Toy World Magazine January 2024

Page 124

Hot

touchingbase

Properties

Personal property Licensors pick their favourite property and tell Toy World what it has to offer and what makes their company a good licensor to work with.

Marianne James - VP, EMEA and Asia, Licensed Consumer Products at Hasbro What makes Peppa Pig so special is its enduring affinity with pre-schoolers and families alike from across the globe. For 20 years, Peppa has been a lifelong friend to kids and encourages them to jump into life and explore the world around them, giving them the confidence to treat every first step as a new adventure, from the everyday to the epic. This sense of friendship Peppa cultivates with fans can be seen through the brand’s widespread footprint, from toys to location-based entertainment offerings and more. Over Hasbro’s 100-year history, we’ve built an impressive portfolio of more than 1,500 iconic brands and franchises that attract a diverse and multigenerational fanbase. Our consumers are at the centre of all that we do, and we’re making an all-in bet to be the best in the business at understanding them. That’s why we’re investing in state-of-the-art consumer insights and data analytics capabilities, supported by a network of partner-based data feeds. Informed by these insights, we’re expanding our leading play brands through a blueprint of storytelling, experiences, licensed merchandise and digital games, with valued partners that add value to our brands. We not only want to work with best-in-class partners, but we want Hasbro to be a partner of choice for the top inventors, licensors and retailers in the industry. Togetherness and collaboration lead to successful programs, not just for us and our partners, but for the fans.

Alex Gomez - Senior director, Licensing and Partnerships, Sega Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the biggest and most well-known brands in the world. With roots as a pioneer in the early days of gaming, Sonic today continues to reach fans of all ages with new content across multiple platforms including games, mobile, film, TV and metaverse. Today’s fans see Sonic not as a legacy brand, but instead a triple-A family-friendly brand that they regularly engage with through various media. With a near 35-year history, the brand continues to be a pioneer in the gaming and entertainment space. A top performer across dozens of categories, Sonic connects with boys, girls and fans of all ages, from kids to adults who played the original games. We like to say Sonic is “edgy, but safe”, which gives our licensees a lot of creative freedom when it comes to planning and development. Unlike other entertainment brands, Sonic also has a large cast of characters that have high awareness with fans and allow us to develop a wide variety of products within any category. As a licensor, Sega offers a partnership that I believe few others can offer. We like to lean in with our partners at every step of the way, from strategic ideation, to development, to go-to-market planning. We want to be part of the process and provide the support that will give our programmes the best chance of being successful in every aspect. We are also very creative-focused and not afraid to push the limits with the brand to break new ground or reach fans in new ways. We like to build programmes that will drive buzz, headlines and create cultural topspin. With a huge slate of content planned for Sonic the Hedgehog in the next few years, not to mention Sega’s other great IPs, it is a great time to be a Sonic the Hedgehog licensee.

Luca Schnetzler CEO, Pudgy Penguins

Since Pudgy Penguins is a new brand, we have a lot to prove. With that, we have a unique willingness to collaborate and go above and beyond for our partners. Our influence in the digital world, both as a collectible item and social media powerhouse, allows us to bring awareness and eyeballs to our partners that few people can give. More importantly, we can also add layers of technology to products and experiences that simply make what we're selling a better value proposition than what's out there. It's for this reason that I think partnering with us is better than partnering with almost anyone else.

Andrew Carley

Global Licensing Director, BBC Studios First and foremost, Bluey’s storytelling is brilliant. It transcends age groups, cultures, and most interestingly gender. 50/50 gender splits on viewing audiences are relatively commonplace, however it’s rare, if not unheard of, to see that translate onto product. For example, our apparel offering is split evenly across both boys and girls. Bluey’s storytelling is engaging with adults, parents and carers at a level rarely seen with a pre-school property. We have first-hand experience of swathes of adults on social media dedicated to discussing the various elements of Bluey. At BBC Studios, we are always focused on building for the long term, and this translates into building deep partnerships with our licensees that balances brand needs and commercial needs. At the same time, our direct control of marketing, social channels, TV distribution and consumer products across our global structure means the business and our partners are completely aligned.

Toy World 124


Articles inside

Touching Base - Hot Properties

12min
pages 124, 130, 132

Special Feature - Rhenus Logistics

3min
page 168

Company Profile - Scopely

6min
page 122

Viewpoint - Asha Bhalsod

5min
page 112

Special Feature - Kids@Play/Beano

6min
pages 119-120

Opinion - Norman Macdonald - Letter from the Middle East

5min
page 90

Opinion - Rick Derr - Letter from America

4min
page 74

Circana Insight

7min
pages 54, 56

Company Profile - Jazwares

10min
pages 248, 250

Company Profile - Ravensburger

10min
pages 244, 246

Touching Base - Toy Fair 2024 - First time exhibitors

8min
pages 240, 242

Touching Base - Toy Fair 2024 - Retailers

14min
pages 230, 232, 234, 236

Touching Base - Toy Fair 2024

1hr
pages 194, 196, 198, 200, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 216, 218, 220, 222, 224, 226, 228

Opinion - Generation Media

9min
pages 100, 102

Talking Shop

23min
pages 59-60, 62, 64, 66

Touching Base - 70 year reflection

37min
pages 158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 170, 172, 174

Toy Fair 2024 - 70th Anniversary

10min
pages 180, 182

Hot Properties

45min
pages 114, 132, 134, 136, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156

Company Profile - Mattel

11min
pages 108, 110

Opinion - Giraffe Insights

5min
page 106

Opinion - Super Awesome

5min
page 104

Company Profile - Xplore Distribution 

5min
page 88

Special Feature - Retailer of the year

8min
pages 82, 84, 86

Retail Profile - Pocket Planet

7min
pages 78, 80

Retail Profile - Toymaster

10min
pages 70, 72
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