Boyscollectables
dominate this category, movie and TV licences are going to play a big part too. 2014 is the year of the Lego Movie, a new Spider-man film, and the first releases inspired by the upcoming Star Wards movies, to name but a few. Phil Hooper, Spin Master’s marketing director, told me that the company’s range of How to Train Your Dragon figures, another licence with a movie release
scheduled for July this year, is already proving extremely popular with retailers. He said: “We’ve seen strong early sales of the Dreamworks Dragons television series product, and the show is rating highly on both Cartoon Network and CBBC. Add to that the movie release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 and you can see why Spin Master is excited about the extended movie range hitting retail at the end of
May. A 360-degree marketing plan driven by us and DreamWorks will help to ensure Dragons is highly visible at retail and online, as well as supported by heavyweight TV campaigns. The first big push starts this Easter with the Action Dragons and Giant Fire Breathing Toothless hitting the small screen.” You’ll find information on other products
available in this category over the pages that follow.
Licensed to collect C
haracter-licensed products feature prominently in the Boys Collectables category, whether it be long-standing favourites or new licences making their first moves into the toy trade. It’s a hugely important relationship
for Boys Collectables, especially when you consider the currency a popular licence can carry in the playground. Kids are drawn to what they see around them, and the next couple of years will see a flurry of new tv programmes and big movie releases all accompanied by a multitude of character-licensed toys. Alex Kovacevic, marketing and licensing manager at Simba Dickie, said: “2014 should be a resurgent year for boys toys. As well as Matt Hatter, there is a new Transformers film, new Marvel films and a new film to continue the momentum Turtles has built in 2013. It’s a great mix and should get boys across the country excited about buying toys again.” But with so many new properties launching
each year, how do retailers decide what to stock? Identifying the ones which will take off is paramount.
What goes into breaking a property into the toy
market? Nigel Stone, Platinum Films’ CEO, said: “Synergy between the toy range and the TV show is the key to a successful brand, and it’s so important for the licensor and master toy partner to take the time to connect creatively and share a strong commercial vision. Platinum Films and the Simba Dickie Group have a very collaborative working partnership, so when we developed the Matt Hatter debut toy line for Autumn/Winter 2014 we were able to share every aspect of the TV production with Simba at a very early stage. This allowed them to take a deep-dive into the DNA of the Matt Hatter brand and perfectly align the master toy line to the TV series.” Graham Saltmarsh, director of licensing at Turner
Broadcasting, added that to succeed the created product needs to reflect the core values of the show. “If the licensor is lucky enough to control their own air time then a coordinated cross-media campaign can be used to launch and support the products.” Graham explained that kids consume so much media that companies need to make sure the launch campaigns reach as many touch points as possible (e.g. TV, microsites, social media, retail, and trade and consumer press). “Master toy partners also work
46 Toyworld
closely with us to ensure a high-profile retail launch consisting of a targeted TV campaign, POS and competitions. The aim of the campaign is to drive customers directly to the chosen supporting retailer. It’s also vital that the licensees create the best possible product. The big question at the moment is ‘to articulate, or not to articulate’. Ben 10 collectable figurines, for example, have six points of articulation and we believe that this enhances the play value. Some other products have limited or no articulation which does bring the price point down a little, but reduces enjoyment hugely.” Marianne James, VP consumer products UK
and Ireland at Nickelodeon UK, admitted that the success of licences in this sector requires as much early planning of marketing support as possible, primarily to ensure that the demand for the products is as high as possible at launch. She said: “This can then be carried over and into key trading periods throughout the year. For us, the Shellraiser Tour in support of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles products was an excellent event where we worked with our key partners to bring the Turtles’ Shellraiser vehicle to life. It was an excellent way to build up the hype in the minds of consumers and really benefitted the retailers.” But what should retail buyers look for when assessing which ones might break through? Alex Kovacevic observed that a good start for retailers would be to evaluate the property on its own and asking some simple questions: “Do kids watch the
Toy World editor Tom Roberts takes a look at boys character properties and their sales-driving relationship with the Boys Collectables market sector.
TV show? Is there a fan base out there waiting to buy the toys? If the property looks good, then look at the toys in isolation. Are they fun and appealing with good inherent play value? Are they well priced for the market? Lastly, look at the two together and the plans to support the brand. Does the toy range really represent the property? Does the range enhance the fans’ interaction with the brand or feed off of it? How will the licensor and licensee reach out to kids to get them buying the toys? There are no sure-fire successes, but if you tick all the boxes the odds are certainly in your favour.” Stephen Barnes, co-owner of Toy Barnhaus,
agreed with the suggestions above, adding: “What really affects the success of a licence from the retail point of view is intangible: that it catches on with a few kids in the playground or at school and then word of mouth drives the interest. With some of the lower-priced collectables you don’t see a lot of TV support, because it’s often reserved for the bigger items. Then there’s also the problem of lazy licensing with licences just being put on anything. Some licences are strong enough to stand on their own, but a lot are not. The key to success is for companies to add their licences to products that have functionality and play value. Look at the Minecraft hangers from Click Distribution, they have functionality and play value, because they are a great accessory, and a very popular licence; the perfect combination.”
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