Waldo Turns 21, Celebrates with Merchandise and Internet Content

By Karen Raugust, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 6/19/2008

This fall marks the 21st anniversary of Waldo, Martin Handford’s once-ubiquitous, world-traveling, striped-shirted character, who has been featured in six titles that collectively have sold more than 46 million copies in 50 countries and 25 languages. The celebration will include two new books, an online presence and a range of merchandise for the 20-somethings who grew up with the character.

Although Waldo’s heyday was in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the books have continued to sell in backlist and he has remained a pop-culture icon, especially among young adults, many of whom have gone so far as to create user-generated content featuring the character on the Internet. The catchphrase “Where’s Waldo?” pops up in conversation, in film and on television; Waldo has even made five cameos on The Simpsons.

Candlewick Press released the sixth Waldo title, The Great Picture Hunt, back in 2006, nearly a decade after the fifth book was first published, followed by paperback versions of the first five titles in 2007. Meanwhile, Entertainment Rights/Classic Media acquired the licensing rights to the property in 2007. The two companies worked together to develop consistent product design and marketing plans for this phase of Waldo’s life.

Candlewick first met with Entertainment Rights after the latter became the Waldo stakeholder. “They said they saw the 21st birthday as sort of a galvanizing moment,” said Charlie Schroder, Candlewick’s v-p marketing and development. “We saw the pre-style guide and were inspired by what they had. It’s a creative integration of the brand development with the publishing.”

Waldo was uncharacteristically easy to spot, in the Entertainment Rights-Classic Media booth at the Licensing Show earlier this month.

Focus group and other research showed that 20-somethings wanted a Where’s Waldo? book they could carry as they traveled, something sized between the original large-format books and the Waldo mini-books packaged with a magnifying glass. The result was The Ultimate Travel Collection, a digest-size bind-up that contains all five of the original books in one volume, which was published June 10. “Both retailers and consumers have really embraced it,” Schroder reports, noting that the book is in its third printing. “The format and design really came together.” A second new release, a slipcase containing all six of the original books in paperback, will be released in the fall.

New Web initiatives supporting the property include giving fans the ability to “friend” Waldo on Facebook, Bebo and MySpace; launching a Great Online Photo Hunt at Flickr; and offering a variety of material—including official icons, stamps, and other tools for creating user-generated content—on the official Web site.

Licensed products to be introduced later this year, developed with the input of an advisory panel of fans in their 20s, will include apparel, puzzles in collectible tins and—one of the most desired categories, according to focus groups—Halloween costumes. All products will incorporate some sort of search-for-Waldo element. “We want to infuse the sense of humor that is so much a part of the brand,” says Nicole Blake, senior v-p marketing, Entertainment Rights North America.

Waldo products, including books, will be featured in a promotion at one of the leading trend retailers in the fall, representing a new distribution channel for the Waldo titles. “They’re not opposed to carrying books, but we haven’t had the right format until now,” Schroder explains.

The marketing campaign for the new books and products, much of it tongue-in-cheek, will focus on Waldo’s coming of age, and the character will make appearances online, in-store and at live events. Candlewick and Entertainment Rights are working together to create cross-marketing initiatives involving books, merchandise and the Web.

Once Waldo’s licensing program is established among young adults, it will expand to a broader audience; a TV show is in development for the future. “We wanted to re-engage the original fans first,” Blake says. “But the property transcends borders and transcends ages.”

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