Research and Markets


Printer Friendly

Printed from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/339125


Character Merchandising in the United States


Description: Licensed toys represent one of the most important segments of the character licensing industry. In fact, licensed toys typically represent about 25%-35% of all annual toy sales. Sales are significantly driven by movies, with the two biggest licensing properties in 2004 being Spider-Man 2 and Shrek 2.

Food tie-ins are another lucrative channel for character merchandising license holders. Two examples of agreements include Burger King’s promotions using Spider-Man 2 merchandise, and Baskin Robbins offering Shrek’s Swirl Sherbet.

With the proliferation of Hollywood in the marketplace, the opportunities for character licensing are continually increasing. The population of pre-schoolers is on the rise, and retailers are looking to character licensing and merchandising to drive sales.

For the purpose of this report, character-merchandising is defined as the use of popular children’s characters to promote the sale of consumer goods. Characters themselves typically derive from television, film, toys, books, comics, and computer games. Children (especially the “under tens”) are the key audience for character merchandising, although adults are the principal purchasers. Thus, character-merchandising is used by manufacturers to trigger a response among children, who then implore their parents to buy on their behalf.

This report includes the whole gamut of merchandised goods embracing media-led items as follows:

- media (books, magazines, films, videos, DVDs, computer games)
- greetings cards and other stationery
- furniture
- toys
- cycles and cycling accessories
- jewelry
- character timepieces
- oral hygiene items
- clothing and accessories
- bags, pencil cases, and sporting goods
- home furnishings and housewares
- mobile phone accessories such as covers;
- food and drink

Excluded from this report are celebrity endorsements and theme park admissions.


Contents: Introduction and Abbreviations
Introduction
Other relevant reports
Definition
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
Executive Summary
A struggling market where the fittest survive and thrive
Children drawn in, moms want to please yet nurture
Electronics and music segments thrive
toys, gifts and food dives
Multifaceted diverse group of companies as leaders
Dubious parent
triumphant kids
Classic characters and superheroes have the greatest staying power
Innovation on many levels needed for future growth
Market Drivers

Popular culture and media
Hollywood movies
Figure 1: Going to see movies, by gender and age, May 2003-April 2004
DVD rentals and sales are a key component
Figure 2: Forecast of U.S. DVD rental revenue, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
Television a dominant force
Video games popular among kids
Figure 3: Ownership of video game players, by gender and age, May 2003-April 2004
Kids’ books crossover
Figure 4: Types of books read, by gender and age, May 2003-April 2004
Comic books spawn characters
Figure 5: Kids’ readership of comic books and newspaper comics, by gender and age, May 2003-April 2004
The Internet: a growing exposure option
Figure 6: Time kids spend on the Internet, by age, Fall 2005
Tried and true titles dominate
Threats from music, celebrities and sports
Figure 7: Sales of licensed goods, by property types, 2003 and 2005
Demographic picture: More younger children equals more product sales
Figure 8: U.S. population projections, by age, 2000-10
Figure 9: Population, by age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2005
Reaching kids through moms
Figure 10: Influences on moms’ purchases of products for their children, 2004
The nagging factor
Figure 11: Opinions towards products with characters, agree summary, October 2005
Purchasing power of children
Food-related purchases
Figure 12: Fast food restaurant visits by kids, by age, May 2004-May 2005
Figure 13: Attitudes towards fast foods and fast food restaurant visits, by topline and race/ethnicity, May 2004-May 2005
Market Size, Segmentation, Trends and Distribution
Introduction
Retail sales of entertainment/character merchandise
Figure 14: Retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, at current and constant prices, 2000-05
Entertainment/character merchandise segments
Figure 15: Retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, by product category, 2003 and 2005
Figure 16: New children’s personal care product introductions featuring licensed characters, 2000-05
New market activity and trends
Figure 17: Film releases featuring licensed characters, 2005-06
Distribution of licensed entertainment/character merchandise
Figure 18: Distribution of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, U.S. and Canada, 2003 and 2005
Suppliers

Hasbro Properties Group (HPG)
Mattel
The Walt Disney Company
Studio Entertainment
Media Networks
Parks and Resorts
Consumer products
Warner Brothers
Licensing
HIT Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
The Consumer

