All the news and projects of the Mattel brand portfolio!
On November 21st the highly anticipated Mattel Licensing Conference 2019 took place in the Auditorium of the Mattel Italia headquarters, an annual appointment for the presentation of all the novelties and major projects related to the Mattel brands.
Eleonora Schiavoni, Managing Director of Victoria Licensing & Marketing, Filippo Agnello, Vice President & Country Manager Italy, Spain & Portugal of Mattel and Lisa Weger, Head of Regional Consumer Products Europe Mattel, opened the event in front of a very large audience with presentations of the various brands during which the absolute protagonists were all the brands in the portfolio, starting from those in the pre-school segment (Fisher-Price, Trenino Thomas and Little People), which confirms itself as a segment full of great opportunities and full of news and innovation. In particular, Fisher-Price is about to celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2020 with a series of surprising activities!
Another great brand is also confirmed in excellent shape: Hot Wheels, which for the male target is the reference brand, a great success of the last 50 years that stands out for giving children adrenaline-pumping experiences thanks to the detailed vehicles and breathtaking tracks, but at the same time it is proposed with positive values such as creativity, sporting spirit, determination and passion. A brand in continuous evolution, Hot Wheels, which is proposed as a brand all round from lifestyle to technology through the app Hot Wheels ID as we saw during the recent Hot Wheels Day held in Milan. Under the banner of the claim #accettalasfida children and families, within a space of 500 square meters have been able to live emotions and unique experiences in different thematic areas, an incredible journey through the world of Hot Wheels that has seen the participation of more than 2000 fans.
Following, space for Mattel’s GAMES. Let’s start with UNO, market leader among card games, and its various declinations (DOS, H2O, UNO FLIP) that has fascinated several generations and that in 2019 with the hashtag #UNODINOI has landed on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook with hilarious challenges between influencers with strokes of cards. Moreover, UNO has been protagonist once again recently with the #UNODINOI NATIONAL CUP, the first national tournament of UNO, which took place within the prestigious Milan Games Week 2019! And then we move on to Scrabble the original wordplay Mattel that has made everyone go crazy and raving in search of the winning word was renewed in 2019 with a new and hilarious version, which will lead everyone to discover the Italian in its most popular expressions. In fact, Scrabble Italia – Special Edition has been launched, a version where not only the words of the Italian academic, but also those of the dialects of the whole peninsula are worth. A target, the Games, which sees the family in the foreground and makes the consumer products area particularly interesting thanks to the countless opportunities that can be developed in multiple categories.
For Barbie, undisputed property leader in the world of toys in continuous expansion in the universe of fashion and lifestyle and in the retail area, which boasts many licensing collaborations in categories such as apparel, accessories, publishing, role play, art & craft, confectionery and back to school, 2019 was an exceptional year. On the occasion of the celebrations of its 60th anniversary, we saw PR events with a strong impact at key moments of the year, which were accompanied by important projects of the licensing team, which has already been activated through the offer of products that reflect the latest trends and news for girls.
Among the many projects in the food / confectionery segment, we would like to highlight Zàini with his collection of precious and refined “hand made” chocolate bars. In cosmetics, the partnership with Sephora has been extended, with the offer in Italy and around the world of the very special collection of 8 lipsticks, 1 set of make-up brushes and 4 face masks by Barbie. GOLDENPOINT also wanted to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Barbie with a very special Capsule Collection for both mother and child, tights, leggings and socks for a perfect Mini-Me look. Samsonite presented the brand new capsule collection Mini-Me Samsonite x Barbie: pink and black bags and suitcases, perfect for all travel occasions and irresistible for small and big fans of the iconic doll.
Victoria Licensing & Marketing’s pride and joy is the exclusive project “Original ICON Collection”, the capsule collection BARBIE by FILIPPO LATERZA for ORIGINAL MARINES presented in Milan in September during an exclusive event in the presence of the three exceptional actors, Original Marines, Barbie and Filippo Laterza. Thanks to Barbie and Original Marines, the girls wore garments designed by an authentic high fashion fashion designer like Filippo Laterza. The capsule collection is a tribute to the most famous fashion doll in the world that has inspired, since childhood, the career of the new enfant prodige of Italian high fashion.
The presence of Polly Pocket is also confirmed, a mini doll that is now an established brand since its launch in the 90s and that is still acclaimed today through fashion collaborations such as the colorful capsule collection created by GCDS.
We can therefore say that the licensing plan developed by Victoria Licensing & Marketing will be more and more articulated and closely linked to Mattel’s marketing plans, with the aim of being more and more identified as a “franchise driven company”. The franchise approach passes through a series of fundamental elements: collaborations in the fashion/trends area that contribute to the transformation of brands into lifestyle brands, but also events and retail experiences that increase the popularity and love for Mattel brands and complete the commercial proposal making products more aspirational. The year 2020 will be dedicated to the expansion and development strategies of Consumer Products for all Mattel Core Brands in all macro categories, i.e. Hardlines, Softlines, Publishing and Promotions, providing licensee partners, thanks to the “franchise approach”, with more opportunities and special support and collaboration in terms of design and innovation.
During the presentations, the licensing team, composed of Eleonora Schiavoni, Paola Moroni, Stefano Vernetti and Claudia Lucarella, as usual, awarded the licensees who distinguished themselves during 2019 with important projects. Here are the winners:
BEST LICENSEE HARD LINES: GREAT GAMES
for having contributed to the growth of Mattel’s top core brands (Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher Price) in the hardlines area, from the point of view of the number of products, capillary distribution, communication, marketing support and generated turnover.
BEST LICENSEE SOFT LINES: ORIGINAL MARINES
for the originality of the project, articulated and integrated with the brand and highly visible in the softlines area, a strategic area in the world of Mattel consumer products.
BEST LICENSEE PUBLISHING: DeAgostini
for the dedication they have put into the development of the advent calendar, whose result is excellent, and for the 360-degree marketing campaign they have developed.
BEST LICENSEE RETAIL: Golden Point
For the excellent activation in store: windows + corner and dedicated promo, all at the entire network of stores branded Goldenpoint.
BEST MARKETING CAMPAIGN: FERRERO for having guaranteed 360° marketing support (PV, Product, Digital, TV, social materials) for all the activities / projects implemented with the Mattel properties that have contributed to giving great visibility to the Barbie & Enchantimals brands.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: CIAO is the licensee that has distinguished itself for a turbo start in the world of CP Mattel, from a point of view of creativity, initiative, product line development in synergy with Mattel.
BARBIE LICENSEE: BACKPACKS
LICENSEE HOTWHEELS: DOLFIN
special awards to licensees who have distinguished themselves for the development of original and highly articulated product lines within Mattel’s core brands.
LICENSEE OF THE YEAR: ZAINI For having left his mark and distinguished himself for the development of a significant project in the year of the 60th anniversary of Barbie, supporting Mattel in giving visibility to the same with an important marketing campaign that has contributed to have excellent results also in terms of sales.
A day of great news and important confirmations. The Victoria Licensing & Marketing team therefore looks forward to 2020 with the same dedication, passion and commitment that has always accompanied them during the development of new projects.
