Given the fact that our roots are in the toy industry, appealing to kids has always been an area of expertise for Design Force. Over the past ten years, we've conducted a considerable amount of research to understand how best to capture and maintain the attention of the various kid target demographics in an ever-changing, overly stimulating, media-rich environment. This month’s issue of BOLT! addresses this challenge, with a particular focus on licensed products. Hopefully you'll find this topic helpful as you develop the licensing programs for your children’s properties this year. Feel free to chime in... your thoughts and feedback are always welcome.
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Marketers know how to trigger
children’s emotions; how to trip the “have to have it” switch on. One of the
best, often-sought ways to endear brands to children is the use of licensed
characters on kids’ products. Yet this isn’t always a success. If anything, it
can be a hit or miss proposition.
No matter how hot licensed
properties are, some things have to be understood before marketers seek to
leverage them for their brands. For one thing, brand and licensed property have
to be a “fit”. The brand itself has to be clearly positioned with kids and
their moms who make the final purchase decisions. Leveraging those assets that
resonate with both children and their parents, then adding a licensed property
with corresponding values makes sense. Making certain that the licensed
character’s values are a full and equal partner with the brand only strengthens
both. One brand should never be weaker than the other.
Children equate characters
with specific traits, values and stories. It is essential to bring them to life
by carrying their stories forward on licensed products. Otherwise, they appear
as lifeless images on products; they aren’t vibrant and don’t attract kids’
attention for long enough to trigger their desire to purchase. When product brand
and licensed property work in sync, magic happens. Children love them and moms
feel confident in endorsing them because they are perceived as healthy,
wholesome options for their kids.
Finding out about the
specific attributes children love about a character and making its story live;
then connecting that story to the brand in a convincing manner is crucial. The
brand then has the “endorsement” of the licensed property. When this kind of
process occurs, children are not only going to recognize licensed products,
they are going to connect to them on an emotional level.
As is the case with adults,
the emotional appeal of brands far outweighs mere recognition and the rational
understanding of features and benefits. Emotions tie every demographic,
including children’s groups, to brands. Strong, positive emotions turn consumers
of every age into brand loyalists.
In some cases, it may make
sense to subtly tweak the actual product to better align brand with licensed
property in a more seamless manner to accomplish this objective. Hard to do?
Not if the proper research is done and both brand and licensed property are
deconstructed to get to their core in kids’ minds.
An example of well-executed
brand licensed product is Kellogg’s Lego Fun Snacks. How about healthy fruit
snacks shaped like Lego blocks in bright, fun colors? How about packaging that
leverages both the Kellogg’s brand and the Lego brand in perfect harmony?
Artwork depicting larger-than-life iconic Legos speaks to kids and parents. How
smart is it to fashion the product into this shape to reinforce the strength of
the licensed brand? The entire concept speaks of value, wholesomeness and a
marriage of two trusted brands.
Every parent knows all about
Smart Bandz silicone rubber bands formed into shapes including animals, numbers
and intriguing objects worn stacked on wrists and forearms. Plain old rubber
bands? Not for a moment. Wild shapes and neon colors are anything but basic. That’s
why Bandz are top-selling toys.
Some of the strongest
licensed brands in the world have taken the concept to another level, thanks to
leveraging their cachet with terrific packaging. It’s no accident that Disney’s
Toy Story 3, Mickey & Friends and Princess Bandz are now among the top
sellers in the category. Pop cult favorite Bandz include Justin Bieber and
Twilight.
As strong as these properties
are, the packaging has to trigger kids to want to purchase these Bandz among
the myriad shapes and choices on the market. The Toy Story 3 brand identity and
Buzz Lightyear are instantaneously recognizable to kids, perfectly capitalizing
on the huge popularity of Disney’s beloved characters while cleverly featuring
the latest ones in cartoon form on top of see-through packaging showing all of
the Toy Story Bandz in the package. This fuses classic favorites with new
friends for kids in a convincing manner.
Entertainment products are
great vehicles for strong licensed properties, too. Nintendo has leveraged the
immense popularity of its Wii Just Dance and Just Dance 2 dancing video games
to a new level. By incorporating the legendary Smurfs with a human family on
its new “The Smurfs Dance Party” video packaging, Nintendo intends to maximize
this summer’s impact of Sony & Columbia Pictures’
hybrid live-action/CGI blockbuster movie: “The
Smurfs”. New songs and choreographed dance steps are designed to
give kids and parents hours of fun and entertainment at home. The packaging
makes it clear and obvious. Kids will respond to the cuddly blue Smurfs while
parents respond to the heritage cues of these beloved characters from their own
childhood memories.
When brands and licensed
characters come together in such a convincing, powerful fashion, kids and their
parents not only recognize them instantly, they gravitate to them and become
emotionally engaged. A relationship develops between consumer and licensed
product. When that happens, every other product in the category disappears. An
enviable position for any brand to find itself in. Clearly, the result of a
well-researched, deftly executed branded, licensed product.
