Start Licensing’s Ian Downes heads to The Big Christmas Press Show and discovers how licensed products are being used proactively in ‘selling in’ ranges for the festive season.
How do you recover from the fun and excitement of The Licensing Awards? Go to the Big Christmas Press Show the next day.
Having dealt with my bulging sack, I headed off to the Business Design Centre to attend this press event at the invitation of one of the Aardman licensees I work with. The show is, as the name suggests, focused on the press and wider media with the intention of driving coverage in the run up to Christmas. Brands take space at the show to ‘meet and greet’ the invited press. The event is owned and managed by the CIJ Group.
My first impression on arrival was of a very welcoming show that is well organised and really well presented. One of the first things I saw was a pair of reindeer which, given the ‘night before’, did make me double take. The reindeer certainly conjured up the spirit of Christmas. The exhibitors were a mix of brands, retailers, PR firms and charities. There was certainly a buzz on the show floor.
After a good meeting with the licensee I had a stroll around the show – switching from licensing agent to licensing columnist. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many familiar faces, companies and brands. The licensee community were certainly embracing the event and had recognised its potential.
Inspired by The Licensing Awards, I actually gave out an award of my own to Richard North from WOW Stuff. I awarded him ‘Quickest Use of a Licensing Award at a PR Event’.
I spotted the award winning Stitch product on Playtime PR’s stand as part of WOW Stuff’s presentation and The Licensing Award trophy was alongside Stitch. On cue Richard walked up and looked remarkably well considering the stamina sapping night he had the night before – the natural he is, he posed for a photo with the award for me. Great to see a company making the most of winning a Licensing Award and full marks for doing it so quickly.
To provide balance and to be fair, Stitch was also looking well and it was difficult to judge who was more animated between Stitch or Richard.
A number of retailers took space at the show to promote their Christmas ranges. This included Menkind which has tapped into licensing and licensed products well in recent times. Its range combines gifts and gadgets with a heavy nod to pop culture. One of the highlights on its stand was the Netflix Advent Calendar. Developed by YuMe, the calendar features 24 exclusive collectables based on Netflix shows including Stranger Things, Bridgerton and Squid Game. It is, of course, a great gift, but it is the sort of well crafted pop culture item that will appeal to collectors and fans. It is a great example of using an umbrella brand like Netflix to deliver an all encompassing product that has fandom at its core. I chatted to the Menkind team and I was very impressed by the commitment to licensing coupled with their obvious enthusiasm for the products they sell. I have noticed that when visiting the stores as well – the staff are generally welcoming and helpful. It is easy to forget that the ‘in store’ experience is a big part of the ‘retail experience’. Menkind seems to understand this.
B&M also had a prominent presence at the event. Its Christmas range is peppered with licensed products and ranges including Peppa Pig, Bing and Hey Duggee for younger consumers. Other brands it was supporting included Stitch, Pokémon and Harry Potter. It is clear that it has made buying decisions with range building in mind. In this context, a mature licensing programme can help as it unlocks conversations with a retail ready licensees which are used to working collaboratively with other licensees and of course retailers. It was interesting to see B&M using licensing across the age spectrum with Wednesday featuring in its teen offer for example. It also features brand licensing as well – a good example of this being items like Cosmopolitan Hair Curlers. I liked the way B&M had curated its offering by age group, but also by theme creating opportunities around Christmas Eve for example with nightwear and developing a Pamper Night range themed to Christmas. In its Gifts for Dads category it was interesting to see gaming properties like Minecraft ‘age up’. The Gifts for Dads included a lot of composite gift products with licensed examples including a Bully from Bullseye Quiz Night. B&M also sells a lot of food gifting lines which are a mix of well known brands, generic products and some licensed lines. Costa Coffee has a strong presence in the offering. There was also a range of pet gifts underpinning the fact that the pet market is fast becoming one of significance in gifting terms.
Other retailers at the show included Smyths Toys and garden centre chain Dobbies. It was good to see retailers taking a proactive approach to promoting themselves and their product ranges.
