magic land of Centopia where they must protect unicorns from villains of all kind.

Heidi Last but not least, Studio 100 are promoting Heidi, a CGI adventure series that now spans 65 x 22 minutes across two seasons, both of which are now available.

Heidi is a happy and communicative orphan-girl.

She lives with her grandfather in the scenic idyll of the Swiss Alps. Heidi makes friends quickly, and people know that they can call on her for help. She loves the freedom of life on the Alp, but she also learns how to take on responsibility.

TOTAL LICENSING

MONDO TV

The Right Approach for Each Brand Both MeteoHeroes and The Gruffalo are children’s properties – but they are very different properties with different brand values. However, Mondo TV has used its many years of experience with diverse kids’ brands to develop licensing campaigns that identify and build on the strengths of both of these popular properties.

Mondo TV has a very diverse portfolio of children’s properties. For example one of Mondo’s newest properties is MeteoHeroes, a new animated series about six superpowered kids who use their powers to protect the environment. The company’s work on MeteoHeroes extends from the concept right through to production, distribution and licensing.

By contrast The Gruffalo is a modern classic children’s book that brings together Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the most successful author and illustrator partnership in picture book publishing. It’s a thrilling tale of a little mouse outwitting a number of animals that want to eat him: a fox, a

20

snake, an owl – and finally a big, scary creature… The Gruffalo.

But Mondo has been able to build very specific licensing programmes that suit both properties. How has it done this?

Well, let’s start with the established property that Mondo is developing for the Italian market.

As a licensing property the Gruffalo has a lot going for it. It’s a highly original tale, loved by all pre-school kids and their parents, and exceptionally well established (it was first published 20 years ago) with sales in excess of 24 million copies worldwide and translated into over 100 languages. It’s a winner of five licensing awards and over 30 nominations. It already boasts over 80 licensees globally across toys, apparel, gift, home, food and digital categories.

Its popularity has grown even more thanks to the award-winning film, which is often aired by major broadcasters around the world, particularly during the Christmas holidays.

Themes of adventure, imagination, exploration and creativity underpin this property, not to mention great storytelling and Axel Scheffler’s distinctive illustrations. There’s no doubt that the Gruffalo has all the right ingredients to sustain its position as a much loved classic brand all over the world.

In Italy The Gruffalo was, until recently, known mainly as a film and book property – and a very successful one: over 800,000 books in various formats have been sold.

But the licensing success of the brand in many other territories had not been matched in this country – until Mondo TV brought its expertise in children’s brands to bear on The Gruffalo.

Mondo TV has now developed a highquality merchandising programme which builds on the heritage of this special and much-loved property and the broad category opportunities it offers.

Awareness of the books is, of course,

very high. It’s no surprise that newspaper owner the RCS group recently initiated a tie-in with its Italian national newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Gazzetta that brought a different Donaldson story to readers each week, kicking off, not surprisingly, with The Gruffalo.

Awareness has been further boosted by the high annual ratings of the film, aired on Rai YoYo and also available on Rai Play and Amazon Prime.

The property has already made its way into a number of licensing categories through partnerships with some major players in deals brokered

by Mondo TV in its role as Italian licensing agent for brand owner – and producer of the film – Magic Light Pictures. In fact Magic Light Pictures recently announced a raft of new Italian licensees for The Gruffalo as the property strengthens its presence in the country.

Ciao will be producing a range of Gruffalo themed dress-up items. Tribe (Maikii) will be producing a fun and colourful range of tech accessories.

Multiprint will be introducing items such as stamp sets, stickers and colouring pens. Pon Pon is designing a selection of colouring and activity sets; another new partner will launch sticker cards and albums. Longstanding UK licensee Ravensburger, will be introducing its range of puzzles and games to the market as well.

Daryl Shute, Brand Director at Magic Light says: “Building on the incredible growth we’ve seen for The Gruffalo in other parts of Europe, we are thrilled to announce our new partners in Italy. With this fabulous array of new products in the pipeline fans there will soon have exciting new opportunities to engage with The Gruffalo and his world.

We’re delighted to be growing our Gruffalo licensing programme with these respected companies, thanks to the tremendous team at Mondo TV.” But that’s just the start. The brand

TOTAL LICENSING offers many other opportunities – and these will be further enhanced by the arrival in Italy of The Gruffalo musical show.

This show has already toured Britain and other countries for a number of years, offering songs, laughs and excitement for children aged three and up – not to mention their parents and carers.

The show’s arrival in Italy – it debuts

on the 20th of September at Santa Chiara theatre in Trento – will be welcomed by Gruffalo fans across the country, who will be thrilled to see their favourite characters brought to life.

It’s an opportunity for licensees too and Mondo TV is liaising with its first Italian licensees to guarantee the launch of a number of products by mid-October in order to take advantage of the visibility of the show and boost brand awareness through marketing activities linked to the tour.

Of course, event-linked promotion is an established skill of Mondo TV. For example, the four opening episodes of its new animated kids’ comedyadventure MeteoHeroes premiered on Cartoonito in Italy on the 22nd of April for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The show, aimed at an audience aged four and above, addresses issues like fighting pollution and climate change – and so the connection with Earth Day was exceptionally appropriate.

The official series launch was on the 6th of July, when the four opening episodes again appeared, followed by 14 brand-new episodes.

The show has been broadcast in

22

prime time continuously for the entire summer to further build brand momentum ahead of the launch of new episodes in October. It is now rolling out in multiple territories.

So what is it that makes MeteoHeroes such a promising brand for licensing?

Simply put, the show combines entertainment with education and has something to appeal to many different ages.

This thesis was confirmed by a survey conducted by Mondo TV and Meteo Expert with the collaboration of three Italian schools; it involved 500 children aged 3 to 10. The approval rating of 97% from the younger age group, which represents the core target market of the series, was not that different from that of older age groups with a 91% rating.

It’s also important to remember that MeteoHeroes is a co-production with Icona Meteo, a major name in weather forecasting, and the licensing programme reflects a message that the production partners are keen to underline.

This means that the show’s core values of sustainability and respect for the environment aren’t just on screen; they will be reflected in the show’s carefully devised and fast-expanding licensing programme, along with the excitement, fun and great characters central to the show’s appeal.

Early licensees include Giunti (books and activity books), Pea & Promoplast (which is planning a range of pocket money toys via its Play Around division), Playpress (magic pens, colouring and activity), Mondadori (a monthly

magazine), Eu.Promotions (loyalty promotions), Ravensburger (puzzles and games), Koch Media (home video), and Kimbe (costume characters for meet-and-greet activities).

Many other licensing negotiations are ongoing or completed, including a range of Easter eggs for 2021 and the most recent deal that covers the sticker album category and has massive distribution in kiosks and across the mass market.

The first products to reach shelves will be DVDs from Koch Media. The DVD launch is set for the 15th of October, followed by a launch in kiosks when the DVDs will be bundled with Mondadori Group magazines. Ravensburger and Play Press will follow.

There’s also an ingenious tie-in planned for October when new episodes arrive.

MeteoHeroes product packaging will contain a special QR code.

Kids just need to frame it with their smartphone to listen to a special podcast in which they’ll hear the familiar voices of the six little stars taking the show’s message beyond the TV screen and onto the new podcasting channel.

Each episode ends with an educational postscript by Andrea Giuliacci, a wellknown Italian meteorologist. This new ‘branded podcast’ is the first inspired by an animated series.

This whole message – promoting a brand that is both fun and educational – is highly original and, so far, has clearly struck a chord. It’s a campaign that, like Mondo TV’s campaign for the Gruffalo, clearly suits the brand – and that’s a skill Mondo has perfected over many years.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR BEAN Banijay recently announced a raft of new Mr Bean products to tie in with the landmark 30th anniversary. The live action series has been in continual distribution for 30 years and has been sold to more than 190 countries, with the character celebrating his birthday as seen on screen on 15th September.

To celebrate this birthday Mr Bean fans will have the chance to get their

24

hands on a range of anniversary collectible products. This includes a limited edition knitted Teddy plush from Teespring, exclusively available online on pre-order until the 15th of September, along with a Mr Bean commemorative coin, a limited number of which are signed by Rowan Atkinson.

Mr Bean’s famous lime green Mini diecast from Corgi was refreshed for the occasion with a special 30th anniversary packaging and is available at retail and online now. The company will also release a DIY special edition of the Mini with the Mr Bean figure in November 2020. A brand-new Mr Bean Top Trumps card game from Winning Moves is also available now.

To maximise on the character’s global popularity and reach, the company has signed its first brand licensing partnership in India, with the one of the country’s leading licensing agen-

cies - Black White Orange Brands Pvt. Ltd. The two companies will work hand-in-hand to bring brand extensions and to life. This accompanies further international brand licensing agents appointed in southeast Asia (Empire), Greater China (Medialink), South Korea (Asiana Licensing), Australia (Blackmint) and J&M Brands in Benelux.

Jane Smith, Group Director, Brand Licensing & Gaming, Banijay Brands said: “Mr Bean turning 30 is a tremendous milestone and we are thrilled to provide fans with a wide range of products across the novelty gift space to commemorate this special day. These deals enable retailers and customers to continue to engage with this much loved brand beyond the screen. With ten licensing agents now on board globally the Mr Bean brand is looking as bright as ever”.

SAMURAI ANIMALS

LIVE ROCKY PRODUCTION

Kensin Co in Japan, have announced a new website, promotional video and trade show exhibit initiatives in the eleven-month runup to the July 2021 tenth anniversary of Samurai Animals.

Firstly, Kensin has launched a dedicated website that showcases the Samurai Animals concept, individual character introductions, e-books and licensing information. Next, Kensin has created a promotional video.

A curated selection of traditional Japanese sumi-e drawings featuring Samurai Animals characters have been combined into a tapestry. The video is available on YouTube.

Finally, Kensin will mark ten years of Samurai Animals by exhibiting at the 20th Licensing Japan trade show this October. The Samurai Animals website and promotional video will form key features of the booth. A range of Samurai Animals merchandise will be showcased. Product to date includes digital books, jewelry, apparel, laser figure crystal stands, mobile phone accessories, wall panels and craft beer.

Yutaro Sakakibara, founder and president of Kensin, said, “As Samurai Animals approaches its tenth anniversary, I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for the brand.We want to continue building the brand awareness all around the world and I am confident the new website and promotional video will help audiences to understand the world view and vitality of Samurai Animals and its possibilities. “

MGM and TCG Entertainment, a leading producer of touring live productions have announced the launch of a new live ‘Films in Concert Series’ featuring two of MGM’s most iconic properties, Rocky and Legally Blonde, set for Summer 2021. For the first time ever, audiences around the world will be able to experience the inspiring anthems of Rocky and fan favorite tunes from Legally Blonde performed live by a full symphony orchestra and played in sync to the films.

The partnership with TCG Entertainment is part of MGM’s overall strategy to grow its portfolio of live events and immersive experiences that let fans enjoy their favorite movies and characters well beyond the silver screen.

The Rocky in Concert series will include six musical events for each of the six films in the original franchise, beginning with Rocky. Audiences will be able to hear the iconic music from the films performed live by a full orchestra, while watching the movies on larger than life screens. The event will take the audiences along for the journey of Rocky’s transformation from underdog to champion to his fight in Russia to the finale “Rocky Balboa.” Both events are currently scheduled to tour through North America, Europe, and Australia, with additional markets to be added. The concerts are planned to begin in July 2021 and run through the end of June 2024.

Robert Marick, MGM’s Executive Vice President Global Consumer Products and Experiences, said, “MGM is looking to create additional ways that fans can interact with and enjoy their favorite stories and characters well beyond the end credits of the film. The concert events for both Rocky and Legally Blonde are part of our strategy of developing meaningful experiences that fans will love. TCG are true experts in this space and we couldn’t have asked for better partners.

TOTAL LICENSING

Asmodee Entertainment Explodes onto the Scene!

A new branch of Asmodee, its rapid growth and vast potential it creates …

Alexander Thieme, Licensing Manager at Asmodee Entertainment, speaks with us about the new branch of the global Asmodee Group

Tell us about Asmodee…

Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor, committed to telling amazing stories through great games. Our headquarters are in Guyancourt, France, with a large North American division based in Minneapolis, USA. We are a global leader in the tabletop and digital gaming space with design studios and distribution arms in all major locations around the world.

We like to say we make “a game for every gamer”, from games the whole family can enjoy, to modern classics and the most intricate and involving fantasy hobby games. Among the many successes, gamers will be familiar with Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Dobble/Spot it!, Splendor, KeyForge, Star Wars: X-Wing – and many more.

Running parallel, Paris-based Asmodee Digital are having great success porting our biggest tabletop games onto PCs, tablets and phones. As well as Asmodee-owned properties, they also develop digital versions for several third-party game studios, just as we distribute their physical games. … and Asmodee Entertainment?

Asmodee Entertainment is a relatively new part of the business, and a natural next step for a group with such a wealth of intellectual property. In brief, our mission is to extend our leading

26

IPs into five key areas of activity: TV/ film, book and comics publishing, location based-entertainment, consumer products, and licensed interactive games.

Although the division is under two years old, it has grown rapidly. With the addition of two more Licensing Managers (Alexander Thieme and Christian Dunn), momentum is certainly building – as evidenced by the series of exciting announcements that we are making around the Festival of Licensing.

What prompted this new branch?

There is a huge untapped potential for our fans to engage more with games and brands they follow, and for us and our partners to create great product to meet that demand. As a passionate fan of a specific game, you are part of a tribe, and you want to express that through clothing, merchandise, accessories and more. Further, as there is a strong storytelling element in the richly imaged world of your favourite game, you’ll be keen to immerse yourself further in the stories from that setting, whether through fiction, graphic novels, puzzle books, even film or TV adaptions. The fans and the stories are established; the licensing potential is exciting, to put it mildly.

What plans have you now for the extension of your IP brands?

Working with the creative teams at our studios, we have identified key opportunities for our pillar brands across these IP platforms. We’ve developed a unique roadmap for each of these brands, detailing the strategic opportunities to pursue first. Now we are looking for partners, big and small, to help us deliver these opportunities.

Following this strategy, we have a first range of around 20 well-established Asmodee brands and IPs, that we will be putting on display at our virtual

booth at the Festival of Licensing. Of course, if a potential partner comes to us with a different need, or has another specific brand in mind, we are very open to explore that opportunity too.

Come talk to us!

Tell us about your reach and goals Whatever the audience, whatever the game type – board game, card game, dice game, role-playing game or miniatures game – Asmodee’s games business has a focused studio in that space and also works very closely with other third party strategic partners too.

Whatever the territory or sales channel, Asmodee is there - chances are that if you publish a tabletop game, we distribute it somewhere in the world, as a top distributor in most territories.

Our goal is to continue to develop and publish unique, innovative games – for every gamer! We will reach our fans and customers wherever they are, shopping wherever they want to be, and supporting their pastime in many innovative and disruptive ways, such as our free Print and Play initiative during COVID lockdown.

The games market is in robust health.

At the heart of Asmodee lie our many world-class intellectual properties and this is where Asmodee Entertainment will shine as we take these IPs and find new and exciting ways for fans to experience them in new formats, channels and markets as we seek to develop truly global brands.

What areas of licensing are you looking at initially?

As many of our big brands are so well established already, we have opened up licensing for all of our five prime categories. Brands like Catan, Dobble, Pandemic and Arkham Horror have well-established fans and there are excellent opportunities for licensed comics, background and art books, apparel, plush, gifts and novelties.

TOTAL LICENSING

The deeply involved hobby brands like Twilight Imperium, Legend of the Five Rings and KeyForge have attracted passionate followers who “will bite our hands off” if we offer them more ways to engage and surround themselves with the stories and brands they love. We are already having some advanced conversations with a selection of ‘geek’ (read ‘cool’) apparel and merchandize manufactures. In the licensed publishing category, we are delighted that the first graphic novels set in the worlds of our Twilight Imperium and Android games will be published in 2021.

By the way, as well as the many licensing partners we are talking to, Asmodee Entertainment has also launched its own in-house publisher for ‘World Expanding’ adult fiction, in the form of Aconyte Books. Keeping this category in-house means the line can

work closely with the game studios to create authentic fiction, and tie-in to key game releases. Teaming up for the English-speaking world with Simon & Schuster for sales and distribution, Aconyte is busy developing ranges of new novels based on wonderful worlds created by Asmodee studios.

The success of the line has also attracted partnerships for novels from other game properties including Zombicide and Terraforming Mars – but also with the likes of comics giant Marvel for four ranges of super heropacked novels, and a pair of recently announced tie-in novels based on upcoming Ubisoft videogames. Aconyte has already secured several overseas language partners in key territories, announced shortly – and are actively seeking new partners for both future IPs and further translation opportunities.

How has the pandemic affected the business?

It’s been a tough time, make no mistake, and posed challenges for everyone globally, but through creative, supportive approaches and a positive, optimistic attitude Asmodee has so far overcome each obstacle that’s arisen.

More than this, we’ve been able to reach audiences both new and established in these challenging times – particularly through initiatives like “Print & Play” and “Play it outdoors”, reaching tens of millions of people.

We know families and friends have seen leisure opportunities restricted, as cinemas, events, shops, and so on have had to close, and many found themselves based at home. It seems that in even the darkest moments, though, there have been certain activities that have had the power to keep people connected, and we have certainly witnessed a rise of the joy of tabletop games from many social groups, whether as a family unit or online.

Now many new people have discovered – or re-discovered – the excitement and fun of games, and our goal is to help them stay engaged. More than ever before, playing an engrossing game, with your friends sitting around the kitchen table or over a digital connection, is the greatest fun for so many of us.

At Asmodee, with so many popular IPs, we talk about ‘Great Games, Amazing Stories’. As Asmodee Entertainment opens up opportunities to really take those stories into near infinite possibilities across our main categories, we invite potential partners to talk to us – better still, let’s meet up at the Festival of Licensing!

27

TOTAL LICENSING

Lisle Licensing Talks Future Plans and Strengths Total Licensing caught up with Francesca Lisle, MD and Colin Lisle, Chairman, Lisle Licensing about the positives and challenges of the last few months, and exciting plans for the future….

How have you found the last few months?

It’s been a mixed bag – some areas we’ve noticed real strength and growth are games and puzzles, as well as outdoor and musical instruments. Apparel has been a challenge, as everyone has found, there’s been a knock-on effect.

It’s been a strange time for everyone.

The licensing industry is such a personal and visual industry so it’s been very odd not having trade shows and events, of course, but everyone has certainly risen to the virtual challenge to jeep business going.

What positives have you found?

At Lisle we’re in a really fortunate position, with some great licenses, and there is still plenty of business to be done.

Tell us about some of the properties you work with.

We have a really wide and diverse portfolio – some very successful properties are 44 Cats, Masha and the Bear, Magic Box, so we have a great offering for the kids side of the business.

An area we are expanding into is lifestyle and gaming – Tetris has been very strong for us and we have a wide range of products including puzzle books,

28

jigsaws from Ravensburger, and stationery and homewares from Hunter Price. On the sports side, we’ve got big plans for Nitro Circus, with great potential in apparel, toys, video games, bedding, and much more.

Did you find the lockdown allowed opportunities to assess business and think about new areas of growth?

Definitely – we have something very exciting to announce soon. We spent the time assessing what’s out there, and making sure we always keep the ethos of the company – we are a very hands-on and personal agency, while maintaining strong growth.

What are the plans for the future?

We’re always looking for interesting opportunities! Lisle Licensing is 10 years old this year, which is super exciting. Colin is still very much involved in all areas of the business, and I recently became Managing Director. It’s been so exciting to see the growth of the business – Colin had his roots in the toy industry for many years, and one of our first licenses was Zhu Zhu Hamsters. Now we have a strong and varied portfolio, with plans to expand further into lifestyle, as well as food and drink.

Watch this space1

TOTAL LICENSING

MAGIC LIGHT PICTURES

New Productions and New Licensees New productions, new licensees and new approaches have contributed to another busy and rewarding year for Magic Light Pictures, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated creators of family entertainment and brands.

Another delightful Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler family special, Zog and the Flying Doctors – the follow-up to 2018’s Emmy-winning Zog – premieres on BBC One this Christmas.

Also in production for summer 2021 is a charming new 52 x 7’ preschool series Pip and Posy, based on the million-selling books by Scheffler, packed with warmth, humour and sympathetic understanding of the little dramas of young children’s lives.

Since bringing their licensing operation in-house last year they have secured a raft of new deals for The Gruffalo. Wow! Stuff have signed as Master Toy partner, with an imaginative range of figures and playsets due in January.

Other new licensees include Micro Scooters (scooters/helmets), Asmodee (a Gruffalo version of Dobble, the UK’s best-selling card game), Visage (craft printed fabrics), Robert

Fredrick (stationery, gifts and games) and Playpress (buildable eco-friendly playsets). There have also been renewals for two of the Gruffalo’s biggest, longest-established partners, Aurora and Sainsbury’s and multiple licensees in Italy, Germany and Australia.

In Australia, Magic Light is in the process of opening four sites which are

hosting their Gruffalo Spotters Augmented Reality app and trail. The app has gesture and facial recognition so that families can interact with the CGI animations and create their own shareable content. These experiences add to an overall increase in activity in Australia and New Zealand, where collectively a number of new licensees have signed in the last year including dress up from Smiffy’s and a DTR with The Warehouse.

In the UK Magic Light is also on the brink of launching the new Gruffalo Spotter AR app at Forestry England sites, and a new interactive trail activity at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst. As the world starts to open up again, navigating paths to reconnect with their core fanbase is a central focus.

Despite the impact of Covid-19, the trusted and reliable reputation of the Gruffalo brand gives retailers the confidence to stock our products going forward. The pandemic also inspired a large push to social as they refocused attention online, @MagicLightPics, creating lots of new activities to engage fans and keep children occupied at home – resulting in a 30% increase in their following to date.

30

TOTAL LICENSING

CLASSIC CHILDREN’S BOOK BRANDS As retailers face continued challenges due to the global pandemic, Walker Books and its sister companies Candlewick Press in the United States and Walker Books Australia are seeing a growing interest in its classic children’s book brands, including Guess How Much I Love You, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, and Maisy. A new suite of licensees is a testament to the ongoing importance of true and trusted stories and characters that provide comfort and stability.

The beloved children’s classic Guess How Much I Love You, written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram, marks its 25th year since the

adventures of the Nutbrown Hares first appeared in print. Over 50 million copies of this story of love and family bonds sold worldwide in 57 languages, across a range of formats including hardback, paperback, and board books to hand-puppet books and puzzle books. In addition, a companion title Will You Be My Friend? will publish globally in late September, introducing a new friend for Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare in the shape of snow hare, Tipps. The publishing launch will be backed with a global marketing campaign including media coverage, trade advertising, social media activity, digital marketing, and display material for retail. The brand continues to be the company’s topperforming licensed property with

32

over 30 licensees globally, enjoying a strong presence in the US, UK and Germany across core product categories including toys, plush and apparel.

In the US, Kids Preferred released a celebratory Anniversary plush + collectible print set at the start of the year, and Storiarts continued to see strong support of their line featuring the verbatim text printed on blankets, baby hats, bibs, and kid-sized totes.

Clothworks is launching their newest winter-themed Guess How Much I Love You collection this fall, incorporating beautiful silver accents into their line of textiles.

In the UK, Rainbow Designs will launch a new range of wooden toys the UK in Spring 2021 including a Shape Peg Puzzle, a Pull Along, and a Balancing Toy, among others. Rainbow Designs has recognized the appeal of the brand in the adult gifting market by creating a range of gifting plush perfect for any special occasion. They are expanding their reach into EMEA. In addition, Next will be ranging product for the first time, including apparel (Paul Dennicci), bedding (Character World), greeting cards (Danilo); the Guess How Much I Love You branded coins from the British Pobjoy Mint were so popular a third is being released in Q4.

Walker and Candlewick begin a yearlong celebration of 30 years of Maisy; books in this series have sold over 38 million copies across hundreds of titles. The company has partnered with Uniqlo and will be releasing apparel featuring the friendly mouse globally.

An anniversary marketing campaign will include digital marketing and advertising, new branded materials for retail and preschools, and early literacy partnerships in 2021.

Meanwhile, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt inspired quarantined families across the world to place teddy

bears in their street-facing windows, allowing children to ‘hunt’ for bears in their neighbourhoods. The property, which this year marks its 30th anniversary, has sold over 11 million copies since it was first

published and benefits from a raft of licensees across toys and games, apparel, babywear, stationery, wall stickers, greetings cards. In addition to this existing robust line of licensed product, Babywear will launch in Asda in Q4. In the UK, the animated show has been aired during key holiday periods on Channel 4 every year since it launched in 2016 and is regularly seen in the Christmas schedule.

Earlier this year, Walker Books - the world’s leading wholly independent publisher of English-language children’s books – announced that it had been acquired by Trustbridge Global Media.

The sale provides the Walker group of companies, consisting of Walker Books UK (London, UK); Candlewick Press (Somerville, MA); Walker Books Australia (Sydney, Australia) and Walker Productions (London, UK), with enhanced ability to access new markets and is expected to help accelerate the company’s growth and expansion in publishing and other media.

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

MULTIPLE NEW LICENSES FOR MIRACULOUS ZAG’s continues to set new milestones for its globally-renowned flagship brand, Miraculous - Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, with multiple new key licensing partner deals and renewals across key categories, including publishing, apparel, food, and home décor, with major partners around the globe.

“Miraculous continues to be one of the most beloved brands around the globe and bringing aboard so many new best-in-class partners, as well as continuing our long-standing relationships, is a testament to the tremendous popularity of the brand,” commented Julian Zag, EVP Global Operations. “We are currently in production on seasons four and five of the series with two new TV movie specials set to debut on Disney Channel and Disney+ at the end of this year and early next ahead of our US$70m theatrical move release. We’ve sold over 150 million products at retail over the past

three years, and Miraculous is the #1 direct-to-retail license for Spirit Halloween for kids and adults. Winning 15 prestigious awards, and with over 100 million downloads of the official app, the future continues to look absolutely Miraculous!”

In Europe, multi-territory licensees Panini and Ferrero, continue their relationship with Zag. Panini has renewed its multi-year, multi-product deal, that includes their signature sticker album program, monthly magazine program, plus traditional books in Germany; and Miraculous Kinder Surprise Eggs and other seasonal products from Ferrero have now been launched in more than 50 countries.

