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Reemsborko’s Max Arguile: “The anime investment bubble shows no sign of bursting”

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With a portfolio spanning some of the most iconic IP in pop culture, including Bill and Ted, Dragon Ball Z and and extended library of anime properties now starting to gather pace here in the UK, Max Arguile, founder of the licensing agency Reemsborko is riding on the crest of a wave that shows no sign of ebbing any time soon.

Much like the Big Bang, the pop culture explosion seems only to be expanding further and further into even the most distant corners, helping the kind of properties and fandom that was once deemed ‘underground’ pitch new flags in the mainstream channel, and finding new ways to engage audiences the world over.

While lockdown has not come without its challenges for the pop culture space, and for Arguile’s own Reemsborko business alike, it’s with a sense of optimism that the pop culture specialist takes his position at the front of that charge, and the wealth of new developments he has managed to forge, even in the face of the last few months.

Licensing.biz catches up with Arguile to talk about the latest projects for Reemsborko, the unerring passion for pop culture, and where business is heading from here on out.

Hi Max, to kick us off, how has business been for Reemsborko over the last few months?

It was pretty mixed under lockdown. Three deals fell apart in early on and it was tough but I still managed to get a dozen contracts signed, mostly new business but a couple of renewals.

What sort of impact do you think the lockdown has had on the pop culture/anime licensing and merchandising business?

Consistent with all industries, it has been horrific for those companies that have gone bankrupt and for those that have had to down-size. I have been working from home since early 2018 so no real change for me but everyone has had to adapt to survive. And coming out of lockdown a big impact for the companies that are still trading is the disruption to production timelines and therefore a delay for new business.

The numbers of people streaming content over the lockdown has surged – a good share of which is anime content… Meanwhile, Netflix continues to bulk out its own anime library – how do you think this may impact the merchandising opportunities?

Whatever people love represents a merchandising opportunity. Unsurprisingly Netflix did phenomenally well with a captive audience and other streamers must have done OK but everything has a cost.

Families facing increased streaming bills will have been glad of not only the BBC but also free channels like POP, which apparently enjoyed record viewing figures. For everyone still undecided, yes, Dragon Ball is still the number one boys show on POP with more content on the way.

What lasting impact do you think recent events will have on licensing? How well has the pop culture scene adapted to the changes, and what do you think this will mean for its licensing?

Recently it was Comic-Con From Home – the online version of a crucial pop-culture event. I’ve seen some good presentations done with flair and imagination (Factory Entertainment and Super7 take a bow), and others that just looked like giant Zoom meetings and so I didn’t even bother.

E-commerce has leaped forward by about five years since March, and as a trader, if you don’t have a vibrant route to market online then it’s going to be tougher from now on. Fortunately for Reemsborko, the fans of the licenses I sign don’t usually expect to find the corresponding merchandise in bricks and mortar, you know? The fans just wouldn’t think to look there – the first place they will go is online hence the licensees I have that do online selling in a meaningful way actually did OK in Q2.

The Reemsborko portfolio is now looking very strong. Can you talk us through some of the exciting developments for you over the last few months/first half of 2020?

The portfolio is decent but frankly there isn’t enough in there. We’re not resting yet. I’m looking for more animation properties, and also video games – anything that is cool and interesting, rather than simply a cashcow (although I’m not against those).

Hatsune Miku has been extremely strong in 2020 firstly at the level of interest and secondly now in the market place. The first Wild Bangarang range launched just last weekend – online only – they are very happy with the sales and consider this to be a signing that will grow, especially once the fans start discussing their purchases. Not only is the fanbase super-engaged but we have influencers on board that will wear and show the product via their social media channels – free advertising, directly to the fans never hurts. Likewise, Dragon Ball also continues to work. Junji Ito hasn’t really started yet in Europe (although the t-shirt range will hit retail in Australia by Q4) and there is a lot to come on both Heathen and Black Hammer.

Heathen should start filming in January – they have cast the lead so that is pretty exciting, and we are in the midst of approving a massive apparel range for Black Hammer.

What have been some of the key partnerships you’ve established for 2020 so far?

I’m very happy to now be working with some major talent in the comics industry. Dark Horse have already committed to pushing new Black Hammer products via their Twitter account and Vault Comics are really punching above their weight as a publisher. Aside from Heathen, they have a range of titles, one of which – Vagrant Queen – was made into a TV series, showing recently on Syfy. Vault are fully open to maximising on their whole catalogue – so if anyone is interested in original IP to develop as live action or animation, please get in touch.

You’ve recently partnered with TMS to bring Lupin the Third into the portfolio. What sort of plans have you got for the property in the European market? What is the strength of the brand here in Europe?

Lupin is a well loved classic animé – I aim to start with apparel and collectibles and the new feature length CGI film should be released this year so I’m hopeful of also capitalising on the halo effect that will have

It’s a topic we’ve discussed many times before, but always worth highlighting – what do you make of the current strength of the pop culture scene across Europe? How has the demand for animé ‘swag’ in Europe grown? 

Pop culture is just getting bigger in all territories. What was traditionally underground is becoming mainstream and, as the saying goes, the geek shall inherit the earth.

Animé is only getting started in the UK outside of specialty – we have a long, long way to go catch up with Europe and North America. Furthermore, the animé investment bubble shows no sign of bursting – the streaming platforms continue to commission new content which just increases the size of the total offering.

Conventions won’t be happening so there will be no physical meeting for a while but communication never stops. The fans are fully aware of new developments, and new content almost before they are announced – it’s the job of people like me to ensure that they also know about new products too.

The fans should have the swag so it is our job to make the good stuff visible to not just the fans but also the gift givers. We have our work cut out but the future is bright.

What’s the next big step for Reemsborko as the world wakes up from the pandemic lockdown?

Before Matrix 4, Cyberpunk 2077, John Wick 4 and the new SpongeBob movie, remember that the renaissance of Keanu Reeves starts in earnest when Bill and Ted Face The Music reaches fans worldwide in September.

For many years licensees have enjoyed a steady pace of success with the merchandise from the first two Bill and Ted films – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. A healthy dose of Bill and Ted is something we could all use right now

Anything you’d like to add?

Be excellent to each other!

Spotlight Licensing’s Carole Postal: “Our industry is strong and I’m heartened by our coming together to weather the storm”

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Spotlight Licensing isn’t only known for its portfolio of properties boasting major fan bases and audience numbers both sides of the Atlantic, with the likes of Call the Midwife, Downton Abbey, and Boo – The World’s Cutest Dog among them, but also for its crack team of professionals that, when it comes to licensing, knows its business inside out.

But when you’re led by the nine-time LIMA Licensing Excellence Award winner, Carole Postal – a name now synonymous with not only the US but global licensing business – little else could be expected. Sitting among the upper echelons of Spotlight Licensing is Jodi Gottlieb as senior vice president, and Ken Wong, director of marketing, all of whom have been working together for the last 20 years. With such as history in the space, it makes sense that this is a team that has seen licensing evolve through its many – and ever changing – forms.

Licensing.biz catches up with Carole Postal, president of Spotlight Licensing to talk about her history with licensing, the quick reflexes of the industry as a whole in the face of the pandemic, and how it is the struggles and hardships of uncertain times that forges better and lasting relationships in business.

It’s a formidable trio, and a great team you’ve built around you Carole. How many years in the making has Spotlight Licensing been? Where did it all begin for you?

Formidable – I like that! We really do have a great team. Jodi, Ken and I have been working together for over 20 years. We’ve built on each other’s strengths and areas of expertise and work very efficiently together. And, importantly, have fun!

 I started out in the business working in entertainment licensing and then my husband and I built up our agency starting with retail consulting for the big entertainment companies and their blockbuster films. Licensing quickly became part of our core responsibilities eventually overtaking the retail consulting aspects and we developed from there.

My husband, Robert Postal, was, of course, a big part of the agency right up until his passing and we’ve had other employees who’ve gone on to great careers in the industry as well of which we are most proud. The agency business is all about being able to deliver results and I’m incredibly proud that our team has been able to build successful licensing programs for our clients for so many years.

