property. What will induce consumers to purchase licensed products aligned with one property over another?
Evergreen Properties
Fans of an evergreen brand will quickly recognize consumer products meant for them when the package design not only leverages the visual and verbal assets that it should, but does it in the right manner. Kids’ entertainment properties are a perfect example. Although kids may recognize a favorite character’s face on packaging, is that recognition alone sufficient to elicit an emotional response? Or is something else needed to trigger emotions on a deeper level? New Sesame Street plush packaging hones in on the fuzzy characters completely; they are fully visible within the packaging. So do many other toys, licensed or not, right? But what’s important in this case is that the toys are posed with outstretched arms inviting kids to hug them. Young children see these Sesame Street characters as their friends, and the packaging elicits immediate emotional response; kids want to embrace them back. The key visual on the packaging doesn’t even show the full faces of the characters—just parts of faces peek out in a playful manner just as kids do. But there is no doubt who these googly-eyed characters are. Fans making eye contact with these teasing faces will respond to them on packaging, not only for plush, but for products in many diverse categories. Verbal cues? “Let’s Cuddle.” What else needs to be said?
Creating a New Classic and a Licensing Juggernaut
As kids get older, properties must be relevant to their lives and values, so cultural context becomes more important. That, too, must be factored into a licensing program design, as well as leveraging the most equitable visual assets of the property itself. The story is important if it’s relevant to today’s kids and if it is delivered in a manner to which they can relate. That story must be presented in the consumer products as well as the packaging. Disney’s Frozen presents a good example. The storyline, based loosely on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, brings comedy, drama, and fantasy together in a timeless manner that resonates with kids. Interestingly, Disney Studios wanted to bring this story to the silver screen on and off since 1943, but the complexities of the tale and its characters made them shelf it until releasing its animated film version
50 • THE TOY BOOK
of the story in the fall of 2013. Two young sisters, Elsa and Anna, who happen to be princesses of Arendelle, are growing up in a close and affectionate way until elder sister Elsa, fearful of her own secret powers to turn everything into ice, distances herself from Anna. This leads to misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and a sense of isolation for each sister. When Elsa becomes queen of Arendelle, she accidentally plunges the kingdom into an eternal winter. Anna sets out to find Elsa, who has fled, to save her sister and their kingdom with the help of friends, after becoming disillusioned by a young prince whom she thought loved her and whom she loved, only to find out that he only wanted to marry her to seize control of Arendelle. Both sisters have to learn life lessons about love and hurt, disillusionment, patience, and endurance during many trials until they ultimately triumph, saving Arendelle and becoming close again. Properly capturing the essence of this entertainment property and its main characters, especially Disney’s winsome sisters, for consumer product and package design, was accomplished not only by using the visual cues unique to the Frozen brand, but the personalities of Elsa and Anna. Artwork depicts the wide-eyed, naïve, sometimes impulsive Anna and the more worldly-wise, secret-bearing Elsa. On some consumer product packaging, Elsa looks every part the Snow Queen in her ice blue gown that sparkles with ice crystals and snowflakes. In many depictions, the train of her gown becomes part of a frozen landscape and snowflakes emanate from Elsa’s cast-spelling fingertips. Backgrounds are icy blues and whites and often depict a frozen landscape or the mountain to which Elsa has fled. Some packaging features the supporting cast to leverage emotions from kids who remember the love, humor, and fantasy they bring to the story. Sven, the loveable reindeer; Olaf, the friendly snowman; Marshmallow, Elsa’s giant snowman bodyguard; Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, who schemes to rule Arendelle by marrying Anna; and Kristoff, the outdoorsman, help kids recall many themes from the film and add dimension to consumer products and packaging—without clutter. Verbal communication is very limited on Frozen licensed products and packaging, and on many there aren’t any verbal cues at all—only the brand identity appears with the visuals.
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2015