Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Executive Summary
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- Sales decline rapidly as consumers become more frugal
- Population growth among kids aged 1-11 offsets some losses
- Case studies
- Insights and opportunities
- SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly among the most popular characters
- Sesame Street viewed as good influence by most adults
- Most adults report that character merchandise is not a good value
- Adults most likely to report purchasing food and personal care products
- Fast food and t-shirts especially popular with parents
- Young adults more likely to report increased spending
- Most kids cite media as part of their favorite activities but feel school is important
Insights and Opportunities
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- Work with kids and parents to create customized products
- Invite kids and parents to create characters and share with others through social media
- Reduce resistance to character merchandising with better-for-you tie-ins
- Target young adults with parodies and pop culture characters
- The better-for-you private label: Eating Right Kids and Looney Tunes
Character Merchandising Case Studies
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- Case Study 1: Largest film franchise ever rolls out museum exhibit and theme park
- Harry Potter: The Exhibition
- Harry Potter: The Theme Park
- Case study 2: Fast food chains remain a prime target for licensing opportunities
- Self-regulation doesn’t work
- Case Study 3: Higher-end apparel tie-ins making waves
- SpongeBob gets precious with 12-carat diamond jewelry
- Disney and Warner Bros. wooing designer crowd
- Case Study 4: Video game tie-ins drive growth in a struggling category
- Electronic Arts tops 1 million units with Harry Potter
- Case Study 5: Mobile gaming tie-ins are heavy on film adaptations
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Retail sales and forecast of entertainment/character merchandise
- Sales and forecast
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- Figure 1: Retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, at current prices, 2004-10
- Figure 2: Retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2004-10
Segmentation and Distribution
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- Key points
- Entertainment/character merchandise segments
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- Figure 3: Retail sales of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, by product category, 2006 and 2008
- Distribution of licensed entertainment/character merchandise
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- Figure 4: Distribution of licensed entertainment/character merchandise, by retailer type, U.S. and Canada, 2006 and 2008
Competitive Context
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- Agelessness trend increases threats from celebrities, sports and trademarks/brands
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- Figure 5: Sales of licensed goods, by property types, 2006 and 2008
Market Drivers
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- Increasing number of children bodes well for market growth
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- Figure 6: Population, by relevant age groups, 2004-14
- Minority populations key to market growth
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- Figure 7: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2004-14
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- Figure 8: Households, by presence of children—Hispanics vs. non-Hispanics, 2006
- Recession boosts movie admissions
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- Figure 9: Sales of movie tickets at box office, 2004-14
- Rise of the Screenager: Online and gaming platforms beg customization, interaction
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- Figure 10: Hours of filmed entertainment consumption per person per year, 2003-07
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- Figure 11: Activision’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (video game) television ad, July 2009
- Figure 12: Hours of game play—kids, by age and age/gender, October 2007-December 2008
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- Figure 13: Incidence of game play while connected to the web—kids/teens, by age and gender/age, October 2007-December 2008
Most Popular Characters and Role Models
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- Key points
- Kids’ favorite characters
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- Figure 14: Hasbro’s Connect 4 SpongeBob SquarePants Edition television ad, July 2009
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- Figure 15: Kids’ favorite characters/shows, by age, April 2009
- Characters viewed as good role models
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- Figure 16: Cartoon and movie characters seen as good role models, by age, May 2009
- Cartoon characters designed for adults most likely to be seen as a bad influence on children
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- Figure 17: Perceptions cartoon and movie characters as good role models or not appropriate for children, May 2009
Attitudes Towards Character Merchandising
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- Key points
- Products with characters not seen as good value
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- Figure 18: Value perceptions of character merchandise, by age, May-June 2009
- Social influence does not drive sales among adults; many concerned about potentially negative impact in children
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- Figure 19: Influence of character merchandise on purchasing behavior, by age, May-June 2009
- Characters lead to pestering
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- Figure 20: Attitudes towards character merchandise; pester power, and childhood memories, by age, May-June 2009
- Ambivalence about using characters to educate children
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- Figure 21: Attitudes towards using characters to educate kids, by age, May-June 2009
- Most parents, especially men, unsure about how characters motivate child’s behavior
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- Figure 22: Influence of character merchandise on children’s product preferences, parents by gender, May-June 2009
- Impact of income on influence of characters on children’s product preferences
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- Figure 23: Influence of character merchandise on children’s product preferences, by household income, May-June 2009
Purchase of Character-linked Products
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- Key points
- Food, clothing and personal care top the list
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- Figure 24: Purchase of character-linked products, by type of product and nature of purchase, May-June 2009
Products Parents Buy for Their Kids
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- Key points
- Characters drive food purchases; moms generally more likely to be purchasers
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- Figure 25: Character merchandise purchased for child/children in the last 12 months, by gender, May-June 2009