How has business been for you guys over the last few months? We’ve seen a tremendous amount of resilience, adapting and evolving in a short space of time in the face of the pandemic, what has been Spotlight’s approach throughout this period?

We’re just now starting to see actual reports with numbers on how Q2 royalties were affected by the pandemic but it’s obviously been a challenge for retailers, licensees, and everyone up and down the chain.

Fortunately for us, products are still being made and sold and we are still getting deals done even if it takes a little more patience, perseverance, and willingness from everyone to make mutual accommodations during this unprecedented time. We are all in this together as a world and all adapting and making changes as we go along. It is a great opportunity for all components of the licensing equation – Licensor, Agent, Manufacturer, Retailer, and Consumer – to all work together for the common good.

How have you seen the licensing space evolve not only over the last year, but over the past four months? What do you think will be a lasting impact on licensing, retail, and the relationship between the two?

Licensing is always changing and evolving and introducing newness – that’s one of the aspects we all love about this industry isn’t it? Consumers and retailers are constantly looking for ‘what’s next’ – and licensors and manufacturers will continue to find creative ways to provide that through new licensing opportunities, new products or new twists on old favourites.

Even in the middle of a pandemic, Spotlight has been able to work with licensees on new BOO The World’s Cutest Dog plush from Gund and gorgeous hand-made Italian eyewear inspired by Downton Abbey from Bonavista Optics just to name a few. But we’ve definitely seen a lot of changes over these last few months as well: greater online shopping; delayed release of upcoming film properties; and, of course, the sudden but logical emergence of face masks as a licensed product category here.

Our industry is strong and resilient and I’ve been heartened by the way licensors, licensees,  manufacturers and retailers have all been working together to weather the storm so, ultimately, I think we’ll see the relationships between all four as strong as ever after this is all over.

You’ve got an enviable portfolio with quite the UK connection going on. How is your portfolio reflective of the US market right now? What do you look for in a license? What do you look for in a licensing partnership?

As a boutique agency, we pick and choose our clients carefully because each one is so important to us. Our portfolio is built on properties we personally like and understand and believe in because that gives us the edge when strategizing and talking to manufacturers and retailers about the opportunity.

As you can see from our portfolio, we definitely have an empathy for British entertainment and have built a reputation for understanding how to translate niche properties into licensed products that American audiences will like. But it doesn’t matter to us whether the property is British or French or Korean or as American as apple pie, as long as it is well done and the brand brings something special.

 

When you’re not busy winning LIMA Licensing Excellence Awards Carole, you’re either co-founding a business, sitting on the LIMA Board of Directors, or taking your place at the Board for the Delivering Good organisation and its Women of Inspiration initiative.

Can you talk us through the work you do with Delivering Good? Why is this so important to you?  

I believe each and every one of us is responsible for each other and can find a way to help so I decided nearly 12 years ago that I would find a way to help people through my contacts in the licensing business on a global basis. I always say that licensing is about stuff. Since Delivering Good is dedicated to getting stuff to the people who need it – whether their need arises because of poverty or disease or disaster or some other circumstances – I knew that I and the rest of the licensing industry could really help with Delivering Goods mission.

My involvement started out with product donations and just kept growing. In addition to being a Board Member, I co-chair the annual Women of Inspiration luncheon honouring women executives for their achievements and philanthropic efforts.

I’ve always felt no one is more supportive of others than the licensing industry and that faith has truly been borne out in how manufacturers and retailers and others in the industry have responded over the years and in response to COVID-19 in particular.

Our industry trade organization, Licensing International, has been incredibly supportive overall not to mention all the wonderful  manufacturers and retailers and individuals who donated products or provided financial support for shipping those products to where they need to be. You all know who you are reading this article so allow me to say thank you and to remind everyone that the need is never greater than it is now.

You’ve mentioned new areas of manufacturing and masks etc. Can you talk us through Spotlight’s efforts in this capacity? What lasting effect do you think this will have on the licensing space?

The pandemic made masks a ‘must have’ accessory so it was inevitable that licensing would be there to bring a little fun and fashion to mask-wearing. In Asia, masks have been accepted as part of regular flu precautions for years so I think there’s a good chance masks will stick around as a licensed product category in the US and Europe as well.

To me, this is just another example of how quickly a new consumer product category can emerge and a reminder of why people in licensing have to stay informed about developing trends as well as trends from other regions and be prepared to act quickly when unexpected opportunities arise in your own market.

 

A few quick-fire questions to round us up, then. What would you say has been the proudest moment of your career in licensing to date? 

In truth, one of my proudest moments was being one of the very first women in licensing to start her own company which transitioned from retail consulting, which no one was doing at the time, into a full service licensing agency.

Remember, 25 years ago women were not founding their own agencies and certainly not without the backing of a major studio or property. The licensing industry has always embraced and recognized the strength of women and I’m proud that this industry has been supportive and thus afforded young women a place where they can grow and be successful.

What is the best part of your job? 

My favorite part of the job is working with my team and our licensing partners to turn an idea or concept into a great product that performs well on retail shelves and/or online sales.

The typical fan who buys licensed products will probably never realize how many different things – the multitude of people and decision and challenges – involved in getting that product to market but we do, and my team and I still get a real thrill out of seeing it all pay off in the end.

What advice would you give to someone looking to break into the licensing industry?

My advice to anyone looking to break into the licensing industry is to be an observant consumer…staying on top of trends, keeping your finger on the pulse of pop culture, identifying overlooked or underappreciated audiences, and applying your talents – whether as a creator, lawyer, designer, marketer, accountant, licensing agent or whatever – to the opportunities outside your immediate universe.  Carpe diem!

 

From CloudBabies to Shane the Chef: Why HoHo Entertainment is ‘turning it all on its head’ post pandemic

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Helen Howells, joint managing director at HoHo Entertainment – the entertainment company behind CloudBabies and Shane the Chef – understands that if you’re going to make an omelette, you’ll need to break a few eggs. Whether those eggs are the traditions of the toy industry, or the traditional licensing model of broadcast to merchandise, Howells appears to have little issue with turning the whole Chicken coop upside down.

In a rush to conclude the metaphor, the omelettes we’re talking about here are the licensing and merchandise strategies for both CloudBabies and Shane the Chef. In concept, the two couldn’t be further apart; one a fantastical series of adventures of cloud-dwelling babies that interact with the weather, the other a pre-school series grounded in the realism of a single dad on a mission to get children to eat healthily. The common thread that ties them together nicely under the HoHo Entertainment umbrella, is that when it comes to the licensing model for each, it’s all about pushing against the common tide.

But then again, it’s Howells’ suggestion that when you’re operating in the pre-school space, it’s just what you’ve got to do; how else are you going to deflect the constant comparisons to Peppa Pig and PAW Patrol?

Since its series run came to an end with the BBC’s CBeebies channel, CloudBabies has become a YouTube sensation. In the first half of the year alone it’s done over 150 million views and boasts a trans-Atlantic audience on the platform that has been growing steadily and organically over the course of the last four to five years. It’s now, amid the reformation of the world’s approach to content-viewing, its consumerism and shopping habits, and the inevitable impact this is to have on the merchandising model, that Howells pinpoints this period as “an interesting time to re-look at the licensing business.”

“When you start looking at YouTube and other VOD channels, that’s where it gets really exciting, when you can start really analysing the data,” says Howells. “With YouTube, there’s an ability to drill down into it and really understand what kids like and what they would be inclined to buy, given the choice.

“This is something that could – hopefully – better inform ourselves as we start planning towards a new way of merchandising.”

This new method of licensing that the managing director envisages is a hybrid model that meets the consumer halfway between the traditional business of licensing and a complete ecommerce model. A mix of the two that is dependent on the kind of categories they take the IP into.