Introduction
Adults’ opinions on why children want character-licensed merchandise
Figure 19: Adults’ opinions on kids’ preferences for character merchandise, agree summary, October 2005
Figure 20: Adults’ opinions on kids’ preferences for character merchandise, agree summary, by household income, October 2005
Attitudes towards character-licensed products
Figure 21: Opinions towards products with characters, agree summary, October 2005
Figure 22: Opinions towards products with characters, agree summary, by age, October 2005
Figure 23: Opinions towards products with characters, agree summary, by race/ethnicity, October 2005
Summary
Character-licensed merchandise purchased
Food/snacks
Figure 24: Incidence of purchasing food/snacks character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Figure 25: Purchases of top six products featuring a well-known character in the last 12 months, by presence of children under 18 in the household, October 2005
Figure 26: Purchases of top six products featuring a well-known character in the last 12 months, by presence of children under 18 in the household, October 2005
Clothing
Figure 27: Incidence of purchasing clothing character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Figure 28: Purchases of top six products featuring a well-known character in the last 12 months, by presence of children under 18 in the household, October 2005
Toys/games
Figure 29: Incidence of purchasing toys/games character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Personal care
Figure 30: Incidence of purchasing personal care character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Stationery
Figure 31: Incidence of purchasing stationery character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Household décor
Figure 32: Incidence of purchasing household décor character-licensed merchandise, October 2005
Average number of product categories purchased
Figure 33: Average number of product categories purchased, by number of children in household, October 2005
Figure 34: Average number of product categories purchased, by gender, October 2005
Figure 35: Average number of product categories purchased, by age, October 2005
Summary
Opinions about popular characters
Educational-themed television programming
Figure 36: Opinions toward characters from educational-themed television programming, October 2005
Figure 37: Opinions toward characters from educational-themed television programming, by gender and agreement with “It is a good role model” statement, October 2005
Classic characters
Figure 38: Opinions toward classic characters, October 2005
Family favorites’ movies
Figure 39: Opinions toward characters from family favorites’ movies, October 2005
Sci-fi/fantasy
Figure 40: Opinions toward Sci-fi/fantasy characters, October 2005
Superheroes
Figure 41: Opinions toward superhero characters, October 2005
Prime-timers
Figure 42: Opinions toward primetime television characters, October 2005
Summary
Future and Forecast
Future trends
Tight shelf space, low price points, and fierce competition…
…force companies to innovate at retail
Tried and true remains most sought after
Music, celebrity and sport licensing threatens to take share…
…leading to producers and marketers targeting younger children
Going to the dogs
Movie studios forging long-term relationships with partners, on shorter-term projects
Advances in video game and toy technology build brand awareness and loyalty
Childhood obesity and the move from fast food to health food character-merchandised marketing
Figure 43: Attitudes towards children and obesity, August 2005
Companies take greater notice of Hispanic children
Figure 44: Top purchased character-licensed merchandise, by race/Hispanic origin, October, 2005
Educational programming in search of long-term partners
Market forecast
Overview
Figure 45: Forecast of total U.S. and Canada retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, at current and constant prices, 2005-10
Forecast Factors
Appendix: Selected Licensor/Licensee Agreements
Figure 46: Major examples of licensors and licensees in the marketplace, 2005-06
Appendix: New Product Briefs





Ordering: Order Online - visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/339125

Order by Fax - using the order form below

Order By Post - print the order form below and send to

Research and Markets,
Guinness Centre,
Taylors Lane,
Dublin 8,
Ireland.


Research and Markets Page 1 of 2
Printed 08/11/2009 07:13:02
Fax Order Form
To place an order via fax simply print this form, fill in the information below and fax the completed form to
646-607-1907 (from USA) or +353 1 6849977 (from Rest of World). If you have any questions please email help@researchandmarkets.net

Order information
Please verify that the product information is correct and select the format you require.
Product Name:
Character Merchandising in the United States
Web Address:
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/339125
Office Code:
OC8HJLJSQUOOT

Report formats
Please enter the quantity of the report format you require.

Format Quantity Price
Electronic (PDF) - Single User €2,495.00
Hard Copy €2,495.00 + EUR€ 50.00 Shipping/Handling *
* Shipping/Handling is only charged once per order.


Contact information
Please enter all the information below in BLOCK CAPITALS.

First Name:   Last Name:  
Email Address:
Job Title:
Organisation:
Address:
City:
Postal/Zip Code:
Country:
Phone Number:
Fax Number:


Please fax this form to:
(646) 607-1907 or (646) 964-6609 (from USA)
+353-1-481-1716 or +353-1-653-1571 (from Rest of World)
Research and Markets Page 2 of 2
Printed 08/11/2009 07:13:02

Payment information

Please indicate the payment method you would like to use by selecting the appropriate box.

 Pay by Credit Card:
American Express
Diners Club
Master Card
Visa
Cardholder's Name:
Cardholder's Signature:
Expiry Date: /
Card Number:
CVV Security Code:
Issue Date: /   (Diners Club only)


 Pay by Check:
Please post the check, accompanied by this form, to:

Research and Markets,
Guinness Centre,
Taylors Lane,
Dublin 8,
Ireland.


 Pay by Wire Transfer:
Please transfer funds to:

Account number: 83313083
Sort code: 98-53-30
Swift code: ULSBIE2D
IBAN number: IE78ULSB98533083313083
Bank Address: Ulster Bank,
27-35 Main St,
Blackrock,
Co. Dublin,
Ireland.
If you have a Marketing Code please enter it below:
Marketing Code:


Please note that by ordering from Research and Markets you are agreeing to our Terms and Conditions at http://www.researchandmarkets.com/info/terms.asp

Please fax this form to:
(646) 607-1907 or (646) 964-6609 (from USA)
+353-1-481-1716 or +353-1-653-1571 (from Rest of World)