Delivered at Casual Connect Europe 2017. Can a game company become a toy company without losing its soul? Licensing your game for toys, apparel, and other consumer products can be daunting. WildWorks CEO Clark Stacey will discuss the crash course in licensing and merchandising his company received over the past year, and how to best position your games and your development teams for licensing success.

2. The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amidst beautiful things.
-Plato
Clark Stacey
CEO, WildWorks
@clarkstacey

3. 10 things I wish I’d known about licensing

4. 1. What are standard royalty rates?
• It’s 6-12% off wholesale for everyone except top-10 IP
• Varies within range by product category
• Apparel & soft goods higher
• Low-margin toys & plush lower
•Exception: digital publishing (ebooks and comics)
•thelicensingbook.com

5. 2. Connection back to your game = bigger deal
than product royalties
• Typical code redemption rates are <3%
•You can do much better! AJ rate = 22%
•Key is compelling, unique, collectible unlocks
• Use unique code batches per SKU! Even per color!
•You will know more than partners or retailers
•Visualize data with tools like Tableau, Domo, et al
• Products have to work without your brand
•Purchasers who DON’T know your game should want this shirt
because the artwork is awesome
•Toys have to work AS TOYS - they have to be fun to collect
and play with without your brand, not because of it

6. 3. When will you see any money from this?
• Some products have insanely long lead times, e.g.:
•Books (18-24 months)
•Toys (8-14 months)
•Anything requiring safety testing
• Biannual reports common in boilerplate agreements
•Push for quarterly with informal monthly updates
•Licensees do have this info from retailers

7. 4.You need a new asset management system
• Distribute specialized style guides
• Control which assets go to which partners
• Accept and distribute art submissions for approval
• Manage legal documents, monitor compliance

8. 5. You need style guides
You may already have one for the game; this is different
Wrong:
Right:
“Here are our characters, go make pyjamas."
“Here are approved character images and
color combos, if you want to make something
different, match this vibe.”

9. 6. You need to staff up an L&M team
• Dedicated art director, project manager, graphic designer at
minimum
• Some agencies will provide services, but you still need this team
for approvals and partner support

10. 7. You need per-category, per-country strategy

11. 7. You need per-category, per-country strategy
• Agents in each country or territory
• UK, N. America, LatAm, BR, RU, FR, IT, ES, DE

12. 8. Pitch the symphony, not the first notes
• How big is this internally and externally?
• Internally: how much room to iterate within the brand?
• Externally: audience size, engagement, longevity
• What is going to keep the game fresh and visible?
• Major updates, sequels, partnerships, other media

13. 9. Key contract terms: the ones that get you out if
partner sucks
• Nail these down in detail between terms sheet and final contract:
• Key milestone dates, especially launch
• Termination for insolvency or change of control
• Exclusivity contingent on performance
• All phases of approval process
• Packaging standards, logo use

14. 10. You are your game’s champion
• Licensee goals:
•Make as much money as possible in their category
•Keep brand from showing up anywhere else in the store
• Agency goals:
•Sign as many licenses as possible
•Get money from them quickly
• You must decide:
•Which products are right for your IP
•When, how, and where those products appear
•How much is too much, and when
•What player-facing stuff you should do
only
V

15. Bonus thing!
• Don’t assume that because a company
is big, they know what they’re doing

16. @clarkstacey
Thank you!