“It might be that something like toys, we look at sourcing ourselves – in small quantities – so we can better see what works,” continues Howells. “Because toys is a huge investment. Toy companies have to think really hard about what they do, and it’s a big mistake to make if they get it wrong.

“The opportunity to start making small numbers of product ourselves, and see if it works, is a good way to start. These are things we are contemplating at the minute, alongside having discussions with licensees who are now much more open minded about non TV, non-film franchises and brands. I think they can see where that opportunity is.”

That’s a mind-set that’s taken a few years to take on, and one for which it will no doubt be a few years more before it becomes common thought within this line of business. That said, the turn of events at the on-set of the coronavirus pandemic have certainly done their bit to accelerate it.

“It’s definitely being driven by the current situation,” says Howells. “The shops have been closed and everybody is turning to ecommerce for toys and so on. That may well change, but I don’t think it will ever go back to the way that it was. People like the ease and simplicity of being able to buy something at the click of a button and it will turn up the next day.

“With CloudBabies, if our strategy is much more in the shape of ‘On Demand’, then that has to extend to the merchandise as well. People want to watch an episode, then wonder if they could buy something. A hybrid model would allow them to go directly from the show to the source, where they’d have the options to buy.

“That’s the way I see it for us, it’s being driven by the way that kids are consuming content far more. It may be different for your big brands and franchises; they always operate in the retail space and in ecommerce. But for companies like ours, it’s much tougher to get big toy companies on board, so we have to work on a different model.”

From field to fork – via the kitchen

Now, CloudBabies won’t be the only property to adopt a new model on its way to the toy shelves. In fact, from the moment Shane the Chef landed on Channel 5’s Milkshake block it’s been presenting a wholly new concept to the pre-school landscape; tackling important issues around not only healthy eating, but a ‘field to fork’ healthy lifestyle that encourages kids to create a narrative around food and where it comes from, through the eyes of a single father.

With her background of having worked on Fireman Sam on the CV, coupled with HoHo Entertainment’s other joint MD, Oliver Ellis’ history with Postman Pat – there was little deliberation that Shane the Chef was the perfect fit for the unit, and the potential for the pre-school series to strike a chord on a purely entertainment level was instantly recognised.

“But actually, as we started looking at the idea more, and started doing some research and looking at the British Nutritional Foundation survey, we spotted that there were some frightening statistics around children’s relationship with food,” says Howells. “The number of kids that didn’t know where things came from – they thought bacon came from sheep, that strawberries grew on trees – was concerning. Worse still, this was extending into teenagers and students.

“That’s where we started thinking that here’s an opportunity to not just make a great entertainment show, but to do something that, if it does nothing more, simply teaches children what a piece of fruit is, or where it comes from and what you can do with it.”

So, Shane the Chef is very much about food provenance, which has become the concept that shapes its of each episodes. What Shane the Chef is not, is a cooking show.

“We didn’t want to over saturate the show with recipes, because those are things we wanted to do off air,” says Howells. “Hence the book…”

Shane the Chef: Let’s Get Cooking is the result of a co-publishing deal with Candy Jar Books and the first expansion into licensing for the pre-school IP. It’s an obvious and well-executed brand extension that brings the narrative outside of the show and into its audience’s kitchen, and the prime example of just how avant-garde the HoHo Entertainment approach to licensing is.

“It was after years of being told by companies that ‘you need to have a master toy license first’, that we thought ‘hold on, the publishing business is the publishing business; people buy books.’ And the most obvious book for us to start with for this was a cookery book,” says Howells.

“I was banging my head with this, thinking: ‘Why do we have to have a toy line before we have the book? It doesn’t make sense.’ Thankfully, we had a publishing partner that equally had three children, loved the show, and we were all saying: ‘We have to do this book.’

Having landed just in time for Christmas, it should come as little surprise that it has been a success, and a launch that has helped drive plenty of social media feedback as children and families take the chance to engage and reproduce in the kitchen the kind of recipes that Shane the Chef whips up throughout the series.

Having recently announced its support of the Too Good To Go campaign to tackle food waste in the UK, Howells explains that with Shane the Chef, the focus will be very much on developing more partnerships like this.

“We worked with the British Dietetic Association on the series, so a lot of what we’re doing is looking at where we can really garner attention by introducing Shane through these great partnerships, while still working on how do we then pull together a licensing programme.”

And that just might turn a few of the heads of those who think they know what a master toy line should look like.

“The thing is, we’re all about sustainability,” says Howells. “For us, we’re keen to do things like wooden toy utensils… but again, it can be cost prohibitive. So we’re going to have to really think about ways to bring together a licensing programme that works and makes sense. That might not be the traditional master toy line.

“The really obvious one is dough play. We can’t use real food because it’s preschool, so a lot of what we’re looking at is play pattern and role play. But role play isn’t always the front runner for a master toy line. What we are doing is looking at the themes and categories that work within the context of the show, and we’re trying to be really innovative in ways that we can present that.”

What Shane the Chef does present is a property that can genuinely claim stand out in the market, and not only because of its ‘Super Secret Spinach Meatballs’ recipe, but because sustenance and thoughtfulness about food is at its heart, while it more than plays its part in fuelling awareness around the field to fork movement for a pre-school audience.

“I think it’s important for us to then look at toy opportunities with all of that in mind,” says Howells. “How does that translate? On the one hand we are encouraging kids to want to make the food with their parents, but on the other hand we want to encourage them to pretend play when their parents aren’t with them. It’s about finding the right balance and the right toy partner that is really on board with the ideas we have for the show.

“I also think the pandemic has heightened people’s awareness of this kind of sustainable lifestyle. We’re at a point now where I think it’s time to turn all of the ‘norm’ or the traditional approach on its head and be more open minded,” Howells concludes.

 

RuneScape: The $1bn video game franchise you’ve (probably) never heard of, and why it’s time to take notice

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When it comes to community-centric massively multiplayer online role-playing games, you may immediately leap to the likes of Fortnite and Overwatch, which is just so very… millennial of you. Because what you’ve done there, is you’ve overlooked one of the genre’s founding titles; one that boasts more than 280 million players around the world, and one that now, in its 20th year of operation, is a franchise totalling $1bn in value.

That’s right – it’s RuneScape, one of the most popular and commercially successful MMO (massively multiplayer online role playing games) that for some reason or another, you’ve most likely never heard of. Until now. And that’s because Jagex – the developer and publisher, and owner of RuneScape and Old School RuneScape – is now in the process of developing new projects and partnerships aimed at expanding the franchise’s global footprint to reach new audiences today.

It’s only recently that The Guinness World Book of Records recognised RuneScape as the Most Prolifically Updated MMORPG video game of all time, paying tribute to the matter that not only is RuneScape one of the most engaged with video game titles among audiences who caught the wave two decades ago, but that since then, the game itself has evolved, grown, and expanded, been refined and improved upon all in line with its audience base over that time, too.

RuneScape today certainly won’t be the same RuneScape you or the 280 million other players first picked up 20 years ago, but it is exactly that – the matter it has thousands of years of in-game lore and engaging narratives within its franchise – that helps it, as a commerical IP, go from strength to strength with each passing year.

To find out more about RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and the licensing activity that Jagex is now starting to build out around it, Licensing.biz caught up with Stewart Stanbury, director of business development at the video game specialist.

 

Can you tell us about Jagex and RuneScape – what is the story of the franchise, and what is the strength of the IP like today?

Jagex is a leading British video game developer and publisher best known for RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, two of the world’s most community-centric and successful massively multiplayer online role-playing games. We create ‘living games’ – deep, meaningful and ever-evolving immersive experiences that provide long-term engagement – and we inherently understand how to connect, engage and excite people through play.

Jagex, headquartered in Cambridge, has enjoyed five years of successive growth, almost doubling its staff in the last two years and generating revenues of around £100million a year. RuneScape, now in its 20th year of operation, is a $1billion franchise, reached its record membership number in the last year, and has reached more than 280 million players around the world. With thousands of years of in-game lore, engaging narratives and a huge, global player base that continues to play year after year, the company’s IP continues to grow from strength to strength.

