| ||
| AT New Media will have a stand at Brand Licensing Europe 2010 in the Advice Centre, Digital Media’s Impact On Licensing Facebook, Twitter, Apple Iphone, Nintendo Wii and YouTube were unknown when ‘AT’ was set up in 2005 to provide licensors and licensees with extra business and revenue by focusing on the boom in ‘All Things’ interactive.
Today, Facebook has 500 million active users worldwide and Twitter has 100 million; YouTube delivers 2 billion videos per day; Apple has provided 40 million iPhones and 6.5 billion apps; Nintendo Wii has sold 75 million consoles and 510 million games; Online shopping in the UK has doubled in annual value between 2005 and 2010 to £40 billion. * And AT is acknowledged as the unique specialist licensing agency, positioned at the junction where intellectual property meets new media. AT foresaw that digital media would transform the licensing industry. Traditionally, public awareness for a new brand or character with licensing potential was built using television or cinema. Merchandise was then made available exclusively through retail stores. Now, media consumption is much different, so licensors must have a multi-platform approach and build public awareness using social media websites. More and more merchandise is sold through online stores. Virtual goods sales are growing quickly. Digital Marketing & Licensing New categories, including games and apps, must be licensed with knowledge and understanding, in order to avoid pitfalls and maximize returns. AT provides knowledge and licensee agreements for licensors in the interactive category and has been appointed by LazyTown, Carte Blanche, Chorion, Matchroom Sport, Scholastic, ITV and other leading brand owners to assist with strategy and sales. Licensors have always had three key licensing objectives of Promotion, Profit and Protection. The relative emphasis on brand awareness or royalty revenue or trademark protection varies from brand to brand and owner to owner. In the new media age, these factors have moved closer together. So, more and more of AT’s work involves uniting marketing and licensing and legal departments within client’s companies. For example, we are helping a client licensor to extend its business from physical greetings and gifts into virtual goods. An official Facebook game in development will consolidate existing user-generated pages and attract ‘friends’ who are fans of the licensor’s brands. They will be offered a mix of free promotional and paid premium content. Past examples of brands entering a category for the first time under deals brokered by AT New Media include: Upcoming announcements include:
LazyTown – games for Nintendo Wii and the new Xbox360 Kinect & PlayStation Move; From New Media To Merchandise Licensees and retailers can no longer rely upon TV series and movies to generate strong-selling merchandise and they must be alert to new properties emerging from new media. For example, Little Big Planet and Simon’s Cat. The first web character to gain mass market worldwide awareness through mobile phone content and spawn a significant licensing campaign was Crazy Frog. Annoying adults and delighting children between 2005 and 2007, Crazy Frog merchandise achieved a retail value of about $70 million. AT was the worldwide licensing agent for Crazy Frog and is now managing Gummybear, a YouTube music video sensation with over one billion views to date. So far, there are 20 licensees for over 100 products. Summary Simon Kay, Business Development Director, says, “The interactive sector has been seen as just another licensing opportunity by many, on a reactive basis, but it is much more than that. AT New Media empowers licensors to have a dynamic attitude to current and future technology platforms and content. Only a knowledgeable and proactive approach can achieve the co-ordination of revenue generation with marketing objectives, which is critical for future success.” AT is itself harnessing the power of ‘Tweets’ and ‘Blogs’ to extend its reach to its target audience. Keep up to date with new and ongoing projects on Twitter via @atnewmedia (www.twitter.com/ATNewMedia ) and the Blog via the company website at www.atnewmedia.com You will find AT New Media on stand C076b in the |
