Valentina La Macchia talks Robot Trains and how the Italian market shapes up.
As licensing assumes an increasingly global footprint, the UK undoubtedly remains a major market for international companies.
The Source chatted to some of those which are based overseas but are making waves here in the UK, asking about their successes, plans going forward and how things might differ from licensing in their home territory.
Today: Mondo TV – based in Italy
Valentina La Macchia, director of consumer products, Mondo TV
“We’ve had another excellent year here at Mondo with successes including Robot Trains, a children’s 3D CGI animated action adventure show, produced by the South Korean content and marketing giant CJ E&M, for which we are master agent for several territories in Europe and co-producer for season two (52 x 11’).
Robot Trains will be broadcast in the UK from 2018 and so we plan to develop a licensing programme then. We have several licensees already interested in the show among different categories such as publishing, games and puzzles, fashion, party lines and bed linen.
Licensing is a little different in the UK than in our home market. The emergence of the second screen and digital channels such as YouTube and Netflix have changed the playing field for brand licensing. In Italy, alternative platforms are growing but it’s still crucial to secure free-to-air broadcasting alongside digital.
In Italy there is strong brand competition. It’s important that we focus on continuity planning, always ensuring we are offering best-in-class opportunities to licensees and retailers. That may be useful for the UK, but from the UK market we have learned something too – the importance of collaborating as much as possible with retail.
Retailers understand that brands can drive consumers to stores and give them a new experience. Properly managed and presented, brands can be a point of difference for retail.”
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2018 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