Jagex is also working on some exciting projects and partnerships that we will be announcing in the coming months, aimed at expanding its global footprint and reaching new audiences.

What has Jagex and RuneScape brought to the video gaming space over the years? 

To keep a dedicated game going for almost 20 years is no small achievement. RuneScape grows and expands with its community and is constantly refined and improved by a dedicated team of creators, developers, and writers. RuneScape has set the global benchmark for what living game should be, and Guinness World Records agrees, having officially recognised the game as the Most Prolifically Updated MMORPG Video game.

A core pillar of this is the community polling we have put in place for Old School RuneScape. The games development, narrative and updates are all decided by our community; all changes are voted for, and with more than 11 million votes to date, it’s our community that has made it the game it is today.

RuneScape has also seen great success in the streaming and eSports arenas. Consistently in the Top 10 streamed games, RuneScape has generated more than 1 billion minutes of watch-time. Our quarterly Deadman Finals in 2018 hit number one on the Twitch charts.

RuneScape was also the first major Western MMORPG on mobile platforms. Thanks to strong partnerships with Apple and Google, Old School RuneScape has gone on to achieve number one across all apps in eight countries and featured in the top 10 across 16 more. RuneScape has also demonstrated the importance of having various entry points into the franchise via PC and mobile for both RuneScape and Old School, using the ability to put down and pick up on a different device seamlessly to engage players for longer and on the go. The game itself works on most mainstream computers and laptops, and across most mainstream operating systems, from Linux to Windows and Mac.

What is it about RuneScape that gives it such a strong appeal among a largely ‘underground’ audience? Why and how has it maintained this ‘underground’ recognition for so long?

The secret lies in our updates. We are constantly developing our game design with a large, dedicated team of developers, designers and artists who know how to create evergreen content. We use an ongoing interplay of analytics, data science and player feedback to determine the best possible content for the community to maximise enjoyment and engagement. Our agile infrastructure allows Jagex to act on this insight. Designing, iterating and executing efficiently and effectively to the changing needs of our community. Where other games chase trends or build obsolescence into their business plans, Jagex keeps its focus tightly on its audience.

This goes for things like setting new industry standards for player inclusion, community management and transparency. Jagex has more than 150 staff dedicated to engaging with our players across community platforms globally as well as 24-hour account, tech and payment support with an 87 per cent customer satisfaction rating. As a result, our average player spends six years and upwards playing RuneScape, accounting for more than 500billion minutes of accumulated playtime in total across the franchise.

What has the licensing programme for RuneScape looked like to date? What collaborations or partnerships have you launched so far?

Jagex had an early merchandise programme which ran from 2007 to 2010 with a focus on publishing novels with Titan Books, and what has become an iconic game guide from Scholastic – both of which remain popular with the RuneScape community. It has also worked with Back Street International (BSI) since 2015 for our official RuneScape merchandise store and has collaborated with creative members of the RuneScape community to add their designs and products.

2018 saw the commercial release of RuneScape’s award-winning soundtrack for the first time, with two vinyl releases from specialty gaming label Laced Records – including an orchestral album from composer James Hannigan with music recorded at Abbey Road Studios. On release, this soundtrack actually charted in the Top 10 on the US Classical Billboard Chart. Eight albums of RuneScape’s music are now also available digitally on leading streaming services. With a Guinness World Record for the most original music in a video game we have a lot more music still to release, with additional vinyl and digital releases planned.

More recently Jagex signed a license agreement with Pyramid Posters for posters and gifting solutions for our North American audience and will be announcing more details of a publishing partnership with Dark Horse Comics in the very near future.

Why is now the right time to be looking to build that licensing programme outwards and growing mainstream awareness of RuneScape?

With Old School RuneScape’s huge success following its expansion to mobile, and with RuneScape currently in mobile beta for both Android and iOS, we are reaching more players than ever before. No mean feat for a 19-year-old game. Our most recent launch of the Archaeology update for RuneScape has seen significant player growth and we are continuing to expand our games in new and interesting ways with an enviable roadmap for 2020 and beyond.

2021 will mark the 20th anniversary for the franchise, and we see this as a significant opportunity to develop commemorative merchandise and new product launches for our growing player base. We will also have some new and exciting projects to announce through 2021 which will have their own unique licensing opportunities and are actively seeking the right partners to work with us on these.

What does and what can RuneScape bring to the video game licensing/pop culture licensing space today?

RuneScape is not just a game, but a lifestyle for millions of players. Our data and insight show a strong desire from our players for more RuneScape outside of the core games themselves, but we recognise the desire for quality products that our community see as adding value to their experience.

Jagex is founded on principles of humour, fun, wit and creativity. RuneScape is a rich, fantasy world with unique and iconic characters, weapons and a long-term narrative and story roadmap that spans far into the future. At Jagex, we are identifying the ways in which we can bring our stories to life and enrich relationships with our players, not at the expense of them.

What sort of licensing partnerships are you looking to establish for the IP? And why would it lend itself so well to these categories?

Having a diverse player base, the IP is well positioned to appeal to opportunities spanning from in-game moments and stories with pin badges and apparel, to board games and unique, premium collectable items that mirror the most desirable in-game items and character creations.

Additionally, Jagex is engaging with OEMs, hardware/peripheral manufacturers, software developers, and one-of-a-kind unique creation studios to bring a range of new opportunities, accessories and collectibles to our players.

How do you foresee the growth of the licensing programme shaping a new audience for the game? In turn, how will this shape the future of the RuneScape IP?

Popular culture has embraced fantasy as a cornerstone of modern entertainment in a way that would have been hard to predict even ten years ago. Across film, TV series and video games, new audiences are looking to discover IP that has not only proven popular, but which is also widely available through new devices, mediums and products. As Jagex continues to grow RuneScape to new platforms, new titles and new license opportunities, we are in a great position to reach not only our dedicated players and collectors but also returning players and new audiences across the industry.

Following this period of lockdown – what do you think the future holds for video game licensing? Why is it important to be a part of that scene now?

The WHO has encouraged gaming as a way for people to continue to engage with friends and family during this challenging time, an encouraging sign of changing opinions about the utility of video games in bringing people together. The RuneScape community has never been more welcoming to new players, or stronger than it is now, with our player base growing daily and providing a space for people to explore, meet friends and build enduring relationships.

People will, as they always have, invest their time and money in the things that bring them closer to their friends and their passions. If RuneScape is fortunate enough to have been part of their journey through this time and brought them the camaraderie, community and lifestyle, we would love to be able to find ways to enrich that ongoing relationship.

Licensing will play an important role in bringing this together in a considered, respectful and authentic way.

For more information about Jagex licensing opportunities, contact melisa.bunce@jagex.com

 

Travel Man: Richard Pink captures the glamour of Pan Am

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The air bridges have been opened and the holiday makers are scouring the internet for the best deals this summer, but Richard Pink, MD and founder of Pink Key Licensing recalls a time when travel had a certain glamour to it; a time when it was a little less about shipping the hordes from one airport to another, and a little more about enjoying the ride.

That’s what the Pan Am brand signifies; not only for Pink but for the thousands of consumers that engage with it on the same level, and whether today – a period in which we could all do with a touch of glamour about our travel arrangements – that’s an escapism to a ‘time that was’ or a rosy-tinted nostalgia, Pink is very certain of the opportunities abound for the lifestyle brand.

Licensing.biz catches up with Pink Key’s Richard Pink to discuss Pan Am, the pandemic, and how licensing life – and lifestyle licensing – looks on the other side of the world’s ‘Great Pause.’

Richard Pink, MD and Founder of Pink Key Licensing

How has this period impacted you guys and the brands in the portfolio – how did you ‘control the controllable’ in this scenario and what key take-aways or insights did this period offer you?

It’s pretty much been ‘business as usual’ at Pink Key Towers – the team has always all worked from home so the only real difference was that we were unable to go out to do the face to face meetings and socialising that we would have expected to do through this part of the year. Zoom has become our contact life blood.