In France, Zag continues its relationship with McDonald’s—a May/June 2020 promotion featured Miraculous themed arts and crafts kits with collectible cards; a new license has been

LIVING WITH LICENSING NEW PODCASTS LAUNCH There are thousands of Podcasts devoted to business topics, but, to date, the licensing industry is poorly served in the medium.

Asgard Media’s Kelvyn Gardner, has announced the launch of Living with Licensing. ‘I listen to many Podcasts, and while I expect to be informed, I also want to be entertained. So, the style of Living with Licensing will be to interview prominent figures from the business about their lives and careers, and how each has affected the other.

This editorial angle produces content that includes anecdotes and case histories from the contributors which will enhance listeners’ licensing knowledge but also put a smile on their faces’.

Episode 1 went live on 16th September and features wellknown IP creator Keith Chapman, the man behind Bob the Builder and Paw Patrol, and many others. Soon to follow is the effervescent Trudi Heyward of Brand-Ward and David Scott, treasurer of The Light Fund and recently retired as MD of Rainbow Productions. Thereafter the Podcast is planned to release new episodes twice each month.

You can download Living with Licensing now from Podcast host, Podbean, https://livingwithlicensing.podbean.com/

34

signed with La Plume Dorée for a range of back to school Miraculous products; Turbulences launched a new Miraculous Lifestyle magazine in June; and Prodhex will launch first aid kits for new adventurers. Elsewhere in Europe, new publishing agreements have been signed for a variety of products, including Eksik Parca Yayincilik Ticaret (Missing Piece Publishing) in Turkey, Ranok Publishing Limited in Ukraine, and Kennedy Publishing (UK).

In Latin America, newly appointed The Novelty Book Company becomes ZAG’s pan-regional publishing partner, with book programs going into Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, and Peru.

Also recently renewed is an agreement with Australia’s Five Mile Press who will continue to publish chapter books, novelizations, guide-books, and book gift sets, together with additional new categories.

J&M TAKE ON HARD ROCK Hard Rock International has appointed J&M Brands to represent the dining, entertainment and hospitality brand and further expand Hard Rock’s retail presence throughout Europe. This partnership will introduce Hard Rock branded products in multiple categories including home textiles, luggage and bags, housewares, electronics and premium apparel for the first time to the European market.

“We are excited to partner with J&M Brands to extend Hard Rock’s consumer reach in product categories that emphasize our music and entertainment roots,” said Mark Linduski, Director of Licensing at Hard Rock International. “Through J&M Brands’ long-term relationships with retailers and licensees, we will introduce a fresh collection of unique and innovative, lifestyle products that have never been available before for our European fans. We look forward to the new opportunities that will emerge as we work with J&M to expand our retail distribution and strengthen our brand presence worldwide.”

“Hard Rock is a cultural phenomenon and it’s an honor to be partnering with such an iconic brand,” said Monique Beck, Co-Founder of J&M Brands. “We believe Hard Rock represents a great opportunity for licensees to expand their footprint throughout Europe with new product categories and licensed promotions. We can’t wait to start bringing the Hard Rock experience into people’s homes.”

NEWS

TOTAL LICENSING

BOATROCKER APPOINTS WP BRANDS Boat Rocker Studio recently announced that it has appointed brand marketing and licensing agency, WP Brands, to represent the much-loved pre-school series Love Monster in Australia and New Zealand.

Love Monster, a quirky, 2D animated 54 x 7’ preschool series which shares little life learnings from a unique monster with a huge heart, is based on the bestselling pre-school books by Rachel Bright, published by HarperCollins Children’s Books. The show is a collaboration between BBC Children’s In-House Productions, Boat Rocker Studios and Chinese production company UYoung. Lovable hairy hero, Love Monster, searches for the right thing to do in a world in which he is one of a kind. Full of heart and helping preschoolers understand different emotions, Love Monster showcases the importance of kindness, empathy, connection and instinct.

“Love Monster is a fun and exciting brand that holds many opportunities in the Australian / New Zealand markets. The series reminds its viewers of the importance of being kind, respectful and empathetic towards our peers,

something that is important in today’s society. We are delighted to be working with Boat Rocker on the show and look forward to a successful relationship,” said Managing Director WP Brands, Lim Mi-Kyoung.

“With more than 25 years’ experience WP Brands were the ideal choice to represent our beloved Love Monster.

The series is already proving a big hit in the UK and we are sure our Australian and New Zealand friends will take it to their hearts too. We look forward to working with WP to maximise its franchise success,” added Kate Schlomann, Executive Vice President of Brand Management and Content Marketing, Boat Rocker Studios.

Love Monster first aired in Australia on ABC in January and will soon launch on TVNZ in New Zealand.

The toy line from Golden Bear, which includes plush, plastic and role play items, will be distributed in the territory by Jasnor, from Spring 2021.

Boat Rocker Studios is managing the global content distribution and consumer products program for the franchise, excluding China and South East Asia which is managed by UYoung.

SOW YOU ENTERTAINMENT

BARBIE TEAMS UP WITH SKINNYDIP Barbie has teamed up with Skinnydip to launch a brand-new collection of Barbie adult accessories, including tech and apparel, phone cases, water bottles, makeup bags, clothing and hair accessories.

The ‘Not Your Doll’ collection celebrates the evolution of Barbie, with design cues inspired by the brand’s retro feel, through to the modern diverse brand we know.

If there is one thing that’s clear, it’s that Barbie in 2020 is designed for a girl who can be anything she wants to be.

Playing on the brand’s fun, nostalgic history, the showstopping collection includes the usual Skinnydip suspects like shockproof phone cases, makeup bags, jewellery and so much more with sassy slogans and playful touches, and will be online at skinnydiplondon.com from September 2020.

Gemma Daniels, Softlines Licensing Manager, Mattel UK and EMEA says “We are thrilled that the worlds #1 fashion doll Barbie has been reimagined by Skinnydip across accessories and apparel, giving our iconic brand their signature twist. The collection is a beautifully-designed, fun and playful take on Barbie, perfect for a millennial audience.”

Charlotte Lloyd, Head of Creative at Skinnydip London says “It was amazing to work on this collection.

Barbie speaks to all, of any age or circumstance. When working on the designs for this collection, we really wanted to create a fun and nostalgic range that the Skinnydip girl would instantly love. I think we have succeeded and I can’t wait for it to launch!”

Renowned and experienced talent from the world of international kids television, Chris Dicker, Lena Byrne and John Reynolds have joined forces during the pandemic to launch their new and unique venture, Sow You Entertainment - a creatively led production company that acts as an original ideas incubator, specialising in children’s and family content.

The new startup has hit the ground running, securing a major development deal with a global streaming partner and is in discussions with numerous parties on a variety of other passion projects with universal appeal. These encompass preschool, kids’ and tween projects, as well as a limited TV series concept - all at various stages of development.

35

TOTAL LICENSING Mathieu Galante, Licensing Director EMEA,The Pokémon Company International updates Total Licensing on another exciting period for the brand

“We are working on some surprising new collaborations and projects as we prepare some fantastic celebrations for Pokémon’s 25th anniversary in 2021 – but obviously that’s top secret!”

36

Talking All Things

Pokémon Can you tell us a bit about what Pokémon has been up to in the last few months?

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield have been keeping us pretty busy over the past few months with nearly 18m sales worldwide to date! June’s The Isle of Armor expansion is already a hit, and we’re expecting great things from The Crown Tundra expansion which releases later this year The Trading Card Game is going very well and has also enjoyed great results with Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, meanwhile we’re getting excited about the recent Darkness Ablaze expansion. Other highlights include the launch of a unique new puzzle game for Nintendo Switch, Pokémon Café Mix, and a new app - Pokémon Smile, which encourages users to have fun brushing their teeth. We also recently announced two cool new games Pokémon UNITE and New Pokémon Snap.

Box office smash Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has raised even greater awareness for the brand as a whole and there was a significant sales lift for the associated licensed products – including toys, TCG and apparel – and non-film-related products.

Pokémon has been very successful with apparel tell us about some of your recent partnerships and how they have been doing?

With a series of prestigious collaborations with leading designers and retailers seeing Pikachu and friends gracing catwalks and boutiques and wowing the high street - Pokémon has become a true fashion icon. Fashionistas can’t seem to get enough of Pokémon

at the moment and we have entered into some fabulously creative partnerships with the likes of Maison Labiche and GCDS, Bobby Abley and Jeremy Scott and more recently with the artist Daniel Arsham – whose UNIQLO x Pokémon T-shirt collection launched as part of a unique art project – attracted much attention. We also had a partnership with Original Stich for their Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver patterns to celebrate its first anniversary of working with the brand.

Our DTR ranges with Bershka and Pull&Bear continue to be a success and extended DTR ranges with leading fashion stores Zara and H&M have seen new lines in Zara Kids and expanded adults and kids ranges in H&M. More recently we announced a partnership with Z Stores for a kids capsule collection available online and in their stores across France, Italy and Belgium.

We have also teamed up with sports giant Adidas on a collection of apparel and shoes for children and adults.

How is Pokémon performing across Europe?

Thanks to the success of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield and the huge impact of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, interest in the brand is high and sales are buoyant across all licensed products, most particularly the afore-mentioned apparel. We will continue to work with our licensees to explore innovative products, promotions and retail activations to maintain our strong positions in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain and are also looking at opportunities to expand in the Nordics, Benelux and Poland by working more closely with leading retailers in these markets.

What’s coming up in the near future?

We have the largest ever toy line coming to market including a new A/W range by Master Toy partner Wicked Cool Toys, a Jazwares Company (distributed in UK and Eire by Character Options) which includes a fantastic backpack playset and the My Partner Eevee toy as well as a new construction toy line from Mattel. Other key pan-European signed categories include: puzzles with Ravensburger; plush (DTR) from Build-A-Bear; videogame accessories from Hori and Power A; Trading Card Game accessories with Ultrapro; electronics (lights and alarm clocks) from Teknofun; headphones by OTL; party goods with Amscan; and lunchwear by Zak UK (UK) and Stor (Continental Europe).

Finally we are working on some surprising new collaborations and projects as we prepare some fantastic celebrations for Pokémon’s 25th anniversary in 2021 – but obviously that’s top secret!

TOTAL LICENSING

Rolling with the Times Waell Oueslati, EMEA Acquisition and Licensing Director, Crunchyroll, talks pandemic, positivity and predictions

Can you tell us some of the latest news for Crunchyroll?

Crunchyroll’s global growth has been incredible reaching today a global community of more than 3 million subscribers and 70 million registered users all over the world that enjoy the world’s largest collection of anime, including more 1,000 titles and 30,000 episodes Crunchyroll’s top properties in 2021 will include “My Hero Academia,” “Captain Tsubasa,” in Europe, and the Crunchyroll Original series “Tower of God,” and “The God of High School” alongside “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Bananya,” “Mobile Suit Gundam,” “Re:ZERO,” “The Junji Ito Collection,” “One Punch Man,” “Dr. STONE,” and“Black Clover” to name a few.

And how has business been during the pandemic?

Like most streaming companies, we’ve seen an uptick, but we’re fortunate to be able to provide comfort and entertainment during these times. We’ve just wrapped the first-ever worldwide Virtual Crunchyroll Expo with an incredible lineup of guests, premieres, panels, performances and more over the three-day digital event.

Can you outline some of the success stories from the last few months?

We can’t share specifics, but it’s fair to say that we crossed our 3m mark in less time than expected. Fans are connecting in many ways virtually, and we’re fortunate to be able to provide

38

comfort and entertainment during these times.

What licensing trends are you noticing at the moment?

We are noticing that connectivity and virtuality is a big trend in licensing and in our life in general. From the perspective of our business we put fans first and our job is to make sure they stay connected with what makes them happy: anime. The world has changed this year, but our team has participated in a number of virtual conventions, panels, and events both in the US and in our international markets. We’ve just wrapped the first-ever worldwide Virtual Crunchyroll Expo with an incredible lineup of guests, premieres,

panels, performances and more over the three-day digital event.

Any future preditions as to how this pandemic will change the way of business going forwards?

The licensing business is largely driven by physical product experiences, which has been disrupted by the pandemic. This disruption pushes us and our partners to explore a number of new creative options to enable similar experiences online or virtually. These efforts had been previously underway in the industry as more of complementary experiences, but today it’s key to accelerate the process so we can continue to connect with our community.,

TOTAL LICENSING

Licensing Opportunities Abound with Olstncrafts Olstncrafts presents to the industry trademarked characters attached to confectionary – the warm-from-the-

40

oven cookie treats called Gripps. The World of Getcha Hott Gripps has an ethos of love, peace and happiness.

Since it first entered into business, Olstncrafts has prided itself on offering customers the best selection of products at unbeatable prices. Its online store is synonymous with quality and ensures a continuous variety of merchandise along with unique limited edition and seasonal items that fit any budget.

Now with the Getcha HottGripps animated musical, there are character licensing opportunities offered to the industry.

The characters include ViHi, Jolly and T2. The narrative structure of the characters, referring to the potential of images and story-telling capacities of panels as well as the more traditional narrative concepts tying characters to their story, mean there is a wealth of licensing options available.

Olstncrafts aims to: ‘give imaginative experiences that live through entertainment, fashionable merchandise, sweet treats... and more. Each flavor of Gripps is a character. Each character represents a musical experience, the experience of which is the sweet beat of life. Have heart.”

The musical ‘The Gripp Factory’ is

hosted by Choco Tha Chip. It is a real character-driven experience, with each character offering different perspectives on the same events. The cast then work together, proving that collaboration and teamwork is best!

Bringing themes of community, love, and tolerance, the characters will resonate with today’s audience.

TOTAL LICENSING

DISNEY AND LUCASFILM ANNOUNCE MANDO MONDAYS A NEW GLOBAL PRODUCT REVEAL Fans of the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian just received a new reason to look forward to Mondays.

Disney and Lucasfilm recently announced Mando Mondays, an all-new global consumer products, games and publishing program, kicking off on October 26, that will debut goods inspired by the series.

After premiering last fall and quickly taking the world by storm, The Mandalorian – which took home 7 awards recently during the 2020 Emmy Awards – will return for its highly anticipated second season Friday, October 30, streaming only on Disney+.

The Mandalorian and the Child continue their journey, facing enemies and rallying allies as they make their way through the dangerous galaxy in the tumultuous era after the collapse of the Galactic Empire.

After fans experience the latest episode every Friday on Disney+, they can visit the Star Wars UK Facebook page each Monday to see what new toys,

42

collectibles, apparel, books, comics, digital content and more will be unveiled. Mando Mondays will run for nine weeks, culminating on December 21.

“When The Mandalorian debuted last year on Disney+, the show became an instant phenomenon, with fans of all ages expressing excitement for products related to its iconic characters – particularly the Child,” said Kareem Daniel, president, Consumer Products, Games and Publishing.

“This fall, as the world continues to watch the narrative unfold, we will further bring this unique Star Wars story to life through a must-have selection of toys, books, comics, digital content, and more.”

To celebrate the announcement, select pre-orders for the first wave of Mando Mondays products kicked off on 21 September across top retailers around the world.

Products available for pre-order include the Hasbro Black Series Credit Collection, new Funko Pop! bobbleheads, the Lego Star Wars The Child construction set and much more.

Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing (CPGP) brings the magic of The Walt Disney Company’s brands and franchises—including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more—into the daily lives of families and fans around the world through products and experiences across more than 100 retail categories from toys and t-shirts to apps, books, video games, and more.

A division of the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment, CPGP’s global operations include: the world’s largest licensing business, one of the biggest children’s publishing brands, a leading licensor of interactive games across platforms, Disney store locations globally, and the shopDisney ecommerce platform.

Disney+ is the dedicated streaming home for movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more. As part of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment, Disney+ is available on most internet-connected devices and offers commercial-free programming with a variety of original feature-length films, documentaries, live-action and animated series and short-form content.

Alongside unprecedented access to Disney’s incredible library of film and television entertainment, the service is also the exclusive streaming home for the latest releases from The Walt Disney Studios.

Disney+ is available as part of a bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, Hulu (ad-supported), and ESPN+.

TOTAL LICENSING

Brand purpose or entertainment: Brands are real society benchmarks If there is one thing we can say, it is that this year is unlike any other. The pandemic and social distancing have turned our lives upside-down.We have had to adapt our lifestyles, whether in the way we work, consume or entertain ourselves.

TF1 Licences is more aware than ever that brands have a key role to play in the world of tomorrow. They convey strong, unifying values. They are also reference points for consumers. In step with the TF1 group’s reason for being - to inspire society in a positive way - they work hard every day to offer consumers a catalogue of upbeat, caring brands.

TF1 Licences is off to a fresh start this September. Yann Geneste is the new director and the division has been reorganised into four teams (sales, marketing, artwork and financial and administrative support) to streamline processes and support yprojects better.

A new strategy is also accompanying this new burst of energy: today TF1 Licences is the single gateway to the TF1

group and its powerful on-air brands popular with a wide audience. The Voice, Mask Singer, Koh-Lanta and other shows enjoy unmatched recognition, offering partners an outstanding premium setting. As TV makes a very

strong comeback in people’s homes and everyday lives due to the health crisis,TF1 Licences wants to offer consumers far-reaching, virtuous partnerships by capitalising on the range of the TF1 group’s on-air brands.

Here are two 2020 success stories: The Téléfoot brand, which started out as a TV show on TF1, has now also become the benchmark pay-TV football channel thanks to an unprecedented global partnership between the TF1 Group and the Mediapro Group.

Camping Paradis, a signature show on TF1, is moving into the real world

43

TOTAL LICENSING with the creation of a network of physical campgrounds in France. TF1 Licences’ licensing partner, the tourism and hotel company 5C, has already opened around a dozen sites.

These successes perfectly illustrate the strength of TF1 brands and their teams’ creativity when it comes to creating trailblazing, structuring new businesses. TF1 Licences’ other TV brands will also make significant announcements by the end of the year: Koh-Lanta, the French adaptation of Survivor, has been a real hit with audiences for 20 years on TF1. For its new TV season, many brands, including Andros, Paylib and Nintendo, wanted to team up with the show as part of promotional or sponsoring operations to promote the Animal Crossing video game on Nintendo Switch with young people and families. They are part of a strong 360° push involving TF1 Factory (production of the commercial and endorsement of the presenter Denis Brogniart), TF1 Pub and TF1 Licences.

Meanwhile, the Koh-Lanta brand is pursuing its growth strategy in many areas, such as games/toys with a range of children’s costumes with Amscan or publishing with the successful books published by Solar and Dragon d’Or. The variety of editorial developments

means that all targets - adults and children - can be reached and the high sales figures confirm that the goal has been achieved.

Ushuaïa, France’s leading environmental and diversity preservation TV brand, is bolstering its responsible and eco-aware positioning with a new graphic charter and the desire to encourage more ethical and sustainable consumption. For example, under the Ushuaïa license, L’Oréal, increasingly committed to the planet, is developing several organic references in its range of care and beauty products, new compressed and recyclable deodorant packaging and shower gel eco-packs.

As Ushuaïa TV celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with various events, Yellow Korner art photography galleries have teamed up with the Ushuaïa brand to launch a photo competition on social media featuring the theme “Getaways… across the world or the street corner”.

Marmiton is a key brand in TF1 Licences’ digital portfolio. With the goal of making cooking accessible to all, the collaborative recipe website is France’s leading social food brand and the 10th most-recommended brand by the French (Source: Yougov, Brandinex ranking, 2019). By late 2020 a range of pots, pans, cutlery and cooking utensils will come out from licensing partner Jodas.

Besides strengthening the TF1 group’s legacy and flagship brands, TF1 Licences is pursuing a growth strategy in the youth market, especially with the

44

entrance of new rights into the portfolio: Imago, Ghostforce and Chuggington, three animated series that will soon go on the air on TFOU, TF1’s youth network. This year, the famous Barbapapa family will celebrate its 50th anniversary and continue its global success with a new animated series on Nickelodeon in nearly 120 countries. The anniversary is being marked by a large-scale partnership with Marmiton, France’s food media leader, and many new products, including the Giochi Preziosi Master Toy. The famous Smurfs, another signature brand in the youth catalogue, has created an event in Paris with exclusive products (Supreme, etc.) at an exhibition honouring Belgium at Le Bon Marché, the renowned and very chic department store, a collection of dedicated coins with La Monnaie de Paris and the announcement of a new Master Toy that will be unveiled at the Festival of Licensing in October.

The latest major thrust of TF1 Licences’ strategy is to build on their brands’ strong, original identity to offer unprecedented immersive experiences.

Their rich, high-value catalogue offers countless opportunities to whisk the general public off to various feel-good worlds. The creation of the Camping Paradis network illustrates this perfectly. Viewers can prolong their enjoyment of the TV show by spending their holidays in a setting that includes all the brand’s codes and DNA. Experience being key for TF1 Licences, other announcements are on the way. But have a little patience!

SPAIN’S TOP 10 ECOMMERCE SITES Estimated number of monthly visitors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Amazon Milanuncios El Corte Ingles Ali Express eBay Spain CarrefourEconomic Spain Overview Media Markt With Spain a population of around 46 million and GDP per capita of 26,692 PC Componentes Euros, Decathlon Spainrecently published research suggests that Spain is set to suffer Leroy Merlin

more from the current crisis than any other European economy, estimating a 15.5 percent decline in gross domestic product this year and a fiscal deficit of 12.5 percent of GDP.

€186.69 million €47.34 million €39.79 million €38.24 million €27.02 million €18.35argue million Further economists that a 10 per cent drop€15.63 in output and a deficit million of 10 per cent€10.46 of GDP million are likely. That would bring total debt to at least 120 €10.15 million per cent of GDP — up from a previ€10.09 million ous level of just under 100 per cent — even before measures to rebuild the economy are contemplated.

Social security figures back in April showed that more than 800,000 peo-

SPAIN’S TOP 10 RETAILERS 2019 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Mercadona El Corte Inglés Carrefour Eroski DIA Auchan Inditex Lidl Consum Media Markt

Turnover €m 24,305 15,935 9,682 5,505 5,147 4,597 4,253 4,009 2,731 2,002

No of stores 1,629 467 997 1,651 3,474 359 1634 561 707 87

SPAIN’S TOP 10 ECOMMERCE SITES Estimated number of monthly visitors 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 46

Amazon Milanuncios El Corte Ingles Ali Express eBay Spain Carrefour Spain Media Markt Spain PC Componentes Decathlon Spain Leroy Merlin

€186.69 million €47.34 million €39.79 million €38.24 million €27.02 million €18.35 million €15.63 million €10.46 million €10.15 million €10.09 million

ple had already lost their jobs out of a labour force of around 19m. Meanwhile the government is supporting the income of some 6m people, whether through temporary lay-off schemes, tax holidays or increased benefits. Unemployment in Spain was already 14 per cent before the crisis hit.

On the heels of a record-setting drop in Q1, economic activity plunged at yet another historic pace in Q2 on the full weight of lockdown measures introduced to curb Covid-19’s spread.

Both private consumption and fixed investment plummeted, while exports collapsed by roughly a third as the vital tourism industry screeched to a halt.

However, more positively, turning to Q3, the composite PMI crossed into expansionary territory in July thanks to more upbeat services activity and a rebound of the manufacturing sector.

Retail Sales It is estimated that retail sales in Spain will fall 12.7% this year, down from a previously anticipated 1.9% growth rate, according to recent forecasts.

This equates to a $43.34 billion decline to $297.50 billion.

While retail sales could take years to recover, the pandemic has accelerated ecommerce in Spain—as it has globally.

Within Western Europe, Spain’s retail ecommerce sales will grow the fastest at 22.9% to $32.89 billion. And ecommerce sales will continue increasing to reach $41.72 billion by 2023.

In many ways, the recent performance of El Corte Ingles, the biggest department store in Europe, reflects the larger retail environment: soaring online sales that do not offset brick-andmortar’s declines.

TOTAL LICENSING

El Ocho brings new and unique licenses into its portfolio.

El Ocho Licencias y Promociones is a leading agency for the Spanish licensing market, as a result of its rich portfolio made up of highly successful brands. They look for the best brands internationally and maximize their potential through strategic partnerships with local licensees, broadcasters, master toys, and international agencies.

El Ocho is constantly searching for unique properties in all categories from animation, celebrities, influencers, fashion, design, and sports. This year El Ocho can reveal that they have added three new, very promising brands to their portfolio: Alexity, Momonsters and Booba. Here they take a look at each of these properties and what makes them stand out from the rest.

Alexity Alexity is a new kind of property for El Ocho.

The way in which children are consuming content is changing and consumers must adapt to their demands. Content is being watched on YouTube and social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, that is why El Ocho has added Alexity to its portfolio. This is a brand created by Alexia a 10-year-old dancer, best known for her YouTube choreography videos

and dance tutorials with her aunt Brenda. She has a large community of followers, with over 3.6 million followers on YouTube and 895 million views.

Momonsters Momonsters is the new series by Big Bang Box, which debuted on Clan TV in March 2020. Since its debut, it has become a top series on the children’s channel, and in less than 6 months Clan TV has confirmed a second season of the series. Momonsters has great ratings and it is positioned as the #1 preschool series on the channel. The Momonsters - Haha, Hehe, Hihi, Hoho, and Huhu - want to be a child’s best friend, but… where can they learn how? At the Momonsters Academy! Where every day a different little boy or girl will show them their favorite thing in the whole world such as playing hide and seek, decorating muffins, playing soccer, dancing with a hula hoop and reading a comic book. Afterwards, the Momonsters will have to demonstrate that they can do it themselves. It is a preschool series with 52 x 7-minute episodes in 3D. The Momonsters licensing program will launch during the Christmas campaign of 2020, with Bandai as its master toy.

Booba Booba is a popular worldwide preschool brand

81

TOTAL LICENSING and a YouTube star constantly watched by millions, with 8 million subscribers and 6.8 million views worldwide. It is a non-dialogue animated series that follows the adventures of a joyful, funny, and curious little creature named Booba and his friends. They always find themselves in hilarious situations trying to explore the world around them. The characters interact like small children with a zest for discovery and an inventive mindset. The action takes place in a world like the real one, but with room for wonders.

Booba is also available on Amazon prime, Netflix, iTunes, and other digital platforms in many territories.

