brandlicensingeurope2013
Reacting to opportunity Dave Collins, CEO EMEA and founder of Rizon Studios, talks to Toy World about the new Evolution licensing division of Rizon Studios.
Who are the key people behind the new Evolution licensing division? Evolution USA LLC was founded by Travis Rutherford (president licensing and retail), Stanley Lerman (MD and COO), Adam Unger (president sales, marketing and business development) and Ryan Broomberg (EVP sourcing and logistics). Evolution Europe will be managed by Dave Collins (CEO EMEA and founder of Rizon Studios), Tamara Dixon (creative director and founder of Rizon Studios) and Natasha Dyson (VP licensing EMEA). The combined experience of everyone involved totals more years than I care to count across multiple markets and disciplines.
What are the main advantages of joining forces with Evolution? Our strategic partnership with Evolution, and the rebranding of our brand management and licensing division, allows us to offer a true 360-degree brand management and licensing service to clients on a global basis. The leadership teams combined experience and competencies is multi-facted and covers all of the areas from brand ideation through to retail sales and everything in between. The new joint venture has offi ces in both London and LA providing us with global reach both directly and through our network of sub-agents. It puts us in the heart of both popular culture and the entertainment industry. All underpinned with world class creative skills with the ability to deliver creative from script to shelf.
What were the factors behind the decision to launch a licensing division? Opportunity. Rizon Studios was set up to do things differently and be agile enough to spot, react to and create opportunity. Having created materials for licensors to help sell and apply their brands it was a natural step to move into licensing. With the hiring of Natasha Dyson, our VP of Licensing, and our partnership with Evolution we are uniqely placed to offer IP owners a different solution to the traditional agency model that delivers results.
How do you feel Evoltion Europe will differ from other licensing companies? Having been born out of commercial and creative, we have a different mindset. We think like a consumer products department not a licensing agency, taking all the processes and factors into account and true in-house creative. We can create assets in real time based on an opportunity and need to support the licensor, licensee and retailer alike. Global reach, local ability and an agency that gets things done.
What are the main properties you’ll initially be representing? Globally, Evolution represents the Miramax back catalogue of fi lms, internet phenomenon Dumb Ways to Die and the newly-launched app Henri le Worm. On a local level, Evolution Europe represents the top-rated gaming app Subway Surfers and UKTV, both representations are for the UK.
A number of your key brands come from the online/app world. Does this necessitate a different approach to licensing traditional properties? The world has changed, broadcast and toys are not the only ways to launch IP. Today’s dual-screen generation fi nd content where they live online and use it as social currency through sharing and being curators of cool. The tradiotnal question of how many episodes and which broadcaster are not the metrics for success anymore, nor is just the number of downloads. Understanding the DNA of what makes an online brand or app succesful is key, the route to licensing is still to take the brand essence and playing that out to the consumer by continuing the story. Agility and reduced time to market are key as the window of opportunity will cycle faster than a broadcast property unless the brand evolves. The whole industry needs to play catch-up and get involved in the new brand landscape that has emerged. Evolution globally, with its portfolio, has demonstrated to licensors that we are an agency that not only understands this space but they trust to deliver their licensing programme for them.
84 Toyworld 4K Media
01753 271 888 |
www.yugioh-card.com Yu-Gi-Oh began in 1996 as a serial manga comic by Kazuki Takahashi in the Japanese Managa Magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump. Today the Yu-Gi-Oh! brand is a worldwide phenomenon ranking amongst the most popular of all Japanese animated series. Since coming to North America in 2001 and Europe in 2002, Yu-Gi-Oh! has become one of the most popular and successful kids’ brands with television series, a trading card game, action figures, apparel, video games and more. Episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds continue to air in over 75 countries worldwide with key broadcasters. The all-new series Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal is currently engaging boys aged 6-11 with new characters and duels on Cartoon Network in the UK, Gulli and Canal J in France, K2 in Italy, as well as Nicktoons in Germany, with more announcements to come. Over 6m kids are playing and collecting the trading
card game with over 25.1b cards sold according to the Guinness World Records. After 12 successful years, the brand continues to evolve and target all ages with new card illustrations, which have never before been licensed for merchandise.
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