I think the big takeaway for us has been that, right at the start we were pro-active in contacting our licensees to understand what their situation was, what issues they were facing and identifying possible solutions, so that we could work with them to establish a practical way forward and also manage our clients’ expectations. This was hugely important.

 

How do you think the past few months have changed consumers’ mind-sets and their approach to brands/brand engagement? How do you think this affects the brands under the Pink Key portfolio? For instance, Pan Am is a heritage travel brand – is there an opportunity to be found in recent events that tap into that ‘luxury’ feel of the Pan Am brand?

I think this is very hard to define. I wrote recently that I thought licensing was going to benefit from a surge in consumer interest post-lockdown, as I think consumers will have been starved of interaction with the things that make them happy, and I stick by that. However, you do make a good point here, and a brand like Pan Am will benefit from being one that represents a certain escapism for consumers – evoking memories of a time when we COULD go places and fly in a certain glamour and style, rather than what is it now, effectively being treated like cattle!

 

What have been some of the latest developments for Pink Key across the portfolio? There always seems to be a project on the go or news shared – how is the portfolio looking for this year and beyond?

You’re absolutely right,  we have got some really interesting developments currently going on. I think it’s safe to say that we have a project or at least one new licensee that we are excited about for each of our brands. The programmes are at different stages of development: some, like Kellogg’s, are quite mature with established licensees, so we are asking ourselves how to find opportunities in terms of products and territories where our representation could be better. Some, like Colman’s, are at very early stages, so we are appointing our first licensees in core areas like housewares. Pan Am is especially interesting as we are looking at ‘lifestyle’, and that may allow us to look at licensees in areas we’ve not really considered for our other brands, particularly as the brand has a unique combination of ‘cool’ and ‘heritage’ qualities.

One of the areas we are particularly keen on developing is the on-line distribution of our brands: the current crisis has exposed the over-reliance on ‘bricks and mortar’ stores. Whilst I don’t sense a sea change, I do think it’s accelerated the whole industry’s aspirations in this area and particularly the rise of ‘print on demand’.

As for our portfolio, well …. watch this space….

Talking about Pan Am specifically – what have been the latest developments for you guys here? What partnerships have you secured and in what categories? Are you pleased with the consumer/retailer reception to the brand?

There have been a few developments that have given us a bit of lift recently and this has meant that we are in a much better position to talk to people about product distribution. We were given an early boost by our apparel in H&M and our good friends at Nostalgic Art in Germany are distributing a great range of nostalgic gifting. As with all of our brands, it’s a slow build, however – but we like that.

We have some great licensees building a solid range of products across Europe, but one of the key developments is a new partnership which will see us seriously venturing into ‘print on demand’ with two new licensees placing product in a variety of on-line market places. It is hugely important for us to be able to reach Pan Am fans regularly through social media and allow them to get the kind of products they want whenever they want. One of these new licensees is about to launch a website called ‘Iconospheric’, a print on demand site dedicated to the kind of retro-cool product that Pan Am is so indicative of. We are really proud to be one of the first brands on the site when it launches in September.

 

Where would you like to take the Pan Am brand next? How do you think the licensing industry has evolved over the past 12 months, and where now do you think Pan Am sits within the lifestyle sphere?

I spoke to Stacy Beck who is VP of Brands and Licensing at Pan Am and her comments would also be mine:

‘Pan Am has traditionally been positioned as a heritage brand due to its over 90 year legacy as “The World’s Most Experienced Airline”. That said, there is a massive opportunity in the market to align Pan Am with a plethora of products and services that embody the highest level of quality, style, and innovation. It is innovation that we feel will provide the most opportunity going forward. With tourism still a massive part of global economies, travellers will be looking for a trusted partner in navigating the new normal of travel. From luxury personal travel accessories, to branded hotels, tours, digital apps, and travel concierge services, Pan Am can emerge as a beacon in a cluttered and mediocre marketplace. We are very excited for the next chapter in this legacy.’ 

 

How has Pink Key evolved and adapted to changing landscapes over the last 12 months? How do you maintain your strength of position in the market?

For us it’s about growing in line with our portfolio – we know the kind of brands that we are looking for. And I believe that’s what we are known for. We have not wavered in the last few years in our mission to develop solid programmes for brands that we love and that have longevity. As our brands have grown, we’ve put in the resource to support them. We’ve tried not to overstretch ourselves which is tricky sometimes when the success of a brand like SLUSH PUPPiE takes you by surprise.

Where do you think the future of the lifestyle licensing space is heading, and what role do you think Pan Am has to play in it?

I think the consumer is of the mindset to think about the things that the current crisis has taken away and there is going to be a tendency not to take these things quite so much for granted going forward. I think developments in the lifestyle space will reflect this, with people appreciating the finer things in life even more: Pan Am’s personality of glamour and a ‘better life’ is perfectly placed to reflect this and we are looking at products right now that will do just that.

 

What’s next for Pink Key now?

There are so many unexplored opportunities in our portfolio that all our time is being taken up maximising them to their full potential – but it doesn’t mean we won’t have a couple of new things ready to be announced very soon.

 

Rugby League World Cup 2021 is ‘biggest project the sport has ever seen’, and there’s no better time to brand build

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As the world waits for sporting events across the globe to open their doors to the crowds once again, the Rugby League World Cup 2021 brand has its own, additional project underway – developing and rolling out a comprehensive licensing programme designed to ‘transcend the sport’ itself and tap into the millions of potential fans worldwide.

Licensing.biz talks with Jon Neill, commercial director, Rugby League World Cup, and Ashley Holman, MD and founder of Riverside Brands, the agency tasked with building the RLWC 2021 brand through a portfolio of licensing partnerships about sport licensing, and developing the blueprint for sports teams to follow in the years to come.

Firstly, we hope you guys are well and have managed throughout this pandemic. How is the Rugby League World Cup brand positioned as we begin to emerge from it all? There must be some pent up energy among fans and consumers?

Jon Neill, commercial director, Rugby League World Cup: We’re all very well thanks at RLWC2021. It’s obviously been a hugely testing time for everyone around the world in recent months. It’s put sport and events into perspective as there are clearly more important things going on than our tournament. Although we’re fortunate that we’ve been able to continue with our planning during the period. There are certain things outside of our control, but we are hugely optimistic that we’ll be in a position to deliver the best ever Rugby League World Cup and the biggest standalone sporting event in England next year.

Last month we actually launched our new brand to celebrate 500 days to go until the tournament starts. Part of this was a new positioning around ‘Power of Together’, which is very apt in terms of our inclusivity values, but also appropriate given the times we are experiencing and people wanting to get back to seeing friends and family.

The fans are at the core of everything we do and we’ve been conducting detailed research into propensity to purchase tickets and attend events, with our pre-sale going live in September this year. This shows there is clearly a desire for live events with fans attending again, and we want to create and allow people to share experiences with each other.

Ashley Holman, founder and CEO of Riverside Brands: Thankfully, as a nimble agency operating across three key areas of the industry, we have managed to weather the storm relatively well. Not least thanks to the support of our existing clients and the great brands we work with.

We are also really fortunate to have picked up new opportunities, such as working with Jonathan Neill, Rob Hutchison and the team at Rugby League World Cup 2021, particularly as it’s set to be the largest and most exciting event the sport has ever had. It is also here in England and with everything that has happened in 2020, we think sports fans and those living locally will really engage with it. That means we will have a really engaged and enthused customer base to be able to provide best-in-class licensed product to further their experience of the tournament and keep those memories going beyond the final.

How have the past few months shaped your approach or strategy for the RLWC brand? Has it given light to new avenues or platforms for the brand, or how have you guys evolved with the changing lay of the land?

Neill: Everything we do is focused on our vision, mission and values, and they are all relevant and even more appropriate in the current circumstances we find ourselves in. There is much talk for companies of being able to ‘pivot’ at the moment, and we think we are in good position to continue to provide something positive for people, communities and our stakeholders.

