Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. Here are the top trends and data points to help you digest this five-day holiday weekend. This story has been updated for Dec. 3, 2018 to incorporate additional data, especially for Cyber Monday. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that holiday sales, both in-store and online, will increase anywhere from 4.3% to … [Read more...] about Retail Watch: Thanksgiving, Black Friday & Other Trends
YouTube
Experiential & Content Initiatives: From Theme Parks to Boxing Matches
Contact the Editor at karina@plainlanguagemedia.com. CBS Films enters into an exclusive national partnership with Six Flags Entertainment for a unique Halloween theme park experience that brings horror flick Hell Fest to life in CA, NJ, and IL. New themes areas include The Mausoleum, an increasingly narrow hall that forces guests to feel the touch of death; The Mask Room, a … [Read more...] about Experiential & Content Initiatives: From Theme Parks to Boxing Matches
Esports Watch: New Leagues & Expansions
Goldman Sachs reports that the esports market will see revenues hit $2.17 billion by 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.6%, according to a Reuters report. The revenue total includes media rights, ticket sales, merchandise, sponsorship, publisher fees, and direct advertisement. Talent agency UTA makes two acquisitions in the esports area: Press X, an esports talent … [Read more...] about Esports Watch: New Leagues & Expansions
New Film & Media
Hasbro signs a new 5 year exclusive deal for movie and television development with Paramount. The development will be done by Hasbro’s newly organized Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, with Paramount distributing the films and TV series developed. The two companies have previously collaborated on five Transformers and two G.I. Joe films. Fox Animation acquires the … [Read more...] about New Film & Media
Entertainment in Experiential & Social
Sanrio joins forces with Snapchat to bring over 30 character stickers to the app, including Hello Kitty, My Melody, Badtz-Maru, Chococat, and Keroppi. The month-long partnership coincides with Sanrio Character Ranking 2017, an annual competition where fans get the chance to vote for their favorite Sanrio character. Each sticker used will count as a vote for the chosen … [Read more...] about Entertainment in Experiential & Social
Google, YT & Microsoft MVPs Amongst Tech Brands
The title of most powerful tech brand worldwide goes to Google for the first time in six years, according to Brand Finance, which ranks brands based on its own index. The previous No. 1 spot was occupied by Apple, but the brand valuation firm has firmly devalued the giant by $38.7 billion as optimism around Apple's ability to innovate and sustain revenue growth wane. Overall, … [Read more...] about Google, YT & Microsoft MVPs Amongst Tech Brands
Social Roundups
YouTube is the No. 1 brand amongst kids 6–12 years-old in the U.S., according to Smarty Pants’ list of Kids' Most Loved Brands. Other brands on the list include Disney (No. 6), while Toys 'R' Us (No. 7), Disney Channel (No. 9), Netflix (No. 11), Crayola (No. 18), Lego (No. 21), and Nickelodeon (No. 23). Snapchat files for an IPO, seeking a valuation of $25 billion. USA Today … [Read more...] about Social Roundups
TLL Survey: Nascent Digital Celebs Sector Rivals Entertainment/Character for Growth
Relative to the rest of licensing, retail sales of goods licensed by digital celebrities grew with the speed of a viral video in 2015, spiking 8% to approach $1 billion in 2015 according to The Licensing Letter's Annual Licensing Business Survey. The fledgling subcategory of the celebrity property type grew more during the year than any full-fledged property type except for the … [Read more...] about TLL Survey: Nascent Digital Celebs Sector Rivals Entertainment/Character for Growth
M&A & Expansions
Coty has plans to divest or discontinue licensed lines representing 6-8% of its net revenue—a significant portion of these will be in the fragrance area. As part of Coty’s deal to buy 41 P&G beauty brands in October, the company will take over Hugo Boss and Gucci, among other licenses, which it plans to hone its focus on. William Morris Endeavor acquires Rabineau Wachter … [Read more...] about M&A & Expansions
YouTubers Ride Streaming Services Toward Mainstream
Top digital celebrities including Grace Helbig, Cameron Dallas and Miranda Sings (aka Colleen Ballinger) continue to edge their way toward the linear, aka "old", media still favored by the licensing community. These three and others are making the jump from social media platforms led by YouTube and Vine to longer-form programming on streaming services Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. … [Read more...] about YouTubers Ride Streaming Services Toward Mainstream