Talking Brands: With Toy Fair season upon us, which untapped toy or game brands could thrive in licensing?

Anthony Garnon, Licensing Executive, Aardman
With the growth of print-on-demand merchandise, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more from Scrabble. Allowing personalisation would open up endless possibilities of apparel and giftware, with the potential to be quite lucrative for the likes of Moonpig and Funky Pigeon.

But on a personal level, I’ve always loved Mousetrap. From a licensing point of view, there’s virtually nothing out there – which is surprising for such a known family game. Imagine a licensed version of that! It bends itself nicely to very big brands like Pokémon. There’s also always the potential for a ‘life-sized’ live event attraction too. That’s worked – and then some – for Monopoly.

Richard North, President, Wow Stuff! & Chairman, Hot House Games
My pick would be Cards Against Humanity. Think t-shirts, caps, alcohol… There’s lots of potential there.

Jason McKenzie, Commercial Director, Paper Engine
I think SmartGames would be a standout brand that could really succeed in the licensing market. Their extensive range of multi-level logic games has enormous appeal – and to big kids too! A licensing partnership could expand their audience even further.

Smart Games’ fun and educational games are incredibly well-designed; their use of vibrant, eye-catching colours really make their products pop and stand out on shelf. I particularly like the way they have introduced logic puzzles into a 3D puzzle format. Very clever and engaging! I could see a variety of licences working within the style of their games, making them accessible to a wider audience – whether that be adapting an existing game or creating something completely new.

At Build Your Own, our experience of being part of the licensing market has driven strong brand growth, both through consumers and retailers. I think it could work well for SmartGames as they have been in the marketplace for more than 30 years and have a strong platform to build on. With the right partnership, toy and game brands can benefit from the credibility and endorsement that comes with the licence – in the mind of consumers, retailers and the media. Both of which support growth.

Certainly, in our experience working with Aardman, we have found that to be the case with gaining extensive national press coverage and also winning awards. Shortly after launching our Wallace & Gromit Rocket at Toy Fair 2023, it was featured on ITV’s This Morning show and has since gone on to win multiple awards, including best Branded Gift at the Gift of the Year awards and shortlisted in The Licensing Awards 2023. There is no doubt that working with a licence has helped extend the reach and awareness of our products and brand.

My top tip for a successful entry into the licensed market? While it can be flattering and exciting to be approached by many different licences, take your time to work out how your brand and products really connect with the licence and that there is a genuine synergy between the two brands.

Emma Weber, Marketing & Licensing Director, Vivid Goliath
Licensing in the games category has always needed a careful approach. Post Covid, the family games category has continued to boom as families reconnected over the shared joy that a family game can bring – as well as the competitive streak in most of us! With a growing consumer base in games, the drive to deliver a five-star gameplay experience has also become key… This is where licensing comes in.

There is now such a rich source of content – whether it be from TV game shows, reality TV shows, podcasts and publishing – players expect the ‘at home’ experience to be as compelling as the content they’ve already consumed. If the game doesn’t deliver, the consumer rarely holds back from sharing their feedback and ratings.

With that in mind, the product development on licensed games involves more time and investment to test that the game lives up to its licensed content. The Traitors is a great example of when the gameplay was executed brilliantly in the board game and sales leaped to the top of the charts at retail. The development of the game has to straddle delivering to the core fans who know the intricacies of the show – as well as a broader mass market who may have heard of the show, but not watched it.

With series two of The Traitors being the talk of the town – and series three in production later this year – we think the Traitors format is here to stay, and consumers will continue to stay Faithful! Goliath have an exciting roster of licensed games being launched at London Toy Fair, so if you are into true crime, murder mystery TV gameshows and more, head over to the stand to see how we’re predicting some of the most talked about content translating into licensed games this Christmas.