Licensing 2000: Books Still Stand Out
Karen Raugust -- 7/3/00
 | | A licensing juggernaut |
Exhibitors at Licensing 2000--the 20th annual trade exhibition at which owners of films, television series, corporate brands, art and other intellectual properties highlight their offerings to manufacturers, retailers, promotional partners and publishers--focused on the tried-and-true. As has been the case over the last four to five years, many of the highest-profile entertainment properties featured at the exhibition, held June 13-15 at New York City's Javits Center, had their roots in literature.
Leading the pack was Harry Potter. Warner Bros. has signed more than 45 licensees for the property, with the first products coming to stores this holiday season and more planned for the film release in November next year. Products in the works range from stationery and home furnishings to underwear and toiletries. Michael Harkavy, Warner Bros.' v-p, worldwide publishing, Kids' WB! Music and interactive entertainment, said that Warner plans to authorize additional publishing tied to the film, but details are still being ironed out.
Other book-inspired films generating a buzz at the show included New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, and Universal's Jurassic Park III, sourced from the Michael Crichton franchise. Itsy bitsy Entertainment showed Eloise,
 | The first movie in the
trilogy is due out in 2001 |
based on the Kay Thompson/Hilary Knight books, which is set for release as early as 2001 (followed by an animated series), as well as Alistair, based on books by Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen and set for film release in 2002, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, inspired by the Bruce Coville novels, also for 2002.
Many of the television series highlighted at Licensing 2000 came from the world of books as well, such as Nelvana's Maggie & the Ferocious Beast; Cinar's Caillou; Sony's Harold and the Purple Crayon, premiering on HBO Family in June 2001; and Viacom's Corduroy, one of several literary-based shows to debut this fall in the PBS Kids Bookworm Bunch Saturday programming block. These properties join long-running literary brands such as Nelvana's Franklin.
Publisher Presence
Many of the companies exhibiting literary properties were film studios or licensing agents, but publishers also touted their out-licensed brands and characters and their book lines licensed from other companies.
Golden Books showed off its classics, such as Pat the Bunny, a 60-year-old property that is expanding into international markets for the first time. The company also featured a new property, Kinder-Garden Babies, which it licensed from Abrams-Gentile, an entertainment company that is developing a TV series to support the brand. Golden will publish Kinder-Garden Babies books starting in 2001 and is also handling merchandising. Toy Biz is the first licensee, for dolls.
Scholastic emphasized Clifford the Big Red Dog, which will debut on PBS in the fall, marking the nearly 40-year-old character's first appearance on television. The TV exposure has boosted promotional activity; Clifford will star in tie-ins with Lifetouch Portrait Studios, Keebler and General Mills' Kix brand, as well as through Scholastic's school book clubs and fairs and school outreach programs. "It's probably one of the most synergistic efforts we've had," said Deborah Forte, Scholastic executive v-p and head of the company's entertainment division. "[The TV series] gave us the opportunity to add new elements to the property," such as new characters, she added. Tie-in publishing will debut in spring 2001; existing titles will feature a burst for the show.
Lyrick Studios, licensor of Barney and Wishbone, was supporting its Baby Barney line extension, currently a Mervyn's exclusive. Collectively, two Baby Barney books (a cloth book and a chunky board book) have generated 250,000 units in print since their January launch, according to L. Spencer Humphrey, Lyrick Studios' v-p of publishing. The company was also promoting its new book programs based on outside properties, including Humongous Entertainment characters and Little Suzy's Zoo.
No Entertainment Required
Some book characters and brands are licensed out primarily on the strength of the publishing program itself, without being supported heavily by TV or films. First-time exhibitor Callaway & Kirk previewed David Kirk's new book, Biddle Bird, which it will publish next year. The company showed products inspired by Kirk's Miss Spider and NOVAcharacters, and expects licensing for Biddle Bird to follow.
United Media showcased its recently acquired property, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, while Marc Brown Studios celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Arthur series. Literary rep the Lazear Agency showed Tom Lichtenheld's Everything I Know About Pirates, which was published by Simon & Schuster in April and has deals in place for wallpaper and a Long John Silver promotion. Universal Studios showed Michael Bedard's Sitting Ducks, for which it recently signed six licensees in Japan.
