Franchise DVDs in spotlight at Toy Fair
New Fairies, Dora discs extend brands
By Wendy Wilson -- Video Business, 1/21/2008
JAN. 21 | Toy Fair 2008 takes place Feb. 17-20 in New York City, and studios and their partners on the consumer products side will be using their spring toy lines to capitalize on expanding audiences for existing franchises.
All eyes are on the Fairies franchise at Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, with the fall DVD premiere of Tinker Bell (street date Oct. 28) set as the video component of this year’s larger Fairies consumer products launch. “We’re going to make sure that this franchise is maximized across all the different divisions,” says Lori MacPherson, general manager of North America for Disney. She adds that the company is working with key retailers now to develop joint displays, presale programs and discounts for Tinker Bell.
Another October release from Disney, Sleeping Beauty, is designed to complement the ongoing “multi-princess” licensed merchandise campaign. Sleeping Beauty will be the first Disney Platinum title to be released on Blu-ray Disc. “‘Princess’ is always a major priority for the company,” MacPherson says.
“That exposure keeps our DVD sales going as well,” says Nancy Wolpert, VP of home entertainment for Nick. “Those DVDs can stay on shelves and sell for a long time because we take a look at what is special about Dora, what kids are reacting to, and then ask how we can keep that going.”
John Friend, senior VP of Cartoon Network Enterprises, says his company hopes to build on the momentum created at the end of last year for its Ben 10 animated series at retail. “Ben 10 is clearly our top priority heading into Toy Fair this year,” he says.
Last November, Cartoon Network expanded the Ben 10 universe with a live-action movie, Ben 10: Race Against Time. The program became the most-watched telecast in the company’s history and opened the franchise to new viewers—older children and girls.
Cartoon Network hopes to attract that now broader audience to the DVD aisle. Two releases to be distributed by Warner Home Video during the first part of 2008—Ben 10: Season 3 (street March 4, prebook Jan. 29; two-disc set $19.98) and the live-action Race Against Time (street April 8, prebook March 4; DVD $14.97)—will arrive at retail with the spring toy line already on shelves. The toy line will be promoted inside the videos and vice versa. “We’re making sure that the product line is synchronized with what we’re doing from a story perspective,” Friend says.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s established Strawberry Shortcake franchise will enjoy a fresh twist on her toys this spring with an on-air campaign tied to upcoming DVD release Big Country Fun (street March 4, prebook Feb. 6; DVD $14.98). “We’ve really aligned ourselves in spring ’08 with the DVD, and everything focuses on Big Country Fun,” says Holli Hoffman, director of girls marketing for Playmates Toys. Among the “Big Country Fun” Strawberry Shortcake toys timed to arrive at retail with the DVD release: small and large dolls, still strawberry-scented but outfitted in the country theme, and “Picnic Pie Ponies,” whose saddles transform into picnic baskets. Strawberry Shortcake will be a major focus for Playmates throughout the year, Hoffman says.
After a challenging year for the toy business in 2007, one marked by specific product recalls and broader consumer concerns over toy safety, the symbiotic relationship between home entertainment and the toy industry that Toy Fair effectively showcases has executives feeling hopeful about their companies’ mutual prospects in 2008.
“I think we’re going to be feeling the impact of last year’s events across the entire industry from a cost perspective and in parental perception,” says Torres, who stresses Nickelodeon’s proactive approach to addressing parents’ safety concerns.
So studios are moving toward Toy Fair, tweaking their approaches to evergreen properties or deepening the business they do with the toy licensees they know best.
Mattel introduced the new Barbie iDesign system at the Consumer Electronics Show. The CD-ROM game brings Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s DVD princess to computers so children can dress her in more than 21 million outfits. Nickelodeon will change Diego’s look at retail (think more action hero) to appeal to a larger group of preschool-aged boys. The company also will take on a new master toy licensee, Play Along toys, to help tackle the wildly broad SpongeBob SquarePants audience.
Lionsgate, on the other hand, has extended its contract with Bratz toy parent MGA and is looking forward to an ongoing relationship with Hasbro for its Marvel animated features. The first, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, is due this year.
And Cartoon Network’s Friend says the company won’t be looking beyond Ben 10 toy partners such as Bandai, Pressman Toys or videogame publisher D3. Rather, those licensees will be expected to help deliver products that will appeal to the growing Ben 10 audience.
“When kids play with the toys, they want to view the entertainment,” Lionsgate marketing VP Michael Rathauser says, “and the video serves as inspiration for play patterns, so the two products really help each other out.”