Along with these new properties, El Ocho continues to represent key global brands like Dragon Ball, Simon, Bing, Molang, MasterChef and Asterix.

Dragon Ball is one of the most successful brands, loved by children who watch Dragon Ball Super on Boing TV and by adults that watched the original series and Dragon Ball Z. This license continues to grow non-stop and El Ocho has signed deals with the best retail brands such as Zara, Bershka and Desigual. In 2020, new products will be developed by Zara kids, Pull and Bear, Sprinter, and a new back to school collection from Karactermania with Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super collections.

Simon is the adorable little rabbit created

by Stephanie Blake, who exudes all the vitality of childhood. The animated TV series aired on Clan in February 2019.

Thanks to its amazing ratings and views on the Clan app and website, the second season has been confirmed for September this year. Simon is at an age when little children are starting to come into their own - challenging relationships with parents, embarking upon school life, learning about the world in general, dealing with

82

authority and language. Thanks to the strength of the brand and the work of El Ocho, many licensing agreements have been signed. Famosa

by Giochi Preziosi is the Master Toy in Spain and Portugal, Penguin Random House is the publishing licensee with new books in 2021, Cefa Toys is the educational toys licensee, Jugavi is the personal hygiene licensee and there are many more products from Safta and Educa for 2021.

Bing celebrates the joyful, messy reality of pre-school life. Bing is a typically curious preschooler and Flop is the grown-up who looks after him.

Together, they navigate the ups and downs of everyday life. Famosa by Giochi Preziosi is the master toy.

They launched 5 toys in April 2020 at El Corte Inglés which have been a great success. This Christmas they will expand the range of toys and distribution channels.

Molang is a TV show produced and distributed by the French independent animation studio Millimages.

Molang is an affectionate and humorous look at the relationship between an eccentric, joyful, and enthusiastic rabbit, and a shy, discreet, and emotional little chick, PiuPiu. The series explores Molang and PiuPiu’s everyday life with warmth and humor.

The TV series is on air in 190+ territories and the property is represented by more than 65 licensees in the world and over 850 product SKUs. In Spain and Portugal, Cyp will launch hygienic masks and gel and a back to school collection. Other deals are currently being negotiated for the territory.

MasterChef is the most successful televised talent show. 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.

Asterix is a French bande dessinée series about Gaulish warriors, who have adventures and fight the Roman Empire during the era of Julius Caesar.

It was created by writer René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo and debuted in 1959 in the French comic magazine Pilote. Asterix is one of the most beloved characters in French popular culture

TOTAL LICENSING

NEWS FROM THE SPANISH MARKETPLACE CARAVANSERAI Caravanserai report that in Spain and Portugal the Covid-19 crisis has had an enormous impact at every level. Obviously, the fact that everything stopped all of a sudden collapsed the market for almost three months.

A high percentage of companies were forced to reduce staff thanks to a special law that allowed them to do it to reduce costs. Others have simply closed.

A limited number of companies have been able to pass through without damage. 100% online companies, with no physical products, may have had their once in a lifetime opportunity but these are a minority.

Now, companies are starting to roll out again

trying to minimize the damage and wondering what will the market reaction be from now on.

Despite all of this, Caravanserai’s activities have not stopped. They have tried to keep in close contact with most partners, firstly to know if their families and they themselves were safe, and secondly to discover their company situation.

They have been dealing with all of them trying to help and find solutions to payments, renewals pending specific situations and so on.

All Caravanserai’s licensors have proven to be helpful and positive and they have not left anyone behind.

Guillem Rey from Caravanserai believes that they need to make people understand at all levels, that licensing can be a very positive solution in these situations if it is manages prop-

81

TOTAL LICENSING erly. “We need to prove with facts that licensing is not a luxury or just one more tool to choose. Licensing is one of the few elements that can modify the attitude of consumer and so it is basic for the success at retail,” he explained.

“This being said, we keep working hard to get the best properties to help all our licensees to keep adding value to their products. That’s why our portfolio is very solid, and we offer great opportunities for them.”

In terms of properties, on one side, the loved and eternal Betty Boop and Popeye continue to be fashion industry leaders by having a presence in most of the big Spanish retailers like Zara, Pull&Bear, El Corte Ingles or Tendam brands like Cortefiel or Springfield.

Classic properties celebrating big anniversaries including The little Prince (75) and Miffy (65) which will have a great presence with a mix of big names and local online companies with great results.

In addition to that they have recently joined the Chefclub and Sophie la girafe families to help them create strong brand expansions with one of the best online cooking brands in the world and the iconic baby product that all new born have in their homes.

Finally, the news about the next space missions to Mars will allow Caravanserai to use the International Space archives as one of a kind property with great partners who will launch products next year.

EDEBE Edebé´s most successful license continues to be Santoro’s design-led collection, Gorjuss.

82

Spain is one of the strongest international markets for Santoro’s Gorjuss, with the collection becoming an evergreen property throughout the territory.

The majority of the 80 or so licensees have renewed their license agreements covering the majority of the categories and the sales performance of Gorjuss licensed products continues to be very successful.

Another of the properties from Santoro which is doing well is Mirabelle. It is working really well in Spain with licensees on board including Safta (back to school), Bluebags (fashion bags and accessories), Jugavi (beauty bags), Panini (photo cards collection), Fournier (Tarot deck cards) and Penguin Random House (publishing) with products in development. Edebé is currently working on a number of new licensing deals to be announced shortly.

Santoro’s First Class Lounge, a chic and trend setting collection, already has several collections in Spain with licensees like Safta (Santoro’s own stationery and gift collection distributor), Aznar Innova (underwear and swimwear collections) and Lorenay (personal care and cosmetics. Further deals will be announced soon.

Beyond the Santoro brands, Catalina Estrada

TOTAL LICENSING is also a key brand in the Edebé portfolio. Catalina Estrada has more than fifty licensees to date. The latest deals include Quo Vadis (for stationery in France), Textil Tarrago (for beach towels in Spain), Top Company (for stationery and back to school in Eastern Europe), Leanin Tree (greeting cards in North America), Cerabella (scented candles in Spain), Cristar (glass drinkware in Colombia) and Jugavi (for beauty bags).

Paddington is another of Edebé’s properties that people will talk about in Iberia very soon. With the TV series The Adventures of Paddington already released in USA and UK with excellent audience, the series will be broadcast in Iberia on Nickelodeon and on a further Free TV channel (to be announced soon). In additions, a new film will be released in theatres next year.

In the next few months a distribution agreement for the Master Toy line of Paddington developed by Phat Mojo, will be signed for Spain with a very well-known toy company.

Edebé also has a number of new licenses including Erase Una Vez… (It Etait un Fois… One Upon a Time…).

The brand is now known as Hello Maestro. A number of the original series are aired on various TV channels and platforms in Spain including Netflix, Tele Madrid, Canarias TV and HBO. The licensing program for the brand has already begun with Educa Borras developing a board game collection with excellent sell through results.

Edebé has also signed a new license agreement with licensee Barrado who will develop a plush collection featuring the key characters from the series next year.

Edebé is also in conversation with several companies for loyalty programs and others in the health sector.

A further new brand is the legendary icon Brigitte Bardot who embodies a positive sensuality that is authentic, bold and resolutely French.

The Brigitte Bardot brand is a unique brand, which brings “joie de vivre” (happiness), fascinates and inspires.

Brigitte Bardot embodies an authentic, bold and resolutely French positive sensuality. Dancer, model, actress, singer, muse and pioneer of many fashions,

Brigitte Bardot has a unique place in the public’s memory.

The Brigitte Bardot brand is inspired by her public years: 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and embodies values that are always very current: a positive sensuality that is authentic, bold and resolutely French. Brigitte Bardot products are always ethical and high-end without being luxurious, with a slight offbeat twist. The program is targeted at somen over the age of 18 and key licenses will include stationery, costume jewellery, travel accessories, apparel, DTR Fast Fashion, fragrance and cosmetics, fashion and accessories and underwear and lingerie.

WILDBRAIN CPLG Established in Barcelona’s Olympic year (1992) and located in the city itself, WildBrain CPLG’s Spain office is headed up by Pau Pascual, who was earlier this year upped to the position of VP Southern Europe and Managing Director for Iberia and MENA. For the Iberian market, WildBrain CPLG has a team of nine working across retail, licensing and operations and the local office also oversees the agency’s Middle East activity.

Over the last 25 years, WildBrain CPLG Iberia has become the home of classic brands with an increasingly strong portfolio of properties with a rich heritage including Space Invaders, Pink Panther, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty, Sonic and Peanuts.

Fashion is a key focus for all these properties and WildBrain CPLG has established a robust offering with high-profile retailers including Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Stradivarius, Lefties, Oysho, Women’Secret, Mango, El Corte Ingles, and, most recently, Desigual. With milestone anniversaries on the horizon for these classic brands, WildBrain CPLG has a host of exciting projects in the pipeline to mark the occasions.

Peanuts is one of the most popular licensed IPs in Spain and alongside its extensive fashion offering, WildBrain CPLG has secured further partnerships including: Zara Home for homeware and bath; Diseño y Fantasia for sleepwear and underwear; Topisatex; Comic Studio and Artesania Cerda for apparel and accessories; Panapop for watches; Woodies for Glasses and Sunglasses; Grupo Erik for gifting and stationery; Lladró for porcelain figures; Grupo Moya for Plush; and an extensive publishing range with Penguin Random House and Editorial Planeta.

For Pink Panther, WildBrain CPLG has also inked deals with food and beverage licensees including BIMBO and San Benedetto, in addition to a halo collab-

51

TOTAL LICENSING oration with Hydroponic skate brand, a line of plush with Grupo Moya, and dress-up from Funiglobal.

For Spain and the wider EMEA market, WildBrain CPLG also represents catalogue titles for some of the world’s most renowned entertainment studios including CBS, Sony, Lionsgate and Miramax. Classic titles handled by the agency include Dirty Dancing, Rocky, Beverly Hills 90210, Mighty Mouse, Karate Kid, Fame and Thelma & Louis.

Beyond these classic properties, WildBrain CPLG’s Spanish team is looking to build new lifestyle brands Brown & Friends and BT21 on behalf of Line & Friends and has already scored partnerships with Bershka and Pull&Bear for fashion, and Grupo Erik for accessories. The local team is also expanding the local fashion offering for the Universities of Harvard and Yale.

As part of its current growth strategy, WildBrain CPLG is now looking to team up with advertising agencies in Iberia to take its brands into new areas.The agency has also recently taken on EMEA representation rights to YouTube superstars Vlad & Niki who boast more then 90m subscribers on the platform and is working on a licensing programme for the both the new and classic Ghostbusters movies, in addition to building a lifestyle-focused programme for iconic brand Emoji.

MENDIA LICENSING Over the last twenty years, Mendía Licensing has become one of the most renowned independent agencies in Spain. Its founder, Sofía Noguera, has been in the industry since the 80s,

52

which has allowed Mendia to have control over the local market, including licensees, retailers, broadcasters etc, and to put in practice a personalized and flexible approach, that provides local customers – and big retailers - rights and concepts that are not represented in the territories.

The policy of the company, reinforced by its General Manager of more than ten years, Adrian Morales, is to remain small but efficient and to be able to act as a local representative for both licensors and licensees.

Mendía Licensing covers the Portuguese market as well as Spain. The following are some of the properties in the Mendia portfolio.

Pippi Longstocking was created in 1945 by the famous and successful Swedish writer, Astrid Lindgren. Today there have been over 160 Million books sold, 8 movies, plays, theme parks and hundreds of licensed products.

Right now, there is an important campaign with Save the Children, trying to help girl refugees - the Pippi’s of today.

In addition, there is a new movie in production.

Publishing is already in the marketplace, launched by local company Kókinos, and fairly shortly plush and stationery ranges will be available.

Mendía has also signed to represent Heathcliff. A classic character, Heathcliff has been the subject of continued success and inspiration for other famous cats from comic book origins.

Heathcliff’s return is already being reflected in the publication of his strips in several American newspapers and websites and 50 books have also been published with sales of more than one million copies.

The Heathcliff series has been aired on 80 different TV stations and the character is the subject of a feature film. Currently these can be viewed on YouTube. There is a new film in the pipeline with a possible TV series to follow.

The licensing program is now starting and will mainly cover the launch of the strips and the fashion sector.

Other products to be licensed include accessories, home textiles, bags, back to school, publishing, electronics, toys, confectionery / food, promotion...

Love is… was created by the illustrator Kim Casali at the end of the 60s and in 1997 her son, Stefano Casali, continued the work that his mother started and that he constantly updates.

Mendía are utilising two style guides one with classic / vintage material and the other with modern material.

Geronimo Stilton is another classic character from the Mendía`s portfolio.

In less than twenty years, the character has achieved publishing with 400

TOTAL LICENSING titles and 152 million books sold; a 78-episode TV series airing in 130 countries; Theatrical plays with 10 different shows and more than 250,000 tickets sold; a website in 18 languages, and a presence on Facebook and Instagram. There are more than 200 licensed products and services.

In Spain Editorial Planeta has already published 350 titles with a result of 21 million copies sold to date. In Portugal 128 titles have already been published through Presença.

British Motor Heritage is another Mendia representation. These British brands (such as Austin, Morris MG…) aim to provide owners of classic cars with genuine replacement parts for those British vehicles they had purchased. Several licenses have already been signed.

Mendía is also starting to work with Elephant Parade. This is the largest exhibition of elephant statues created by artists and celebrities, where each figure is a unique piece of art.

The life-size figures of baby elephants are exhibited around the world and help raise awareness of the need to preserve elephants. 20% of Elephant Parade profits are donated for the welfare and conservation of elephants.

Millions of people have visited the 36 exhibitions so far, 1,350 artists have participated in them and 1,500 elephant designs have been created as unique pieces of art.

Mendía is already in contact with different Spanish and Portuguese cities and other places, expecting to have a couple of exhibitions next year.

nels and 40 VOD platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, Hulu, Movistar+, Tencent, IQIYI and Youku, as well as 50+ mobile Apps.

The most recent airings are Panda TV in Portugal, Yoyo TV, 360/Ketchup TV, and EYDE. The demand keeps increasing, and is especially notable on YouTube, where Pocoyo keeps breaking monthly and accumulated viewership totals with 24 million subscribers, 472 million views this past August, and well over 3500 million accumulated views – well ahead of 2019’s record breaking total. Zinkia keeps creating new content and planning new productions that with Pocoyo at center stage, will continue increasing our target audience.

Zinkia is also advancing with Pocoyo’s Forest, which will see the planting and reforestation of a portion of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria after

the devastating fires that calcinated over 10,000 hectares there last year.

This initiative, which will help to raise awareness of the preservation of our environment amongst the youngest children has taken on a life of its own and continues to grow.

The first steps will be the planting of the first 1000 trees, with plans to continue until there are 15000 trees. This project has ignited the sector, where it has become a brand unto itself, and captured the imagination in other countries such as Brazil, the US and Portugal, where they are looking to replicate it.

At the same, the Pocoyo Brand continues its growth along with multi-national companies in the entertainment and licensing sectors.

Zinkia announced at the beginning of this year the signing of the Master Toy agreement with Bandai for Spain, Por-

ZINKIA ENTERTAINMENT Zinkia Entertainment is set to premier the newest season of Pocoyo (26 x 7’) on various TV channels worldwide, including, among others, ABC Australia, and Clan TV in Spain. The series, now has four complete seasons (52 x 7’), a 25 minute short film Pocoyo and the Space Circus, a full-length feature, Pocoyo: Your First Movie, as well as a wide range of other special content and musical videoclips, is present on multiple free-to-air and cable TV chan-

53

TOTAL LICENSING tugal and Mexico. These all-new items will soon be on retailers’ shelves for Christmas. This collaboration between Bandai and Zinkia marks a new era for both companies, who have previously achieved multi-million-dollar sales in key territories.

Pocoyo is also a worldwide leader in baby care products, with new agreements signed with PHB, Dulcifarma, Go To Market, Indelpa, and others.

This Spring, Valkiria launched a line of facemasks and hydroalcoholic gel in a Pan-European basis for our youngest ones to be safe during our battle with tCoronavirus.

In the world of interactive content, another (worldwide) deal recently signed is for the release of a consolebased videogame for the SONY PS and Nintendo Switch this Christmas. This new game will join the 50 titles and 54 million downloads of the phone-based games.

In February, Zinkia presented Mola Noguru, a production aimed at 3 to 5 year-olds, that had previously been in Zinkia’s portfolio, and which has now taken on a new narrative treatment and a truly transmedia focus, which will include a TV series, content for digital platforms and a package of multichannel games. The market’s reaction has been excellent, and Zinkia is advancing negotiations with potential co-producers.

The past six months have been especially significant for the growth and popularity of Pocoyo, as Zinkia has immersed itself to alleviate, as best it could, the effects of the Covid-19 crisis in the home. Besides the regular slate of production and content, Zinkia has created a number of PSAs and other proposals to help families to cope with the situation and explain to young children the importance of staying at home, good hygiene, proper use of facemasks, and to instill an appreciation of our everyday Superheroes on the frontlines of our fight against the pandemic.

APOLO FILMS Apolo Films is a feature film production company that specialises in CGI/3D animated films for cinema

54

based on a number of different TVbased characters including Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, Around the World with Willy Fog, David the Gnome and Bernard. Apolo handles all international rights for these properties on an exclusive basis.

Apolo is also in full production of their first full-length feature film of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds based on the well-known television series of the same name.

Apolo has carefully adapted the property to the tastes and trends of today’s audiences – both adults and children.

Javier Born, Licensing Manager with Apolo believes that Dogtanian will be one of the top 2021 releases as the brand is already very well known and loved in a number of countries including the UK, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Italy.

The production of the film has been helped by the participation of respected American scriptwriters, as well as prestigious animation studios, providing the very highest quality, as today’s market demands.

The film will be completed in late 2020 and it is slated to premiere in Spain and Portugal in early 2021. Apolo is currently closing initial deals for toys, backpacks, promotions, pet accessories, collectibles and more.

PLANETA JUNIOR Planeta Junior is part of Grupo Planeta and De Agostini company, a European leader in the creation and commercialization of content and entertainment properties for children and young adults. They operate in 33 European countries and have sales subsidiaries in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey. Planeta Junior has reached agreements with the main international animated series producers such as ZAG, Method Animation, Cottonwood, Superprod, Fourth Wall and Studio100.

In terms of licensing for Spain and Portugal, Planeta Junior have a number of properties that they are working on.

The Smurfs have an upcoming new

TOTAL LICENSING

television series and Planet Junior will continue to work on the Smurfs lifestyle brand program. They will shortly announce new agreements including a master toy partner and other licensees for the core (girls 5 to 10) age range.

Power Players is an action comedy that is achieving constant market growth and high awareness.

Playmates holds the master toy license and will launch a new line of toys, to be distributed through Famosa in Iberia, this Christmas.

Other major partners include Safta (back to school), MOM (costumes and masks), and Kids Licensing (gifts) are already on board.

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir is a brand promising huge opportunities in coming years, both in terms of content, with the launch of three TV specials at the end of 2020, the premiere of Miraculous the movie at the end of 2021, and live events; and licensing where highlights will include the launch of a new line of Playmates toys in Spring 2021, the launch of new school supplies this Christmas with Safta and other agreements including costumes and masks with MOM, sticker albums and magazines with Panini, apparel with Sahinler, and homeware

and gifts with Stor.

A number of new licenses will be announced soon.

Pucca is a lifestyle brand created by South Korean company Vooz, based on the iconic character and hit in 170 countries. Bravery, daring, fun, maturity, lack of prejudice - the series comes with an important message of love founded on ‘being yourself’.

Following Pucca’s success on social networks and in terms of licensing, Planeta Junior launched the third season in mid September. They will also shortly confirm a number of new partners on the kids’ side who will join join the current team including Play

by Play, MOM, La Casa de las Carcasas and Miquelrius.

Gormiti is an animated series co-produced by Planeta Junior, Giochi Preziosi and Kotoc, about four kids from the kingdoms of Gorm who find a Lost Tower, and set out on the most epic and entertaining adventure of their lives: the Return of the Gormiti.

Since launching on pubcaster Clan, Gormiti has ontinued to gain market and audience share.

Aired in more than 20 countries and available on Netflix and Prime, Gormiti is becoming increasingly international.

The 3rd season will also be released very soon, increasing this property’s potential for Christmas and 2021.

In terms of Licensing, Famosa is already on board for the new toy line, and Panini will launch a new brand magazine in October. More partners will soon be announced in sectors including back to school, food, and apparel.

Planeta Junior is also working with evergreen properties like Heidi, the story of a 5 year-old Swiss orphan sent to live with her grandfather in the mountains; and restless, adventurous and inquisitive young Maya the Bee who, together with her inseparable friend Willy, discovers the new world around her and makes friends with numerous forest creatures.

The company has strong partnerships with market leaders in all consumer product categories in Spain and Portugal, including apparel, toys and games, BTS, outdoor, home and furnishings, electronics, publishing, bedding, gifts and stationery, accessories, health and beauty, food, DTR, loyalty programs and live events.

They also continue to invest in their own productions with series like Gormiti, Squish and Power Players, as well as other new series that will be announced shortly.

55

TOTAL LICENSING

BEYBLADE

Seeing the familiar in unprecedented times In unprecedented times it is natural to seek out the familiar. So, it follows that in the world of kids’ entertainment, brands that are long-established and have enjoyed continuous and consistent engagement are now poised to thrive. This is the case for ADK Emotions NY Inc’s iconic Beyblade series.

When it was introduced to the globe in 2001, the innovative property that merged gameplay with imaginative content took international markets by storm. By drawing inspiration from the animated series, the new IP also offered competition that kids hungered for around the globe. Buoyed with content from a universe replete with memorable protagonists like Tyson Granger – the series along with the tops – created an irresistible combination that has endured for two decades and counting.

Beyblade’s third generation series, Beyblade Burst, continues to see longevity and fan interest with Season 5, titled Beyblade Burst Surge, set to release localized episodes in 2021. Season 4 of the series will soon be available on Netflix while Seasons 1-3 are currently available for viewing. Beyblade Burst episodes are continually

being rolled out on official Beyblade YouTube platforms globally and fans can look forward to watching episodes every week. Fans can continue to fully immerse themselves in the brand with the new Beyblade Burst

56

Hypersphere line which brings the latest and greatest Beyblade technology to fans around the world with exciting and exhilarating high-intensity battles that will ramp up their experience, inspired by the action seen in popular extreme sports such as skateboarding.

More exciting releases await during the upcoming season.

Under the tutelage of ADK Emotions NY, the brand expanded with a full pipeline of content along with real-time competitive events that have combined to create social media buzz and a new generation of engaged devotees and powerful online influencers who have helped Beyblade maintain its “evergreen” label by increasing the brand’s reach across several platforms.

During this unusual year, Beyblade has enjoyed a renaissance despite the necessary postponement of its year-long tournament schedule. ADK Emotions NY has managed the disruption by taking the action online and initiating a creative program of influencerbased content and classic Beyblade animation. This summer, the company began seeding YouTube with iconic content that served up much-needed nostalgia to first generation fans and, at the same time, introduced newer ones to the roots of the series and the game they love so much. The digital campaign was the perfect salve for a fanbase with an insatiable appetite for content.

Being uniquely situated in the nexus between content, gameplay and live-

events, Beyblade has always stood apart. While Beyblade’s physical events have been impacted globally, the brand has seen fans more engaged than ever through the Beyblade Burst App, which has proven to be a phenomenal part of the brand experience. The app launched at the end of 2016 and with over 30MM users around the world, it has hosted almost 1 Billion in-app battles. Hasbro in partnership with ADK Emotions NY will be leveraging this app following to host its first ever digital championship titled the “Beymaster Invitational” set to be aired on official Beyblade and Hasbro platforms on October 17th and 24th. The brand has joined hands with 12 Influencers who will compete against each other to become the champion.The Beymaster Invitational promises exciting and engaging content to create a unique viewing experience for fans all around the globe.

As Beyblade looks back at 20 years of success, don’t expect it to rest on its past triumphs. The upcoming year will be chockful of new ideas, creative content, and, additional touchpoints, that will build momentum, gather speed, and rocket the beloved brand towards its third decade and beyond.

TOTAL LICENSING

Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Jamie Stevens (EVP, Worldwide Consumer Products), Talks Robust Licensing Plans and Keeping Strong in Challenging Times You recently announced robust licensing plans for The Boys and Cobra Kai. Let’s talk about The Boys first – what are the licensing plans for this successful show?

We were super excited to announce the licensing program for “The Boys” just in time for its second season. We worked with the show’s home platform Amazon to kick off the initial wave of products, along with Amazon X-Ray to offer fans a one-of-a-kind, interactive shopping experience by giving them the opportunity to purchase products they see during the second season of the show and on the new weekly after-show “Prime Rewind: Inside the Boys.” Using web, mobile or Fire TV, fans are able to spot exclusive t-shirts and a plush that they can take home for themselves.

Beyond Amazon, we’ve secured a number of fantastic collaborations spanning various categories including apparel by Mad Engine and Ripple Junction, collectible toys by Funko, NECA and Jazwares, costumes by Spirit Halloween and more. We’ve also taken “The Boys” overseas with international licensee collaborations with Cotton Division, EMP Merchandising, Good Speed, Inc., and Grupo Erik Editores S.L., among others.

With the season two premiere and season three greenlit already, we’ve been working fast and furiously to create meaningful products for fans around the world that they can use to express their true fandom.

In order to stay true to “The Boys,” we will continue working closely with its showrunners to make sure we’re providing fans with products that remind them why they fell in love with the show in the first place.

How will you work around that ‘The Boys’ are really the heroes, while the superheroes, in some cases, are more villainous than the public in the show are lead to believe?

Our products are story-driven, so we will let the show handle the telling of the story and leave that up to the fans to interpret. Meanwhile, we are making sure we’re delivering epic products to fans based on their favorite characters.

And tell me about plans for Cobra Kai? As “Cobra Kai” sees surging popularity on Netflix, our comprehensive licensing lineup continues

58

to satisfy existing fans and generate excitement for new fans, giving them all-new ways to celebrate the show through apparel, accessories, collectible toys, publishing, costumes, home goods and more. Licensees include Bioworld, Funko, IDW Publishing, NECA, Party City and others, and we’ve taken the show international through collaborations with Caprice and Ecell Global.

