Brand Licensing - day 1

It's the first day of the show and things are looking great. The halls are busy there's a buzz in the air. Will it still be there on day 3? There have already been plenty of announcements made, with many more expected. Check the newsletter for latest news! And we are here at stand C001 - pop by and say hi and get a free subsciption!

Staying star power? Tenuous celebrity brands

Showing the tenuous nature of celebrity branding, yet another highly regarded star is seeing the potential losses after a fall-out in his personal life.
Yes, Wayne Rooney looks set to lose a few sponsorship deals after some sordid details were published in the UK Sunday papers this week.
Why do they do it? Has Tiger Woods' fall from grace in such a spectacular manner taught them nothing?
Thus, the nature of celebrity branding. Rooney and his wife Coleen, dubbed the new 'Posh and Becks', have become a power-brand in terms of licensing deals, but of course this image is built on Rooney being the all-round family man. Naturally, most of us in the business take this with a pinch of salt, as no-one is perfect, and a brand is an image rather than a personality - but still, when nearly every celebrity worth their salt is now a brand, with huge amounts of merchandise, a lot of revenue comes from this. Of course, it's not just footballers, but, being the tabloid fodder that they are, and building up huge programmes around them as brands, the harder they seem to fall.
This all being said, of course, there are some celebrities who have made a turnaround from a scandal and even seen the said scandal boost their popularity. Paris Hilton, fresh from another white powder scandal, is still a huge brand, and became perhaps even more so after her stint in a Los Angeles jail. Kate Moss saw deals dropped and then new ones formed after her own 'fall from grace'. Jordan, aka Katie Price, Kerry Katona, and Britney Spears all lurch from, if the media outlets will be believed, one disaster and drama to the next, but their brands are still strong. The Kardashians are the latest family on everyone's lips, alongside the Gosselins - and even the Palins, with their teenage-pregnancy-parents-split-then-make-up-then-split-then-he-sells-his-story-and-pictures-of-himself-barely-clothed-to-Playgirl story was huge news, and has seen Bristol and Levi talking about several possible deals. The fact that teenaged Miley Cyrus is linked to a few scandals doesn't seem to hinder her image with fans - quite the opposite in fact. Footballer Ashley Cole's philandering ways have helped to turn his now ex-wife Cheryl Tweedy into a super brand, as public sympathy goes a long way. George Michael bounces back, often, from drink-driving and other charges, and of course, Michael Jackson's fame saw no bounds after court cases brought against him by minors detailed every inch of his personal life.
Of course, there are many salubrious celebrities who have become brands out there without their personal lives being splashed out across the News of the World, National Enquirer, or every other country's version of a tabloid - but who is everyone talking about, at the end of the day?

Declining birth rate in Korea? Don't believe it!

The Seoul Character and Licensing Fair closed last Sunday, having attracted a substantial number of trade visitors, as well as upwards of 100,000 children and adults!

The show, held in Seoul's impressive Coex Centre, featured two days exclusively for trade, followed by three days where the public are invited to visit. And visit, they did! By the thousand. According to demographic research, Korea has a declining birth rate. It has to be said that, witnessing the influx of small children into the show first hand, it is very difficult to believe!

Interestingly, whilst exhibits are geared to business on the opening days, by the third day many of the booths were transformed to include a wide variety of activities for small children. Some booths - such as AuroraWorld whose Yoohoo & Friends has been immensely popular and Iconix who continued to feature hit property Pororo, had long lines of children patiently waiting for their chance to go onto the stands.

The huge Pokemon stand was another extraordinary example. The majority of it was open to the public for the full five days and the queues were constant throughout the event. Rows of tables were continuously busy with children (and some adults) playing the trading cards and also the electronic Pokemon games.

One fascinating East meets West property was an animated character - Captain Park - based on Manchester United's Korean soccer player Park Ji-Sung who is also Captain of the South Korean national team. The booth attracted huge interest, particularly from small soccer-mad boys.

