Total Licensing Winter 2007 - (Page 63)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 TOTAL LICENSING DEAD ANIMALS NEED LOVE TOO Skelanimals are cute little animals which have met odd and untimely ends, mostly due to illadvised and silly behavior. Among them are Dax the dog, Kit the cat, Marcy the monkey, Andy the panda bear, Jack the rabbit, Cecil the snake, Dolphie the dolphin, Elle the elephant, Quackee the duck, Foxy the fox and Matt the mouse, all of which are brought to life—figuratively speaking—through funny poems describing their woeful methods of demise. Creator Mitchell Bernal, author of the book Skelanimals: Dead Animals Need Love Too, is a sought-after animation artist who is active in writing his own children’s books and developing ideas for animated TV series and movies. Though his credits include such Disney classics as Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch and Fantasia 2000, Skelanimals bear no resemblance to those childhood favorites. Instead, they reveal the dark, humorous side of their creator, a man who, by his own admission, “will continue creating all sorts of mischief” until he attains his far-off dream of retiring with his family to an island of their own. A desire to express the humorous side of the afterlife led to the intriguing idea of drawing animals who, while technically no longer among the living, were reaching out for love and affection. It was important to Mitchell that they be personable and lovable, rather than horrifying. After all, these animals are looking for an adoptive home…a special someone to care for them and love them, and warm their bones while they watch their favorite scary movies together! Skelanimals’ unique blend of cuteness and ‘edge’ make it an ideal property for tweens, teens, and young adults who can appreciate its quirkiness and offbeat humor. Its characters are both lovable and dark, and the clever backstories that give them life and personality resonate with consumers. These qualities have helped the brand burst through national borders and tidy psychographic classifications, capturing the fancy of consumers all over the world from Goths and horror fans to surfer girls, fashion-savvy teens, toy collectors, and young people who just find the animals adorable. Licensing and brand development agency Art Impressions saw the promise in Mitchell’s unique concept, and embraced the task of crafting a global marketing and merchandising plan for the property. In keeping with the underground nature of the brand, Launching the Licensing Program Art Impressions sought partners who were established in the specialty market. Leading U.S. trend retailer Hot Topic, with over 600 stores attracting youthful consumers in search of cool, fashionable, and offbeat products, was a natural choice for a large-scale launch of Skelanimals. Senior vice president and chief merchandise officer Maria Comfort saw tremendous opportunity to “take the lovable Skelanimals and build a memorable, edgy brand.” In the summer of 2006, the retailer brought in a line of collectible plush animals, clip-ons, keychains and magnets from licensee Toynami. The initial plush order quickly sold out, skyrocketing Skelanimals into the No. 1 position among all plush in the store, with sell throughs up to 25 percent weekly. “Skelanimals came out strong from the gate and exceeded all of our expectations for the category,” says George Sohn, president of Toynami. The press took notice, with forecaster trendcentral naming Skelanimals as one of their ‘top three’ favorite properties for licensing and leading girls’ anime publication Shojo Beat including the brand on their Hot List. Though much of the consumer interest so far has been driven by word of mouth including internet chat rooms and similar grass-roots methods, a marketing and consumer advertising campaign will get underway in First Quarter 2007, to coincide with the rollout of Skelanimals boutiques store-wide in Hot Topic. The boutiques will showcase products such as tees, tanks, loungewear, stuffed animals and plush backpacks, purses, totes, wallets, ID cases, keychains, bag charms, shoes, socks, hair accessories, fragrance and cosmetics, tinned 63  Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Total Licensing Winter 2007

Total Licensing Winter 2007

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