Feature
Touching Base
Winners in Vegas
As this year's Licensing Expo event draws ever closer, Licensing World spoke to a selection of exhibitors to find out what they have in store for licensees, and what challenges the future holds for the licensing community.
Hannah Mungo
country director – UK and Ireland, Universal Brand Development
Julie Kekwick
senior licensing manager, BBC Worldwide Doctor Who series 10, which premiered at Easter in the UK, has been very well received. Both Hot Topic and Seven 20 Brands continue to have great success with the brand in the US and there has been great coverage for our partnership with Penguin Random House and Sanrio on the Doctor Meets the World of Hargreaves. We are thrilled that Hey Duggee has collected another accolade with its International Emmy win. In the UK, soft lines are starting to perform incredibly well at retail. A new series is due to air in early summer and we’re set to announce some new European partners soon. Go Jetters series 2 is already in production, and new lines from Fisher Price will be rolling out for autumn/winter 2017. We continue to see ongoing success with Mr Tumble Something Special and have new licensees rolling out in 2017, as well as new lines from master toy partner Golden Bear. Vegas is an essential industry event which offers a unique insight into global trends. The show allows us to build key relationships, showcase our brands and talk to all of our key partners. It is the perfect platform to showcase both new properties and established global brands. Pre-school and movie franchises operate in an incredibly competitive sector where windows for brands to perform are increasingly squeezed. Continuous dialogue with licensees and retailers is key to overcoming this and there is more opportunity for the specialists and toy retailers to have a point of difference. We’ve been working with retailers to create in-store theatre and retail partnerships – our partnership for the Hamleys parade is an excellent example.
The movie line-up includes the Fast & Furious franchise, Illumination’s Despicable Me 3, and the newly imagined version of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Jurassic World is scheduled for release in June 2018 and a new DreamWorks Trolls movie has been confirmed for 2020. Universal will also showcase new content from the DreamWorks Animation television portfolio including Trollhunters; the highly acclaimed, Voltron Legendary Defender; Dragons: Race to the Edge; Dinotrux and preschool series Noddy: Toyland Detective. Licensing Expo is the show where global licensors unveil their plans for the first time, so it’s an excellent opportunity to be ahead of the game. The buzz from the show floor and the anecdotal feedback shared is often a good indicator of what the next big brand or key consumer trend will be. In the UK, the poor exchange rate is a challenge and rising inflation is putting pressure on family budgets. Retailers remain risk averse and the pressure to discount continues to squeeze profit margins. There’s a lot of competition at retail and consumers have more choices due to the explosion of content creation derived from a variety of new sources. Universal, with its global marketing muscle, has a real advantage into creating cut-through IP.
Marianne James Nickelodeon
For the Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products UK team, Rusty Rivets, and Nella the Princess Knight will be key priorities. Both are animated pre-school properties launching this year, with Rusty premiering in the UK on Nick Jr. this March as the channel’s most successful launch to date. Nella premieres for us in May, following a tremendous performance in the US. Both properties offer something new for partners: Rusty, taking its inspiration from the Maker Movement, encourages creative problem solving with the gadgets being found and built in Rusty’s recycling yard providing inspiration for potential product lines. Nella the Princess Knight gives audiences an unconventional princess, with storylines filled with adventure and imagination. Licensing Expo gives licensors, licensees and retail partners another invaluable opportunity to meet face to face to talk over properties and plans. For NCVP, Vegas gives us an opportunity to meet with partners to take them through announcements that were made at the March Nickelodeon upfront event, rather than waiting for later in the summer or autumn. On the Tuesday of the Expo, we will host our global showcase, taking licensees and retailers through previously unannounced updates on content and partnerships. The biggest challenge is the perennial one of limited shelf space and competing for placement. There is also the challenge of cutting through with a new product or property, when retailers are understandably risk averse. Our team prides itself on coming up with creative retail activations and supporting our licensee and retail partners in order to make the most of shelf presence and support our properties as fully as possible.
Licensing World 54