Web-Book Initiatives Prominent at Licensing Show
By Karen Raugust, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 6/19/2008
Despite some grumbling about the heat—99 degrees outside the Javits on the show’s first day, and not much cooler inside—and about next year’s move to Las Vegas, attendees and exhibitors at Licensing International 2008 seemed happy with the business being done, even while reporting light traffic compared to previous years. Very few children’s publishers had their own booths this year; Scholastic Media, with an extensive licensing program, was a notable exception. (Several children’s publishers, including Penguin and Simon & Schuster, have properties represented at the show by their licensing agents.)
One trend that was evident was the growing role of the Internet in supporting a licensed brand, book-based or otherwise. While television or film exposure used to be the most critical aspect of an entertainment license, these days books, merchandise, television, films and the Internet all are considered almost equally important, with each helping promote the brand and drive consumers back and forth among all the elements.
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The 39 Clues was prominently highlighted |
Chorion handles merchandising and Internet development for Jon Scieszka’s Trucktown series, published by Simon & Schuster. “We take our lead from the publishing,” says Jeff Norton, Chorion’s senior v-p brand development. The Web site, which launched the week of the show, is game-based, but all the action encourages reading. “The whole idea of Trucktown is to encourage boys to read more, both with the books and new media and then circling back to the books,” Norton says.
United Media is supporting its new Precious Moments brand extension, Precious Girls Club, with a virtual world targeting girls 4–8 and their mothers. Dalmatian Press, one of the inaugural partners for the program, will release a Precious Girls Club chapter book series starting in August with A Little Bit of Faith. A film for DVD and limited theatrical release is planned for late 2009.
Expanded Distribution
Books associated with licensed properties can sometimes garner additional distribution channels that are nontraditional for books. Warner Bros. signed a licensing agreement with Advance Publications last year that brought Scooby-Doo books into grocery store chains; the program recently launched at Safeway stores, according to Dave Rupert, Warner’s senior v-p global publishing, hardlines, product development and Canadian licensing.
And Scholastic’s Goosebumps Horrorland books are being sold in Party City stores—a channel where books are a rarity—thanks to an exclusive deal that brings Horrorland party goods and Halloween costumes, as well as books and audio, into Party City outlets.
Several publishers and authors at the show were focused on their international licensing programs. Exhibitor Nancy Wolff, author and illustrator of the Tallulah books for Henry Holt, says she spent a lot of time at the show talking to international agents about representing Tallulah abroad. Some of her licensed products have been distributed internationally on a piecemeal basis, but these discussions might lead to a more strategic expansion overseas, she says.
Licensors are starting to refine their global publishing programs in an effort to bring more consistency across borders and introduce unique regional formats globally. Hasbro is looking at taking Littlest Pet Shop book content created for the U.S. market and bringing it worldwide, for example. “Penguin U.K. is adapting a lot of Scholastic’s content for its market,” says Matt Gildea, Hasbro’s director of publishing and paper products. “[Global formats] have been driven by the international publishers, but we’re taking more of an editorial role in the direction now.”
Similarly, Elaine Piechowski, Warner’s executive director of global publishing, mentioned that Warner’s new Pebbles: Daddy’s Girl program will include books that are a hybrid format combining story and activities, which she believes will work well across markets, including Asia and the U.S. Book publishing is the foundation of the new Pebbles program, as it was for Warner Bros.’ relaunch of Tweety last year (Bendon is the primary publishing licensee for that program). “Everything starts with a good book,” Piechowski says.
Hasbro and Warner Bros. were among several licensors that mentioned working with their publishing partners on new value-added novelty formats that would raise price points. For Hasbro’s Littlest Pet Shop, upcoming novelty titles include a pet carrier book with a pop-up dog house and book packaged with a customized, exclusive pet. “We’re really pushing the books beyond the spinners,” Gildea says. The Littlest Pet Shop line will double to 40 titles this year, with Bendon, Phidal and Reader’s Digest joining master licensee Scholastic in producing LPS books.
Nostalgic and New
Nostalgia was a trend at the show—as it has been for several years—as numerous exhibitors were expanding, refreshing, relaunching or celebrating birthdays of “classic” properties. Warner Bros. is developing, in addition to its Pebbles program, a 10-book series of 32-page storybooks based on Tom & Jerry Tales, a new animated series inspired by the classic Tom & Jerry cartoons (which are still on the air). The last four books will include activities such as mazes and jumbles that mirror the content in the story.
Frederick Warne’s Peter Rabbit publishing and licensed product programs are getting a new look with the eco-friendly Peter Rabbit Naturals extension, which was announced at last year’s licensing show. Not only do the books and products—the first of which were shown at this year’s event—include earth-friendly ingredients, reduced packaging and socially responsible manufacturing processes, but they feature a new, more graphic and less illustrative look.
Exhibitors were touting number of newer book-based properties as well. In addition to Nancy Wolff and Tallulah, these included Espinosa Studio, which was showing its characters Otis and Rae, which just debuted in a picture book published by Houghton Mifflin in May. Gilded Dog Enterprises highlighted its second self-published book in the Cookie Paw series, which is available for licensing in apparel, toys, pet products and home décor. Some of the proceeds go to animal charities.
On the entertainment side of things, a crop of literacy-focused television series was available for licensing, with publishing a primary target category. Scholastic’s WordGirl went to five days a week on PBS starting Memorial Day, and Scholastic will publish 8x8s and readers tied to the series, including four titles for its clubs and fairs starting this fall and four for the trade starting in spring 2009. Licensed merchandise is expected to follow.
Out of the Blue Enterprises was showing its literacy property SuperWHY!, which has signed Penguin, Bendon and Giddy-Up as publishing partners. And Freemantle Enterprises was showcasing its new literacy property, WordWorld, with publishing listed as a key target category for licensing. Toys were introduced in Target stores in January.
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A scene from the upcoming film adaptation |
Lots of discussion at the show centered on what will happen with the move to Vegas next year. Publishers with a portfolio of licensed titles will most likely make the trip to participate in the licensee summits that go on around the show, as will those few publishing houses who exhibit. It remains to be seen if those who typically visit the show annually to see what’s new in licensing, or to maintain their contacts with the licensing community, will head out west.