All told, the fair was fascinating. Properties that are immensely popular in Asia, but are virtually unknown in the West were very much in evidence and the market research provided by the tens of thousands of preschool children was invaluable.

Christmas already?! Planning ahead...

Yesterday Total Licensing popped in on Disney's Christmas retail showcase, which was interesting to see, product-wise, and some trends were confirmed, etc. It goes to show that in the midst of warm weather (in this hemisphere anyway) you have to always be planning ahead. Two members of the team are in South Korea, at the Seoul Character Fair. Today, (Friday) 150,000 small children 'invade' the show, in a clever move to see exactly what children will gravitate to, months before anything reaches shelves.

Not sure how well that would go down at other shows...

Call for Editorial! Autumn/Fall issue

Don't miss your chance to submit editorial for the Autumn/Fall issue of Total Licensing.

Important features:

Brand Licensing Preview
Sports Branding and Licensing
Preschool in the UK
Hong Kong Licensing Show Preview
unusual Uses of Licenses

Territory Spotlights:

UK
Germany
China and Hong Kong
Japan

Bonus Distribution around the world:

Brand Licensing 2010
MIPCOM/MIP Junior
Licensing Market Germany
Italian Licensing Forum
Character Licensing Dubai
Licensing Factory Croatia
Hong Kong Licensing Show
Creative Tokyo

Deadlines:

Edit: 20th August 2010
Ad material: 7 September 2010

Licensing Show 2010 branded a success

Now that we've all had time to let the dust settle and our memories of brightly flashing lights and the constant 'ching' of the casino fade, thoughts of the Licenisng Show are still with us - and the overwhelming response seems to be that the show was a success.
The tone was different to the year before, there was a positive feel and while several people noted that the halls still looked less than crowded, this seemed to mean to many that the time wasters hadn't shown up, instead, people looking to do real business were in the aisles.
This year, there were over 500 exhibitors and thousands and thousands of brands on show. The buzzwords of last year - 'economic crisis', 'downturn' and 'recession' were heard much less. Consumer spending is of course down, but this has meant that business has become savvier. Many of the films coming out over the next couple of years are part of franchises, as people are still sticking to what they know. There appeared also to be a trend towards sustainable products - not just on the green side of things, but products and brands that will stand the test of time, through education and integrity.
By now you will probably have read the news that emerged immediately from the show, and we will keep you up to date on further deals and trends.
Did you notice anything particularly strong at the show? Were they are trends or key products that really stood out for you? If so, we'd love to know. Email any thoughts to becky@totallicensing.com

Total Licensing Summer issue...

... is now live and in print. Enjoy!

Click here to read.

Air miles, rackin' em up! (Volcano allowing)

The Licensing Show in Las Vegas is fast approaching, and we can't believe it's come around again so quickly. It's been quite a year for the industry, and the show will undoubtedly reflect the positives the we're seeing.
Here at Total Licensing our feet have barely touched the ground. No sooner have we returned from the Surtex show in New York, put the finishing touches to our Summer issue, than we will be off again.
It's great, really. Volcanic ash or no volcanic ash, most of the licensing industry will converge in a couple of weeks and we very much look forward to seeing you there.
On a completely different note, you may note from our Summer issue that TL has an office puppy - Oliver, who is a black flat coated retriever, but does more bounding and chomping than retrieving. This will also give us an excuse to get out into the sunshine for lunchtime walks, of which there are many pretty ones near our East Sussex office.
And it's sunny - so sunny it almost feels like Summer, just in time for the latest issue of our mag, which has a Licensing Show preview alongside maps, exhibitor details, etc, territory updates on Latin America, Iberia and South Korea, and features on Automotive, Museum, and Celebrity Licensing. Now if that pesky ash cloud would only clear out of the sky permanently, it should give you something to read on the plane!

