Tinderbox – the digital media licensing division of Beanstalk – is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Founded in 2013, the division has evolved to specialise in extending digital brands – including gaming, esports, streaming and Web3 – into the world of consumer products and is partnered with major gaming studios Microsoft, Activision, Atari, Ubisoft and ESL.
At the time of the division’s inception, Beanstalk identified that gaming was becoming a larger part of mainstream entertainment and beginning to command a significant portion of consumer leisure time. Already brokering in-game licensing deals on behalf of the agency’s automotive clients, Beanstalk identified a void in the licensing industry for a brand licensing agency expert at extending digital properties into the consumer products space. In response, Tinderbox was born.
“When Beanstalk was founded in 1992, entertainment licensing was not a primary focus for the agency,” commented Allison Ames, president and ceo, Beanstalk. “As gaming launch weekends began mirroring the revenue and audience engagement of blockbuster film releases, we quickly recognised the opportunity to apply our strategic approach to cultivate gaming brands into evergreen properties, while also creating pop culture moments around tentpole events.”
Tinderbox first found success working with popular mobile gaming properties, and then began to garner attention from some of the most acclaimed console and PC game development studios in the world, forging long-term and highly successful partnerships that still exist today.
The partnership with Microsoft began in 2014. Since then it has represented over a dozen of their largest and iconic gaming properties including Xbox, Halo, Sea of Thieves, Ori, Killer Instinct and Banjo-Kazooie.
In 2017, the collaboration with Activision was confirmed, expanding its roster with global hits Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Shortly thereafter, Tinderbox’s first foray into e-sports was marked with the representation of the esports league, ESL.
More recently, Ubisoft joined the client roster with Just Dance, Far Cry and the upcoming Netflix original anime, Captain Laserhawk, marking a first for Tinderbox with digital-first streaming content.
In 2022, Tinderbox was named as the global agent for Atari and its gaming titles.
Looking forward, Tinderbox will continue to explore new ways to react to the ever-evolving trends within the digital space. Its recent partnership with Global Merchandising Services to activate in-game partnerships for its music and entertainment icons confirms this.
Tinderbox will be celebrating its milestone year at the Beanstalk booth at Licensing Expo in June and Brand Licensing Europe in October.
Dave Tovey, avp, head of digital media representation, continued: “The last 10 years has seen Tinderbox achieve great things with our clients and their fantastic brands. We thank them for their support and belief in us. As we look to the next decade, we will continue to play our part in creating innovative experiences and products for digital-born properties, while driving new areas of growth connecting brands to gaming and the wider digital environment.”
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