This year we were able to give “Cobra Kai” the gaming treatment with a new mobile game published by Boss Team Games coming this fall, along with a new console game from Gamemill called “Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues” which launches October 27.

These are shows from Amazon Prime and Netflix – how do you find the world has changed when it comes to new releases, instant availability of content and do you still put the same emphasis on theatrical releases?

Though our major theatrical releases have pushed to 2021, Sony Pictures is making an effort to keep fans connected and entertained. While our business has not slowed down, it has quickly shifted as we work to bring experiences, products and entertainment to fans fit for this new “stay-at-home” era.

We’re fortunate to have a strong slate of upcoming titles that are built upon solid IP, like Ghostbusters and Peter Rabbit, and we can leverage the extra time gained from movie delays to expand our brands even further through new licensing programs, particularly within the rapidly-growing home and gaming categories. Our television IP, such as The Boys, Cobra Kai and Outlander, has seen an uptick in fan interest as well, especially as people are looking for brand new shows to watch, generating even greater enthusiasm for our licensing programs.

How has the company worked around recent challenges, and have you noticed any interesting positives to emerge?

Now, more than ever, fans are recognizing the value of their homes, family time and finding ways to fight the quarantine boredom.Whether it’s reading a book, playing a game, spending hours on a puzzle or watching a throwback movie, people

are staying positive and keeping themselves entertained in ways they may have never explored before. We’ve particularly seen spikes in interactive games, home activities, publishing and ecommerce, and we’ve been able to adapt to those trends by focusing on growth and expansion within those categories. For instance, we were able to react quickly to the surge of puzzles with the release of our Outlander puzzle assortments, especially as the show is boasting high views on Netflix. We’ve also been bringing on new partners for broader retail distribution and added a number of skus to our official Outlander online store.

Even with people staying at home, the culture of gift-giving and celebrating national days has not been interrupted, so we’ve continued to push sales events tied to major holidays like Mother’s Day and have several dedicated ecommerce shops for our TV properties including Outlander, Breaking Bad and Cobra Kai. Right now it’s super important for us to keep our fans engaged and in high spirits by delivering fantastic products themed to their favorite brands. In order to do so, we’re continuing to keep a close eye around the changing consumer landscape in this COVID-19 world to make sure we continue bringing them products and entertainment fit for these current events.

Tell us about your global recent achievements.

On a global level, the gaming industry has seen record-breaking sales including digital games and board games. For example, retail sales are +61% year over year in the U.S for our Jumanji games and puzzles from Spin Master, and globally we’re on track to have our biggest year yet on the heels of the latest film release.

Lastly, how has business faired over the last few months – what difficulties have you faced and overcome, and what are your predictions for the future?

During this time, we have all faced obstacles personally and professionally. At Sony Pictures Consumer Products we are nimble and flexible, which have been important assets to our team and partners to make sure we get through these challenging times.

The theatrical and live entertainment business are truly unique and memorable shared experiences that consumers are hungry to get back to. We are adapting to the times now but do believe those live events, such as movie experiences, will come back when it is safe to do so.

TOTAL LICENSING

The Art of Amazement for Children and Grown-Ups

Reading, Art and Creative Imagination are Intrinsically connected and important to make sense of the world around us.

Visiting a museum with your 3 to 4 year old might not sound like an enjoyable experience for both but ‘Miffy at the gallery’ illustrates perfectly well how this can be shared from a very young age, offering fun and amazement for both the child and grownup.

Inspired by art and the world of a child Dick Bruna created a paradigm in which both very young and old can relate to each other also on more challenging topics.

Apart from spending invaluable time together studies have long shown that

art stimulates (social) skill and creative imagination. Early childhood is the ideal moment to share experiences and spend time together because a child’s brain is like a sponge and there is a direct correlation between this period and (academic) achievements later in life.

Mercis organizes annually various exhibitions around the world to share Dick Bruna’s work and Miffy’s 65th anniversary year 2020 is no exception.

Europe ‘Miffy, 65 years a source of inspiration’ in the Centraal Museum Utrecht featured a collection of original designs created by 82 international fashion students from design academies in Nottingham, Hong Kong, Milan, Mexico and Utrecht. These designs were created at the invitation of Mercis BV, the company that manages the rights to Dick Bruna’s work worldwide.

The ‘Miffy Museum’ and Studio ‘Dick Bruna’ are permanent features attracting over 300.000 visitors annually.

Asia A much more extended period has been set aside for the ‘Miffy 65 exhibition’ which features Dick Bruna’s fine art work and tours Japan between August 2020 to December 2021! Cities like Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo will host this experience in venues varying from the Matsuya Ginza Department store to Art museums and Galleries.

60

Australia Another curated exhibition ‘Miffy & Friends’ has traveled from Seoul in South-Korea to Brisbane, Australia.

The QUT Art Museum will feature original works from Dick Bruna to include both Miffy and his earlier highly sought after pocket book designs from the Black Bear collection.

The focus is on how a deceptively unassuming figure, Miffy, has evolved into a globally recognised and much-loved character. A legacy grounded in the 20th century avant-garde–abstractionism, colour theory and De Stijl– owing a debt of influence to the likes of Matisse, Léger and Mondrian.

This exhibition starts in the fall of 2020 and will run until the summer of 2021 visiting art centers in the cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Miffy embodies a universal language of minimalism, expressing a myriad of emotions and subtle nuances that can be understood across generations and cultural milieus.

Sharing the art and fun of graphic design through colour, line and form to audiences around the world remains something that Mercis, just like Dick Bruna did over his lifetime, stays committed to from the earliest age possible.

For more information on Miffy – www.miffy.com or contact info@mercis.nl

TOTAL LICENSING

With Brand Licensing Europe cancelled this year because of the pandemic, the organisers have created an online Festival of Licensing that has been embraced by the industry.

The event, held over four weeks, comprises a tailored program and group of exhibitors for each region that are timezoned to the territory.

There will be 100+ hours of category and regional-specific content, helping people to navigate their way through the new consumer landscape. Business matching and meetings, both pre-arranged and drop-in video meetings will be set for the whole of the Festival and each particular week will be internationally accessible to encourage cross-territory connections.

Following the territory-specific weeks, the final week is the Licensing Leadership Summit, aimed at bringing licensing leaders together to analyse the events of 2020 and plan the strategic direction of the industry for 2021.

Commenting on the new format, Anna Knight, VP Licensing at Informa said, “There is a huge appetite for making domestic and international connections, discovering new IP and brands and learning how to navigate the new consumer landscape and the Festival of Licensing

will support all of these needs. 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.”

For more information, or to register to ‘attend’, visit www.festivaloflicensing.com

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

EUROPE

ASIA

6 - 8 OCT

14 - 15 OCT

BST TIME ZONE

CST TIME ZONE

WEEK 4

WEEK 4

AMERICAS

LICENSING LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

20 - 22 OCT

28 - 29 OCT

PST TIME ZONE

EST TIME ZONE

SOME OF THE EXHIBITORS AT THE FESTIVAL Aardman has continued to deliver through lockdown both in terms of

international licensing business and content deals, ensuring that audiences around the world continue to enjoy the magic of Aardman’s characters, but also in adapting production protocols to keep the studio operational. The team are now preparing for a busy Festival of Licensing.

The Shaun the Sheep brand continues to flourish as the new season rolls out in further markets having enjoyed a strong launch on Netflix. A new festive half hour special goes into production for Christmas 2021, and with a growing portfolio of attractions and live experiences around the world - Shaun’s adventures are continually reaching a whole new generation of fans.

Brand teams continue to focus on licensing programmes for Shaun the Sheep celebrating 25 years since the character’s first screen appearance and for Wallace & Gromit, classic characters now embarking on a whole new tech-driven interactive story in this autumn’s The Big Fix Up. Timmy Time and Aardman’s original clay hero Morph - who returns with a brand new longer format production for Sky Kids; The Epic Adventures of Morph

later this year.

Recent and renewing partners including Vivid and Aurora for Toy, Anthem and Ladybird Education for Publishing, Fila and Truffleshuffle for Apparel, Funko and Moonpig for Gift,Vice Press and Pin Box Limited for Art & Collectibles, Yeo Valley and Dean’s of Huntley for Food & Beverage and Playpress models for Craft.

As Aardman ramp up on a large scale feature film production for the much anticipated Chicken Run sequel, the studio is also continuing to diversify its portfolio with distinctive new IP, Robin Robin in production and a full content slate in development which showcases stopframe, CGI, mixed-media and games. (Europe/Americas/Asia) Acamar report that International Emmy Award-winning show Bing is

The exhibitor list changes very frequently and, no doubt, will continue to up until the opening day. Readers are advised to check on the Festival website (www.festivaloflicensing. com) for up to date information.

On the following pages, we have included a selection of exhibitors, together with the one or more territory events where they are exhibiting.

61

TOTAL LICENSING

now broadcast in 130 territories worldwide and entertains children and their grown-ups through an increasing range of books, magazines, apps, consumer products, live shows, cinema experiences and digital touchpoints.

2019 saw sell-out toy success with new master toy licensee Golden Bear in all launch markets including the UK, Italy, Poland and Benelux. Bing is in the top 10 fastest growing toy licenses according to UK NPD data (YTD June 2020 vs 2019) and key toy retailers have doubled their listing support for AW20.

With seven new UK partners in 2020, category expansions include both wooden and wheeled toys from 8th Wonder and MV Sports respectively – and within home, The Beautiful Game with stickers for children’s bedrooms.

This Autumn will see the launch of playsets to the Golden Bear toy range and apparel partners will continue to widen Bing’s retail footprint across both toddler boys and girls.

Bing’s new series premiered in the UK in September last year and during lockdown alone the show achieved a staggering 66,809,160 requests on BBC iPlayer. (Europe) Asgard Media will have a virtual booth at the Festival of Licensing.

Headed by licensing veteran, Kelvyn Gardner, Asgard’s mission is to make licensing work for manufacturers and licensees. They are the solution to a number of frequently asked questions such as:There are thousands of opportunities and how do you decide which ones are right for your business? How can you find out about the hottest new licenses before they are snapped up? New to licensing? How can you

62

‘get into the club’ and get a chance at the very best licenses? How much do you have to pay to get a license?

With over 30 years of experience working with some of the biggest licensees in the world like General Mills, Finsbury Foods and Topps, Asgard Media makes licensing work. They are up to date with all the latest licensing trends and have arranged deals with all the hit licenses of the last few years, too, including Peppa Pig, Frozen, Paw Patrol, Avengers, Bing, L.O.L. Surprise, Pokémon, Premier League football, Downton Abbey and many others. Totally unbiased, they work with licensees to get the best licenses at a price licensees can afford. (Europe)

Lifestyle brands licensing agency Art Ask Agency are exhibiting at the first edition of The Festival of Licensing, launching their new representation of the Nordic lifestyle brand Finlayson.

Beautiful patterns and iconic designs give this lifestyle brand huge scope across all categories. The Uniqlo launch of apparel ranges for women, girls and babies in 2020 gave the brand a flying start in licensing out.

Finlayson is a leading Finnish design company since 1820 with roots in social responsibility, innovation and striking design. In its early days, Finlayson rapidly became the largest industrial company in the Nordics with its own church, hospital, school and fire bri-

gade. Finlayson was the first company in Finland to employ women and offer them an opportunity for an independent livelihood. Finlayson continues to bear responsibility for society by focusing on sustainable business operations and taking a firm stand on behalf of a better world.

In addition, Art Ask Agency will be

showcasing their other top lifestyle brands, namely Anne Stokes Collection, Frida Kahlo, Brandalised, TVBOY, Pets Rock, IA London, The Camden Collection, VisseVasse, Route 66 and Marie-Antoinette.

The entire roster of lifestyle brands at Art Ask Agency is really getting traction in the current times. Licensees benefit from long term solid sales, directly targeting consumers’ desire to identify with specific lifestyles and become part of the dream.

Art Ask Agency are experienced participants of virtual shows, having had very positive outcomes already from the Licensing Week Virtual that took place back in June 2020, and are very much looking forward to the Festival of Licensing event across all territories. (Europe, Americas, Asia) Asmodee Entertainment is a newly formed platform of games publisher and distributor Asmodee. Its mission is to extend Asmodee’s leading intellectual properties into TV/film, book and comics publishing, location basedentertainment, and consumer products, working in parallel with sister platforms Asmodee Boardgames and Asmodee Digital. Asmodee Entertain-

ment will reach many new audiences and delight existing fans through the creation of compelling story and character content set in Asmodee’s vibrant game universes. By establishing best-in-class partnerships across the full spectrum of opportunities, Asmodee Entertainment aims to create truly global intellectual properties and brands. Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor committed to telling amazing stories through great games with over 34 million games sold in more than 50 countries. Through their portfolio of iconic game titles, including Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Dead of Winter, Splendor, KeyForge, Dobble/

TOTAL LICENSING Spot it! and Werewolves of Millers Hollow, they create a dynamic transmedia experience for players across a variety of digital and physical platforms.

Asmodee also creates inspiring and innovative products in partnership with leading entertainment and technology companies. Asmodee operates in Europe, North America, South America and Asia and is headquartered in Guyancourt, France. (Europe, Americas) Banijay will be bringing an extensive slate to this year’s Festival of Licensing, following its recent acquisition of Endemol Shine Group.

With the largest international content catalogue, comprising 88,000+ hours, Banijay holds brand licensing rights

working in a number of categories including consumer products, gaming and gambling initiatives.

The Banijay portfolio now includes the world’s most successful cookery television format, Masterchef, which airs in over 200 territories and is watched by over 300 million people globally; the ultimate reality show for couples, Temptation Island; BBC One/ Netflix gangster drama, Peaky Blinders; the original and best reality adventure show Survivor; international game show phenomenon, Deal or No Deal; cultural phenomenon, Big Brother; game show hit, Tipping Point; Spanish multiplatform entertainment success, Operation Triunfo; Eat Well for Less, where good food doesn’t have to cost a fortune; globally-loved digital animated series, Simon’s Cat; British icon, Mr Bean, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary; new US breakout gameshow, Don’t; life-changing transformation show, The Biggest Loser; recently refreshed heritage cookery brand, Ready Steady Cook; the Netflix anthology series, Black Mirror; lo-

cal French beauty series, Miss France; gameshow classic,Wipeout, and muchloved physical gameshow, Crystal Maze. (Europe, Americas, Asia) Time Lord Victorious marks the first time that BBC Studios has brought together licensees to tell a new Doctor Who story on multiple platforms.

Penguin Random House, Doctor Who Magazine, Titan Comics, Escape Hunt, Big Finish Productions, Eaglemoss Hero Collector, Immersive Everywhere, Escape Hunt, Maze Theory, BBC Books and BBC Audio, unite to tell an epic adventure.

Hey Duggee remains hugely popular.

The most watched children’s show on BBC iPlayer during lockdown, over 2.8 billion views on its YouTube channel and toy sales are up 148%, much faster than the market average. Existing partner TDP & Aykroyd recently

signed daywear rights and Amscan International partnered for dress up and partyware. A new deal was inked with Fiddes Payne for cake mixes, and Finsbury are launching a new Hey Duggee cake in Q4. Sustainability continues to be a focus. A carbon neutral BBC Earth bathroom range will debut in Boots this Q4. BBC Earth: Animals, an interactive family board game that features clips from the TV Series’ narrated by Sir David Attenborough, also launches at retail in Q4. Top Gear moves to BBC One this autumn for its 29th series. The new line-up of Paddy McGuiness, Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris has been a hit with viewers and

critics, and the brand’s licensing portfolio is expanding. Early this year, the first ever app-controlled LEGO Technic Top Gear Rally Car launched. (Europe, Americas, Asia) It’s been another year of growth for global entertainment company Boat Rocker Studios – specialists in creating, producing and distributing premium media content for all platforms and developing high-profile brands and IP. Current key properties include quirky 2D animated preschool series Love Monster, based on the bestselling books by Rachel Bright. Wonderfully warm and witty, the 54 x 7’ series follows hairy hero Love Monster, the only monster in a world of cute fluffy things, and has amassed over 7 million

iPlayer requests since launching on CBeebies in January.

Master toy partner Golden Bear launch their initial range in October, while new leading licensees include Cooneen (nightwear/underwear); Dreamtex (bedding/home textiles); Blues (daywear/swimwear); and Amscan International (dress-up clothing/accessories). Nightwear is set to launch from A/W 20 with the additional categories following from Spring.

Fresh from celebrating its 200th episode, tween reality-style dance drama The Next Step has extended its hugely successful partnership with London’s iconic Pineapple Dance Studio, who are now hosting their sell-out themed workshops online. The equally popular co-brand Pineapple X The Next Step apparel collection is now also available online at Next where it is enjoying buoyant sales. Fantastical, “pre-westoric” preschool, family focused animation Dino Ranch is set to premiere on Disney Junior US in 2021. Already on board are global master toy partner Jazwares and major English-language

63

TOTAL LICENSING publishing partner Scholastic, who are both designing a wide range of exciting and inventive products across a variety of categories. (Europe) Founded in 2016 by Nate Cavanaugh, Karl Johan Vallner and Nikolai Tolkatshjov, Brainbase is a technology company that helps globally recognized brands manage and monetize their intellectual property. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and is backed by leading investors in

San Francisco, LA, New York, and Europe. Brainbase’s flagship platform, Brainbase Assist, helps companies manage any licensing, partnership or sponsorship agreement from end-toend in a single platform. With unlimited user seats, Assist allows you to collaborate with all of your colleagues and licensing partners and handle the legal, financial and creative touchpoints all in one place. Key features include contract management, royalty reporting, creative approvals, digital asset management and analytics. Assist can integrate with your existing apps, is built on the latest tech stack, lives on the cloud and is available on any browser and device.

Brainbase’s global customer base includes some of the largest brands and licensing agencies in the world including Sanrio, BuzzFeed, kathy ireland Worldwide, MDR Brand Management, Rights and Brands and IMC Licensing.

(Europe, Americas, Asia) Brand Central LLC, a leading licensing agency and brand consultancy, is showcasing their roster of industryleading clients at this year’s virtual Festival of Licensing. Brand Central works with world class brands to create powerful brand extensions that spark cultural conversations, build brand love and generate significant revenue for

64

their clients. Their portfolio of clients range from food and beverage brands (Tapatio Hot Sauce, Cap’n Crunch, SONIC Drive-In Restaurants, Kraft Heinz (Kool Aid, Planters, Heinz, Jello, etc.) and Mondelez brands (OREO, Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish), to popular entertainment and digital brands (Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Hype House, Full Send/Nelk Boys) to trending lifestyle brands (STEM brand Rube Goldberg, faith-based adorable heroes Bible bb’s). Their mission is to help clients unlock the full potential of their brands to enhance value while generating substantial revenue.

This year, the agency will also feature Brand Central Insights, their customized trend intelligence service that provides up-to-date insight reports on the latest industry trends for leading licensors, media companies, manufacturers and retailers. Brand Central Insights offers actionable recommendations to clients based on deep industry knowledge on how trends emerge,

evolve and achieve resonance. It also provides features such as extensive retail analysis and industry insights about the “next big thing.” With this expertise, businesses are able to make smarter decisions, anticipate change in this unpredictable world and have the resources to proactively respond to everchanging industry trends. (Americas) It’s been exciting year for Brandgenuity in Europe. G2 Esports, one of the leading entertainment brands in esports, partnered with Brandgenuity to strategically expand its global licensing program, and has since signed 2 new licensees. The first is Difuzed, for a line of apparel that will have multiple design drops. G2 has also partnered with The Koyo Store for a range of collectible logo and player cards, pins, keychains and coins.

2020 has been another strong year for the NFL Players Association in Europe with 2 new partners, Dein Design and Butterfly Effected. Dein Design will produce NFL player branded mobile

phone cases and Butterfly Effected has launched mobile themes across all android mobile theme stores. Finally, Panini launched the 2020 NFL/NFLPA sticker book collection at Asda, Sainsbury’s and WHSmith’s stores across the UK. Brandgenuity has partnered with global FMCG company, Unilever, to represent their Heartbrand ice cream portfolio as part of a new licensing program. Licensed product will feature assets from the vast portfolio of Heartbrand ice creams including favourites Cornetto, Twister, Calippo and more. Recently, two new partners were signed on, Bro Licensing and Sabor. Bro Licensing will develop fun and vibrant apparel ranges for young adults to launch in 2021, while Sabor will focus on Algida branded apparel and nightwear for high street in the Italian market. (Europe, Americas) The new Master licensee for global celebrity Brigitte Bardot, one of the most beautiful women of the world is at the Festival this year. B.B embodies strong values: joyous sensuality, at once authentic and bold, and her respect of nature and animals is resolutely inspiring. The company is looking for licensees in a wide range of fashionable and

TOTAL LICENSING quality products. (Europe) Bulldog works with a number of the world’s leading brand owners to develop merchandise programmes ready for the international and domestic licensing markets. Working with both the owners of existing

brands to develop and enhance their consumer products programmes, and with the owners of more nascent IPs to help create brands that are fit for purpose in the highly competitive world of brand licensing. Bulldog has grown since its foundation in 2007 to become one of the leading agencies in Europe. Bulldog has an excellent reputation and contacts throughout the world of retailing and licensing in the UK and the Managing Director is a regular contributor to industry trade press articles and seminars. The company works with a network of the world’s leading licensing agents to ensure a cohesive approach to branding and product quality. (Europe) Celebrities Entertainment GmbH, a full service agency, specialized in Licensing and Brand Extension and with a strong expertise in iconic Rock n Roll licensing, will exhibit at this year’s Festival of Licensing.

The German based licensing specialists will showcase their portfolio which is loaded with the who’s who in music history. For example, AC/ DC – the veterans of Rock n Roll - are celebrating the 40 anniversary of their album Highway to Hell, which turned

out to be singers Bon Scott’s last studio album. And the next anniversary – 40 years Back in Black in 2020 – the

bands most successful studio album is just around the corner. In addition to AC/DC, Celebrities Entertainment represents a wide range of truly iconic IP’s for the European territories including David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Genesis, The Police, Kiss, Def Leppard, The Cavern Club and Woodstock. Further properties include Godzilla, Route 66, Atari and Football’s Coming Home.

(Europe, Americas) Crunchyroll, a WarnerMedia company and the world’s most popular anime brand, connects anime and manga fans in more than 200 countries and territories with 360-degree experiences. Fans have access to the largest collection of licensed anime through Crunchyroll, Anime Digital

lions that encourages parents, carers and teachers to #Talkpants and help to keep children safe from abuse. The dynamic, pants-wearing dinosaur is on a mission to share his important message, to help support children to recognise what abuse is and how they can speak up. #Talkpants is an annual campaign created by the NSPCC that gives parents, carers and teachers the support they need to explain the Underwear Rule to young children aged 4-8 in a simple and age-appropriate

Network (in partnership with Citel, a subsidiary of Média-Participations), and Anime on Demand streaming services, translated in multiple languages for viewers worldwide. Viewers can also access simulcasts — top series available immediately after Japanese broadcast. Crunchyroll’s services also extend to licensing of theatrical, TV, home video, and consumer products rights. Fans engage further with events (including owned events Crunchyroll Expo, The Anime Awards, Crunchyroll Movie Nights, KAZÉ Movie Nights), consumer products through eCommerce and retail partners, Crunchyroll Games, KAZÉ Games, and manga (KAZÉ, Crunchyroll Manga app & Manga Store). Crunchyroll was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, Lausanne, Berlin and Chisinau. VRV (U.S.) and Eye See Movies (Germany) are also Crunchyroll brands. (Europe, Americas, Asia)

way, without using any scary words or even mentioning sex. The NSPCC is also bringing mascot Buddy to the commercial licensing market for the first time at the Festival.

Buddy is a bright green ‘speech bubble’ mascot used to communicate the NSPCC’s Speak Out. Stay Safe campaign, which has so far reached 90% of primary schools nationwide. The age appropriate SOSS assemblies and workshops are delivered to children aged 5 to 11 across the UK and Channel Islands to encourage them to speak out if something is worrying them. Buddy has been seen by more than 1.8 million primary school children each year, and demand is still growing - in 2019 there were 600 new schools who requested a SOSS assembly for the very first time, an all-time record high.

The licensing programme for Buddy and Pantosaurus is launching through agents for the brands, Edutainment Licensing, at the Festival. (Europe)

Edutainment Licensing reports that national children’s charity the NSPCC is entering the commercial licensing market for the first time at Festival of Licensing Europe.

The NSPCC’s Pantosaurus is a bright yellow friendly dinosaur known by mil-

GO-N Productions are presenting preschool property Simon at the Festival of Licensing.

Based on the best-selling series of books by Stephanie Blake and published over 20 countries, the TV series follows Simon, a little rabbit, who ex-

65

TOTAL LICENSING

udes all the vitality of childhood. He’s at an age when little rabbits (and indeed little children!) are starting to come into their own - challenging relationships with parents, embarking upon school life, learning about the world in general.

Kids can use Simon as an example when standing their ground, they can learn from him, his mishaps and the way he has to get down off his high horse, but always with humour and good grace.

Since 2017, Simon has been a worldwide success on TV and platforms – major public and free TV, and on Netflix worldwide, with more than 4 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.5 billions views. The 2 first seasons of the show are on air, and production of Season 3 will be completed end of this year. Season 4 Season 4 is currently in development and will be on air for Simon’s 20th anniversary in 2022.

The property is now being prepared for licensing and merchandising. France Television Distribution is the agent in France, El Ocho in Spain,Turner in Italy and Hop in Israel.

Licensees already on board include Universal, Random House, Ravensburger, CIJEP, Playbac, Santoro, Ludattica, Famosa, Jugavi, Safta, Cefa and Pimchou. (Europe) At the Festival, Hasbro will present opportunities across its portfolio of brands which include NERF, My Little Pony, Playdoh, Monopoly, Transformers and Power Rangers in addition to the newly acquired properties from eOne- Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ricky Zoom. Milestone anniversaries, including the 35th anniversary of Transformers in 2021 and the 85th anniversary of Monopoly commencing Q4 2020, which will be leveraged with collabo-

66

rations, consumer promotions and retail activations.

Nerf leads the presentation slate. The Nerf franchise will benefit from significant above the line investment in 2021 with soon to be revealed experiential marketing initiatives set to bring the brand to life.