It is worth reflecting on the fact as well as the traditional media that were at the show there was also a phalanx of influencers. Influencers seem to have an increasing… influence in product promotion and the show organisers sensibly recognise this. One note of caution here is that I did hear several exhibitors share a similar thought that they wanted to ‘qualify’ the reach of influencers talking to them and also understand their audience reach. As an ex-media buyer I can relate to this – you have to qualify who you are talking to and its relevance to your message. I wonder if the old ‘Cost Per Thousand’ calculations that kept me up at night are still part of the media buying landscape?
There was a strong presence for toy companies at the show including the likes of LEGO, Golden Bear and Moose Toys. Kap Toys had a really eye catching stand showcasing its Hello Kitty range which ties into the character’s 50th anniversary. It was good to see the way Kap Toys had breathed new life into a much loved classic character. It can be tough to bring something new to a classic brand in the toy category, but I Think Kap Toys has succeeded with this range. I also liked the way it presented the range making the most of an iconic character.
Good timing as well, as Hello Kitty won the Classic Licensed Property Award at The Licensing Awards sealing her place in the Hall of Fame of Classic brands.
TOMY was also at the show with a range that embraces a number of licensed brands and also makes good use of its own brands. A great example of these two strands coming together was a Pop Up Bluey product based on TOMY’s Pop Up Pirate format.
It is always good to see companies like TOMY thinking about how they can leverage their own assets with the addition of a licensed brand. The Pop Up Bluey seems like a perfect blending of strong licensed brand and strong toy brand. It is an item that has gone on my Christmas shopping list.
Ravensburger showcased a number of its licensed ranges including a well designed range of puzzles featuring The Grinch, which seems to have established itself firmly as a Christmas favourite and a core Christmas brand in licensing terms. Ravensburger also made a feature of a Gravitrax Action Set based on the Star Wars Death Star. It certainly had quite a presence on the stand.
I liked the way that exhibitors like Ravensburger were displaying their products and inviting people to try them. Focusing on retail, I hope this is something retailers think about particularly in the puzzle and game sector. Product demos can really help sell a product and engage consumers.
Craft Buddy is a great example of a company that has used licensing to help build its business, while not neglecting its traditional product range. Craft Buddy is a craft-based company probably best known for its Crystal art brand. It has added ‘sparkle’ to the crafting category. From talking to it at the show, it is clear that the company really understands the craft market and what crafters are looking for. It has developed a product range that works first and foremost as a crafting product – blending challenge, mindfulness and creativity well.
Licensing has helped it grow its market and broaden its distribution. Brands like Disney Harry Potter and Paddington help bring new consumers into the mix and also open up new retail doors. It has chosen its licences cleverly – for example working with Disney gives it access to a broad portfolio of rights which can work across age groups and retail sectors. It has also developed different price points and pack formats well. As noted earlier, it hasn’t neglected its traditional market and consumer either, nurturing licensing alongside this core. It uses licences like Thomas Kinkade – the Painter of Light to appeal to more traditional crafters. I think Craft Buddy is a great example of how licensing can help build a business when used carefully and strategically. It is also a company which knows how to say ‘no’. I, like many others I’m sure, have pitched opportunities to it and it must be tempting as a licensee to add more licences to your portfolio, but Craft Buddy has been very disciplined about its licensing acquisition and clearly have a well thought through strategy.
All in all I would thoroughly recommend The Big Christmas Press Show. Judging by the show floor traffic, I think most exhibitors would have left happy with the level of engagement with the press. As well as being a good way of recovering from The Licensing Awards, it was also a great endorsement for Licensing PLC. Based on this show it is clear that licensing is playing a big part in the Christmas market this year. Given we will all be at BLE next week, it is encouraging to see that licensing has got such traction in the market at the moment and that licensed products are being used so proactively in ‘selling in’ Christmas ranges.
Hope to see you at BLE. Start Licensing is on stand A234 – I will be Looking Out for you.
Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency. His X handle is @startlicensing and on Instagram he is @iandownesphotos – he would welcome your suggestions for what to look out for.
