licensingworld licensinganalysis:
Licence to thrill Ilan Kabala of D’arpeje talks to Toy World’s Tom Roberts about the company’s performance through 2013 and the range of licenced products the company has brought out.
How has 2013 been for D’arpèje? 2013 was a very exciting year. We continued to enhance our product lines, but also our licensed portfolio. The deals with our long-standing partners have extended to new and inspiring properties and products. We also consolidated D’arpèje’s product presence in UK market, including major and independent UK retailers. This development has been supported by the increase of our communication with the UK toy trade press: adverts, editorials and press releases to announce our new products, ranges, properties, etc, and the feedback has been very positive, and offers us up some exciting opportunities.
Can you tell me about some of the key property highlights from the year? New Disney heroes entered our portfolio including Doc McStuffi ns, Sofi a the First and Jake and The Never Land Pirates, which are the 2013 Disney success stories. We developed a very colourful home furniture range for the little fans of these animated series. We also gained the opportunity to develop a range with one of the hottest toys of these last months, Furby, which entered our outdoor collection with high-quality wheeled products and a stunning Furby plush sleeping bag. Marvel also reconfi rmed its confi dence in D’arpèje by giving us the
rights for a complete Avengers outdoor range, with many products still to come.
How are these properties performing, and how important are they to the business? We have the chance to see these newly-acquired licences meet success. These properties appeal to children who want to complete their collections with the products featuring these new heroes and characters. All we are waiting for are the movie releases and the cross-company support that will consolidate the success of these properties.
What can we expect to see from D’arpèje over Christmas, and into 2014? We are going to sustain the momentum we’ve built up by being up-to- date with new properties and consolidating our position in UK. We have many projects underway, but it is too early to talk about them... Our latest news is that we are going to unveil our new Amazing
Spiderman 2 range. The movie will be released in 2014, and will be accompanied by some amazing outdoor toys, with more information on them coming soon. Finally, our fantastic and col ourful Play-Doh range is going to be expanded. We already have an art and craft range, for children aged from two years and up, with colouring, painting, multi-activities and home furniture lines. From the end of this year, our collection will extend to products for little boys and girls from ages three and over.
28 Licensingworld
Bin Weevils programme pushes ahead
The months of July and August saw 1.1m registered accounts, taking the total of registered players to 22m. This growth has been fuelled by a digital and TV advertising campaign which was also supported by an extensive partnership with Clarks stores for seven weeks during the key back to school period. The Clarks campaign tied into the fi rst Bin Weevils Summer Fair which allowed players to play virtual carnival games and win real prizes, including family days out to Thorpe Park, Kurio 7S tablets and Bin Weevils product packs. August saw the launch of the Series 2 Bin Bots collection from Character
Options. Other recent releases include Slime Pool and Tink’s Tree playsets as well as an SWS collector tin. Panini launched its second trading card game “Good v WeEvil”. Sony released the fi rst Bin Weevils album “Bin Tunes” which was supported by an extensive in-game campaign and a competition featuring Aardman’s Animate It software. Other new product releases include Inspiration Works Lab’s Slimey Slime Lab, new stationery lines from Sketch Lab and bedding from Character World. July saw the fi rst launch into the US for Bin Weevils Membership Card with the one month and six month cards launched into over 4,000 stores. Bin Weevils will continue the in-game push towards the end of this year with key activities at Halloween and Christmas, while Spring will see the brand push further into mobile. These digital developments will be supported by further toy releases with the next wave of Bin Weevil fi gurines and Series 3 Bin Bot launches next Spring. The recent appointment of digital CEO, Rod Henwood, a former new business Director at Channel 4, CEO of Pottermore and MD of Fox Kids Europe, places Bin Weevils to continue the growth momentum.
Silvergate Media brands go from strength to strength
Independent TV production and licensing company Silvergate Media’s brands have new developments for 2014. Fast-paced pre-school action/adventure show Octonauts, broadcast on CBeebies in the UK and Disney Channel in the US, has had a successful toy launch from Fisher-Price in the US this year, with DVD and party accessories also launching before Christmas. Puzzles, games and cartridge games will follow soon after in 2014, as well as an expanding range of fi gures, vehicles and playsets. The undersea adventurers have been starring in their own multi- territory shopping centre tour at Westfi eld malls across the UK and US. This fi rst live show has attracted tens of thousands of fans over 25 dates. The crew has also visited Sea Life centres throughout the UK, Germany and Australia. Peter Rabbit, the TV series based on Beatrix Potter’s tales, launched less than a
year ago on CBeebies and Nickelodeon USA, recruiting top licensees in multiple territories. From Spring 2014, fi gure sets, plush and puzzles will be available in the UK and Australia from master toy partner Vivid Imaginations; plans are underway for licensing programmes in France and Germany; and Immediate Media will launch a Peter Rabbit magazine in the UK from April 2014. Meanwhile, the classic brand has had new deals signed by Rainbow Designs, Gund, Emma Bridgewater and Charbonnel et Walker in the past year. Events in 2014 with key partners include the National Trust.
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