The pony world of Equestria is expanding to introduce a new generation of ponies to new fans. With more humor, heart, and music than before, a new cast of ponies awaits audiences.

The new My Little Pony debuts in a computer-animated theatrical feature in September 2021.

Season 28 of Power Rangers - Power Rangers: Dino Fury - journeys back to the roots of the brand with the action being led by the original rangers.

A new brand theme for Peppa Pig entitled Peppa’s Adventures kicks off in 2021, as a celebration of all the places that Peppa has visited since the show began.

New series premieres will be rolling out for Ricky Zoom throughout the year. Excitement for the expansion of the brand’s consumer products programme, which is driven by the strength and reach of best-in-class broadcast partners across the region, will follow the phased rollout of toys in all key markets in 2020, with secondary categories available from SS21.

Finally, a robust plan is in place for PJ

Masks which will be boosted by Series 4 which is set to launch this Q4, the Disney+ roll out in multiple territories and Series 5 global launch coming in 2021. Hasbro will be launching its first toy range for the brand with a core range of new products hitting retail for AW21. (Europe, Americas, Asia) The Joester Loria Group is a global licensing agency recognized for executing award winning brand extension

program, delivering dynamic brands collaborations and for pioneering experiential licensed programs. JLG’s diverse roster of client includes McDonald’s, Pepsi-Cola North America beverage brands Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Aquafina; Frito-Lay’s Cheetos and Doritos brand; Constellation Brands Beer portfolio including, Corona Extra and Modelo Especial; Kellogg’s portfolio of cereal and snack brands includ-

ing Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, Cheez-It and Pringles; Entenmann’s baked goods; Jack Link’s meat snacks; WeWearCute, TikTok’s leading kid content creators, and children’s literary and entertainment properties including The World of Eric Carle featuring The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Dick Bruna’s Miffy; Rainbow’s 44 Cats (Europe, Americas).

Licensing Works! will showcase iconic and timeless brands including Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – al uxury brand inspired by world’s most widelyread author.

Further brands include Deer Little Forest – original animal designs; Kewpie – with a new Sew Kewpie program authentically translated for today’s consumers; The Little Prince – with 10 million social media fans and thirty US licensing partners; and Molang – with 3 million fan engagements daily and 9.5 billion gif views driving new licensees targeting 18 to 34 age range.

Additional brands include Moulin Rouge – the successful Broadway musical; Nina and Other Little Things; Pirata & Capitano – a female driven animated preschool series; Oggy and the Cockroaches – with 5.5 billion views

TOTAL LICENSING on YouTube and 12.2 million subscribers as well as 33 million downloads of seven game apps and 4 million Facebook fans.

Eric Hill’s Spot has sold over 65 million books with new merchandising launching and Tarzan is featured in new publishing and a new VR interactive game. Tarzanimals is a new brand with characters from Tarzan and Jane adapted for preschoolers. Winchester Mystery House is one of the top haunted destinations with 100 years of beautiful and bizarre mystery. Zig & Sharko is an animated series on YouTube with 14.2 million subscribers and 6.9 billion views.

And finally, Zorro celebrates 100 years with new licensees and new entertainment. (Americas) Magic Light report that another Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler family special, Zog and the Flying Doctors – the follow-up to 2018’s Emmy-winning Zog – premieres on BBC One this Christmas. Also in production for summer 2021 is a new 52 x 7’ preschool series Pip and Posy, based on the million-selling books by Scheffler.

Since bringing their licensing operation in-house last year Magic Light have secured a raft of new deals for The Gruffalo. Wow! Stuff have signed as Master

Toy partner, with a range of figures and playsets due in January. Other new licensees include Micro Scooters (scooters/helmets), Asmodee (a Gruffalo version of Dobble, the UK’s best-selling card game), Visage (craft printed fabrics), Robert Fredrick (stationery, gifts and games) and Playpress (buildable eco-friendly playsets). There have also been renewals for two of the

Gruffalo’s biggest, longest-established partners, Aurora and Sainsbury’s and multiple licensees in Italy, Germany and Australia.

In Australia, Magic Light is in the process of opening four sites which are hosting their Gruffalo Spotters Augmented Reality app and trail. The app has gesture and facial recognition so that families can interact with the CGI animations and create their own shareable content. These experiences add to an overall increase in activity in Australia and New Zealand, where collectively a number of new licensees have signed in the last year including dress up from Smiffy’s and a DTR with The Warehouse.

In the UK Magic Light is also about to launch a new Gruffalo Spotter AR app at Forestry England sites, and a new interactive trail activity at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst. (Europe, Americas, Asia)

Images to represent Norman Parkinson, one of the most important and celebrated fashion photographers of the twentieth century, for licensed stationery, ceramics, apparel and gift products. An extraordinary talent, Norman Parkinson’s career spanned the 1950’s to 1980’s including a long collaboration with Vogue Magazine. His images capture the style of the twentieth century; from pre-war 1930s Britain and the austerity fashions of World War Two, the Parisian New Look of the 1950s and Swinging London in the 1960s, to the glamour and glitz of the 1970s and 80s. (Europe) Metrostar has signed up for the Fes-

Mercis manages the world-wide rights of Miffy & Friends, created by Dick Bruna in 1955, through highly integrated Media-, Publishing- and Li-

tival of Licensing and will be working with a new client, Kraft Heinz to use the event as a platform for a hard launch of its brands into licensing.

The two companies, along with agent, Brand Central, have been working with Kraft Heinz brand teams on strategies for each of the brands in the UK and have identified their key priorities for the show. Metrostar reports that early conversations are going well, with high levels of interest amongst both retailer and licensees, and the Festival of Licensing provides the ideal platform to introduce Kraft Heinz brands to the broader licensing industry. A censing business units. Miffy’s iconic stature keeps growing and 65 year’s of brand heritage is celebrated in 2020.

The global program is supported by over 10.000 unique products, 85 million books sold in more then 50 languages, television series, a movie, dedicated YouTube channels, expositions around the world and an ever growing portfolio of design driven collaborations. (Europe) Caroline Mickler teams up with Iconic

variety of Heinz sub-brands will be on show, including Tomato Ketchup, Baked Beans, Salad Cream, Cream of Tomato Soup, Spaghetti Hoops, as well as other brands in the portfolio such as HP Sauce, Lea & Perrins, Amoy and

67

TOTAL LICENSING Bull’s Eye. (Europe) The National Gallery, London is one of the greatest art galleries in the world, housing the nation’s collection of paintings including works by van Gogh, Monet, Turner and Leonardo da Vinci.

The National Gallery Company is the commercial arm of the National Gallery. Their purpose is to generate income for the Gallery, enhance the visitor experience in the Gallery and reach markets beyond the Gallery, so that future generations are able to en-

joy the paintings. Every licensing deal supports the National Gallery.

They are proud of their thriving international licensing business and extensive distribution network in the UK and around the world. Building the brand and reflecting the ethos of the National Gallery is key in all their partnerships. They like to partner with licensees to create the best possible products and experiences, including international cafes and pop up shops, all showcasing images of some of the best-known paintings ever created.

They have over 40 partners in the following categories - gifting, art prints, accessories, jewellery, homewares and interiors, apparel, flowers and book publishing, and are always looking for new categories and opportunities to bring master paintings to life in a contemporary way.

They also have a strong licensing programme in the Far East and would like to build on this success in other international regions, across key categories and also food and beverage with their Delicious Art sub-brand. (Europe) The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most visited natural history museum in Europe. With a vision of a future in which both people

68

and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world. In January 2020, the Museum launched a new strategy in which it outlined its mission to create advocates for the planet: individuals who feel sufficiently informed, confident and motivated to make a positive difference to the global future. The Museum’s licensing programme is closely aligned with this strategy and its recent capsule collection with Finisterre is a great example.

Featuring embroidered t-shirts, printed shirts and reversible swimwear, all inspired by the themes of sea travel, this collection was made from sustainable organic cotton, recycled polyester and ECONYL recycled yarn, that had been recovered from marine waste and discarded fishing nets; a range built to have as little impact on the planet

as possible. Other recent successes include the launch of The Dinosauria Collection, a collaboration with The Royal Mint that saw dinosaurs featured on UK coins for the first time, and a childrenswear collection with Japanese global retailer Uniqlo.This year at the Festival of Licensing the team are launching the Wildlife Photographer of the Year brand, an international showcase of the very best in nature photography; a brand that invites people to experience the uniquely emotive power of photography. The team are keen to meet with potential new partners to discuss the exciting activities planned at the Museum over the next three years, to share their brand-new style guides, and to explore how together they can work to build on an already successful licensing programme.

(Europe) Perfetti Van Melle is a global pow-

erhouse of candy brands that offer opportunities to create meaningful licensing products and experiences all over the world. They invite those interested to discover the latest style assets and upcoming projects of Chupa Chups, Mentos, Airheads, Smint, Frisk, Big Babol, Fruit-tella or Alpenliebe. (Europe, Americas, Asia) Pink Key Licensing’s focus will, as

always, be to develop new partnerships for our established brands and we are looking for licensees right across Europe for Kellogg’s, Pringles, SLUSH PUPPiE, Pan Am, The Laughing Cow, Babybel and Coleman’s Vintage and PG Tips Vintage.

All of these evergreen brands have had great success over the last year expanding into new product categories, retail channels and territories, and Pink Key wants to talk to licensees and retailers who would like to capitalise on their expanding programmes.

All the brands have had success in apparel, accessories, housewares, gifting and other categories, but they still have a lot of areas for potential expan-

sion and are keen to talk to licensees in any territory about how they can successfully partner together.

In addition Pink Key is delighted to announce that they have been appointed as the non-food licensing agency for

TOTAL LICENSING Vimto. This much-loved British brand has a rich history and an archive to match, with beautiful art from every decade since it was first manufactured in Manchester in 1908. There are two style guides available covering the stunning archive and also one that covers the brand as it appears now. Pink Key are are interested in talking to licensees to cover both of these eras.

(Europe) Rocket Licensing’s Exhibitor Profile will showcase its broad portfolio of brands, covering entertainment, preschool, heritage, lifestyle and specialinterest properties from an array of leading entertainment studios and licensors including: Bapper; Beano Studios; BocPix; Hat Trick International; Legendary; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM); Scholastic/Horrible Histories; The Joester Loria Group/ Eric Carle; The Lumistella Company;

Timbuktu Labs; Toho and Yakka Dee! Ltd. The Elf on the Shelf is ready for its biggest year yet, with product from 18 licensees and new categories launching across a broad retail footprint. These include games and puzzles with Rachel Lowe and Winning Moves; health and beauty with H&A; confectionery with Thornycroft; and celebration cakes from Bright Blue Foods. Rocket is set to significantly expand the brand in the UK in 2021.

2021 is the 70th anniversary of Beano’s Dennis. The anniversary will be celebrated with a year of major marketing and licensing activity. Several new licensees will launch product including plush from Gosh! Designs and home décor from Arthouse.

Godzilla vs Kong is set for release on 21st May 2021 and licensees include Playmates as Master Toy, Park Agencies for apparel, and Whitehouse Leisure for entertainment plush.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar boasts an impressive and growing licensing programme with product sales and retail listings building in 2020 following an amazing 50th anniversary year in 2019.

Successful experiential collaborations with Action for Children and Bluewater will continue into 2021, and be joined by exciting new partnerships, including with London Zoo. New to Rocket’s portfolio, preschool stop motion animation from New Zealand, Kiri and Lou, has had a flying start on CBeebies,going straight to the top of ratings within its first month.

Rocket is securing initial deals across key categories including publishing and toy. (Europe) SEGA Europe Ltd. is the European Distribution arm of Tokyo, Japanbased SEGA Games Co., Ltd., and a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment Eu-

rope. SEGA wholly owns the video game development studios Two Point Studios, Creative Assembly, Relic Entertainment, Amplitude Studios, Sports Interactive and Hardlight. (Europe)

brands such as Nivea, Hansaplast and Eucerin, with strong experience as licensors of Walt Disney or football clubs like Paris St. Germain plus the expertise of tesa with market-leading adhesive solutions, is merged with the pioneering expertise in intelligent marking solutions and digital tools of tesa scribos.

This combination enables the company to design unique solutions for our international customers from all kinds of industries. Based on detailed consultations, they develop, customize and implement solutions – all from one source. Our clients include worldleading companies such as Peugeot, Bosch, Castel, Danone and Chloé. (Europe) Studio 100 Media is an international production and distribution company within the children’s and family entertainment sector. Based in Munich, Germany, the company is a 100 percent subsidiary of Belgian firm Studio 100. The company develops and acquires new content, engages in coproduction and co-financing activities and is also responsible for the international distribution of its own- and third-party rights. Studio 100 Media’s business model is the perfect vertical and horizontal integration of its IP’s. In marketing its license rights, the company pursues a global strategy within sectors ranging from Content Distribution, Licensing and Home Entertainment through to Theatrical Movies, Stage Shows and Theme Parks.

Leading properties include 100% Wolf, Maya the Bee, Mia and me and Heidi.

As a full subsidiary of tesa, Tesa Scribos is a part of tesa SE within the Beiersdorf Group. The profound experience of Beiersdorf in international brand management with its own global

69

TOTAL LICENSING (Europe, Americas, Asia) TSBA Group is one of the UK’s leading sport and brand licensing agencies.

Their team of licensing experts work on a global basis to deliver award-winning licensing programmes for brands including Transport for London, FIA Formula E, The Open, Jaguar Racing, Extreme E, Nissan Nismo, DS Techeetah, FIA World Touring Cars and the National Portrait Gallery.

TSBA Group is a key part of Innova-

tion 1st - our capabilities in licensing compliment the other core parts of the Innovation 1st proposition which include D2C and B2B E-commerce, pop-up retail, perchandise and promotions across the globe. This capability allows them to develop channels for their clients and to become a master licensee, especially focused on the apparel and accessories categories.

Now in their 11th year and with a number of international sporting brands and blue chip corporate brands in our portfolio, they offer a unique proposition among licensing agencies, providing a 360 degree service for extending brands reach into new arenas through world class partnerships, products and services. (Europe) The award-winning licensing programme of the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) offers an almost infinite source of design inspiration for a multitude of product categories. The experienced licensing team provides tailor-made research, supporting licensees through the design process to create beautiful ranges for the contemporary market, authenticated by compelling stories from the V&A’s archives.

Despite its challenges, 2020 has seen some fantastic launches for the V&A.

70

After an amazing reaction to the V&A’s March launch with Blinds 2Go in the UK, there was a further launch with Tuiss Décor Japan over the summer.

The collections of made-to-measure blinds and curtains feature 8 beautiful William Morris patterns. Plans are now underway to introduce the range in Europe this year.

Exciting debut ranges in the UK this autumn include Cherry Glass Design’s bespoke decorative glass panels for bathrooms and kitchens, crafting fabrics with Visage, and The Branded Tile Company who are reintroducing the popular V&A wall and floor tiles. Meanwhile, ethical fashion licensee People Tree will launch a new capsule collection inspired by the Museum’s textile archive. Asia is still a key focus area

and the team continue to work with their licensing agents in China (Alfilo Brands) and South Korea (Infiniss) on expanding product categories, launching new ranges and growing brand recognition. Collaborations in China include a cosmetics range with beauty brand Lansur, accessories with She’s, and a collection of Alice in Wonderland themed tableware with ceramics specialist Joyye. Whilst in South Korea the team launched a range of women’s apparel with premium fashion brand Michaa. With over 85 licensees, the long-established programme shows no signs of stopping and continues to welcome opportunities to broaden its offering and create new collaborations.

(Europe, Americas, Asia) ViacomCBS Consumer Products (VCP) oversees all licensing and merchandising for ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC), a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide.

Driven by iconic consumer brands,

VCP’s portfolio includes a diverse slate of brands and content from BET, CBS (including CBS Television Studios and CBS Television Distribution), Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and Showtime.

With properties spanning animation, live-action, preschool, youth and adult, VCP is committed to creating the highest quality product for some of

the world’s most beloved, iconic franchises. Additionally, VCP oversees the online direct-to-consumer business for CBS and Showtime programming merchandise, as well as standalone branded ecommerce websites; Star Trek, SpongeBob, South Park, and MTV. (Europe, Americas, Asia) WildBrain CPLG will showcase Netflix Kids and Family brands, which it represents across EMEA, including Go Go Cory Carson, preschool musical series The StoryBots, and Julie and the Phantoms. The agency will also feature fast-growing YouTube kidfluencers Vlad & Niki, which it represents in EMEA and Russia; Supercell’s mobile game phenomenon Brawl Stars; and Magic Box’s collectible toy SuperZings.

These join an entertainment lineup, including Sony Pictures’ franchise Ghostbusters, with new movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife coming March 2021, and hit series Breaking Bad and Outlander. (Europe) Updates will be shared on Miramax’s iconic titles Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Hellraiser and Scream; Lionsgate’s portfolio including Dirty Dancing and John Wick; SpinMaster’s Bakugan and Toca Life; WildBrain’s Teletubbies and In the Night Garden; ViacomCBS’s Paw Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants and MTV; Hasbro’s Consumer Products, newly represented across CEE, Turkey,

TOTAL LICENSING Nordics and Benelux; eOne’s Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ricky Zoom, also new for Benelux; and emoji.

WildBrain CPLG Lifestyle will showcase new partnerships, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kikkoman, Harvard University, Kärcher, Revolution Beauty, Osprey London, Smint, 80s fitness icon Richard Simmons, plus Authentic Brand Group’s Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali. Classic characters featured include Peanuts, celebrating its 70th anniversary, plus new developments for Dr. Seuss, MGM’s Pink Panther, and Line Friends properties BT21 and Brown & Friends. In sports, WildBrain CPLG will bring England Rugby, readying its 150th anniversary in 2021, and football clubs FC Barcelona and Liverpool, which it represents in MENA. (Europe) Academy Award-nominated French animation studio Xilam Animation is heading to Festival of Licensing with a colourful slate of new and refreshed brands. Lupin’s Tales is a new comedy series for upper preschoolers which is set to be delivered in Easter 2021. The series follows a young wolf who experiences adventures against the backdrop of well-known international fairy tales. With major broadcasters already on board, Xilam is looking for publishing, toy and plush partners.

Xilam will also bring non-dialogue comedy series Where’s Chicky? which is targeted at a cross-demographic audience and sees an adorable little chick turn up in a new environment every episode. Produced by Xilam’s CGI studio, Cube Creative, the series has an impressive digital presence including four billion lifetime views on YouTube. Season two is in production and Xilam is looking to build a lifestyle focused merchandising programme for millennials, alongside a cross-category offering for kids.

Following the 20th anniversary of its Oggy and the Cockroaches, Xilam is now launching a rebooted version of the series. Scheduled for Autumn 2021, Oggy and the Cockroaches – Next Gen sees Oggy take on the responsibility of parenthood and Xilam is building a merchandising programme which reflects the series’ modern

In addition to their manufacturing capabilities, we also offer exclusive licenses and in-house brands.

Young Spirit has exclusive rights to two licenses: Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, both featuring whimsical and original prints by Mabel Lucie Attwell, one of Britain’s best-loved illustrators.

look and focus on emotions, tenderness and friendship. Xilam will launch two further brands based on Cube Creative series and targeted at upper preschoolers: Pfffirates which is full of action and visual comedy, alongside comedy adventure series Tangranimals which takes a playful approach to geometry. (Europe, Americas) Yale licensed merchandise is an important part of the Yale mission, serving to help promote the Yale brand throughout the world. We are committed to working with licensees that share our vision of product excellence, which speaks to the rich traditions of this university. Our global approach to

Worldwide exclusivity means they can offer unique designs and products including women’s sleepwear, gifts, and accessories, all made from the highest quality sustainable materials.

In addition to licenses, their in-house brand Magnolia Lounge offers biannual Sleepwear ranges for women using only the best fabrics, featuring their own beautifully designed and exclusive prints. (Europe, Americas, Asia) Zolan Agency is an art licensing agency of Art, Design, Fashion, Heritage and Photography brands inspired by passion and artistry, creativity and curiosity, nature and sustainability. A boutique agency, with a passionate desire to share beautiful artisanal art with the world and to inspire the lifestyle with imaginative products. Creating their own trend they open the doors to a purer vision of artistry and originality. Their brands are focused on sustainability, nature, kids, fashion, contemporary art&design, characters, and environmental projects. (Europe)

licensing includes working closely with each partner, to help ensure their Yale experience is mutually successful for the university and licensee. (Europe, Americas, Asia) Founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2004, Young Spirit is an apparel and accessories manufacturer and importer producing beautifully designed and constructed garments and accessories.

71

TOTAL LICENSING

Sanrio: The Value of Friendship in Time of Recovery 2020 represents a time of great challenges and the whole licensing industry has been looking for ways to overcome the situation, with a positive and reassuring approach towards partners and end consumers.

Sanrio’s corporate philosophy has friendship and fostering of social communication as key values.These play an important role in this delicate process and are taking shape in some fundamental pillars.

First of all, finding new ways to collaborate with licensees has been key to success in EMEA. Sanrio have focused their efforts in providing ad hoc solutions and support for their partners on both Sanrio and Mr. Men sides, and have secured a substantial investment in the development of content and synergies with their commercial partners’ marketing activities, creating dedicated sales teams collaborating with top international agents.

In Iberia, for instance, Sanrio managed to grow their market presence significantly, covering all the main categories and consolidating their long-lasting partnerships with some of the most important retailers globally. A few examples include permanent collections released by the Inditex brands – not only in fashion – and by the Tendam Group, El Corte Ingles and Desigual.

The toy and gift categories are guarded

by Play by Play with their plush range and by the newly launched Simba collection; Panini for album & stickers and publishing products and Safta for

Hello Kitty x Esther Bunny exclusive collection @ shopsanrio.com

72

back-to-school complete the picture.

The food segment is very sweet with Dolci Preziosi’s chocolate and Chupa Chups’s wide selection of lollipops.

Digital growth is an important factor in Sanrio’s strategic plan in the medium to long-term. A team of experts is dedicated to this project and as of today, they already have significant activities in place in videogames, kids’ apps and augmented reality for all age targets. On this, it is worth mentioning Linden Lab on the Second Life and Sansar platforms. It is here that Sanrio activated the omni-channel experience in the virtual world, creating a shop that offers items for both avatars and real people, in collaboration with a global partner like Levi’s. At the same time, Bublar has introduced a game app based on geo-localization named “Kawaii World”, aimed at younger users.

Significant collaborations are also in place with Nintendo, including the Animal Crossing game, and the creation of Nintendo DS themes.

Alongside this, Sanrio are active on all major social media platforms in EMEA with continuous organic growth and have recently launched an owned e-commerce site - Shopsanrio.com that sells exclusive personalized items

and unique collections in collaboration with artists, influencers and YouTubers such as the LA-based Korean artist “Esther Bunny”.

Hello Kitty is an iconic brand with a really wide fanbase including adults.

Sanrio will always strive to keep this unique positioning, supported by significant brand collaborations with sports and high-end apparel brands.

After Balenciaga and GCDS’s Hello Kitty catwalks and Levi’s and Puma launching their mini-me collections, Dr. Martens, Furla and Charli Cohen followed in their path. Charli Cohen’s exclusive gudetama collection was uniquely launched in a virtual reality fashion exhibition – with other big news to be announced for 2021!

Dr Martens x Hello Kitty collaboration

TOTAL LICENSING

Sanrio are also very active with influencers. For instance, they recently announced a partnership with Elettra Lamborghini involving the Aggretsuko and My Melody brands.

2021 will be marked by the introduction of new product lines with key players in kids’ licensing, especially in the toy industry, giving Sanrio the opportunity to penetrate the kids market dramatically. The German Group Simba Dickie released their Hello Kitty range this summer while the American giant Mattel is launching a new collection focused on Hello Kitty and Friends in Q1/2021. In terms of apparel, Sanrio consolidated their historical and ongoing partnerships in fast fashion with companies such as H&M, the Inditex Group, C&A, FOX, LLP, Desigual and El Corte Ingles and added Benetton, Undiz and Fix. The experiential factor, offering the consumers a full and immersive insight into the characters’ worlds, is also part of Sanrio’s developing strategy, starting with the Hello Kitty dedicated area within Dream Island Russia – Europe’s first indoor theme park – and the opening of themed restaurants and cafés in Europe’s main cities planned for upcoming years.

Another key role in Sanrio’s growth

is the diversification of the portfolio.

Hello Kitty is a global star but the family counts over 450 other characters with a significant following worldwide, for which Sanrio is planning investments in the development of TV and digital content as well as new consumer product style guides.

The new Hello Kitty and Friends programme has been announced in 2020 and will see its consolidation and expansion in 2021 with new collaborations and dedicated communication campaigns.

Alongside, the youngest characters gudetama and Aggretsuko are following their own path developing a solid fanbase worldwide. The lazy egg is growing in the streetwear market with Adidas Neos and Reebok partnerships and its fashion collab with British designer Charli Cohen, while the cutest red panda just had her 3rd season released on Netflix (late August).

Collaborations with other IPs will also bring a new fresh look to the Sanrio characters. Sanrio and Chupa Chups, for instance, are becoming BFFs (Brands about Fun and Friends) and recently announced a partnership to share their common mission of “creating a fun-filled experience to be shared with friends”. Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters – My Melody, Kerokerokeroppi, Bad Badtz Maru, Little Twin Stars, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll – will get a sweet makeover through new designs and style guides which will be available for licensees in Europe, in categories such as apparel, accessories, cosmetics, social stationery and accessories. This project consolidates an existing multi-year relationship in merchandising.

Given all the above, friendship is pivotal for the recovery, both on business and personal levels. Sanrio wants to celebrate and put the spotlight on this value in 2021 even more, focusing on kindness but also on inclusivity and diversity because as Hello Kitty always says “you can never have too many friends”, regardless who they are, what they look like or where they are from. Dedicated campaigns will run from the beginning of the year and will live their greatest moment closer to summer with the Tokyo Olympics

gudetama x Charli Cohen collaboration

and Paralympics. Hello Kitty and her friends will be protagonists of several collaborations and public campaigns to explain to children how to protect themselves from infection, and as social media ambassadors of kindness and healthy behaviors.

Mr. Men Little Miss, the British property acquired by Sanrio in 2011, continues to experience fast growth in Asia and the rest of Europe, thanks to new and important content to be launched shortly on all platforms, supporting consumer products.