Art licensing, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the licensing business (and of the show) over the last few years, has been the source of a number of children's books. Exhibitors included Todd Parr, licensed by L&G+ Licensing and published by Little, Brown,
 | Six Japanese licensees
signed a 1998 Putnam
picture book property. |
whose animated series ToddWorld is being developed with U.K.-based Entertainment Rights; Michael Sparks, whose board books My Very First Tea Party and My Very First Book of Manners are published by Harvest House; Stephen Waterhouse, a British artist licensed by Lally Inc. and published by Bloomsbury; and Steve Light, whose book Hans Crispin, Sh maker Extraordinaire, featuring hand-printed, hand-cut paper illustrations, will be published by Abrams in fall 2001.
European Expansion
There was a notable expansion in the presence of European licensing companies at the show. Most of the exhibiting organizations were not first-time exhibitors, but they took significantly more space this year.
Examples from the United Kingdom included HIT Entertainment, which featured its preschool TV series Bob the Builder and the book-based Angelina Ballerina; Just Licensing with its boys' property Butt-Ugly Martians and preschool series Jellabies; Splash! with Microscopic Milton, a book-inspired show on the Disney Channel in the U.S., with Commonwealth Toys as its first licensee here; and Britt Allcroft with its classic Thomas the Tank Engine(to be featured in a film this summer).
One British company with an expanded presence was BBC Worldwide Americas, which previewed BBC's global properties, including the preschool series Tweenies. The company's Walking with the Dinosaurs, a documentary that ran on the Discovery Channel in the U.S., has had home video and publishing success in this country (DK is the licensee for books). Sequels are planned for 2001 and 2002.
Germany was represented by EM.TV, the Munich-based entertainment firm that recently purchased the Jim Henson Company, and Greenlight Media AG, which showed its animated series Samsala Grimm, based on Grimm's Fairy Tales. Two Spanish licensing agencies, GDM Licensing & Merchandising and Biplano, also exhibited.
Trend Spotting
One noticeable, continuing trend is the tendency for movie studios to focus on sequels or franchises for their most highly anticipated film-licensing efforts. Examples include Universal's Josie & the Pussycats and The Mummy Returns (with Penguin signed for tie-ins on the latter); Sony's Charlie's Angels (Pocket Books); and Sony/Marvel's Spider-Man movie.
Latin-American themes were evident in a number of entertainment and publishing properties, including Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, a series debuting this summer and featuring a Latina heroine. North American interest in Japanese animation continues to proliferate. New anime properties included Gundam Wing (Bandai), Tenchi Muyo! (Pioneer Entertainment), Tama & Friends (Leisure Concepts), Cardcaptors (Nelvana), Panshel (Bradford Licensing) and Escaflowne (Saban).
Licensors of brands and properties originating on the Internet were at the show attempting to move into traditional media such as television or publishing, which helps them establish their brand names and generate traffic to their sites. Examples included Stan Lee Media's 7th Portal, an original-for-the-Internet series by the creator of Spider-Man; Click3 Entertainment's Cha Cha's World; the Toronto-based children's content provider Nikolai.com; and J Cartoon and Hamsterdance.com, two entertainment-based Web sites represented by Refac Licensing.
Meanwhile, one of the most visible trends was the proliferation of business-to-business dot-coms positioned as online marketplaces or service providers for buyers and sellers of licenses. Companies such as IP Network, WHN Exchange, Fast Trends and Notara were among the organizations seeking clients and trying to explain their business models to often-confused attendees.
"Girl power"-themed lifestyle brands have multiplied of late, and many were represented at Licensing 2000. They included an art-based property, She's Charmed & Dangerous; the American Greetings card brand Bubble Gum, licensed by Viacom; Spunky Girlz, an art property from the Crayon Factory represented by agency Bliss House; and Z Strategies' Girls Against Bad Boys.
And, thanks to Harry Potter, entertainment featuring juvenile wizards and sorcery were conjured up across the floor.
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