From the beginning of our journey, dating back to the successful bid in 2016, our mission has been about creating inspirational moments, that engage, excite and leave a long lasting legacy. We’ll do this in many ways via RLWC2021 and we have plenty of hard work to come, and we need partners who will support us in achieving that, such as Riverside Brands for our licensing programme.

We’ll be the first major tournament to run the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments concurrently, so inclusivity is hugely important for us. Our matches will be held at 21 venues across 18 towns and cities, with 85 per cent of those in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ region. We also have a fantastic legacy programme taking place before, during and after the tournament, which is engaging people within communities in multiple ways. So we have a huge opportunity to celebrate our host locations, drive civic pride, and create positive engagement and memories for people.

Holman: The strategy was agreed with the RLWC2021 team in early February and we still feel the base is there for sure. However with the changing dynamics of bricks and mortar retailers, and the surge in online purchasing now, we need to ensure this element is factored into our plans accordingly.

You talk about transcending the sport of Rugby League to engage new audiences – what form do you think this will take and how will licensing achieve this for you? What areas do you think Rugby League World Cup will work particularly well within?

Neill: We have overall targets for RLWC2021 that require us to positively engage new audiences, ones that are outside of the core rugby league fan. The core fan is hugely important to us, and quite rightly they can’t wait to celebrate and engage with the biggest and best ever Rugby League World Cup next year. Just in the UK there are 14 million people who ‘follow’ rugby league, so the potential is there for us.

To sell 750,000 tickets for example across our 61 games, we have to bring new people into the tournament, alongside our core fans. We’ve spent a great deal of time looking at who these people might be, and Deloitte, one of our official partners, have helped massively in this space. These audiences include broader sports fans, families, women, millennials, students etc. We have to provide a reason for them to engage with our tournament, and we think licensing, merchandise and consumer products is one way to do this.

Holman: As Jon says, the licensing strategy revolves around catering for the core fans who follow the sport avidly, while also playing on the history of the tournament, teams and rugby league itself. These elements will also be used to proactively engage a wider audience, including families and children in particular, who are much newer into the sport. This is being done by a really progressive style guide that we’re developing working with the great team at Skew Studio and will allow us to cater for both sides of the audience.

Why is now the right time to be looking at building the brand in this way? What do you think building out a licensing programme for the brand can do for the sport overall, particularly from a grassroots level, and will this be a key market for you guys?

Neill: Rugby League World Cup 2021 is the single biggest project the sport has undertaken in its 125 year history, so now has to be the right time to build the brand in this way – we ultimately won’t get a better opportunity to do so. Our objectives for licensing are to increase our profile, create fan engagement and ultimately drive revenue.

Grassroots is very important, and also creating future fans for the sport. We have to create a legacy from the tournament and engage people in a positive way. This isn’t about picking up a rugby ball – we’re doing this in a variety of ways, whether that be through our volunteering opportunities, our mental fitness charter, our schools education resources, watching a form of rugby league – like Wheelchair rugby league – that someone might not have done previously, creating new heroes, or by engaging with licensing and the associated products and exposure.

Holman: I think the fact that for the first time ever this tournament will bring together the men’s, women’s and wheelchair competitions into one place, creating a world class stage for all categories of the sport, is a huge USP. From a merchandising point of view, this means we’ll be able to cater to a much wider fan base those tournaments will attract, rather than having to focus on just one which is the norm. Not only is this important for getting new fans from all three elements engaged and building brand loyalty, it also provides licensees and retailers with more potential customers for the products on offer.

2020 has by all accounts been a very tough year for sports overall – how do you think the trials of the last few months will impact on the potential for sports licensing? Do we have to re-engage audiences, or will there be a pent-up demand driven by the restrictions of this year?

Neill: “Much of this is still unknown and things are obviously changing on a daily basis, and we need to be flexible, reactive and responsive. We’re committed to a partnerships approach which understands the objectives of all parties and how we can collaborate, so we hope and think there is potential, although clearly the economic impacts are massive.

I think it will be a blend of both – there are going to be lasting impacts, but as you say, that will be balanced with a desire by many to get back to live sport and what that provides. We hope to be able to play a positive role in supporting people as we emerge from the pandemic. Sport has a unique opportunity to emotionally engage people, so we need to find our appropriate place moving forward.

Holman: I really believe there will be pent up demand. We are a nation of sport lovers and the loss of so many great sporting moments this year means next year there will be huge demand for sports brands, especially ones daring to be bold and brave like RLWC2021. Naturally alongside that demand to participate and view sport is the desire to show support for your favourite team, player and event through the consumer products range that will be on offer.

What role do you think licensing has to play in the audience engagement with sport in general in the coming future? How would you apply that directly to Rugby League? And what benefits would come from driving that engagement with the sport in the mainstream?

Neill: Sport and fan engagement is ever changing, and we need to embrace trends, technology and be insight and data led. Licensing has a critical role to play in that, and for us it’s in driving fan engagement and ultimately commercial opportunities to enable us to deliver an event like Rugby League World Cup 2021. At the same time, we can support other businesses and develop a ‘win win’ environment for all parties via mutually beneficial partnerships.

Our fans are hugely passionate and loyal, and the sport perhaps hasn’t embraced licensing too much previously, so we’re excited about the opportunities of bringing like-minded parties together.

The BBC is our broadcast partner in the UK for RLWC2021, and will show all 61 games across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments live on their platforms, which is a huge benefit for us. We have a great broadcast platform to integrate our activity, alongside the support of our stakeholders such as UK Government, 18 local authorities, commercial partners and sponsors etc. If we can use this network to create and promote positive social impacts from our tournament, then we hope this becomes a blueprint for major events moving forward.

Holman: Licensing plays a huge part in engagement. In the moment, people can show their support for a tournament, sport and team, and it also keeps the memory of the great experience they have had going long into the future.

Any hints on partners you guys may have already lined up for brand? What would the dream partnership be, and what are you looking for in a licensing partner.

Neill: We are really open to speaking and engaging with people who think they can contribute to what we’re trying to achieve, and also help meet their objectives also. We’re delighted to have Riverside Brands on board to lead the charge for us in this space with their fantastic creative thinking and contacts.

The hard work starts now, and we’ll be taking a data and insight led approach to uncover opportunities focused on our audiences, potential customers, and sectors and products which can support this. It’s certainly an exciting time and we’re fascinated to see the progress we can make with licensing over the next 18 months.

Holman: “We have already had some really exciting conversations since the announcement went live. We are keen to explore a plethora of categories from the more obvious ones, such as apparel, accessories and commemorative but also – in line with RLWC2021’s ethos of being bold and brave, world class, authentic and inclusive – we are interested to hear from anyone that has a product category that they feel would be a good fit.

Sponsored content: The Emoji Company kicks off countdown to World Emoji Day with commercial director of the Americas, Paulina Perez

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With the countdown to World Emoji Day well underway, The Emoji Company has launched a video series with Licensing.biz – highlighting just some of the key partners and collaborations that the firm has worked with over the course of the last 12 months and beyond.

Kicking off the July countdown to the big day – that’s right, World Emoji Day on July 17th (if your diary isn’t to hand, no sweat – we’ll be sure to remind you) – is Paulina Perez, The Emoji Company’s commercial director of business in the Americas, and her message of thanks to all the partners, licensees, and retailers over the past 12 months and as it looks to the coming years.

On the hunt: Kelvyn Gardner’s Asgard Media is on a mission to benefit the licensing industry

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Kelvyn Gardner is an individual who really does know licensing. It’s by no accident of course, and only to be expected of a man who has spent over 40 years working in or around the industry, and certainly the trait of a one who has spent the last 13 as the managing director of Licensing International UK – both in its incarnation as LIMA UK and its rebranded moniker.

But if the global response to COVID-19 or the uprising of the Black Lives Matter campaign has taught us anything, it’s that 2020 is the year for change. And with it, Gardner too has found opportunities presented as the result of evolution and coming out of the other side of his role with the industry body.