Total Art Licensing Summer is now live

Total Art Summer Licensing is now live, an important read in the run up to Surtex and Licensing Show

Total Art Licensing Summer

Vive la France

Over the next ten days, we'll be at Kazachok in Paris and MIPTV in Cannes, hopefully sipping cocktails in the sunshine on a yacht (it's a hard life). The two shows are set to be interesting and busy, so we'll keep you posted with our impressions of them and as usual, all news and information.
Don't forget as well, we are currently working on Total Art Licensing Summer issue, and the Summer issue of Total Licensing, which includes, among many other features, an in-depth Licensing Show preview, has an editorial deadline of 20 April.
Au revoir!

Spring issue now live!

Check out our Spring Issue which includes Total Licensing Australia, Toy Fair Reviews, territory spotlights in France, Italy and the Nordics, a feature on Children's publishing, a look at Latin America's stationery market, regular news, columns, and updates, and much, much more.

Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair

The 45th Australian Toy, Hobby and Nursery Fair opened today, Thursday 11th March, with the presentation of the Product of the Year Awards.
Lego was a winner this year with Awards for best preschool product for their Lego Duplo Play with Numbers together with an Award for best game.
On the girls’ side, prehaps predictably, Zhu Zhu Pets New Generation from Hunter Products won the Award and the boys’ toy of the year went to Paper Jamz Guitar, again from Hunter. Paper Jamz, in fact, won overall Toy of the Year for 2010 which appeared to be a popular choice amongst the attending audience.
On the licensing side, the Australian Toy Association, organisers of the fair and the awards, have three specific licensing awards – boys, girls and preschool. Licensed boys toy of the year went to Lego for their Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle whilst Disney Fairies Super Studio picked up the girls’ award. The preschool award went to RC2’s Wooden Thomas set – which was also named overall Licensed Product of the Year.
Walking the aisles of the fair it became fairly clear that not only were dress-up costumes (particularly those for girls in pink and glitter) popular categories but remote controlled vehicles in all shapes and forms from basic small cars to the super-techno helicopters and gunboats – presumably aimed more at fathers than their small sons.
Wooden toys, too, have a strong presence at the fair as well as games – more so than electronics. And outdoor toys were in abundance, from bikes and trikes to garden trampolines and other activity products.

It's Toy Time... and Total Licensing Australia is now live!

Toy Fair season has been in full swing, and we are preparing our in-depth Toy Fair reviews for the Spring issue, which is due for publication in the middle of March.
Total Licensing has just returned from New York Toy Fair, which was a busy and colourful show, with new trends emerging; as was the London version. Hong Kong and Nuremberg equally saw interesting trends, and the overall mood of the industry seems to be positive for the year ahead.
We're off to the Australian Toy Fair next, and it will be interesting to see what is new in the continent, but before that we are finalising our Spring issue, which includes the Total Licensing Australia magazine including Brand Spotlights and Property Profiles. The main magazine will include the aforementioned Toy Fair Reviews, territory spotlights in France, Italy, and Nordic, a MIP TV preview, Children's Publishing feature, among others, and will be distributed at Kazachok, Bologna Book Fair and MIP TV.

Click here to read the latest Total Licensing Australia.

Winter issue of Total Licensing live!

The Winter issue of Total Licensing is now live!

Including features on the Middle East, South East Europe, Retro, Music Licensing, Toy Season, opinions from across the board in a Licensing Roundtable, news, features, and much much more.

Click here to view the Winter issue of Total Licensing

Busy times ahead

Happy New Year to you all.
2010 has been labelled by the British Press as ‘the year of hope’, which has a nice ring to it.
For Total Licensing, January marks the start of a busy year. The Winter issue of Total Licensing is packed with important features such as a look at emerging markets in South East Europe and the Middle East, examining why retro properties are so popular, an industry roundtable with opinions from several heads of industry, 2010 birthdays, toys, music licensing, and much, much more.
We will be at the Hong Kong Licensing Show from 11 January, the Toy Fairs in London, New York and Nuremburg, Spring Fair in Birmingham, and generally adding to our extensive air miles collection! We will also this year be broadening our market further with several new partnerships around the world, so watch this space.