Michael Acton Smith - Keynote Speaker
The Secrets of Success - 5 things we learnt today about global children's phenomenon, Moshi Monsters™

Michael Acton Smith, CEO and founder of Mind Candy, the UK-based social online gaming company behind global children’s phenomenon, Moshi Monsters, delivered today’s keynote speech at Brand Licensing Europe 2011 to a packed hall. So popular was his appearance, only standing room was available in the Licensing Academy as hundreds of business professionals came to hear first-hand about the spectacular success of Moshi Monsters. Smith is the driving force behind one of the biggest children’s licensing success stories of the past few years and as such, has become a very influential figure in the industry worldwide. In less than three years since its launch, Moshi Monsters - an online community of adoptable pet monsters for children - has attracted almost 50 million users globally. Currently half of all children in the UK aged 6-12 have one and in the US the figure is one in five children in that age group and growing rapidly.

Moshi Monsters brought its immense popularity to the licensing world in January 2010 with the launch of a range of merchandise, including trading cards, a Vivid Imaginations toy line, books from Penguin and a bestselling self-published magazine. Mind Candy expects gross retail sales of all Moshi Monsters related product to be over $100m this year alone, signalling an influential new licensing model for the first generation of ‘digital’ children, directly challenging traditional children’s media.

Key facts & stats:

Moshi Monsters has 50 million registered users globally; one new user signs up every second It is played in 150 countries worldwide; its biggest markets are (in order of size) the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland Moshi Monsters is the fourth most popular website amongst girls and boys aged 4-6 yo and fourth for boys in the 7-12yo age group. In girls aged 7-12yo it is beaten only by Facebook. Around 65% of users are female and 35% male Moshi Monsters is at the forefront of the new transmedia trend, with a focus on taking the brand across many different platforms in ways that benefit the audience as much as possible Mind Candy still holds 100% IP for Moshi Monsters, giving it total creative control

Smith said there are five main reasons why Moshi Monsters has become so successful:

1. “Moshi Monsters’ players drive development. We work hard to get the audience involved; we constantly ask for opinions, for ideas, for feedback. For example we recently had thousands of ideas submitted when we asked about trading cards. When we use a suggestion, we always do our best to give the kids the credit for their ideas, giving them social currency to show off in front of their friends.”
2. “We use many different channels to promote and grow Moshi Monsters, and we’ll always make brave choices if we think it’s best for the brand. For example, many people told us not to move into print, telling us we’d be better off sticking to our core digital offering. Despite this, we launched Moshi Monsters magazine, which is now the number one best selling children’s magazine in the UK.”
3. “We never rest, we are always evolving the Moshi Monsters world, adding new content to ensure the brand remains fresh and exciting. Being digitally based allows us the flexibility to iterate quickly and continuously introduce new characters in real time, something that is restricted by the production processes of film and TV. We have now built up to over 200 hugely popular characters. Our content can be easily tweaked depending on its popularity. This is the appeal for kids – they have control of this world in a way they just don’t in the real world, so rather than a media owner telling them what they will and won’t like, they make those choices.”
4. “Moshi Monsters has an exceptional marketing team, covering live events, PR and brand marketing. But even more importantly, we have the product right. Between 2007 and 2009 we had very little marketing, because we knew product was the key – in my experience marketing is often used to mask problems with a product. We knew we had it right in mid-2009 when it suddenly took off. The Eureka moment was realising the kids want social interaction online just as much as adults, so we overlaid the digital game with ways to connect, share and talk about it. Suddenly it was a hit. A tip from us - marketing should be an accelerant to the fire, not the spark that gets the fire going.”
5. “We make sure we are the best licensing partner we can possibly be, responding quickly and approving or suggesting ideas as proactively as we possibly can. Our partnerships are critical to the expansion of Moshi Monsters. For example, Moshlings, a sub-brand of creatures, has become one of our biggest areas of expansion, with opportunities in many sectors, even a Moshling fashion range.”