Head of licensing Charlotte Waalkens tells us what cards the company is playing later this year.
For more than 20 years, Winning Moves has produced and sold licensed board games including popular sports games, Manchester United FC Top Trumps, Real Madrid FC Monopoly and Liverpool FC Guess Who.
In a new move, American Football and South Africa Rugby will now add new elements to its range with Winning Moves acquiring licences with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and Springboks, the South African national rugby union.
Springboks Top Trumps and Monopoly launched in the summer and will be followed in autumn 2020 by NFLPA Top Trumps and Top Trumps Match.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering up with the NFLPA and Springboks,” claims Charlotte Waalkens, head of global licensing for Winning Moves. “In the world of sport, both are massive global brands, so it’s great to put them with top games brands that are family favourites around the world.”
The Springboks pack launched this year, perfect timing ahead of the Rugby World Cup in Japan. “Rugby fans, and those of all sports, are really passionate about their teams and we are proud to create games that allow the consumer to learn more about the players and clubs that they love and support,” says Charlotte.
Winning Moves produces games that are recognised around the world and are always keen to grab consumer’s attention when it comes to new releases. “This has been implemented in various ways such as a giant street-size monopoly boards, prize giveaways and appearances from Mr. Monopoly himself,” says Charlotte.
Looking ahead to next year and to support the launch of the NFLPA range in time for the 2020 NFL season, Charlotte advises Winning Moves has lots of plans that will be implemented including features at player camps, competitions, retail activations and more.
Brands within the sport sector have a loyal following and, as well as playing the latest game to be released, consumers often like to build collections which reference past players or ‘legends’ of their chosen team or sport. With new superstars regularly appearing in sport, it allows the fan’s collection to build with the history of the club.
Indeed, with this in mind, Charlotte goes on to say: “Winning Moves have always had a big focus on football club licensing, so we are really excited to be working with these new partners and bringing board games to the fans of these sports.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2019 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