- Lower-income households more likely to buy character merchandise
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- Figure 26: Character merchandise purchased for child/children in the last 12 months, by household income, May-June 2009
How Parental Attitudes are Evolving in Recession
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- Key points
- About one in three report buying fewer character products than last year but nearly half are buying the same amount
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- Figure 27: Purchase of character merchandise relative to last year, by age of parent, May-June 2009
Children’s Attitudes Toward Media, School, Friends and Self
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- Key points
- Television is a favorite pastime of most respondents under 12
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- Figure 28: Kids’ attitudes towards TV, movies and video games, by gender and age, October 2007-December 2008
- Most enjoy school and think academic work is important
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- Figure 29: Children’s attitudes towards school, by gender and age, October 2007-December 2008
- Most kids report being quite social; demand for social networking likely to continue growing as kids become teens and adults
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- Figure 30: Children’s attitudes towards friends, by gender and age, October 2007-December 2008
- Most feel confident, curious and distinct from parents
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- Figure 31: Children’s personal preferences and attitudes about self, by gender and age, October 2007-December 2008
The Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin
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- Key points
- Child’s favorite cartoon or movie character
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- Figure 32: Hannah Montana’s The Hannah Montona Light-up Dance Lounge television ad, July 2009
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- Figure 33: Child’s favorite cartoon or movie character, by race/Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
- Character merchandise purchased in the last 12 months
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- Figure 34: Character merchandise purchased in the last 12 months, by race/Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
Cluster Analysis
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- Price-Conscious Reducers (29%)
- Scrutinizing Users (26%)
- Steady Users (46%)
- Cluster characteristics
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- Figure 35: Character merchandising clusters, May-June 2009
- Figure 36: Use of character merchandise relative to last year, by character merchandising clusters, May-June 2009
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- Figure 37: Influence of character merchandise on purchasing behavior, by character merchandising clusters, May-June 2009
- Figure 38: Influence of character merchandise on children’s preferences, by character merchandising clusters, May-June 2009
- Cluster demographics
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- Figure 39: Character merchandising clusters, by gender, May-June 2009
- Figure 40: Character merchandising clusters, by age, May-June 2009
- Figure 41: Character merchandising clusters, by household income, May-June 2009
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- Figure 42: Character merchandising clusters, by race, May-June 2009
- Figure 43: Character merchandising clusters, by Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
- Cluster methodology
Custom Consumer Groups
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- Blacks, Hispanics and young adults heavy users of character merchandise
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- Figure 44: Purchase of character merchandise for personal use, by key custom consumer groups, May-June 2009
- Affluents and mature segments less likely to purchase
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- Figure 45: Purchase of character merchandise for personal use, by key custom consumer groups, May-June 2009
Appendix: Additional Consumer Tables
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- Demographic comparisons of parents
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- Figure 46: Use of character merchandise relative to last year, by gender, May-June 2009
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- Figure 47: Influence of character merchandise on children’s preferences, by age, May-June 2009
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- Figure 48: Influence of character merchandise on children’s preferences, by race/Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
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- Figure 49: Perception of child’s favorite cartoon or movie character, by gender, May-June 2009
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- Figure 50: Perception of child’s favorite cartoon or movie character, by age of parent, May-June 2009
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- Figure 51: Perception of child’s favorite cartoon or movie character, by household income, May-June 2009
- Favorite programs of boys and girls aged 6-17
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- Figure 52: Kids’ favorite characters/shows, by gender, April 2009
- Additional demographic comparisons of adults who are not parents
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- Figure 53: Attitudes towards price and quality of character merchandise, by household income, May-June 2009
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- Figure 54: Influence of character merchandise on purchasing behavior, by household income, May-June 2009
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- Figure 55: Attitudes towards character merchandise, by household income, May-June 2009
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- Figure 56: Attitudes towards price and quality of character merchandise, by race/ethnicity, May-June 2009
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- Figure 57: Influence of character merchandise on purchasing behavior, by race/Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
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- Figure 58: Attitudes towards character merchandise, by race/Hispanic origin, May-June 2009
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- Figure 59: Good role models, by household income, May 2009
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- Figure 60: Good role models, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2009
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- Figure 61: Inappropriate role models, by age, May 2009
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- Figure 62: Inappropriate role models, by household income, May 2009
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- Figure 63: Inappropriate role models, by race/Hispanic origin, May 2009
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- Figure 64: Classic characters, by age, May 2009
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- Figure 65: Classic characters, by household income, May 2009
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