Some 22 years on from the establishment of his own company, Asgard Media – a licensing agency-meets-consultancy business operating predominantly in the collectables, food, and beverage spaces – Gardner is preparing for a relaunch. Or perhaps more accurate, a reacquaintance, with the business that he had always had ticking over in the background, even throughout his LIMA UK/Licensing International years.

Whatever you want to call it, it is Gardner’s moment to put Asgard Media back on the radar for this multi-billion dollar industry, with one very clear message. And it’s one that he suggests works for the licensing industry in its entirety.

“It’s an appeal to the thousands of manufacturers out there who do not use brand licensing as part of their marketing mix,” Gardner tells Licensing.biz.

“Our message is ‘Connect with the world’s biggest brands’, because that is what all of us are about, surely?”

It’s become an industry-wide headline, that the opportunity now for the licensing industry, is that retailers and consumers will retreat to the brand names while it negotiates the ongoing pandemic situation within an uncertain retail environment. It’s a school of thought that Gardner subscribes to, and one that he is ready to take to the next level, all, he says, to the benefit of the industry he loves.

“I am a lifelong believer in the power of brand licensing, and although we are a private company and not a trade body, to a certain extent, what Asgard Media is trying to do is bring new companies into the licensing world, by focussing on the companies or the manufacturers with great product, but for whatever reason, not already in the licensing space, and that should be for the benefit of everybody in licensing,” Gardner continues.

“It’s clear from discussions in the licensing press, and some of the sessions from Virtual Licensing Week, that right now, co-operation and flexibility are required more than ever if we are to make licensing work for existing players.

“This is even more important if we are to attract new licensees, and to persuade reluctant brand owners to open up their IP to the many excellent licensees that we already have.”

The advantage from which Gardner implements his mission plan is that he comes back to the scene without affiliations. He is now what he calls, an honest broker.

“If I find somebody in a category, I am able to approach any brand or any licensor as an agent, rather than someone who has a portfolio to promote,” he explains. “To some degree, I hope not to be bringing in licensees just for me, but licensees and businesses for the wider licensing community.”

It’s the role of guide, then that Kelvyn is looking to adopt through his Asgard Media outfit, braced with the knowledge accumulated over a 40 year career (to date) in the licensing business and the laser-like knowledge of its intricacies (Gardner asked me if I’d spent much time reading licensing contracts – it turns out he has read through a few). In his former role with Licensing International, Gardner was a man passionate about educating the next generation of licensing executives, and opening up the boundaries for new product sectors. It’s a mission statement he has carried on with him.

“I have come across it so many times over the years,” he says. “It’s easy for those inside of licensing to know how it works, but I think it is so misunderstood, or not understood at all, outside of the industry; and we don’t go out of our way to make it easier. But there are ways to explain it to people in simple terms if we take the time to do it, and if, as as part of my world, that brings in business for the whole of the licensing industry, that has got to be a positive thing.”

To that end, he suggests, simplicity is key. Look at the work he has done for the Asgard Media client Harrogate Tipple, helping to broker Universal Studios’ first licensing partnership down the spirits aisle, or the longstanding relationship he has with Topps, the ever-expanding Finsbury Foods licensing roster, or Yoplait – the company who famously stood vehemently against licensing until it recognised the perks it was offering its competitors in the food sector.

“The other strand to it all is that – having been a licensee for ten to 15 years myself – there is a tendency to think ‘we don’t need anymore licensees.’,” Gardner says. “Now, I’ve never believed in the Barbie dollar – the idea that there is a dollar to be spent on Barbie merchandise, which subsequently has to be split between all of its licensees. I still think the market can expand, providing that everybody is sensible, withou having to go down the route of ‘splicensing’ as it is known.

“It is also true to say that there not that many manufacturers and marketing companies who regularly buy licenses. The last time I did an analysis of this, there were only about 700 UK companies listed as working with a license. How many manufacturers are there in the UK? There’s got to be tens of thousands. Licensing is a big business, but most companies aren’t in it. The holy grail for us all in licensing is to find somebody in sectors that aren’t currently doing licensing; and by all accounts there are those people out there.”

Gardner’s approach from here on can be likened to the old ‘the man who built it’ brainteaser. The clients he is looking for don’t know they want Asgard Media as a service provider; in fact, they probably don’t even know they want to be in licensing. Asgard Media has to fill in all of the gaps for them.

It’s a point Agard Media certainly looks to address in its new marketing material, kicking off with the newly launched company video that highlights the message ‘Licensing is our world, let us bring you into it.’ It’s the metaphorical hand that Gardner is extending to all of those businesses currently not in licensing, to help them along the way.

How does marketing today compare to that of 1998, the last time Gardner actively promoted the Asgard Media name? It’s fewer marketing mailshots, and more video content for a start, suggests Gardner. So we can expect a lot more of that in the coming months.

https://www.asgardmedia.com/media-and-content

 

 

 

Disability visibility: ToyLikeMe’s mission to change the children’s industry with MixMups

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MixMups, the new stop-motion animated pre-school series created by #ToyLikeMe’s own Rebecca Atkinson comes with one mantra: There is always another way.

Currently in production under the expertise at Raydar Media and an extended ‘dream team’ comprising some of the kids’ entertainment space’s most influential names, MixMups is the animated embodiment of actual change.

Put into development in the midst of strict lockdown measures across the UK, Atkinson’s project is one that has taken to life amid a challenge to the status quo. Meetings are held remotely, schooling is being conducted in the home, and the talent behind the production of the series has found a way to make the concept animatic, all while practising social distancing.

On top of this, MixMups is on the precipice of a moment of great change. By placing disability at the very centre of its narrative, and visible within a mainstream pre-school TV show, it’s in Atkinson’s own words that “changing the children’s industries to make them more inclusive is possible.”

Aimed at three to five year olds, MixMups follows three friends, Pockets, Giggle, and Spin and their magic mixable dress-up box. With a wooden spoon they mix up the magic inside the box, and are transported on dress-up adventures. During these adventures they meet the Lucky Loover Bird, their guide and philosophiser of the message that ‘There is always another way.’

“There is always another way is something of a metaphor for disabled living,” Atkinson, the show’s creator and founder of the #ToyLikeMe movement, tells Licensing.biz. “Disabled people, and I include myself here, are expert problem solvers. Much of the time, having a disability is about working out other ways to do things. But the show’s mantra is also a universal message for all children about resilience and problem solving.”

Key to the show is that two of its characters have physical disabilities. Pockets is partially sighted and has a lazy, but dutiful, guide dog called Yappette, and Giggle is a wheelchair user who has an assistance guinea pig on tiny roller skates. Together, the MixMups live in a Helter Skelter home constructed with integrated wheelchair access with a lift, walkways, and automatic doors.

In MixMups, Atkinson has created a world accessible to children living with disabilities; one starkly different to that she – being partially sighted and partially deaf herself – grew up in.

“I am very inspired by the British seaside, but most rides are off limits to children with wheelchairs because design has excluded them,” she says. “I wanted to create a world for the MixMups that was designed to include everyone.”

Another major inspiration for MixMups is the phenomena of wheelchair fancy dress, which sees children with wheelchairs and their parents create large cardboard structures to transform their chairs into whatever their imagination can create, be it an ice cream van, a digger, a rocket, the potential is boundless.

“Fancy dress allows children to be anything they dream of, while the concept of MixMups allows these disabled characters to break out of any stereotypes,” Atkinson says. “They can be literally anything they choose. It’s all about play, fun, and possibility.”

MixMups is the culmination of five years of hard graft. In 2015, Atkinson established the #ToyLikeMe movement, a campaign to bring about better representation and inclusivity of disability within the children’s industry. Over the years, Atkinson has been instrumental in much of the change the toy and entertainment space has seen to date. Today we are beginning to see Barbie dolls with wheelchairs, others with cochlear implants, and play-sets embracing accessibility. MixMups is now Atkinsons chance to truly bring the message to the mainstream.

