Buy Me or Bury Me: Harry Potter, WWF, Martians Eve Sizzle and Sales

Brandweek, June 19, 2000 by T.L. Stanley, Becky Ebenkamp, Sonia Reyes

The pendulum has swung, so some in the licensing business say, toward brands and literary properties, and away from entertainment. The momentum is turning licensees from one-off movies and other such unstable fare to ground thought to be more solid.But if that's true, it was tough to tell from last week's Licensing 2000 confab at NewYork's Jacob Javits Center, where a Harry Potter-themed castle loomed large and drew a crush of eager deal-makers, the World Wrestling Federation's booth was shoulder-to-shoulder even when Triple H and Stephanie McMahon weren't there, and a 40-year-old comic book character packed 'em in.

"Retails still recognize that the really big hits come from entertainment," said George Jones, Warner Bros president, worldwide licensing and studio stores. "They're more selective and cautious in this environment, as they should be."

Entertainment, though still accounting for 45% of the $143.5 billion licensing business, has been virtually flat, while publishing jumped 33% last year, with properties such as ltsy Bitsy's Eloise, Scholastic's Clifford the Big Red Dog, New Line's Lord of the Rings and, obviously, Warner's Potter gathering interest and wannabe partners.

Studios, perhaps a little gunshy themselves, are looking to well-known entities, such as Marvels Spider-Man and Fox's Planet of the Apes, for a contemporary redo, though both have been in development limbo for years. Tomb Raider, with Angelina Jolie in the Lara Croft role, could finally see daylight, as could some related boy- and young male-targeted product.

Nickelodeon broke new ground, in the form of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, a CGI property from screenwriter/director Steve Oedekerk that will launch as a feature film, Web site, on-air shorts and interstitials, and in-theater shorts, before its premiere as a regular series on the cable net.

Licensees and retailers say it's difficult to pick the wheat from the chaff at the packed gathering, though a fall-launching British TV series, Butt-Ugly Martians, complete with a rather promo-ready "BK (butt-kicking) mode' and some Keane-esque characters called Funky Girlz, turned some heads.

It's the overabundance, plus this year's serious infusion of dotcoms hawking their business-to-business services and (yikes!) their own "brands," that amped the usual carnival barker atmosphere. (Overheard while passing the indecipherable Bikini.com.: "We're a beach lifestyle brand!")

"Entertainment has gotten too fragmented," said Jacki Blum, recently named president-licensing sales and EMAP USA arketing at EMAP USA, home to Teen, Hot Rod anc other specialty magazines. "Retailers want sizzle, but they also want success."

Universal, gauging the mood, will be banking heavily on two sequels, The Mummy Returns and Jurassic Park 3, and a modern-day version of the '70s TV series, Josie and the Pussycats, to fuel its 2001 business. Universal has a wide berth in the action-adventure summer blockbuster wannabe stakes, save for Fox's Apes, as other studios have shifted tentpole movies to holiday

"People are closely evaluating and doing more research to try to make sure they're making the right choices," said Jill Jones, Universal's evp-consumer products. "At a time like this, having a successful track record with a perticular property realty helps."

ROI

Anytime exhibitors are shelling out major bucks, as they do for confabs such as NATPE, Toy Fair and Licensing Show, they wonder if it's money well spent. Because the companies routinely call on the three most influential retailers, Target, Wal-Mart and Kmart, and have usually inked deals before the show with key licensees, why drag the whole staff and put on the dog for three dizzying days?

"I'm paying a lot of money to have meetings that I could have anyway," said one entertainment exec.

For Itsy Bitsy Entertainment, the show again proved to be a chance at fame via borrowed equity: The company's booth was bedecked in attention-getting PT Cruisers from Chrysler painted with character images; it gave away one vehicle each day attendees, who promptly showed up for the 12 noon drawings, then promptly left.

Others saw the show as a one-of-akind forum.

New Line, which was touting its upcoming feature Lord of the Rings (master toy deal just inked with Toy Biz), had 30-foot statues gracing a giant screen that ran film clips. "You can't show the scope of the property in a power point presentation," said David Imhoff, evpworldwide licensing and merchandising. "The retailers and the licensees can't go to the set, so we try to bring a piece of it to them here:'

It's also a crucial show of support.

"It's a statement to retail and to our clients that we're solidly behind this property," said Dan Romanelli, president, Warner Bros. worldwide consumer products, whose red-hot Harry Potter got a castle on its site and top billing over the studio logo. "It sets the tone, and it shows how passionate we are about it." And all those constant live remotes couldn't have hurt either.