Re: (fwd) Licensing - Tiny Toon, Swat Kats, and more

From: Andy Hill <chance_at_unix.infoserve.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Jun 1995 20:53:45 -0700 (PDT)

On Wed, 21 Jun 1995, Andy Hill wrote:

> Path: news.infoserve.net!news.bc.net!news.mindlink.net!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!ix.netcom.com!netnews
> From: mrussell_at_ix.netcom.com (Michael Russell)
> Newsgroups: rec.arts.animation,alt.tv.tiny-toon,alt.tv.animaniacs
> Subject: Licensing - Tiny Toon, Swat Kats, and more

> There is a big licensing convention, Licensing 95, being held this week
> in New York City. At the convention, property owners tend to exhibit
> their "hot" properties or ones they want to "spark" interest in. Here
> are some things I have learned about from the convention.
>
> Turner Home Entertainment
> -------------------------
> Their promotional material and floor display do not have any
> mention of Swat Kats. The big properties appear to be: "Jonny Quest",
> "Cave Kids" (based on Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm), World Championship
> Wrestling, "The Flintstones", "Captain Planet", and Classic
> Hanna-Barbera. By the way, this year is the 55th anniversary of Tom &
> Jerry (the winner of more Oscars than any other cartoon or
> character(s)).

...and now I'm writing:

     Um, you have to wonder what Remco thinks right about now. I wonder
what makes Turner think that Planet is anything but stale now, and isn't
the whole "promotion" game a kind of "chicken and the egg" scenario?
Don't you promote something, _then_ it becomes hot? If the reverse held
true, then they'd be promoting 'KATS - correct? It's already "hot" and
hasn't needed any of Ted's efforts with the spotlight. Marketing - oy vey.

     Anyway, Turner announced over the wire service today that he'll be
spending something like 35 mil on promotion of "Jonny Quest", with
"Action Figures, games, videos - 'The Works'" - does any of this sound
familiar? It should - Turner promised us all of the above for "SwatKats"
this year.

Andy (who's getting rather good at his Ted Turner dartboard; the darts
      are shaped like Creeplings - fitting, don't you think?)


Received on Thu Jun 22 1995 - 00:10:51 PDT