Marvel expands franchises with four new series and CP programs
Emily Claire Afan
KidScreen Magazine
May 1, 2008
With Wolverine and
The X-Men and Iron Man: Armored Adventures sold to
Nicktoons and two more animated series (Super Hero Squad
and Hulk: Gamma Corps) in the pipe for Q1 2009, Marvel
Entertainment is working with a new strategy for hitting
kids with TV fare between feature film releases. "It's a
media vehicle that can not only bring kids into the fold
earlier, but that can also help us generate awareness
for some of the properties that sit outside the
Spider-Man franchise," says Paul Gitter, the company's
North American president of consumer products.
And it's not just the six to 11 boys demographic that's
in Marvel's crosshairs. Comedy-action toon Super Hero
Squad (pictured above) represents the company's first
attempt at making content for the five- to
eight-year-old set, and it's specifically designed to
appeal to girls and parents as well. The series features
shorter, kid-friendly versions of well-known characters
from the Marvel universe, including Captain America and
the Silver Surfer, and it's currently in pre-production,
with Film Roman handling animation services.
As for its older-skewing fare, Marvel Animation
president Eric Rollman says Wolverine and The X-Men
won't stray far from the series that aired in the '90s,
product for which brought in close to US$100 million at
retail. Though details of the licensing and retail
programs for the redo were still being hammered out at
press time, Gitter expects product to start hitting
shelves between spring and fall 2009.
Boys ages three to seven tend to be Marvel's consumer
products sweet spot, and Gitter will be looking to fill
categories across the board, with a particular focus on
apparel, back-to-school, interactive and sporting goods.
Footwear is already locked up through an exclusive deal
with Reebok and Foot Locker/Kids Foot Locker that was
announced last month. Marvel will also be working with
its existing partners on expanding their current deals
to cover the new entertainment vehicles in an effort to
avoid setting up competing licenses and cannibalizing
the classic and movie programs.
Product will roll out first in the US, then globally, in
all tiers of retail - from dollar stores, to mass and
even high-end boutiques. For these upscale accounts,
Gitter envisions high-grade apparel with designs that
may appeal to an older demographic, but not veering far
from the original art. Both he and Rollman see the
tech-driven Iron Man/Tony Stark conceit translating well
not only to soft lines, apparel and footwear, but also
to ELAs, video games and other interactive products. For
Hulk, they picture a stronger role-play element that
focuses on the green one's powerful characteristics.
Gitter expects the new series to put product in a better
retail position as well. "Retailers are not jumping on
animation and movies the way they used to, so (we're)
able to go out and demonstrate to them that there's a
real program in place that will not only play around the
movie, but that will last outside the movie window."
Promotional plans with packaged goods companies and a
QSR were also being fine-tuned at press time.