The brand will celebrate its 50th milestone with a whole year of partnerships, PR activity and digital campaigns. Throughout 2021 the theme is ‘Discover You’ – a celebration of personality and inclusivity.

At the start of the year, five new Mr. Men Little Miss characters will be introduced and the public will be able to vote and choose their favorite two through a newly launched website.

The fans will decide who to welcome as permanent members of the cast.

The two that have the most votes will be immortalized as classic books released later in the year, alongside a more extensive anniversary publishing programme.

Online activity will continue throughout the year and the brand will engage with fans on social media with 50 new mini animations and interactive sharable filters.

73

TOTAL LICENSING

ROBOCAR POLI SONGSONG MUSEUM GOES GLOBAL! Robocar POLI SongSong Museum which was a big hit in Korea will now be broadcast to international viewers in the autumn.

The new series of Robocar POLI that was unveiled by Roi Visual two years ago, Robocar POLI SongSong Museum has completed its successful broadcast in Korea and is about to enter the global market.

Song Museum was broadcast on EBS, a public broadcaster focusing on educational topics. It was ranked among the top 10 nursery rhymes by OllehTV Kids Land and SK Btv Zem Kids, showing the positive response it received from viewers. Roi Visual is currently preparing the show for distribution in Russia, China, Japan and Taiwan this autumn.

Although SongSong Museum is yet to be unveiled to the public in these markets, the popularity of Robocar POLI is still high. In a survey on the TV viewership for early 2020 conducted by Disney Junior Japan, Traffic Safety with Poli and Fire Safety with Roy were ranked first and second, respectively, with four from the series of programs being ranked among the top 10.

In the Chinese market, too, Robocar Poli was ranked among the top three in a viewership survey of the top 30 animated films of 2019, conducted

by Aniworld TV, a channel dedicated to animated films that is owned by Hunan TV. Starting in August, Fire Safety with Roy was officially launched on 10 media channels including Beijing IPTV, Guangdong IPTV, and Shaomi TV (GiTV). During the fourth quarter of the year, musicals will also be performed in more than seven Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin.

In Spain and Portugal, both Clan TVE

74

TOTAL LICENSING and Panda joined forces with toy manufacturer, Toy Partner to hold an online quiz contest on traffic safety featuring Robocar Poli which met with great acclaim.

This ongoing popularity even before a new episode has come out, is seen by Roi Visual as a sign that the interest in and demand for content on safety education has grown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also thanks to the cycle created by new fans.

Robocar Poli will also begin global distribution starting in the autumn of 26 episodes of music videos that combine 25 popular nursery rhymes such as Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Old MacDonald had a Farm, with a storyline. The educational content helps with children’s emotional development and lets them learn about the concept of time, friendship and animals whilst singing along to the music videos.

Executive Director SeungHo Shin who is in charge of new media business at Roi Visual commented, “The nursery rhyme sector is one of the most popular musical content genres on YouTube. Since these songs have been loved by many over the years, this does not signify a huge change in trends but this also means IP characters worldwide are engaged in heated competition. Robocar Poli SongSong Museum is a well-made musical animated film and thus is anticipated to be a loved part of the nursery rhymes market for a long time. We plan to market the program not only on YouTube but also on other global platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.”

Robocar Poli features content that focuses on safety education for children, with topics such as traffic, fire and daily life. The company is also currently developing content and products that enable children to spend a fun time learning at home as more time is spent at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

75

An Intermission:

The Russian Market after the First Wave At the end of March 2020, the coronavirus lockdown was imposed in Russia. As in other countries, most of the population was quarantined at home, students moved into distance learning, parents worked remotely and spent a lot of time with their children. The Covid-19 pandemic caused stagnation in many industries, with construction, trade, and services affected most. The Covid-19 pandemic brought uncertainty and anxiety to everybody’s lives. In these circumstances,people turned to brands as something reliable, important and comforting. Buying patterns changed, and retailers fortunate to stay afloat strived to adapt to the new normal.

Linear TV While staying at home, Russians spent more time watching TV. According to Statista, in April 2020, the average time for TV watching in audiences aged 4+ surged by 25% as compared to the same month in the previous year.

The growth in TV audiences was seen across all age categories.

The upward trend was obvious in Russian regions outside the big cities, where the uptake of online video

services is low due to poor internet connection.

According to Mediascope, a major media research company in Russia, in April 2020, TV viewership reached a peak of 4 hours 29 minutes among persons aged 4+ in Russian cities with 100,000+ citizens.

In the first half of 2020, Karousel, a Russian federal TV channel for kids, outscored other main TV channels in the share of family viewership among persons aged 4-45. Moreover, it was the only federal channel that experienced a monthly increase in TV viewership share from January till June 2020.

Interestingly, audience preferences changed in the quarantine period.

According to Mediascope, in AprilJune 2020, several robust Russian animated series improved their positions to get into the top-10 of the rating – Prostokvashino (+8 positions), The Barkers (+12 positions!), and KidE-Cats (+6 positions).

Notably, the top-10 included 8 Russian animated properties, including Be-BeBears, Fantasy Patrol, Tsarevny, and others. Paw Patrol topped the list, while Robocar Poli took 10th place.

During this period, Kikoriki and Fixies made their way back to the top-20 of the rating.

The shift towards Russian animated franchises is emblematic. These series are a great choice for family viewing.

For instance, Prostokvashino is the sequel of a legendary Soviet cartoon, The Barkers (9 years in the market) and Fixies (10 years in the market) are already popular among the second generation of preschoolers and primary schoolers in Russia.

Accordingly, in April-May 2020, toys with Russian characters increased their share of total licensed sales from 9 to 11% year-on-year, according to NPD.

By Mariya Rogozhina, Vestnik

Online media consumption In big Russian cities with a high-quality and affordable Internet connections, there was a rise in online platform

77

TOTAL LICENSING

viewership. For instance, the consumption of children’s content online on the OKKO video service doubled in April against 16 March 2020. Megogo, the third most popular online video platform in Russia, saw a 24% growth in children’s content viewership while Megafon TV showed a 40% increase (Statista).

A number of online video services, including Premier, Kinopoisk, More. tv, and others offered free trial subscriptions for new customers, which spurred consumer demand. The segment is predicted to grow 35% in 2020 as compared to the previous year (TelecomDaily).

child wants instead of several cheaper products that he or she doesn’t want.

“During the quarantine, the only growing segment in toys was the most expensive one – 3000 rubles ($40) and more,” commented Irina Sedova,

their budgets to the toys that would keep their children busy”.

Traditionally, toys have been the leading category in licensed product sales. Although the segment shrank by 24% during the lockdown, toys gradually became one of the basic products which help parents to entertain their kids.

In the turmoil of the pandemic, people craved positive emotions. Many consumers opted for a licensed toy with favorite characters to comfort their children. Moreover, the trend persisted after most of the restrictions had been lifted.

“After the quarantine, 60% of consumers are ready to buy any toy the kid wants as a reward, compensation, an end-of-the-lockdown symbol. Parents want to make their children happy,” says Irina Sedova.

All the best for the kids Due to the pandemic, customers’ incomes reduced. Impulse purchases practically dropped to zero.

Nonetheless, in Russia, people tend not to economize on children’s goods.

Parents would buy something the

78

Head of Development, The NPD Group, “With other kids’ entertainment unavailable, parents redirected

Food & Beverage – still stable in the crisis During the pandemic, food and beverage became one of the successful categories. In the second half of March, the market saw a peak in food product sales, while many shoppers started buying groceries online. According to Statista, 40% of Russian customers discovered a new online shop during the lockdown.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, online grocery sales were relatively low (0-5%), but in April 2020 they grew to 5-7% (ANCOR). Experts say, the shift towards online sales will be a long-lasting trend, especially in big cities, where retailers have managed to organize ef-

TOTAL LICENSING

Changes in retail

ficient delivery services.

Moreover, non-food online retailers entered the food and beverage category. Several Russian onlineplatforms, like Lamoda, OZON, and others added groceries to the product range.

A surge in the food market affected the licensing industry. Rights owners started to sell more licenses to grocery producers as food and beverage proved to be one of the most stable categories during the COVID-19 crisis.

“In spite of the crisis, we have signed a number of new deals, mainly for FMCG products,” said Valentina Kursanova, Director, Licensing and Business Development, 0+ Media, the right owner of Be-Be-Bears.

“Producers in the FMCG category are seeking growth points for their businesses, while many companies that have never worked with food and beverage are seeing the overall trend and are starting to develop this area, using well-settled connections with the distributors.”

The competition in the food and beverage market is tough, and licensing

provides a way to distinguish products on shelves. Therefore, buyers from major retailers lean towards branded products as these attract customers’

attention and show better sales.

“Retailers are showing more interest in licensed brands now. Our company has partnered with a major retailer to produce a range of licensed products with our brands. We are sure it is just the beginning. The market will grow, including the DTR segment,” said Valentina Kursanova.

In March 2020, food retailers experienced a sharp rise in the demand for essentials and food products.

This caused certain pressure on logistics but, overall, food retailers managed to provide additional supplies of highly-in-demand goods.

Moreover, major retailers cooperated to attract more customers, especially, in the product categories where they didn’t compete directly.

For instance, M. Video-Eldorado Group, a large consumer electronics retailer, partnered with X5 Retail, a leading Russian food retailer. According to the deal, M. Video-Eldorado’s

consumers could pick their purchases in one of the X5 Retail’s shops. Thus, M. Video-Eldorado expanded its pickup options while X5 Retail attracted additional customer traffic to its bricks-and-mortar shops.

When the restrictions were lifted, some consumers continued to make purchases online.

Larger retailers will increase investment in delivery services, taking into account a possible second wave of the pandemic in the coming autumn and winter.

Even if there is no second lockdown, customers are likely to prefer online grocery shopping to visiting a brick-and-mortar shop in the nearest future.

79

TOTAL LICENSING

FOCUS: THE RIKI GROUP The Riki Group acquired Aeroplane Productions Group through consolidation in February 2020, creating an impressive joint portfolio of Russian animation market superbrands: Kikoriki, BabyRiki, and The Fixies. This year the collaboration of Riki brands was most active amongst Chinese companies.

BabyRiki toys produced by KingBee are represented in more than 732 stores across all of China as well as through more than 30 online

supermarkets. Russian licensees expressed their interest in these toys, intending to import them into Russia in the near future.

The dairy products producer working under the Lakto brand has released a family of dairy products featuring BabyRiki characters into the Chinese market to be distributed in 489 offline and online stores.

In April 2020, a new licensing program was launched by the Alibaba Group as a master licensor, producing breakfast cereals featuring the Tina & Tony series characters together with Yili milk producer.

This summer, The Fixies brand signed an exclusive contract with the Chinese corporation Tencent Video for the broadcasting of the new season of the series as well as the kids’ science-pop show Fixielab. The latter will use the kits for experiments intended for children, produced by Chinese company STEAM Education Technology Ltd, as the props for the show.

80

The Fixies brand has also entered into the first contract for the development of licensed ice-cream in Romania with Alpin 57 Lux SA Company.

The kids’ line will include two types of ice-cream bars on a stick and a waffle cone. The licensing agent for the deal is Tralala Studio, who controls The Fixies YouTube channel in Romania.

Also, in Russia, Pampers announced a partnership with the animation brand BabyRiki. They presented a limited series of panties featuring the BabyRiki characters both on the packing and on the panties for babies of 4 months and older. Pampers has become one of the leading partners for the BabyRiki brand, perfectly fitting into the ecosystem of safe products surrounding the brand.

The companies conducted a joint promotional campaign covering the whole of Russia and CIS in the five largest regional retail networks.

Internationally, Canadian production and distribution company Epic Story Media acquired exclusive rights for the Tina & Tony animated series (52 eps x 5’) in 3D/ 2D technique produced by The Riki Group, a leading Russian animation company based in St-Petersburg. Epic Story Media will be an exclusive distributor of the

English and French versions of Tina & Tony for the U.S. and Canada. Epic will also manage the official global YouTube channel.

“North American market is not an easy one to enter for a Russian-produced pre-school IP, so we were looking for a strong partner for Tina & Tony. We couldn’t be more happy when Epic Story Media expressed an interest in taking this series for distribution.

Now we are hopeful, but also quite confident at the same time, that Tina & Tony will win the hearts of North American kids and their parents,” said Albina Mukhamedzyanova, Tina & Tony producer.

Jessica Labi, Head of Distribution and Brand Strategy adds: “We are very excited to distribute Tina & Tony and work with The Riki Group team.

The series is a perfect fit for the Epic portfolio representing great quality animation, imaginative stories, and wholesome values for preschoolers.

We are thrilled to introduce audiences to Tina & Tony in North America and abroad for fall 2020.

TOTAL LICENSING

MADE IN RUSSIA LINE-UP READY FOR VIRTUAL CANNES! For more information, visit www.expocontent.ru

Animation remains one of the fastgrowing sectors in the Russian media market 2020, despite all odds.

Traditionally the Made in Russia brand unites the key animation productions and distributors who will present their content at the Virtual MIPJunior and MIPCOM this year.

“Export remains one of our priorities, so we have expanded the subsidies we offer to national content players, and now cover adaptations for international markets, like marketing expenses, dubbing etc. State support is crucial to help companies bring their best products to buyers and evenually to global audiences,” said Evgeniya Danilchenko, head of Creative Inustries support at the Russian Export Center (REC). It is REC that initiates and organizes the Made in Russia pavilion at global events since 2017.

Soyuzmultfilm Russia and CIS traditionally are the biggest markets for Soyuzmultfilm`s L&M, as recently several older animation brands with 100%

recognition rate among the Russianspeaking audience have been revived.

For example, Mr. Teo, Cat and Dog, for which the licensing line-up now includes collections for moms and newborns (by Oltri) and ice-cream, the biggest deal of 2020 in FMCG signed with POLARIS. The company already has an agreement with Confitrade on a wide line of products for Orange Moo-

82

Cow, to be released in Russia in Q1 of 2021. Project’s master toy Simbat is launching more than 50 products including toys, publishing items, creative kits and cosmetics.

New spin-off series of the iconic I’ll get you and Umka are in development now, and Soyuzmultfilm has major plans for further expanding its L&M program both in local and foreign markets.

Apart from completed IPs, the studio will present brand-new ones to premiere at the market. For example, The Secrets of The Honey Hills series, a funny detective story for kids in 3D (now in production).

The IP is produced on a game engine, which will allow quick and easy video game licensing. Another brand-new title, a musical comedy Racoon Tunes in classical 3D targets early preschoolers and presents seven cute racoon characters, each representing a certain pitch of a music stance. The series will provide opportunities for developing collectible figures and toys of various kinds.

Melnitsa Animation Melnitsa Animation studio launched a new season of popular franchise Moonzy in 3D in June 2020. This September the company will release more episodes introducing Moona, a new character. In December the new 11-minute special episode about the New Year adventures of Moonzy and his friends is set to premiere. The new episodes (including the special) are written by US scriptwriter Paul Pimenta.

This year Moonzy has reached a staggering 9 Billion views on YouTube from an international audience. In May 2020 Melnitsa animation studio and Ink Group teamed up with children’s entertainment producer Kenn Viselman (Teletubbies, 64 Zoo Lane) and film/TV producer Brooklyn Weaver (Extant, Reverie, Run All Night) to bring the Moonzy animated series to the Americas, under Viselman’s “Itsy Bitsy Entertainment” banner.

This August 2020 Melnitsa animation studio supported by Ink Group signed a contract with Telewizja Puls Sp. Z.o.o. for 52 episodes of preschool animated series Moonzy and his friends to be aired on Puls TV and Puls 2 in Poland starting from October 2020.

Luminescence, the global distributor of the kids animated sitcom The Barkers: Mind the Cats! produced by Melnitsa signed a deal with Turkish company CNS Production Bir Cinens to release the film in Turkey. Earlier the movie international rights were sold to a number of countries in Eastern Europe, MENA and FOX in South East Asia. The film will premiere in Russia this fall.

Wizart Animation Wizart Animation brings the Snow Queen: Keepers of Wonders series as its flagship title. Simbat, one of the largest manufacturers of children’s toys and production in the Russian market, has become a master licensee of the Snow Queen and produces all sorts of branded merchandise across various categories: dolls, figures, soft toys, crafts, publishing, special activities, coloring books, tabletop games, etc. Step Puzzle and Hatber, which are the largest production companies in their sectors, produce puzzle games, tabletop games,

TOTAL LICENSING summer the second season of Turbozaurs was launched. The licensing package inckudes creative kits, board games and puzzles, while product lines of confectionery and toys are underway. constructor sets, stationery and things for school, paper production and crafts.

Show-based toys will also be delivered to the transport service of the largest Russian operator Russian Railways.

The studio plans on announcing new licensing agreements soon, covering branded clothes, textile materials, food, confectionery, books, sport equipment and more. As for feature films, Wizart Animation is closing global sales for The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands and The Sheep and Wolves: Pig Deal.

Brand4rent Brand4rent, the leading licensing agency in Russia, presents Monsikids and Turbozaurs. Monsikids, the first Russian animated series about the development of emotional intelligence, is available in the US on Amazon Prime, Kidoodle.TV, Tubi.tv, and in China on Xiaomi and Huawei. Its licensing program includes toys, publishing,

creative kits and confectionery. The worldwide master-licensee of the project, the largest Russian company Gulliver, will release an extensive line of more than 40 SKU Monsikids products in the Q1 of 2021.

Turbozaurs will be presented at MIPCOM in partnership with a global distributor. Its first season was launched in the fall of 2019 on leading Russian TV channels and VOD platforms. This

X-Media Digital X-media Digital brings several edutainment production projects

including animated series The Little Princess, Magic Pik and the second season of the animated series Cars, Cars.

X-Media Digital is actively engaged in licensing “The Little Princess brand.

The series tells about the adventures of a wayward, whimsy and funny redhaired Princess, who loves to sing songs, eat sweets and play games.

The company entered into agreements with the publishing houses AST and Altei to produce books with the cartoon’s characters in Russia.

The product range will include books, albums, magazines, stickers and coloring pages for children. The fans will also be able to attend theatrical performances and take part in online quests based on the cartoon.

Agama Film, founded in 2017 by coproducer of Masha and the Bear series Dmitry Loveiko, presents Fairy-teens. The project is currently in development, with 12 episodes already available on the leading national TV channels (Karousel, Mult, Multimusic,

Fan and ANI) and VOD platforms (Kinopoisk, IVI, OKKO, Start, Megafon TV) with six more episodes before the end of 2020.

Agama Film Agama Film is now developing the Fay.Net brand’s ecosystem where children and teens can play, visit a Library, a Laboratory, Cinema and any other location to have fun and learn something new about the world.

The first branded mobile game will be released in October 2020, with the Fay.Net premiere set for December 2020.

With branded toys already available on store shelves, Fairyteens dolls will hit the market this autumn. Simbat is the master toy partner.

100 Kilowatt 100 Kilowatt is a part of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) structure, the largest media holding in Russia. The studio brings animated series Homies, the edutainment series for preschoolers about architecture, Magic Kitchen series that teaches young viewers the art of cooking, gastronomic

83

TOTAL LICENSING secrets and reveals real stories behind delicious meals, Nick the Inventor, a story of a boy who doesn’t just use modern devices but invents his own, and Eager Beaver, a colorful animated series about the adventures of Beaver and his friends. This autumn, toys of Eager Beaver and Nick the Inventor will appear on store shelves in Russia, and three Homies encyclopedias will be published in early September.

100 Kilowatt animation studio and P. & R. Permissions & Rights Ltd are concluding a licensing agreement on the broadcast of the first season of Eager Beaver in Ex-Yugoslavia and Albania.

Red Carpet Studio Kids Red Carpet Studio Kids are presenting several properties including Space

Doctor Cat, an edutaining series for children aged 2-4 in the form of a puppet show and 2D-animated musical episodes, Blinky and Knobby, an edutaining non-dialogue 3D-animated series targeting 0+ kids audience. The Bugabooz is an edutaining 2D-animated series for 3 to 6 year-olds, scheduled to premiere in 2021. Space Doctor Cat and Blinky and Knobby premiered on Russia’s and China’s biggest streaming digital platforms and TV channels: YOUTUBE, IVI, IQIYI (video website), Xiaomi (OTT), Huahong (IPTV, DTV), Huawei (OTT), Hongmofang (OTT), Qingzhuliandong (Guizhou Province Cable, DTV), Fujian Provincial Cable company (DTV), Watermelon Video, TVJOY (IPTV, DTV). A premiere on English-speaking platforms in the USA and Canada is planned soon.

KinoAtis Licensed products featuring Space

84

Dogs Belka & Strelka, a well-known brand by KinoAtis, include educational games for children, bed linen, clothes, pet food and many other products. In March KinoAtis with one of the largest Russian companies in the pet industry Valta Pet Products launched Monge Monoprotein, branded food products for dogs with Belka and Strelka images on the packaging Monge Monoprotein is made in Italy and is widely available.

Last year Kinoatis and production center Artok prepared a large-scale musical production. The musical Belka and Strelka. Moon Adventures toured in Russia, Germany, and the USA. The third film of the franchise called Space Dogs. Tropical Adventure will be released in September 2020.

The company has also announced an animated comedy Koshey (working title) now in production, which is a story about an enchanted prince.

0+Media 0+ Media and Maurizio Distefano Licensing in Italy have signed an agree-

ment to develop and market a licensing program for Russian animated series Leo & Tig, a project produced

by Animation studio Parovoz and managed by 0+ Media company. Episodes are airing in Italy on Rai YoYo. After just a couple of months since MDL was appointed as the Italian licensing agency for Leo & Tig, there are already six signed contracts with major companies and many others are at the final stages of negotiations.

Mondadori will become the publisher of books centered around the adventures of Leo & Tig, with a launch scheduled for spring 2021. Grabo will make its inflatable balloons in different variations that will be available in wholesalers and at various events.

Lisciani will create a range of puzzles, memory and educational games. Other licensees comprise Edizioni Playpress that will publish activity books, coloring books and magic pens, Diramix will produce sticker albums that children can trade and play with, and Sbabam will develop the collectable 3D figurines available in kiosks with the support of a promotional TV spot.

The children’s comedy sketch show Eralash, the family TV series, will be presented for the first time in an international content market. E ach episode presents amusing yet edifying stories centering on the lives of boys and girls, as well as their parents.

Eralash produces new episodes every year, currently broadcast on three Russian TV channels with over 2 billion views on YouTube.

The Made in Russia delegation will also include Riki Group, Signal Media, Project First, AA Studio and CGF Animation.

TOTAL LICENSING

Russian Licensing and the Pandemic It’s not all doom and gloom...

The new licensing season has arrived in Russia. We usually have numbers of people at shows where we meet, talk and exchange ideas, make connections and sign the next big deals. Shall we forget about this practice? I don’t think so.

Russia entered into a pandemic with a 10% drop in domestic currency value caused by the oil prices decrease. If only this had been sufficient: the rest of the trends copied the developing worldwide situation. Moscow, the heart of the Russian licensing business, was closed for months with people ordering special passes to go around the city. Without permission, one could go to the nearest store or pharmacy. This influenced retail a lot and at the same time, boomed delivery services and online trade.

I had a talk with some industry peers.

Everyone predicted a decrease in royalty sales in quarters 2 and 3. One of my friends said their Q2 royalties were half of Q1 – and usually, it is vice versa with Q2 doubling Q1. The entertainment brand owners also mentioned that in some cases, their mature brands’ digital sales revenues were higher than licensing – something we have not seen for many years.

I called Denis Kulakov, the CEO of brand4rent licensing agency and exDisney executive with broad connections in the market. Their portfolio is vast and includes animation, lifestyle, digital, art, and museum brands (if you haven’t had a look at the Tretyakov Gallery collections – make sure you will do as soon as possible). Here is his experience during the pandemic and in post-covid new normal.

“When we entered the crisis in March 2020, the information about the further development of the situation was limited. During that time, we decided not to make any critical decisions: our team hasn’t been cut. Moreover, we

kept looking for new people for available positions. The second important thing was to keep our marketing budget at a decent level; we just focused on digital and advertising instead of spending money on offline activities.

When April came, the situation started clearing. Thanks to our team, we could build a remote business: we implemented several processes to improve both communications inside the team and with the brand owners and licensees. Somehow our overall operations became better and more efficient.

The most important thing was that we kept our portfolio growing when everyone in the market was shrinking. Our international partners were surprised: we kept asking for new brands to represent. The reason for that was simple: every crisis comes to an end and we need to be ready for what life is going to be like after the crisis. Before May ended, we signed two big contracts for new brands (one for animation, one for lifestyle) and kept growing our animation portfolio through June 2020.

Our main motto is that the crisis will come to an end, and the new reality will stay with us forever. We all remember the problems of 1991, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2014 and every time we thought this is the worst crisis ever. I believe the influence of the pandemic on the licensing industry is not that hard. The most damaged drivers are offline retail and restaurants, but this is a minor part of our business. Of course, we have to consider offline retail changes. However, this is an area where licensees have to be flexible and react to the changes. Our evaluation of the decrease in licensing good sales is around 15-30%. This is painful but not critical. We focused on working with new partners and during the summer we signed several deals with companies that have never worked in licensing before. This Blue Ocean strategy paid off: instead of trying to

Marina Semenikhina sell to existing clients who were at the same time contacted by our competitors, we decided to think out of the box. As a result, our numbers are more prominent than in the previous year.”

Marina Semenikhina, who heads up Licensing International in Russia, talks to the industry about how they view the market as we gradually emerge from the global pandemic.

Denis Kulakov, Brand4rent Well, this sounds too positive, doesn’t it? But at the same time, I have already heard similar ideas. I called my industry friend Ruslan Shuvaev, one of the most charming licensing salespeople who used to say: “In 2014, I thought our industry was dead. At the beginning of 2015, I was working as hard as possible to close all the deals in the pipeline.” Ruslan has confirmed that history repeats itself: again, he is busy working on deals after a couple of months of silence. There is life in the licensing industry after COVID. And we’d better grab our computers and go back to work signing deals.

