SONIC THE HEDGEHOG – STILL UNSTOPPABLE! - Kazachok

International
When toys
become
properties!
62 Kazachok Licensing Mag’ Janvier - Mars 12
trends
>
Beyblade, Barbie, ZhuZhu Pets or
Gormiti are toys our little ones know
extremely well. They enjoy high media
visibility and sometimes much more since a
number of theses hot selling must-haves benefit
from a finely tuned licensing strategy. Indeed,
rights owners create visibility and make sure it
lasts by introducing new pro ducts, TV series,
websites, etc. Here come a few examples of
success stories!
Gogo’s Crazy Bones, a true phenomenon!
Rob Corney, Managing Director of Bulldog Licensing
In a single twelve month period, there were over 250 Million packs of Gogo’s sold around the world. When it was
launched in March 2008, in both Spain and the UK, Gogo’s appeared in Licence Global’s list of the top 125 licensed
brands based on retail sales value and grew to become the biggest-selling collectable toy in the UK, Spain, Germany,
Benelux, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa. In more recent months, Gogo’s has seen its full market release in the
US where it has taken the market by storm, dominating the collectables charts in Walmart, Walgreens and Target.
Over 50 licensees are now on board around the world and there were successful retail promotions with Carrefour and
C1000. The promotion with C1000 in Benelux was so successful that it added 5% to the bottom line of the retailer.
Kazachok: Why Gogo’s has become so successful?
Rob Corney: I think success can be predictable based on a number of factors: excellent design, excellent product,
excellent distribution and market routes... Gogo’s has all of these in abundance. Gogo’s look great, they
are extremely tactile and have underlying character values. The concept is scalable. It works on apparel,
toys, books, etc., so it is constantly being refreshed and the collectable product that drives the brand is
excellent value for money at 99p for 3 Gogo’s, giving kids a good return for their investment and a feeling
of instant gratification as you can play games straight away with 3 figures.
Gogo’s is being handled by TF1 in France and looking worldwide, we have some very high profile activity
launching through 2012 which includes additional licensed lines across our key territories, new territory
launches and very strong support activity.
As well as the continuing growth of the core Gogo’s brand as a non-media property, we launched the
Gogo’s TV series at Mipcom this year and had an incredible reaction from all of the major networks.
Zhu Zhu Pets toys: a phenomenal hit
ZhuZhu Pets was first introduced in 2009, and has grown from the original four interactive hamsters into an International
Licensing Program. Lisle International was appointed in 2010 to manage the licensing program outside of North
and South America and has signed up key partners such as the Giochi Preziosi Group for mainland Europe (excluding
the UK) as master toy licensee. GP led the program with key categories outside the toy line such as Back to School, or
Plush and Puzzles. In the UK, Master Toy Licensee, Character Options, has been instrumental in establishing
the brand and has now been joined by other key category licensees including Grossman for Outdoor Play,
Inspiration Works for Electronics, and Blues Clothing for Apparel. The recent global distribution of the first
ZhuZhu Pets Movie, released on DVD by Universal Pictures, has marked a new era for the property bringing
the ZhuZhu Pets characters to life! This is the first in a trilogy of movies to be released. Publishing has also been
an important category in reinforcing the popularity of the characters and opening up even more opportunities
for existing and future partners. Egmont Publishing is on board in the UK and Hachette and Grani& Partners are
key figures of the program in France and Italy. With this and more to come, there will be plenty to look forward to with
ZhuZhu Pets throughout 2012 and beyond.