“I wanted to create a comical mainstream brand, bursting with fun and colour, which would be compelling to all children and which would translate with ease into consumer products,” she says.

“I wanted to move the aesthetics of disability on from tired stereotypes and create a playful brand which was unapologetic, and really welcomed and celebrated disabled children, while maintaining really strong mainstream commercial appeal.”

Atkinson makes no secret of the matter that MixMups was developed with toys, publishing, and consumer products in mind from the get-go. In fact, it’s something she wears with pride: the chance to bring a ground-breaking new brand that talks openly about disability – with it embedded in its DNA – to the mainstream, is exactly what her #ToyLikeMe campaign is all about.

“I wanted to truly fulfil the remit of the #ToyLikeMe campaign and see real consumer choice when it comes to disability representations,” she says. “The brand has play schemas embedded in the format and design. MixMups consumer products will be as innovative and creative as the show itself, so expect something quite extraordinary here too.”

Under the guidance of Valerie Fry, an expert in the field of licensing consumer products and the founder of FryDay Brands, MixMups is on a mission to find the kind of partners who understand and resonate the passion of MixMups and its goal of bringing change to the industry. Alongside this, Atkinson is looking to license the Loved By ToyLikeMe endorsement on all products, to help support awareness raising work of the campaign in schools.

Valerie Fry is one part of the ‘dream team’ that Atkinson has assembled around the MixMups brand and its mission statement. A cast of talented and experienced individuals, including Debbie MacDonald (former VP at Nickelodeon) as script editor, Alison Rayson (Raydar Media) as executive producer, Chris Bowden and Andy Burns at McKinnon and Saunder (who have worked on Postman Pat, Raa Raa, and Moon and Me) producing and directing, and with Karen Newell (formerly of Ragdoll) across children’s response testing, each have a first hand experience of living with disability. It’s given the team the ability to make that experience a central part of the series.

At the heart of it, MixMups comes with a real potential to not only change the lives of the some 150 million disabled children worldwide through better representation in the mainstream, but changing the face of the mainstream altogether.

“The little kid in me is hopping around on the ceiling to have reached this point,” says Atkinson. “I just love what I do. I’m very lucky to have the most incredible, creative problem-solving job I could wish for. I love the way that because disability is such uncharted waters in children’s industries, there is just so much creative potential to explore.”

Licensing chatter: 10 questions with Riverside Brands’ Ashley Holman

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In these unprecedented times for the global community, it’s nice to keep connected – and for an industry as reliant on peer to peer networking as the licensing business, maintaining those connections with our industry colleagues is paramount. That’ why Licensing.biz is kicking off a new series of interviews to get to know a bit more about the people driving it forward.

Continuing our Licensing Chatter interview series, we catch up with the founder of Riverside Brands and Licensing.biz Power 50 alumni, Ashley Holman

Hello Ashley, hope you’re staying safe and well! to kick us off, can you tell us how you got into the licensing business?

I’m one of the few people that actively looked to get into licensing from the outset. While studying for a degree in Marketing at university I was introduced to a number of people by my father in all sorts of industries from Banking to Specialist Ship Insurance Brokering. One introduction was to David Scott from Rainbow Productions who invited me for a beer with Ian Downes from Start Licensing and himself one half term…

They gave me an overview of the industry, the different roles that existed and how it all fitted together as an industry. Following a visit to Brand Licensing Show Europe in 2003 as a visitor I was amazed at the scale of the industry and the size of the commerce but at the same time the fun nature of the subject matter …….(including the Roy Lowe & Son boys walking around in Elvis suits for good measure).

I then knew that it was licensing over insurance for me… Following my graduation, I then managed to secure a role selling advertising into the industry with LicensingPages which gave me a great network and experience before a stint at Coolabi in my first licensing role. From there I moved to Nickelodeon where I had various licensing roles over a 12 year period before setting up Riverside Brand at the end of 2018.

That must have given quite a varied perspective of the industry – what have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in the space over that time?

I’ve spent most of my career in the kids’ space of the industry and the main shift there has been the sheer level of competition. Previously for kids content, consumer products was seen as the icing on the cake commercially but now with so many shows, so many different platforms, CP is a core revenue driving element to a kids IP from the outset.

More day to day in the workflow; retail is now the first element to onboard, with licensees then much more likely to partner once they know there is demand. This is in contrast to around 2005 to 2007, when it was a much more licensee first approach.

What then Ashley, has been the proudest moment of your career to date?

The day I got the Companies House registration certificate for Riverside Brands Limited. Setting up my own business is something I have wanted to do since the very first moment I started my career and I came very close a number of times over the years in doing it, however to have finally taken the plunge and received the industry support that I have been lucky enough to have been afforded has been incredible and I am truly thankful.

Have you got a favourite licensing deal/partnership on the CV – what makes it stand out for you?

Tough one to answer this as I have been fortunate to work on a number of great partnerships from multi-million dollar strategic partnerships which are exciting to be a part of, to smaller yet innovative ones too. A couple that stand out have to be:

My first deal at Nickelodeon was for a range of SpongeBob Real Musical Instruments with John Hornby Skewes and Sons. It was their first foray into licensing, it went on to win a number of awards, was a great commercial success for both them and Nickelodeon and they were still a partner nearly 12yrs later when I left…

Of course, the first licenses which I signed as Riverside Brands on behalf of ZURU for its brand Rainbocorns were very special too which were with Danilo, Fashion UK and Roy Lowe & Sons. I am grateful for their support so early on and the other partners that are now onboard with all the brand I work on.

What are some of the biggest hurdles the licensing business is facing at the moment?

Given we are in the midst of frankly an unbelievable moment in time, aside from the immediate issues of stores being shut, the longer term impact is likely to be the reduction of support of new/smaller brands in or coming to the market. Retailers will likely be incredibly risk adverse for a considerable period of time as they look to rebuild themselves. This will have a big impact into the licensing world with IP that perhaps would have been given shelf space, now likely to get a reduced opportunity to show it can work.

Therefore online will become even more important to get right to ensure you stand out from the crowd.

What conversation do you think the industry needs to be having right now?

Aside from the obvious of when will stores re-open, it will be around how do all sides involved work together with fairer commercial terms for all to ensure everyone can survive the coming 18months or so.

No one knows what the full impact will be or when things will be ‘back to normal’, if indeed they ever do so open dialogue will be key.

Retail is one of the biggest topics of talk at the moment – what do you think the future relationship between retail and licensing looks like?

There is always the balance between own brand/label and licensed brands and the margin mix buyers try to achieve between the two. However there is no denying that with the right brand, you will sell more of the same generic product so it’s about better partnerships between all those involved which is a term that gets thrown around a lot but if done properly will ensure there is a great long term relationship between retail and licensing for years to come.

If retailers get burnt time after time after a ‘big sell in’ and promise, then licensed space will only get less and less.

What would be your dream brand to work with or licensing deal to establish?

If I could work on Peppa Pig / Hey Dougie and Fireman Sam / PJ Masks right now, then I would be a hero in my household. Failing that, there are a number of gin licensed deals being done at the moment so I’d love to get a partnership away in that category… not just because I’m a gin fan, of course.

What is the best part of your job?

We get to talk about fun things like cartoons and toys, yet it is part of a huge commercial industry where no two days are the same. I love working on bringing products to market through a great working partnership between the brand owner, licensee and retailer and ultimately seeing a child’s joy through the product they are using / playing with. That gives great satisfaction.

What advice would you give to anyone starting out their career in licensing?

The industry is really welcoming and there are a lot of people out there that will offer you great advice and help you as much as they can (as they did for me all those years ago) so don’t be afraid to ask.

Also, put yourself out there as much as you can, this is a very sociable and close industry. Hard work gets rewarded but be patient and try and get involved and learn as many of the different aspects to the business even if that is informally from colleagues and peers as it’ll give you a greater perspective of the way it all fits together.

Finally, you’ve got to enjoy what you do otherwise you’ll never be good at it if you don’t.