For more information, contact Marina Semenikhina msemenikhina@berussia.ru 85

TOTAL LICENSING

PARACHUTE - CELEBRITY, ART AND CHILDREN’S BRANDS The Russian licensing agency Parachute is the successor to the European licensing agency Kidz Entertainment (INK Group) who have successfully combined the best world licensing practices with deep knowledge of local market. Parachute believes that their advantage is their knowledge of both food and non-food sectors, which allows them to create a new licensee from an ordinary trade player.

Today they have licensees amongst producers of adult and children’s products – in fact they are one of the only agencies to work with celebrity, art and kids’ brands, thanks to their background and experience.

For more than 13 years, Parachute has been launching licensed programs in the consumer goods and services sector. They began licensing for CTC

with the films Daddy’s Daughters, Ranetk and Cadetship. They also collaborated with production studio First Channel (Perviv Kanal) and Red Square with TV talk show brands Fashion Verdict, Let’s Get Married, and Control Purchase.

In addition, they have created a partnership with Konchalovsky for the celebrity and TV host of Eating at Home, Julia Vysotskayahad. They have also launched the licensing program for Masha and the Bear and signed a DTR deal (only the second in Russia history) with international retailer Metro C&C. Parachute are careful in selecting the brands they work with and deliberately

keep the number relatively small in order to maximise each property’s potential.

ACADEMY HOLDING - A LEADER IN ACCESSORIES, BTS AND DECOR Academy Holding LLC has been operating in the Russian licensing market since 2000 and was one of the first to develop its licensing business in the Russian Federation. The company was the first licensee in Russia to sign a contract with Disney, and then with many of the largest copyright holders - Hasbro, Mattel, etc. They began with the category of paper products, and today the company is a specialist in a wider category portfolio including BTS textiles and stationery, paper products, gift wrap, children’s hair accessories and children’s jewelry and home decor.

Academy Holding experienced tremendous growth and by 2014 it had a 56% share of the entire market in school products, and was represented in all key sales channels with a licensed portfolio of more than 50 brands. One of the most striking projects of that time was the company’s participation in the licensing program for the Olympic Games in Sochi.

In 2014, as a result of the economic crisis in Russia, the market was forced to adjust to a new reality: reducing purchasing power, a decrease in interest for brands, and mass-market collections becoming more in demand than

86

retail or exclusive. Just like any other country, Russia has its own peculiarities in terms of business. During crises it is very important not to lose the focus mission of the licensed product: quality, implementation and a unique product offering. Academy, as specialists in the market, are well aware of this. Unfortunately, some copyright owners, in pursuit of increasing profits, changed to DTR completely, and transferred the production process to non-specialists, thereby greatly devaluing the product. This inevitably led to licensed products’ shift towards mass market and the discount sector.

That is how, for example, the Disney company behaved in the Russian licensing market.

By contrast, there are companies such as MGA Entertainment Inc with L.O.L. Surprise! that have been among the top sellers for two years and have a long-term partnership strategy.

Academy also works with Viacom International whose management has an excellent vision of the market situation and is always in close contact with its licensees.

Brand4rent, a Russian licensing agency representing Russian and other brands (Soyuzmultfilm, Tretyakov Gallery, Pusheen), constantly increases sales in licensed categories through initiatives in both B2B and B2C. Designer brands are also always in demand, the main thing is to predict the brand and put it in the right category and on the right product.

In general, it should be noted that in recent years the licensing market in the Russian Federation has greatly transformed, the demand for licensed products in back to school has decreased but other categories, such as fashion accessories, home décor and travel have grown.

TOTAL LICENSING

Interview: Gaurav Marya The Virtual India Licensing Expo & Summit took place on 28th August and, from all accounts was a great success. The event, which comprised an exhibition plus a day of conferences attracted an audience of over 4100 and the sessions, which covered entertainment, brand, sports and more were lively and also very well attended.

To find out more, Total Licensing talked to Gaurav Marya, Chairman & Founder of the Franchise India Group & License India, the creators and organisers of the event.

When and how was the License India conceptualised?

License India was started in the year

2006 to bring together Brand owners (Licensors) to meet with prospective licensees to explore business partnerships. At that time, the whole concept of how licensing is a way of offering a convenient way for product extension to brands both in the home market and global markets was fairly new to India Since its Inception License India has helped global brands to grow in India by partnering with licensees and has also helped Indian brands to target a non-core market of products and services by using its goodwill and consumer recall to create a sizeable opportunity.

Bradford License India, our agency business, was formed in 2009 to further our goal. Bradford License India has been marked as India’s first end-to-end licensing solution provider, formed with the objective of increasing awareness and

supporting the growth of licensing in the country.

What is the objective of License India?

India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. In 2005, when organized retail was just finding its feet in the country – the larger challenge was that India was short of brands that could be offered to consumers. And not just that, but India was always a fragmented market and it was difficult for any one brand to grow fast in India and capture the large opportunity.

At such a time License India played the role of a demand generator and for the first 10 years it played a pivotal role to build partnerships through brand licensing. License India has facilitated brand owners, investors and enablers to come together to form new alliances.

With digitization being the business enabler, LicenseIndia.com is the digital platform that helps the licensing fraternity learn, network and transact through a single platform.

License India is an exclusive brand licensing media & exhibition division of the Franchise India Group. It is India’s first licensing media services company formed with the objective of increasing awareness and supporting the growth of licensing in the country. Alongside the media division, License India organizes business-to-business licensing shows encapsulating conferences, workshops, expositions, and awards, under Brand Licensing India, and India Licensing Expo. License India excels in the licensing space with its strategic and knowledge-based strategy.

What is the current status of the India marketplace and where can licensing fit in?

Currently, India is one of the fastest growing consumer economies in the world with one of the youngest populations and an average age of 29 years. Bollywood and sports have

82

TOTAL LICENSING a massive following in the country.

Hollywood movies are hugely popular and OTT platforms and series have become very popular of late.

Gaming has also been growing rapidly.

Social media builds rapid awareness and Ecommerce helps in faster gratification of demand. With growing aspirations and affluence, there is tremendous demand for branded products and services spread across the country, which requires brands to create new and contemporary lines of products and services. Brand Licensing enables faster rollout for brands with a financial commitment from their licensee partner.

Do Licensing Expos act as an informative platform to the young Indian market? How has the journey been from the 1st India licensing expo in 2017 to the 4th one in 2020?

India Licensing Expo is India’s largest brand licensing platform, unravelling the opportunities, exposure, and growth in licensing in India besides sharing knowledge and recognizing pioneers in the industry.

The expo started in 2017 in Mumbai with 30 brands and about 700 attendees and was also supported by the CEOs of leading fashion retailers like Reliance Brands, Arvind Brands, Madura Garments and Myntra amongst others.

The show has grown 100% year-onyear and in 2019 there were 100+ brands and 3000 attendees who visited the Expo and knowledge platforms.

I firmly believe that information dissemination and deal-making are two vital aspects of the business expo. Expos play a big role in generating excitement amongst the business fraternity and also get deals done.

The India License Expo has been the single most successful medium for generating licensing interest in India and has also acted as a great conversion platform.

The event includes a conference lead by global thought leaders, exclusive master classes for a limited number of 50 professionals and business

people to discover the intricacies of licensing. The event concludes with an awards night celebrating and recognizing the industry. Bollywood actors visits, Fashion Designers, Celebrity Chefs, corporate CEOs and Character Parades bring glamour and entertainment to the floor of the show.

In 2020, because of the pandemic, License India came up with India Licensing Virtual Expo. This time the show was organized virtually where brand owners, licensees, manufacturers, distributors and agents came together to collaborate and build business relationships.

Overall, it was a dedicated hub for licensing across diverse verticals like cinema, music, corporate, fashion, character, and sports licensing, all under one roof.

How many virtual exhibitors were on board for the event and who were they?

India Licensing Virtual Expo comprised 30 exhibitors from different categories of the licensing industry and about 4100 people joined the show virtually. In the sports sector, there were UEFA and Manchester City, while Green Gold Animation with their Chota Bheem and You and Cricket Pang were from entertainment.

Also, the fashion category included Naeem Khan, Perry Ellis International, Alberto Toressi and Marie Claire Paris. And Baileys and Medusa were present from the food and beverages sectors.

Apart from these, we also had renowned brands like emoji company GmbH,Yale University, CTI Solutions Inc, Thomas Edison and WWF and Bradford License India with a host of the brands handled by their agency.

Can you tell us more on what happened on August 28th at the India Licensing Expo in terms of the conference?

At the conference, global brand licensors, licensees, animation, marketing, content, entertainment and fashion lifestyle professionals came together to share trends,

insights and disruptive ideas that are shaping the Indian Licensing Industry. The conference started with the India Opportunity Keynote by myself (Gaurav Marya) as Chairman & Founder, Franchise India Group & License India.

Global thought leaders including Patti Becker, CEO & Founder, Becker Associates LLC, Daniel Hammond, Head of licensing, UEFA Club competitions, Richard Pink, Managing Director, Pink Key Licensing, Miriam Camara Gallardo, Licensing head, emoji company GmbH, Roopali Srivastava, Director – Conservation Products, WWF - India, Kaori Kurobe, General Manager, CAA-GBG Japan spoke about the licensing market and cross border licensing liaison opportunities.

The License India expo was hosted on the virtual event platform 6Connex where people did virtual meetings at the booths and discovered brand offerings. The day Long event had people hooked on it with an average stay of three to four hours.

How do you see the future of licensing in India?

The Indian licensing and merchandising industry is pegged at $1.2 billion and is expected to grow at a fast pace, thanks to the influx of global as well as home-grown IPs. While the character/entertainment genre dominates the global licensing landscape, it is fashion that rules the licensing and merchandising scenario in India with a market size of $731 million.

The country is growing economically and technologically at a phenomenal rate according to projections by the World Bank and IMF. With ever-higher penetration of modern retail and e-commerce and the growing number of internet users, licensing can play a key part in partnering with companies and making profits in India.

For more information about future events, contact Selina Shergill, selina.shergill@licenseindia.com or visit www.licenseindia.com

89

TOTAL LICENSING

Top Picks from MIPCOM Online+ Reed, the organisers of MIPCOM and MIP Junior, made the decision to have a virtual-only show amid the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.

However, while this means the next series and trends will not, this year, be witnessed among the palm trees and yachts of Cannes, business still goes on, and so here, we outline some of the big news that will be out to the industry from this years MIPCOM Online+ Studio 100 Media will be showcasing a wide slate, including 100% Wolf – Legend of the Moonstone, Heidi, Tip the Mouse, Wissper, Arthur and the Minimoys – The Series, Maya the Bee, and Mia and me.

In marketing its license rights the company pursues a global strategy within sectors ranging from Content Distribution, Licensing and Home Entertainment through to Theatrical Movies, Stage Shows and Theme Parks. In the slate, one of their newest properties, 100% Wolf – Legend of the Moonstone is a hilarious and dramatic concept about a boy trying to find his way in a difficult world - one in which he is an outsider. He is a pink poodle in a world of werewolves and with this brings not only the recognizable challenge of the ‘fish out of water’, but in addition he is the future pack leader and expected to be the very best of his kind, no matter his outward form.

Set up with a huge problem to solve across the series, his story takes off as

90

part mystery, part drama and always comedic. Set in an elite academy, the world will be recognizable from the movie 100% Wolf, its progenitor, and the daily trials and relationship characteristics will be familiar to kids around the world.

This year’s line-up from Mondo TV includes a new version of the classic tale Grisù, the recent arrival of MeteoHeroes, the third series of the internationally established shows Robot Trains and Sissi the Young Empress, the continuing success of Invention Story, and three brilliant new show concepts already in advanced planning stages and generating a stir: Annie & Carola, Masked Cinderella and Hey Fuzzy Yellow.

A major Mondo TV news story at MIPCOM is a new production: Grisù, based on the original property “Grisù il draghetto” by Marco Nino & Toni Pagot, adapted by Mondo TV France.

Grisù wants to be a firefighter when he grows up. There’s just one problem: he’s a dragon – and when he grows up he is supposed to be a fire-breathing dragon. But Grisù knows that firefighting is his destiny – and he proves every day that there’s no dream too big! Find out more in this delightful animated adventure comedy aimed at all children from 4 to 7.The classic tale of Grisù, a little dragon and his dad, is set to return in a new 3D CGI 52 x 11’ format.

The four opening episodes of MeteoHeroes, Mondo TV’s highly anticipated environmentally themed animated se-

ries, premiered on Cartoonito on the 22nd of April. The premiere was accompanied by a major media campaign for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, during which the stars of MeteoHeroes played their roles as ambassadors in the fight to protect our planet.

Following on from the international success of the second season of Robot Trains the 52 x 11’ 3D CGI third series is currently in production and will launch in autumn 2021.

APC Kids is bringing family live action series Tinka and the King’s Game to MIPCOM 2020. Produced by Danish production company Cosmo Film for TV2 Denmark,Tinka and the King’s Game (24x26’) is a sequel series to the popular festive series Tinka’s Tale.

Gutsy Animations, the studio behind the internationally celebrated Moominvalley, is launching an original new 2D animated series aimed at kids six to nine, Bobble the Little Witch.

Future Bros: One Animation, (the creators of twice Emmy-nominated Oddbods, Insectibles, Antiks, and Rob the Robot) is bringing CG animated series Future Bros (52 x 11’) to MIPCOM. Produced by One Animation and Executive Produced by Richard Thomas and Michele Schofield, Future Bros is a fun, thoughtful comedy that follows the life of 7-year-old boy genius Andy who, by way of his own time-machine invention, finds himself face-to-face with his 13-year-old self — and realizes he is sorely lacking. Oddbeard’s Curse – Halloween Special: When Fuse’s catch of the day

TOTAL LICENSING

turns out to be long-forgotten treasure, he unleashes a curse that puts him and his friends at the very top of the Dread Pirate Oddbeard’s naughty list.

Produced by Submarine and distributed by Superights, Doopie is a live action/stop motion hybrid preschool show following Doopie, a plush toy who lives in a store, goes out into the world full of enthusiasm.

WildBrain will showcase Green Hornet, a new original animated series based on the classic superhero franchise, which is being developed with renowned filmmaker, screenwriter and actor Kevin Smith. The series will feature a graphic 2D stylized look and is being developed as half hour episodes.

Xilam Animation, is heading into 2020 with a stand-out slate of kids and family 2D and 3D animated content including Oggy and the Cockroaches – Next Gen (78 x 7’), Tangranimals (52x11’), Pfffirates (52x11’) and Where’s Chicky? (Season 1 and 2: 104x 1’).

MEDIATOON Distribution is presenting 2D animated comedy series Kid Lucky, for audiences 6 – 10.

Produced by Dargaud Media for M6 and RAI, Kid Lucky is the prequel to

the hugely popular comic book franchise Lucky Luke, which has sold 300 million copies worldwide. The highly anticipated 52 x 12’ series has already sold to Super RTL (Germany), RTBF (Belgium), RTS (Switzerland) and TVP ABC (Poland).

Kid Lucky is only waiting for one thing: to grow up to be the greatest cowboy in the West. Surrounded by his band of friends, he tries a new adventure every day to get closer to his goal: to catch a horse and ride it, to follow in the tracks of a grizzly bear, to sleep under the stars, to challenge Billy Bad with a slingshot – but even in the Wild West you can’t always do what you want.

Dandelooo will showcase Royals Next Door, Mum is Pouring Rain, and The Upside Down River. These three diverse properties have a wide audience range between them. Royals Next Door focused on Crown Princess Stella who has just received the best news ever! Due to water damage in the castle (King Bob forgot to turn the tap off) the royal family must move out. Queen Kat sees it as the perfect opportunity to modernise. In line with King Bob’s royal motto “closer to the people”, they decide to live in a normal house in an ordinary suburb. It’s time to show the people that the Royals are just like everyone else and Stella who has her own Royal Vlog on YouTube will also share anecdotes about her new life as a normal girl, review everyday objects, share amazing findings, and more.

TeamTO has partnered with leading kids platforms France Télévisions (France) and SUPER RTL (Germany) on its animated action comedy JADE ARMOR (26 x 22). The series is

now in full production at TeamTO’s Paris and Valence studios, with first episode planned for delivery in fall 2021.

JADE ARMOR (26 x 22’) is an action comedy starring an unlikely teenage girl hero with an even unlikelier set of powers - and one awesome high-tech armor suit.

After successfully previewing at last year’s MIPJunior, Paddles, the hot new CGI show for four-to-seven-year-olds from state-of-the art animation and media company Futurum, is heading to MIPCOM Online+ anchor broadcast deal signed with Cartoonito UK and a number of other broadcast and licensing deals.

Paddles, the first offering from Futurum, airs on Cartoonito UK this autumn. Other areas planning to broadcast Paddles include TV stations in Ireland – which is Paddles’ home territory – China, and a number of stations across major territories in Europe and the Middle East. In Asia leading distribution and production agencies Neon (Korea) and Bomanbridge, which distributed Jakers! for the creators of Paddles, are expected to ink deals for Paddles at or prior to MIPCOM. Futurum is bringing a team of five executives, led by its CEO Francis Fitzpatrick, to MIPCOM, where it is expecting to further expand its already impressive list of partners for Paddles.

91

Total Licensing talked to Fred Soulie, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Mattel Television to find out what the company has in store moving forwards.

92

What will be the key programs for MIPCOM this year?

We continue to be focused on producing compelling television content based on our iconic franchises. This includes new shows as well as new seasons and specials tied to current programming.

Our two new Masters of the Universe series will be premiering next year.The first is “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” a fan-driven anime show that will pick up the storyline from where the television series from the eighties left off. Kevin Smith serves as the showrunner and the show features an all-star voice cast including Mark Hamill, Lena Headey, Chris Wood and Sarah Michelle Gellar, to name a few.

The second series is “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” an animated adventure series which will introduce a new audience to the franchise.

“Thomas & Friends” is another property that continues to offer new storytelling opportunities. Thomas is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this year and we have already launched a variety of new content and specials with broadcasters and streaming services across the globe. Next year, we will introduce a new look and story structure for “Thomas & Friends.”

We are also premiering new Barbie content starting this fall. We just launched our latest Barbie movie musical – “Barbie Princess Adventure” – in the U.S., which will be available on broadcasters and streaming services around the world in the coming months. Looking ahead, we have additional new Barbie content planned for next year including a special focused on Chelsea and another musical adventure.

In addition to the content mentioned above, we are also continuing to produce new seasons of “Polly Pocket,” with season two premiering on broadcasters and streaming services starting this fall, and “Fireman Sam,” with season 12 also premiering starting this fall.

Many of your brands are evergreen classics – particularly Barbie and Thomas which have been in the market for many generations. How do you keep these brands fresh as you approach new generations of fans?

At Mattel, every property is built on a core purpose. Masters of the Universe encourages each of us to become the best version of ourselves.

Thomas is all about the importance of friendship. And, Barbie inspires the limitless potential in every child. These brand purposes are threaded throughout our content and drive strong connections with viewers.

We are constantly looking for ways to tell timely stories while staying true to each brand’s ethos. For example, our latest musical movie, “Barbie Princess Adventure,” is all about selfdiscovery in the age of social media.

What are your plans for each of your key brands moving forwards into 2021 and beyond?

We will continue to produce great content based on Mattel’s multi-generational franchises that will resonate with families around the world.

One area of focus for us is on original music. Our latest Barbie movie musical features six original songs, and original music is something that will be an integral part of Mattel Television content moving forward – for Barbie as well other brands.

2021 will also be a big year for Thomas & Friends as we unveil a new look and feel.

We are introducing a new storytelling approach that contemporizes the iconic franchise for today’s audience while maintaining the core brand DNA and focus on friendship.

In the new format, each story will be centered around Thomas, exploring conflicts that will be emotionally relatable to our preschool target audience. The themes of the stories, and the playfulness of the characters, will also be reflected in original songs that will be incorporated throughout the season.

We are incredibly excited about this new approach and are receiving great feedback.

TOTAL LICENSING

The impact of digital working on intellectual property and the licensing profession

Thomas Chartres-Moore, a Senior Associate from Stephens Scown’s intellectual property & IT team can be contacted on +44 1392 210700, solicitors@ stephens-scown co.uk or via www.stephens-scown.co.uk

94

Protecting intellectual property on collaborative online platforms The coronavirus pandemic has forced a shift to more digital ways of working. For the licensing profession, where great care needs to be taken to ensure that intellectual property rights are protected, what are the risks associated with using online platforms to communicate, collaborate and share information? Thomas Chartres-Moore from the intellectual property and IT team at Stephens Scown LLP explains the issues.

As people shift to a more digital way of working, we are finding that that IP owners are often making quick decisions about the platforms they use and in doing so, are putting their rights at risk, For example, many of the free online platforms used for collaboration operate on terms which give them an element of control over your IP or prevent you from commercialising it in the future.

It is important to vet these platforms and consider the risks to your IP. Online collaborative working – the risks to IP Collaborative working platforms like Microsoft Teams and Dropbox have seen a huge increase in use since the

start of lockdown.

These platforms usually have quite lengthy terms and conditions of use, which many people don’t take the time to review.

However, some platforms have clauses in their T&Cs which are important to understand. For example, Microsoft Teams has a clause in its terms which allows it to use, copy and distribute any content which is uploaded to its platform, whether in a public forum or privately.

The user grants a licence for Microsoft to do this when agreeing to the Terms of Use.The consequence is that there is potential to lose ownership of that IP or it may be difficult to prove that the platform owner doesn’t have rights to the IP you are licensing to them, even if this is done unintentionally.

The T&C’s of some platforms also grant the same license to the user you are providing the content to.

Steps to take There are several steps you should take to protect your IP when working collaboratively online: 1. Take time to read the terms and conditions and terms of use of the platform and understand what you are agreeing to. If you don’t have time to

do this, ask a solicitor to review it for you. This will help you find a platform where you know your content will be safe.

2. Have agreements in place with whoever you are collaborating with. It might be difficult to avoid the terms where they are particularly favourable to the platform operator, so the “belt and braces” approach would be to have some form of non-disclosure agreement in place with the other parties involved.

3. Avoid freely sharing content on public forums / open workspaces. The terms may not prevent other users of the platform from copying the content.

4. If you are really concerned, you could collaborate the old fashioned way using email. It may seem like a step backwards, but it is much less likely to result in an issue.

Collaborative online workspaces have been brilliant for supporting remote working and helping us deal with the challenges brought on by lockdown, but users should still be wary of them.

There are ways to ensure that you use them in a safe way which doesn’t risk your intellectual property. If you’re worried about controlling your content (as you should be), make sure you take the necessary precautions.

TOTAL LICENSING

Adapted Character Engagement Measures to

Enhance Visitor Experience As the Attractions and Retail Industries are starting to welcome guests back, Rainbow Productions has adopted new best practices to guarantee guest and staff safety by offering its new Adapted Character Engagement (ACE) programme.

Simon Foulkes, Managing Director of Rainbow Productions explains: “We know that costume character appearances are in demand. Taking away the personal interaction and increase in visitor numbers, which Covid-19 did, we had to quickly reassess our offering to ensure it was engaging without any drop in integrity or experience.”

Experiencing first-hand cartoon celebrities is a magical experience for families and Rainbow are delighted to continue to create this sense of wonder and happiness. Costume character appearances have been customised to ensure the ACE is fun, entertaining and individually immersive, whilst observing the latest government guidelines.

Well organised and structured zones safely provide much sought after away-from-the-home entertainment.

“The Adapted Character Engagement programme adds to the customer experience and still ensures that they walk away with that mantel-pieceenhancing memento. Each ACE can be adapted to our client’s venue and available space also ensuring that we are in control of the experience and it complements their existing Health, Safety and Hygiene policies,” Simon continues.

Collaboration is key and Rainbow has already worked with a number of clients to tailor the character appearances, ensuring that one of the three new styles of its ACE works for the individual client and venue.

This summer, Camel Creek Adventure Park in Cornwall successfully hosted weekly character appearances with popular children’s TV stars. Keith Thompson, Sales & Marketing Manager at the park commented: “This summer hasn’t been normal for anyone and we were quite nervous by how things were going to run with all of our new procedures in place. Despite our excited children on park not being able to interact the same way, Rainbow Productions still made it fun!

Our reviews have been incredible as a whole… Five ***** for sure!”

Rainbow has also resumed offering character appearances to retailers and shopping centres. The entertainment factor that the ACE programme can bring to venues which can accommodate the increased footprint have certainly been well received.

Adapted Character Engagements (ACE) have many collaborative benefits and build on previously successful Meet and Greets by introducing unique adjustments.

• Keeping customers comfortable: Queueing systems and zones ensure that all guests are sensibly distanced.

• Increased character appearances: expanding the frequency of daily appearances allows for more guests to enjoy

the character appearance.

• Enhanced appearances: Rainbow can deliver enhancements to the usual character appearance by providing activities such as workouts, storytelling and mini shows.

• Hygiene: upon entry to the character zone, and whilst queuing, all guests are offered hand sanitisation supplementing the venue’s own standard operating procedures.

• Easing queuing tension: the queue lines are designed to add to the experience so that the Character and Rainbow Magic-Maker become part of the queuing entertainment.

• Not overwhelming: Whereas some children have in the past been “overwhelmed” when they actually meet the characters; the distance they are forced to maintain gives them confidence and security.

• Rainbow Magic-Makers: the role of the Road Manager is extended to become a Rainbow Magic-Maker, complementing the activation.

• Ambience: All ACEs will involve music and enhanced customer engagement to create a positive, friendly and fun ambience.

95

TOTAL LICENSING

Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF) 2020 recently announced that it will be taking place online via a digital platform called ATF ONLINE+, on the same dates of 1 – 4 December 2020, with market, conference, networking and speed dating activities. Thereafter, ATF ONLINE+ will be available on-demand until 28 February 2021.

The platform can be accessed at www. asiatvforum.com.

The ATF team has had many candid conversations with their partners over the past few months about proceeding with the market and conference in December 2020. To date, there is still much uncertainty on travel restrictions globally, thus impacting their partners who come from all over the world to attend ATF. After much consideration, and in the best interests of the industry, the organisers decided to take ATF online in order to facilitate business and networking for their industry.

96

ATF ONLINE+ comprises the following pillars: 1.Trade market element through the: • Extensive attendee directory • Targeted recommendations feature • Program and video listings • Personalised matchmaking service, and • Click-easy meeting tools that allows for video chats.

