His ex wife Marilyn Monroe recently did it, and now its legendary MVP Joe DiMaggio’s turn to grace several licensed consumer products.
DiMaggio, LLC—the sole licensing company and owner of DiMaggio’s name and image since the player’s death in 1999—has partnered with MODA Licensing, Inc. and Dominant Players, Inc. The newly created group, Joe DiMaggio, LLC, will promote and license the Joe DiMaggio brand. DiMaggio licensing will be developed by MODA, while Brand identity, integrated marketing and communications will be created and executed by Dominant Players. This partnership coincides with the 70th anniversary of DiMaggio’s famous 56-game hitting streak.
Morris Engelberg, DiMaggio’s longtime friend and attorney, will act as counsel for the new venture.
As a costume company, having an innovative get-up is great. Winning an award for it is even better. Rubie’s Costume Company Inc. took home the top prize for 2010 Best Breakout License for Lady Gaga, an honor bestowed on the company by Party City. The award recognized creativity and innovative design.
“We are very proud and honored to receive this distinction and thankful to be selected to receive this impressive award from one of the top retailers in the Halloween Industry,” said Rubie’s Executive Vice President Howard Beige.
Additionally, Rubie’s received the 2010 award for the Best Humor Costume for “Mario”, which has been a successful costume in both the children and adult categories.
“We are very grateful and appreciative to be selected to receive this distinctive award from one of the most recognizable retailers in the Halloween Industry,” Beige said.
The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA) has announced its sponsorship of the Brand & Character Licensing Zone at the Creative Market Tokyo 2010 trade fair taking place at Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center) October 13-15. Creative Market Tokyo (CMT) is a rebranding of the Licensing Asia and Tokyo Contents Market held last year. CMT is a one-stop solution trade fair offering a range of creative content featuring new and upcoming properties as well as long-established classics. CMT is an official Japanese government-backed CoFesta (Japan International Contents Festival) event. Co-Festa is the world’s largest comprehensive content festival encompassing games, animation, manga, characters, broadcasting, music, film, fashion, and design. Through CoFesta, CMT will benefit from extensive PR and exposure. New initiatives for CMT’s Brand & Character Licensing Zone include enhanced on-site presentation facilities for property launches, licensee meetings and press briefings, a property display gallery area, and a pre-show e-mail PR service to the trade fair visitor database. Returning programs for 2010 include the licensing awards ceremony, seminars, and complementary distribution of the licensing “Yellow Pages” directory. With a record attendance of nearly 10,000 trade visitors in 2009, CMT is the ideal platform for presenting properties to the Japanese licensing community. LIMA members that exhibit will receive a discount from the exhibition fee. More information on the Brand & Character Licensing Zone at CMT, including downloadable exhibition pamphlets and application forms in English, are available online. Alternatively, please contact the Creative Market Tokyo Brand & Character Licensing Zone Secretariat (Phone: +(81) 3 5282 8105 Fax: +(81) 3 5282 8478 Email: lcsasia@convention-info.net). For information on LIMA Japan, contact info@limajapan.org.
I’m going to see a performance of RENT this Sunday at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, performed by Phoenix Productions, central Jersey’s community theatre company. Granted it’s not the Broadway show, but I’m a total RENT-head, and when you have an addiction like mine, you take it where you can get it. Besides, I saw it on Broadway about 15 times (we know where my paycheck goes) before it so sadly closed, so I’m ready for a different atmosphere. I also saw it performed last year by a group of Rutgers college kids at a tiny theatre in New Brunswick, and it was amazing. The passion, precision, coordination, and creativity of those 20-something-aged college kids left me in awe, and frankly, quite a bit jealous. I can barely type and talk at the same time, let alone sing, dance, and act simultaneously.
I love to see my favorite live show, RENT, performed by different people, with different skills sets, in different venues. I love seeing how the same story, with the same lyrics, the same plot and ideals, can be turned into something new and exciting each time with different performers and directors, with different interpretations. And, like any RENT-head, I love my licensed RENT-stuff. I’ve got the T-shirt, sweatshirt, keychain, coffee-table book, and all my playbills. But I’m noticing a shift in licensing when it comes to Broadway; one I’d like to find out more about.
At some point, back in the day, it used to be that Broadway shows spawned licensed products. Fans would see the shows, love them, and want to own merchandise to express that love (exhibit A: my RENT T-shirt). If you walk through the theatre district in NYC, you’ll find loads of gift shops specifically themed around this concept.
