Five Nights at Freddy’s, one chat with Meagan Renner: how Striker Entertainment sees horror

Good morning, Meagan – it is morning for you, isn’t it?
Good evening! Yes, it’s morning for me. In fact, this is my first cup of coffee!

Ah! This is my last cup of tea; the interview’s propped up by caffeine! Ha! Let’s start with an easy one… Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Meagan Renner, and I work at Striker Entertainment. I started here 12 years ago, doing contract administration. Over that time, my role has morphed from contracts to sales and compliance while I slowly learned more and more about the licensing business… Ten got my feet wet in the international space.

How did you come to be in the industry, Meagan?
I come from a tiny town in Virginia – it’s only eight square miles! My parents owned and ran a real-estate firm there, so I was familiar with contracts. That’s part of my background, but my undergrad is in international business… I finished college on the East Coast feeling that I could always go home, but that I should try something different. So I thought: California, here I come!

Wow! You moved to California before you had a plan?!
Yes, I had no idea who was who or what was what when I came here. I did a little PR internship in Beverly Hills and thought: no… That’s not for me! When I then saw a job posting at Striker for contract administration, I knew I was onto something. My family background meant I could read contracts, so I applied… And the shoe fit! Then the role morphed into business affairs and licensing internationally as I learned more about the industry – which remains the best kept secret!

And on the international front, you said something recently that intrigued me: that the UK and US horror markets are very different… In what way?
This is true; they’re very different… It’s interesting because if you look at Striker’s slate, you’ll see that our bread and butter is often around horror properties. Everything from Creepshow and The Walking Dead to Day of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead… All the deads! There’s also Interview with the Vampire and Five Nights at Freddy’s… If you take a look at the market through those properties, you find horror is a 365-day business in the US. We don’t just have those things for Halloween; they live on shelf at retail all year round.

Well, Halloween is getting bigger in the UK, but not in the same way it is in the US… Buy you’re saying that, over there, horror is alive all year? Ha! It’s alive… It’s aliiiiiiiiive!
Ha! Yes, exactly! In The UK and broader Europe, I’d say your interest in year-round horror is growing… But it’s definitely not there to the degree that it is in the US. For the most part, it doesn’t live on shelves year-round in the UK – but some key retailers in the UK and broader Europe are starting to heat up a little… They’re starting to show more interest in those licenses outside the Halloween window because consumers are showing more interest.

And has anyone taken a guess as to why the UK might be more horror averse?
That’s a great question. I’d should ask you – you live there!

Ha! I think when we want to see horror, we turn on the news. Ha!
Ha! Well, I think the reality is that a lot of what drives companies to obtain licenses is simply what retail is doing… And retail tends to want to support things for longer – not just a small October window. Of course, that has to be driven by consumers… So in that regard, I would say the UK is a bit more conservative when it comes to the horror properties.

That said, I was walking around Covent Garden when I was over recently, and I was quite amazed at how many horror shirts I saw people wearing. So I do think horror is starting to gain more traction there. You do have pop-cultural retailers, such as HMV, that pick up, support and champion horror.

And in real terms, can you give me an idea of how those global differences might affect product creation?
One good example is The Walking Dead experience we did in Germany to coincide with the TV series. That was fascinating to see because AMC had already done an immersive experience in the US for The Walking Dead at Universal. That was amazing, and a huge hit! But the German audience expected to be thrown into the universe in other ways…

Oh? Intriguing! Can you give me an example of that?
You know what, Deej? The best example is that – to this day – I remember the smell of zombie flesh from Germany! Fans championed the attractions in their respective countries – both locations were in operation for years.

“I remember the smell of zombie flesh…” Honestly, Meagan, my stomach’s gone over!
Ha! Sorry! It’s the best example, though – in the German version, the smells were wildly horrific! Compared to the US, it was definitely a lot more in your face – or should I say nose?!

Ha!
So every territory is just a little different… And remember: the US retail landscape has more places that horror can live. We have our Hot Topics, our Spencer’s and so on. We have those stores that are more edgy; they target more of a mature audience – although I do know that HMV dives into the pop-culture realm, and Forbidden Planet too.

Funnily enough, I’m stealing myself to watch the DVD of Five Nights at Freddy’s movie… I bought that in HMV. You represent Five Nights at Freddy’s, do you not?
Yes, we’ve represented Five Nights at Freddy’s for the better part of ten years. That’s a great example of how an IP builds its license. As you probably know, Five Nights at Freddy’s came out the gate as a video game from an independent developer named Scott Cawthon. People would film themselves playing this game and put the videos on YouTube. Part of the intrigue was that you would see people experience the jump scares as things popped up on their screens when they weren’t expecting them… Ha!

