Editor's Note

Last month, this column promised you bigger and better changes, so here's the news you've been awaiting...drum roll, please...

We have integrated our sister magazines LICENSE (based in the U.S.) and License! Europe (based in the UK) into one international publication called License! Global—The Source for Licensing & Retail Intelligence.

Reaching readers with 12 issues a year, License! Global now has 33,000 BPA-qualified subscribers* (20,083 of whom are retailers) and more than 30,000 digital subscribers** across the globe.

Now, you're wondering, what exactly does this mean to you?

First, rest assured that we will continue to deliver the same editorial excellence you have come to expect. But we also will bring you:

Senior Associate Editor Regina Molaro, Associate Editor Alyson Grala, and Contributing Editors Dawn Wilensky and Bob Jenkins will continue to bring their expertise and insight to License! Global articles, as will Editor-Europe Sam Phillips and Deputy Editor-Europe Graham Pomphrey—familiar names and faces to License! Europe readers.

With this issue of License! Global, we offer you an analysis of European holiday retail sales results (European Perspective); international licensing deals, trends, and news (Biz Briefs); U.S. and UK toy market stats (Chartbuster); New Zealand market report (Globetrotting); American International Toy Fair, British Toy Fair, and Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair previews; a look at Disney opening offices at UK retailer Tesco ("Retail Roommates"); overviews of global trends such as edutainment and partworks; a MIP and Brand Licensing review; and a Q&A with new Marvel International President Simon Philips (Last Word).

Piggybacking onto our Toy Fair coverage, which reveals technology's increasing influence on toys and play patterns, we asked www.licensemag.com visitors what they think is the most effective method of marketing to 'tweens and teens. Some 46 percent of respondents said viral marketing, while Internet/mobile phone pop-up ads followed with 15 percent. Print and radio/TV advertising garnered votes from 8 percent of respondents, as did direct mail. Next month's question: How important do you believe retail exclusives are when it comes to launching a property or brand? Please visit www.licensemag.com and give us your opinion.

Coming up in our March issue: a look at global brand licensing strategies, an overview of the Brazilian licensing market, and features on kids' books and licensing for the home, plus our Art of Licensing and License! TV supplements.

Please contact us with comments/suggestions on the new License! Global and article ideas or markets you'd like to see covered in upcoming issues. We look forward to hearing from you.

Lorri FreifeldExecutive Editor[email protected]

Steven EkstractPublisher[email protected]

*BPA Worldwide Combined Network Statement for the period ending June 2006

**Publisher's own data