Now, however, it seems that instead of great Broadway shows leading to licensed products, other forms of media and entertainment are more and more leading to Broadway shows. What am I talking about? Shrek the musical. Disney on Broadway. Monty Python on Broadway. The Wizard of Oz. Jersey Boys. Grease. Movin’ Out. I even heard a commercial on the radio yesterday advertising that Green Day’s got an award-winning Broadway show.
When did hit properties start leading to Broadway shows instead of the other way around? When and why did the theatre crowd start accepting less “serious” art, such as Monty Python, as appropriate for theatre? How does bringing entertainment such as Green Day and Shrek to Broadway make theatre more appealing and more accessible to the masses, to the “regular folks” who might not have a taste for The Merchant of Venice or Waiting for Godot? When did Broadway become a children’s entertainment venue as well as an adult one? How does this shift increase licensing sales? What’s the legal process for turning an established property, movie, band, or celebrity biography into a licensed Broadway show? How much money does Broadway take in annually from licensed products? Why do we RENT-heads pay to see the same show again and again, and pay so much for those T-shirts, when you know darn well that if I saw a regular old shirt in a store for that price, I would laugh out loud and keep walking?
I think that those questions, and more, might be the beginning of a very interesting Broadway licensing feature.
What’s your favorite Broadway show? Why do you pay so much for Broadway product? For the shows themselves? Please weigh in on this one! Inquiring minds want to know!
–Jennifer Ringler
In case you haven’t seen RENT (in which case you have missed out on one of the best parts of life on Earth), here’s my favorite song from the show:
Beanstalk has appointed Allison Ames as president, North America. In her new role, Ames will oversee Beanstalk’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and South America. She will continue to report directly to Michael Stone, CEO. Effective immediately, Ames will assume full responsibility for all clients operating in the North [...]
Entertainment licensing veteran Ashley Maidy has joined Activision to head the newly formed licensing division. Maidy has more than 16 years of experience, building licensing and merchandising programs for Sony Pictures and Saban Entertainment. In her new role, Maidy will extend Activision’s properties into complementary product categories, as well as [...]
U.S. retail sales of toys generated $21.18 billion in 2011, a decline of 2 percent compared to 2010 numbers, which totaled $21.68 billion, according to market research company The NPD Group. While the average retail price for a licensed toy was 57 percent higher than that for non-licensed toys, licensed [...]
Howard Roffman is passing the baton to Paul Southern as head of Lucas Licensing. Roffman will remain with the company as a senior advisor. Both Roffman and Southern will report to Micheline Chau, Lucasfilm president and COO.
Lionsgate has completed a transaction to acquire Summit Entertainment for a combination of cash and stock valued at $412.5 million. The transaction unites two studios with powerful brands and complementary assets. By acquiring Summit, Lionsgate enhances its feature film and home entertainment offerings, and further broadens its 13,000-title filmed entertainment [...]
Schylling and Pretty Ugly released a new Uglydoll Rocket Ride Wind Up Toy that has a lever mechanism instead of a key, stands eight inches tall, and is suitable for ages 3 and up. They also released new youth umbrellas in three styles, Ice-bat, Ox, and Uglydoll Rainy Day, suitable [...]
WME Licensing’s client Patti Stanger, an American matchmaker and television producer with her own Bravo TV show, The Millionaire Matchmaker, and the founder and CEO of Millionaire’s Club International, Inc., has signed a license with Hyper Interactive to create a full line of PS I Love You Cosmetics. The initial [...]
Jazwares is slicing into the mobile app category after being awarded the master toy license for Halfbrick’s popular app, Fruit Ninja. Inspired by Fruit Ninja’s fruit-slicing, action-packed adventures, Jazwares’ new range will include fruit figures and plush, featuring “splat” sound effects, slicing features, ninja blades, and branded bandanas, as well [...]
Art Impressions has licensed Commonwealth Toys to produce a line of So So Happy plush toys, beanies, plush backpacks, and related products featuring the brand’s quirky cast of friendly monsters, robots, and other oddball characters. The companies’ first collaborative series will roll out nationwide in May at specialty chains, boutiques, [...]
Robin Zingone has named Holly Rawlinson, president and owner of The Name Game, LLC, as the exclusive licensing agent to launch and coordinate a global licensing program for robin zingone brands. The agreement includes the robinzingone signature brand for women, along with tween character brand Cocomimilulu, the kawaii brand loveMe [...]