Oh, don’t! I’m so bad with horror, Meagan. I’m really the wrong person to be doing this interview!! But that’s how Five Nights at Freddy’s got bigger? Video game, then viral sensation?
Right. To date, there are upwards of 100 billion views of the hashtag FNAF on TikTok alone. There are also over 40 million downloads across all FNAF game titles. So of course, Five Nights at Freddy’s inevitably leant itself to a film franchise because it’s a fun, light horror with those great jump scares, great characters and a great story line.

Now, as you may know, the second film is coming out in December; December 5th in the US to be exact. It will likely be close to the same date, if not exactly the same, in other territories… And I’m certain there’s more to come from the franchise… Scottgames consistently develops new games that are in that spirit: a lot of fun! And it’s not a traditional blood-and-guts slasher horror, Deej. You should be okay watching it…

Yes, well… I’ll quote you on that when I’m clinging to the ceiling, screaming in misery. So how did Five Nights at Freddy’s develop outwards as an IP?
On top of the multiple games, Scholastic has a great book series. That helps; it’s great to have something in the publishing realm! Then you add in the films, and it starts to reach different points of consumerism and fandom, and different age groups as well. So now we also have plush and apparel, pins, figures – Funko Pops!, for example…

Really, we have over 40 licensees on board, covering a wide range of product categories. When you can combine all these to package with a franchise, that definitely feeds the fanverse! It always helps to have a fandom in place. As another example, look at The Walking Dead. That started as a comic, and also grew to now include a huge-hit TV series and multple spinoffs, as well as a great consumer product program…

I didn’t know that! It was a comic before it was a TV series?
Yes. The TV series and spinoffs have had a great reach – it’s brought the IP to people that may never have picked up a comic book. Same thing with Creepshow: there’s a comic book and there’s a film… It offered the IP in different formats for consumers who may prefer one over the other.

So I do think that the more content around an IP, the better – it helps tell the story to a broader audience. Sometimes you can introduce different characters and truly hit different consumer fandoms – whether it be the comic book reader, the video game player, or those that like to watch a TV series or go to see a film.

And let me ask you this… Is there anything you’d love to be doing with Five Nights at Freddy’s that you’re not yet doing?
Absolutely! As I say, we have over 40 licensees in place strategically on a global level. We often see IP programs initially start in the US because that’s where the immediate traction usually is with our clients. As that fandom grows with the length of time an IP is out, and the marketing efforts tend to build in different territories, it starts to stagger a little from country to country…

So right now, we’re seeing Five Nights at Freddy’s really starting to take off in the UK and Europe. The apparel was slower in those territories a couple of years ago, but we’re now seeing the demand growing quickly… We have some really exciting partnerships coming up in the apparel and accessory space.

I hope you’ll come back and tell us more when the time’s right, Meagan.
Oh, I’d love too! We also have some immersive experiences popping up in the Middle East which is very exciting… And publishing is very big worldwide. But back to your question, Deej! We want to make sure fans and retailers are being serviced, and that each opportunity fits into an overall strategy. It’d take us a couple of hours to do a deep dive on a country-by-country basis! The important thing is that we’re truly open to new ideas. We’re open to talking, and we’d love to see what’s interesting to fans; what licensees might be out there that we aren’t currently talking to.

Amazing! Last question then: is there anything I could’ve asked you about today that I didn’t?
Oh! That one caught me off guard, Deej! Maybe you could’ve asked where Striker tends to exhibit? Or which trade shows we attend – should anyone reading this be planning to attend the same… I think that’s important.

Great questions! What are the answers?
We try to hit the bigger shows and conferences, but also some of the more niche shows, two. Some of the big ones include New York Toy Fair, Game Developers Conference, Las Vegas Licensing Show, San Diego Comic Con, BLE in the UK… We think it’s valuable to attend expos in order to get face time in with folks we work with frequently, as well as create new relationships. Our feeling is that it’s always worth having a meeting and introduction because, as an agency, we have that ability to lean into it and run once we find the right IP for the right partner.

Relationships first, IP second…
Our company is very relational. I think it’s so important to get ahead of that when we can; to have a relationship in place… We have any number of powerful weapons in the arsenal as far as our business strategy goes, but I would say that relationships are one of the top things… That’s very important to us, whether it be a relationship with a retailer, a client or a licensee. It’s always important to have a relationship. And what I always say is, if it’s not helpful now, it could be later… So we might as well get to know each other when we can.

Well, that’s a very lovely and useful sentiment, Meagan. Thank you so much for spending time with me this morning – I know how busy you are. And I’ll let you know how I get on with Five Nights at Freddy’s.