2. Virtual conferences and pitches with the introduction of new segments such as: • Mornings with Industry Leaders • Lunchtime Buying focusing on new insights for today’s buying strategies, and • Coffee Hour Fresh Content that offers a spread of scripted and unscripted formats open for contracts by top sellers.

3. Speed Dating series which allows potential partners, collaborators, coproducers and commissioners to meet and engage online.

The full program, video and resource libraries will remain available until 28 February 2021.

In line with the theme for ATF 2020 – “Prelude to 2021: Be Part of the Conversation”, ATF ONLINE+ aims to bring the industry together to review what has been a challenging 2020, while looking forward to a stronger 2021.

The ATF team will be reaching out to all partners to assist them with any queries that they may have.

The team would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners for their unwavering support and wish everyone the best of health.

See you at ATF ONLINE+

By Kids Insights www.kidsinsights.com

98

Kids Insights, a global leader in kids’ market intelligence, survey more than 4,000 children every week, across five continents and eleven countries, and more than 200,000 children a year.

The impact of Coronavirus has been felt all over the globe and during this pandemic, whilst many countries have been on lockdown, there have been a number of changes in the way kids have consumed and engaged with various forms of media, contorting and evolving their ecosystem even further.

When looking at films specifically, lockdown saw the first major release of a film title via digital channels, landing directly onto the screens of UK households, rather than first premiering in the cinema. The film ‘Trolls: World Tour’, released in April 2020 by Universal studios, as a result, unexpectedly became an experiment in a debate around how movies are distributed. Perhaps this film release will shape the direction in which films are premiered in the future?

Though facing less competition for views, our data shows the title performed well, with 1 in 10 kids watching the film since its release. We can see that preference for the film

skews slightly towards girls (57%) and is most popular with those between the ages of 3-13. This demonstrates that this pioneering film title, managed to reach a broad audience. Following the successful delivery of the Dreamworks animation, the industry is now waiting to see whether other studios, beyond Universal will adapt the way they release their films in the long term.

In the 12 months prior to lockdown, a large proportion of kids (77%) said they went to the cinema on a monthly basis, with whole families enjoying the

affordable experience and day out; this equates to more than 9.6 million kids visiting the cinema in April 2019.

If more studios release film directly to VOD, studios will need to innovate in order to recreate the experience at home. For instance, our data shows that 29% of preschoolers (3-5) and kids (6-9) purchase toys related to their favourite film, and a further 21% purchase magazines and 11% stickers.

There could be an opportunity to package these, along with other items such as popcorn, and deliver them to enhance the at-home experience.

TOTAL LICENSING

STREAMING PLATFORMS USED

Preschool (3 - 5)

Kids (6 - 9)

Tweens (10 - 12)

Young Teens (13 - 15)

Older Teens (16 - 18)

Download your free report kidsinsights.com/totallicensing The impact of lockdown has meant that kids have been able to spend more time with on-screen content, allowing for more opportunities to develop brand affinity even amongst the youngest of audiences, increasing their desire and likelihood of purchasing related licensed products in the future.

Looking beyond film to TV, YouTubers, video games, and sports, the favoured product categories vary by media.Toys are the most popular products bought in relation to favourite TV shows (22%), while sports teams are more likely to influence licensed clothing purchases (20%), and YouTubers have the greatest influence on video games (15%).

Despite the lockdown, we have witnessed an increase of licensed product purchases by 10% in April 2020 compared to April 2019, from 56% to 66%.While some in the industry fear going straight to VOD will reduce the number of opportunities for hype to build around a particular film, ‘Trolls: World Tour still ranked’ as

Perhaps the Trolls: World Tour release will shape the direction in which films are premiered in the future? the most anticipated film for 3-9s in April, indicating the digital release had little impact on hype. Also supporting the idea of films bypassing theatrical releases, purchases of film related DVDs increased by 17% from March to May (until May 28th), an impressive performance given lockdown.

Analysing the performance of ‘Trolls: World Tour’ and licensed DVDs during this time, other film studios may follow suit and experiment with their own releases. It will be interesting to watch this space and look at how licensing and merchandise may develop off the back of this new way to premiere.

Kids Insights’ real-time data and insights are designed to provide the

most dynamic and comprehensive view of the kid’s ecosystem and how it continues to evolve, and what that means for brand owners, licensees and retails to ensure that their investments in advertising, content, licensing, marketing, product development and ultimately sales are optimised.

It will be interesting to see if advertising in film & merchandise will return to what they once were or if we will see more influencers as well as many retailers shifting from film related merchandise to game related merchandise as the video games industry continues to grow during this time.

If you would like to download a complimentary report & get access to the demo version of the Kids Insights award-winning portal, visit: kidsinsights.com/ totallicensing

99

TOTAL LICENSING

U.S. TOY ASSOCIATION GUIDING COMPANIES ON PANDEMIC ISSUES From providing day-to-day business guidance on navigating the pandemic, to connecting toymakers with global buyers at a time when in-person meetings aren’t possible, to advocating for government relief funding, The U.S. Toy Association has pivoted to assist the toy community during these unprecedented times.

“While the pandemic has affected us all, the negative impacts on the toy and play community are not felt evenly, with some companies doing extremely well and yet others suffering a downturn,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “Our commitment and very reason for being as The Toy Association is to help all companies succeed no matter the circumstances – by protecting their rights, guiding them through emerging issues, advancing safety, pushing back on needless regulation, promoting their products, and helping them forge ahead. We cre-

For more information about The Toy Association’s recent activities visit ToyAssociation.org.

100

ate lasting value to help businesses not just survive, but prosper.”

Toymakers and retailers are encouraged to visit The Toy Association’s COVID-19 resource page (ToyAssociation.org/COVID) for continually updated information, including busi-

ness/retailer toolkits for navigating the pandemic and guidance about specific government funding and relief programs.

The Toy Association has also recorded a number of on-demand webinars (ToyAssociation.org/webinars) to guide companies on a number of issues, including: how to do business

with a bankrupt customer during the pandemic, insurance coverage in the COVID-19 era, manufacturing location strategies amidst turbulent times, best supply chain practices when dealing with distressed customers, and best practices for workforce hiring after COVID-19, among other topics. The most recent session covered how toy brands can get media and influencer coverage that resonates with consumers during these uncertain times.

While the health crisis is at the forefront of everyone’s mind, The Toy Association’s External Affairs staff is continuing to make headway on ongoing issues affecting the toy community, including pushing for legislation that tackles the threat of unsafe counterfeit toys sold on e-commerce platforms; staying engaged through the Americans for Free Trade Coalition to urge the U.S. government to keep tariffs off toys; active involvement in state and federal policy discussions concerning children’s online privacy and safety; and trade barrier issues in India, the European Union, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia.

“We are committed to continuing

our work legislative and regulatory issues around the globe,” said Ed Desmond, executive vice president of external affairs at The Toy Association. “Particularly with more consumers than ever now shopping online, it is not the time to let up in our fight against counterfeits. One of our key activities is advocating for stricter ecommerce regulations that would ensure greater brand protection and toy safety.”

As the industry enters the fourth quarter, The Toy Association’s fall Toy Fair Everywhere digital market week got underway in September bringing together 200+ exhibiting companies with buyers from more than 60 countries. Tens of thousands of toys were featured to help retailers keep their shelves stocked for holiday despite travel restrictions and other limitations created by COVID-19.

Finally, physical distancing measures have not stopped the Association’s trends team from “hitting the road” virtually to promote members’ toys and games in dozens of national broadcast segments and global publications. The team also presented a mid-year trends briefing during Toy Fair Everywhere in August, speaking about the rise in intergenerational toys and games, the uptick in demand for educational toys to help with home-schooling, and an expected rise in demand for unboxing collectibles, licensed toys, and other kid favorites for Q4. The trends briefing can be viewed on The Toy Association’s YouTube channel.

“There have been so many unpredictable changes in our world since March, but play has been a mainstay for many families stuck at home or distancing from friends,” said Adrienne Appell, senior director of strategic communications. “Trends related to play, shopping, and spending have certainly evolved and will undoubtedly impact sales for the holiday season.”

TOTAL LICENSING

COVER STORY

Rainbow’s 2020: 25 Years Rolling

Rainbow builds on the success of its flagship brands and implements new strategies to tap into the market

Rainbow heads to 2021 with a busy roadmap focused on globally acclaimed 44 Cats, but also a multichannel approach and an empowered marketing strategy, adapting to the global health emergency that is reshaping all markets.

2020 has marked the milestone of Rainbow’s 25th anniversary, and celebrations have begun in the wonderful setting of Italy’s Giffoni Film Festival, one of the most prestigious kids’ festivals at its 50th edition, opening an ambitious multi-platform campaign. Starting back in 2019, Rainbow Group has been building on the meowtiful debut of 44 Cats clawing worldwide charts and the brilliant initiatives for the 15th birthday of global blockbuster Winx Club, ready to amaze with upcoming Netflix Original live action Fate.

Sharing timeless emotions and creating educational stories and products for almost 3 generations of children, Rainbow looks ahead to 2021 with passion and courage, spreading good vibes with its 44 Cats and loading new projects.

Roaring 44 Cats On air in over 100 countries around the world and rolling on the main streaming platforms, the latest animated classic born from the inspiration of founder and CEO Iginio Straffi and his creative team is constantly growing on all market branches.

The rampant success of the series has marked the group’s 2020, and the sec-

102

ond season of the animated series has been launched on Italian kids channel Rai Yoyo on March 2nd, peaking over 1.6 million viewers on average per day in June. On air for almost two years now on Rai Yoyo, 44 Cats has established leading show on the channel.

After the first 52 episodes, which have led the brand beyond national borders to conquer the international stage, the new season of 44 Cats continues to excite and promises to amaze audiences with new episodes.

Global Coverage The show is airing worldwide, and new partners keep getting on board.

The United Kingdom confirms the pawesome show daily slot on Nick Jr Too and POP TV, while among the latest entries is Spain, warmly welcoming the show on Clan TV. In the first 3 months of broadcasting, from May to July 2020, the series has been ranking among the top 3 most watched preschool shows watched daily, and kept the first place in the afternoon block dedicated to pre-school.

On French screens, 44 Cats boosts a massive TV exposure on air every day on France 5 from 7 am to 7.45 am, one of the so-called prime time slots.

Moreover, the broadcaster will further increase coverage by Christmas ‘20.

Discovery Kids Latin America keeps thriving, with 44 Cats airing regularly on Discovery Kids, among the leading shows throughout the continent, especially in Brazil and Mexico, where 44 Cats was launched in Mexico on Azteca TV (free to air). Brazil will launch season 2 at the end of October, while the other countries will follow in 2021.

As for the streaming platforms covering the show, Netflix is delivering 44 Cats worldwide, Amazon Prime is on board for Italy, while Yandex, Start Russia and IVI are streaming the show in Russia. Youku, Tencent and Xigua (Bytedance) are partners for streaming in China.

A Licensing Phenomenon On the licensing side, 44 Cats confirms the positive trend started in De-

TOTAL LICENSING content on social and digital platforms.

The digital PR strategy is leading to more and more partnerships with influencers, bloggers, and media partners.

On the web engagement side, Rainbow is launching an innovative joint action in Italy, Great Britain, Poland, Russia, Mexico and Brazil: the Pasta Competition, a culinary contest held via web, an unprecedented project to entertain little fans and families.

Helped by moms and dads, children will cook the favorite recipe of the key characters of the TV show and get the chance to win special prizes.

In Italy, the contest saw the special partnership of the first content creator and most popular food blogger in the country, Benedetta Rossi, who

cember 2019 as a preschool brand in first place in the toy’s category. Great anticipation for the Rainbow collection coming on shelves for Christmas 2020: the interactive plush toy Dancing Lampo, with the original voice and music from the TV series, and the interactive figurine Musical Milady, to have fun singing and recording voices with Milady.

In addition to the prestigious licensees already confirmed, like Amscan partyline, BIP confectionary, Clementoni and Ravensburger, Rainbow has recently announced extraordinary new partnerships such as the one with Grendene, coming up with a cat-tastic footwear collection available from SS21 and including sandals, flip flops, clogs; Tilibra, partnering for

paper stationary in Brazil for the 2021 BTS and finally John Adams, on board for a creative toy range to be released end of 2020. Much more is coming, to add new categories to an already incredible team of top quality partners worldwide.

A Marketing Plan Dedicated and targeted trade marketing activities keep growing in all distribution countries, and the latest news is the creation of Amazon Brand Store pages dedicated to 44 Cats in Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and United States.

Rainbow is delivering a dynamic and multi-channel marketing plan, covering all areas from live events to online engagement and passing the test of the long lockdown period with exclusive

launched the Pasta Competition with an exclusive video in the company of the characters of the series. In the UK, the contest was presented on Play At Home, Poland is promoting it on Elios, Mexico launched it in partnership with Discovery Kids and Spain, France and Brazil will join in 2021.

103

TOTAL LICENSING

“Nostalgia comes into its own during difficult times...”

‘It’s a fact that in difficult times ‘nostalgia,’ as a licensing category comes into its own. There is something comforting about looking back to things that gave us pleasure in the past, it’s like meeting an old friend or putting on your favorite jumper when its cold.

You get the same feeling when looking at old holiday snaps or when your clearing out a drawer and suddenly come across a personal buried treasure,’ so says Russell Dever MD at Those Licensing People.

TLP, as he affectionately calls the company, has grown to become a hub of nostalgic licensing over the last few years and now boasts a roster of properties that includes, The Sooty Show, The Little Prince, The Magic Roundabout, Roobarb and Custard and Willo the Wisp. TLP has further extended its influence to incorporate some great properties into its own OTT Platform and with over 1000 hours of enter-

104

tainment on demand this now includes Thomas the Tank Engine and Barbie amongst many others, with some genuine, almost archaeological, nostalgia amongst titles like Noggin the Nog! The move toward nostalgia was very much driven by KidsCast, TLP’s OTT platform. Once the company began to look for properties which remain in the collective public psyche it became a natural progression to bring some of them into the licensing fold. Over time TLP began to realize that it would be possible to extend its licensing interest direct to consumer and that has been the next major step in the recent development of the business.

Splitting out traditional third party licensing with clients like Golden Bear for instance to establishing TLPGlobal which manages all of the D2C interests of the company.

After the launch of KidsCast, TLP went back to its early roots, and working with the estate successors to The Little Prince by Antoine de St Exupéry, established ‘Stories For Stars,’ a print on demand business that reprints nostalgic titles with a personalized introduction and incorporating a star certificate where customers can rename and dedicate a real star to a loved one. TLP is now working with Great Ormand Street Children’s Hospital having launch Peter Pan, with Alice in Wonderland following this month and The Wizard of Oz in October. (www. storiesforstars.com).

During the early part of lockdown the company launched ‘Two Near The Bone’, set up with A&BTV rights owners of the 70’s and 80’s series Roobarb and Custard, TLP established a license agreement which enabled Two Near

TOTAL LICENSING The Bone a joint venture company to sell Roobard and Custard Dog Food direct to the Public from a UK based manufacturing plant of very high quality pet food. Yet again playing on the nostalgia and warm fuzzy feeling people have toward that annoying green dog and his unforgettable theme tune!

TLP believes it is probably the first Character Licensed dog food to have been sold in the UK. One of TLP’s oldest British properties is of course Sooty. Born on a pier in Blackpool over 75 years ago and this year sponsoring the Blackpool Illuminations, Sooty is a favourite of Prince Charles and Judge Rinder alike.

Indeed, with Sweep and Soo they are instantly recognisable as national treasures and still appear on TV and in theatrical tours, summer seasons and Pantomime. With another new series coming in 2021 Sooty remains at the heart of children’s entertainment but COVID19 has taken its toll even here with all of Sooty’s personal appearances cancelled in 2020. Never the less TLP stepped up to the plate and have launched Sooty’s Shop under license with a third party. (Visit www.sootyshop.com). With more than 1,500 sku’s the shop is an Emporium of everything Sooty and early indicators are that the loyal fan base love the merchandise on offer. Russell explains that while the majority of product is produced ‘on demand,’ traditional ‘third party’ product also sits within the store. So long as a licensee can fulfil direct orders from the general public its not a problem for licensed merchandise to sit alongside an array of product, in fact TLP welcomes this as they can reach into the market in a way that bricks and mortar cannot.

It also deals with the problem of the increasingly limited amount of shelf space that is available to merchandise.

If nostalgia licensing has a problem that is where it lies. Buyers generally want the next and latest trend. Steady and predictable as nostalgic licensing can be it doesn’t wave the flag in the same way as a brand new property or have the budget behind it that comes from the big four toy manufacturers and the top two producers. This has the affect of squeezing out perfectly

viable properties but unless they have something extra to offer like nostalgic awareness then for the most part, new shows and brands have an uphill struggle for shelf space forcing licensees to concentrate on the IP they know will get a buyers attention.

With The Little Prince Shop about to launch in September, and third party licensing already in play with The Magic Roundabout TLP believes it has found a formula approach to nostalgic licensing which works well for them.

‘The pandemic has been a big game changer,’ says Russell. ‘We were already slowly edging toward the idea that we needed to get closer to the consumer. KidsCast had already proven that, but once we became aware of just how hard the markets were going to bit hit, especially at Retail and with the industry pretty much grinding to a halt we just had to take a step back and rethink our approach. Fortunately, within nostalgia licensing most of the awareness work is already done for you. You just need to be able to open that line of communication with your customer so we spend a lot of time and money on digital campaigns.’

‘Our current and extremely exciting project that we have been asked to be a part of is the production of an Album from the musical version of The Little Prince written by Nick Lloyd Webber and James D Reid. The project, which we hope will be green lit in November is being crowdfunded on Indigogo

and will generate jobs and money for at least 100 out of work actors, musicians, and performers. The lead roles are cast with Richard E Grant as the Narrator, Kevin McKidd as The Pilot and Lorna West as The Little Prince.

This is not a project from which TLP will be earning directly, but it is a cause we believe in and a property adored by millions around the globe.

200,000,000 books in print in countless languages speaks to the enormity of nostalgia. Do it right and it’s like sharing the best hug ever.’

Those Licensing People and TLPGlobal can be contact through leah@thoselicensingpeople, Director of Licensing. www.thoselicensingpeople.com

105

Legally Speaking

TOTAL LICENSING

Be Careful What You Ask for in Negoatiations By: Gregory J. Battersby and Jed Ferdinand

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 106

Licensing is all about negotiation. I have always maintained that it is analogous to the “Law of Gross Tonnage,” meaning that the bigger ship has the right of way. One must always be careful when negotiating a license agreement since your natural tendency is to frame your initial offer higher than you might otherwise be willing to accept. The reason for that is simple - you expect that the other side will take the same approach, and this permits you to “meet in the middle” and get the deal done.

There are limits, however, to what you can ask for. It has to be reasonable so as not to shut down the negotiation before they even start.

Unfortunately, that happens more often than one might think.

There is a cute story of a negotiation that I had been involved in years ago involving a license for a patented component for an ejection system for Navy aircraft where asking for an outrageous sum may have had unexpected benefits - for the other attorney.

My client manufactured ejection systems for Navy fighter planes and was faced with what appeared to be a relatively simple, but technically, complex problem. When a Navy pilot ejected or bailed out from a plane over the ocean, the pilot would frequently find themselves landing in the water. At that point, the parachute would quickly fill with water and potentially drag the pilot under. If the pilot was conscious, he or she could manually release the parachute and the problem would be averted. If, however, the pilot was unconscious at the point of impact, they would be unable to manually release the parachute and would meet an untimely death. Unfortunately, that occurred in many instances, since the pilot was being violently ejected from a plane traveling hundreds of miles an hour, thousands of feet above the water.

The objective was to come up with an automatic switch that would release the parachute from the harness in the presence of water. In theory, the problem appeared to be easily solvable,

i.e., provide a release mechanism that would automatically disengage the parachute in the presence of water. What made the obvious solution problematic was the possibility that a pilot may eject in a rainstorm which, by its very nature, meant that switch would be exposed to water and, if triggered, would release the parachute high above the ocean, thus potentially ruining the pilot’s whole day.

In any event, another company came up with a neat product that would potentially solve the problem and overcome the obvious obstacles.

They had obtained a patent for their switch and offered to license it to my client.

I was asked to contact them and try to negotiate a favorable license agreement, which I did. Their attorney told me that his client was looking for a high 6 figure advance against a double-digit royalty which was outrageously high considering the margins in government contracting coupled with the size of the market. Nevertheless, I felt obligated to take it back to the client who’s response was curious, to say the least.

The client explained that the advance and royalty being sought would effectively triple the cost of their product, making it commercially impossible to sell to the Navy since they were working under a fixed fee contract. They asked me, however, to tell the other attorney that they would be interested in learning whether he was able to sell that license to any other party.

Confused, I asked the client whether they were seeking a “right of first refusal” or even a Favored Nations clause. The client’s president said, “Hell, no. If he can sell that deal to anybody, I want to hire him as head of our sales department because he must be a great salesman.”

• This is just one of the stories contained in a new book entitled Licensing Tales published by Kent Press and available directly at www.kentpress.com or on Amazon.com

TOTAL LICENSING

By Martin Brochstein SVP Industry Relations and Information Licensing International www.licensinginternational. org

A Year of Adaptation For the world at large, 2020 is going down as the Year of the Pandemic. It’s the same for the licensing business.

The coronavirus shut down retail, closed offices, shuttered large parts of the sports and entertainment businesses – touched everything. But as we move toward the holiday season, it’s apparent that 2020 is also the Year of Adaptation – for consumers, brand owners, manufacturers, agents, event and trade show organizers and, yes, trade organizations.

Think of it this way: before this year, nobody thought of cloth facecoverings as a licensing category, and the words “force majeure” were familiar only to

version that drew participants from around the world. And the celebration of the Licensing International Excellence Awards turned into an online global mega-event. (Watch the video; it’s a hoot and shows off the industry’s Best and Brightest.)

And, of course, the industry was unable to gather in Las Vegas in May (Licensing Week Virtual was substituted), and October has been turned into a “Festival of Licensing.”

Trade shows around the globe have been either cancelled or are being restaged as virtual events. Some, such as the upcoming Frankfurt Buchmesse, are going to physical/virtual hybrids.

Retail, of course, has been knocked for a loop; several major chains – many of which had been struggling before the pandemic, have been pushed into bankruptcy and, in some cases, liquidation.

attorneys. Work-from-home was an option for some, not a governmentenforced imperative.

The change of circumstances forced everyone to rethink how they do business. At Licensing International, we increased the number of webinars we ‘ve staged and expanded their scope to include multiple formats – Virtual Roundtables, anybody? -- work/life issues and professional skills, not just licensing-specific topics. The popular London-based Licensing Essentials Course morphed into an online

108

Merchants have extended the “holiday” shopping season this year to be longer than ever before. “There certainly will be a different rhythm to the shopping season,” said Target CEO Brian Cornell as summer was ending. It’s a change with major implications for licensors and manufacturers, and could affect the availability of certain products, as supply chain and shipping issues arise.

The concept of a Black Friday kickoff sounds almost quaint. Many retailers are gearing up for an October holiday - Christmas, not Halloween! - launch, kickstarted by the COVID-driven shift of Amazon’s Prime Day from a summer standalone to a new date in

October.

British department store John Lewis opened its online Christmas shop on August 24. That’s 10 days earlier than last year, after it noted that searches for festive products had quadrupled from a year ago as consumers, after weeks of lockdown, have already started thinking about decorating their homes for the holidays.

Everyone is being forced to scramble, and the “partnership” between licensees and licensors is being tested as never before, with agreements renegotiated to acknowledge unforeseeable circumstances. Cinemas have reopened unevenly around the world and major films that had been scheduled for the summer have been re-scheduled (and re-re-scheduled), throwing film-based licensing programs into disarray. Sports were halted, and most resumed in empty stadiums, fraying the emotional ties that are at the heart of purchases of sports-licensed goods.

It has affected the licensing industry in ways large and small. The huge promotional platform known as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be staged as “a television broadcastonly production with staging for parade elements (i.e. balloons, floats and musical acts) focused solely in/around the Herald Square area of Midtown Manhattan.” The number of brands and characters that use the parade as a major marketing event could fill a good-sized hall at a virtual licensing show.

It’s been a tumultuous year – we’ve only mentioned a few factors -- but the licensing industry is a community of optimists. Here’s to a healthy holiday season, and a “New Normal” that offers new opportunities for success.

TOTAL LICENSING

Festival of Licensing (V) China Licensing Expo (L) Mipcom Online+ (V) Licensing Japan (L) Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (V) The Licensing Awards (V) 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) Licensing World Russia (L) Bologna Licensing Trade Fair (L) MIP.TV (L) Licensing Expo (L)

Oct 6 - 29 www.brandlicensing.eu Oct 21 - 23 www.chinalicensingexpo.com Oct 5 - Nov 17 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 TBC www.toyfairny.com/ Feb 28 - March 3 www.toyfair.com.au March TBC www.licensingworld.ru 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 ................................................................57 Asmodee ............................................................................. 9 Beano .................................................................................25 China Licensing Expo......................................................97 Crunchyroll ......................................................................39 El Ocho ..........................................................47, 48, 49, 50 Expocontent .....................................................................81 Hong Kong Licensing Show ........................................101 Itsy Bitsy Entertainment .............................................. 4, 5 Kidscreen ..........................................................................93 King Features ...................................................................33 Licensing China ..............................................................109 Licensing International ...................................................59 Licensing World Russia ..................................................87 Magic Light ........................................................................31

110

Mercis ................................................................................15 MGM ..................................................................................11 Mipcom Online+ ...........................................................107 Mondo .........................................................................21, 23 Olstncrafts ........................................................................41 Pokemon ...........................................................................37 Rainbow SpA ...................................................................... 1 Roi Visual ......................................................................... 2, 3 Sanrio .................................................................................17 SEGA .................................................................................29 Spacetoon .......................................................................111 Studio 100 ........................................................................19 TF1 .....................................................................................45 ViacomCBS ...................................................... 6, 7, 13, 112 List correct at time of going to press.

TOTAL LICENSING WORLD • • • •

Do you need to know who handles a certain character in Germany?

Who is the agent for a character or brand in Australia?

Do you need an IP lawyer in the USA? Do you need an apparel licensee in Argentina?

The answer to all these questions, and much more, are available in Total Licensing World - the online reference guide to all things licensing.

To find out more, and subscribe, visit

www.totallicensingworld.com