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Kids Intellectual Properties Generate Big Bucks
The world of licensing and merchandising encompasses all forms of characters with an insatiable demand from children and the marketeers of childrens products for the next new hit. No sooner does the newest phenomemena crest than manufacturers, retailers and distributors are on the hunt for the next kids craze.
Copyright (c) 2008 Michael Trigg
Have an idea for a kid’s product? Billions of dollars have been generated by hundreds of kids products, otherwise known as Properties. Good examples? Harry Potter, Ninja Turtles, Smurfs, Disney, Telletubbies and on and on. The world of kids is always on the lookout for the next hot property.
Properties can be utilized or arise in a book, a comic book, as an image on a cup or can be the focus of a television program or can be utilized in a television commercial.
Billions of dollars have been generated since Mickey Mouse developed in the wonderful mind of Walt Disney and of course the Disney Corporation is the epitome of intellectual Property rights that all others aspire to.
What does a Property consist of? If you have an idea for a kid’s Property, first rule of thumb; put it down on paper. This will provide an idea of the rights that comprise an Intellectual Property. Or, better still, take a sheet of paper and draw a pizza or a circle. Intellectual property rights are like the pieces of a pizza. Each piece contains a different right. An Intellectual Property can be likened to a pizza pie cut into many slices. Each slice represents a seperate component that can be sold off, or licensed.
The following are some of the more common categories that are licensed off as part of a Property; publishing, music, board games, electronic games, clothing, television, action figures, plush dolls, remote control toys, play sets, cards, greeting cards, educational products and so on. Obviously, the more popular the Property, the more licensing fees are generated and the wider the range of products.
A wonderful example of a Property that spun off from a first book is Harry Potter. J K Rowling’s Harry Potter is a perfect example of a kid’s character that has grown into an Intellectual Property.
If you have an idea for children that you think kids around the world will crave after, get started. The North American licensing and merchandising market totaled sales of over $60 Billion in 2006 and North American kids spent over $200 Billion in the same year.
How to get started you ask? All kids products and Properties began in the mind of someone. It may be a doodle, it may be a variation on a theme, it may be a short story. If you have an idea, study the market and see how your idea can be developed. If you enjoy telling stories that kids like, even if your writing abilities are marginal, write them down. The point is - get started. Don’t imagine you are going to be an overnight success. It takes hard work, long hours and a lot of money to become and overnight success, however, if you can develop your idea into something kids enjoy or better still want, you are halfway there.