New York City is slated to become the next stop on the global licensing circuit as the Toy Industry Association (TIA) launches its new Brand & Entertainment Showcase in February. Co-located with the 109th American International Toy Fair, February 12-15, the showcase offers an impactful and convenient content connection for entertainment licensors and brand owners alike. The event provides opportunities for exclusive access to top-tier media, marketing agencies, and an audience of 30,000+ tradeshow guests from more than 90 countries. Adventure Publishing Group is the exclusive media partner of the Brand & Entertainment Showcase.
The new Brand & Entertainment Showcase satisfies increased demands from the licensing community to collaborate in a formalized setting at the show. Content providers will be able to simply show up and show off in small, private meeting spaces or large, public theaters. Turnkey presentation solutions and an audience of marketers ensure that all participants’ needs will be met.
As the largest and most important gathering for youth entertainment in the Western Hemisphere, Toy Fair last year welcomed an unprecedented surge in entertainment executives (+31 percent) and licensors (+8 percent). In 2010, licensed toys represented 25 percent of total industry sales. In addition, the co-located Brand & Entertainment Showcase gives participants access to the important ancillary advertising, marketing, and promotion-oriented industries that are concentrated in and around the media epicenter of the world.
Adventure Publishing’s signature publications—The Licensing Book and The Toy Book—and its online communities will be a primary conduit of information and updates about the Showcase to the global community, and the key vehicles for brand advertisers during the event itself.
For more information about participating in TIA’s Brand and Entertainment Showcase, contact Jennifer Coleman, sales executive and producer (973.760.8181, jennifer@jcinc.biz); for information about advertising opportunities, please contact Jonathan Samet at Adventure Publishing (212.575.4510, jsamet@adventurepub.com).
The January/February issue of The Licensing Book is now online! In this issue, you’ll find:
• A feature on Nickelodeon at 30
• The hottest toys at Toy Fair
• The biggest news from around the industry
• A look at YMI Jeanswear
• Other features including People on the Move, Of Counsel with James Kipling, and a how-to-choose-a-property guide from brand development advisor David Niggli
We hope you like it. Check it out!
Whew. We’re back from Toy Fair, where, in addition to getting out on the show floor and seeing what there was to offer, we tweeted and re-tweeted about Toy Fair news and products that everyone else saw at the show. Were you on twitter during the show?
We saw everything from Hasbro’s Walking Iron Man to the Drip Drops, and everything in between. (We also saw a farting elephant that, although not licensed, was pretty freakin’ awesome). We hope many new partnerships were formed and that great new products were discovered.
What was the best thing you saw at Toy Fair? How did social media change how you experienced the show? How were attitudes, products, and prices different from last year? Leave some comments and let us know!
The Licensing Book’s booth, #1601, is THE place to be this Toy Fair! If you want to reach the industry, and consumers too, be sure to drop by with your licensing news so we can “tweet” your news to our followers (industry, mommy bloggers, consumers, and anyone who likes licensed toys) and to everyone at the Fair! Simply drop by with your news and we’ll get the word out for you! If you can whittle your news down to 140 characters or less we can blast it to the masses! Be sure to follow @LicensingBook so you can follow our newsfeed! Even if you’re not currently on Twitter and have no idea how to “tweet,” just show up and we’ll take care of getting your message out!
When TLB did our Green issue in September, we learned that everyone has an idea to share about what “Going Green” means and how to accomplish it. We also learned that Green is is especially important to the toy industry, because what’s chemical-free and safer for Mother Earth is probably safer for our kids, too. With that in mind, Toy and activity game manufacturer WHAM-O, Inc. has joined forces with Sprig Toys, Inc. to offer a new line of battery-free, kid-powered preschool products under the new WHAM-O Jr. brand. The partnership will enable Sprig’s eco-friendly specialty line to be offered on a greater scale and will give WHAM-O access to Sprig’s proprietary Sprigwood—a durable, child-safe, bio-composite made from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic.
In addition to Sprig’s products such as the Eco-Trucks Dump Truck and the Dino Adventure Rig, the WHAM-O Jr. line will include WHAM-O’s inflatables and outdoor play products. Sprig will be showcasing its 2010 product line at Toy Fair next week, in the Earth-Friendly Product Zone. Highlights include new Eco-Trucks, a new Eco Blocks line, and new product lines targeted to girls and toddlers. Additionally, Sprig is nominated for a Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award in the Specialty category. Winners will be announced at the 10th annual Toy of the Year Awards dinner, which will be held on February 13. If you want to check out Sprig Toys before Toy Fair, visit the company’s website.
Last year, Uglydoll costume characters were walking around Toy Fair, and one stopped by The Licensing Book magazine booth to give me a hug and take a picture with me. It is, without a doubt, the “Ugly-est” picture I’ve ever taken, and I can’t wait to see the Uglydolls again at Toy Fair this year.
Pretty Ugly has lots of ugly news coming up for Toy Fair and beyond, including eight new plush characters: Pointy Max, Picksey, Mynus, Ninja Batty Shogun, Ket, Wippy, Nandy Bear, and Cozymonster.
In March, there will be a collection of 12 new Series 2 Action Figures, and April will bring the release of the Big Toe Collection. Also in time for spring will be new Uglydoll book titles from Random House: Ugly Guide 4 — The Ugly Guide to Eating Out and Keeping it Down! and a board book, Ugly Colors. Also keep an eye out for Super Ugly reusable Shopping Totes and another book in the fall, Babo’s Cookie Problem.
Pretty Ugly has also announced new licensing partners, including Schylling, to produce a line of tin truck pencil holders, coin banks, wind-up robots, an alarm clock, and a tin keepsake lunchbox; Abrams for 2011 wall calendars and locker calendars releasing this summer; and Mighty Fine for new Uglydoll T-shirts for men, juniors, and kids.
Happy Friday! Just a reminder that The Licensing Book will be at Toy Fair. If you want to meet with us, email us at bjoiner@licensingbook.com to set up an appointment. We’d love to see you!
