Licensing Mixtape: How Licensing Brought Anime to A Global Audience

The last twenty years have seen the popularity of Japanese anime and manga explode internationally. From the ubiquitous renown of Pokémon to the recent streaming success of "My Hero Academia," anime has found a global audience across various merchandising and content categories.

In the "Licensing Mixtape's" latest episode, Steven Ekstract, brand director, global licensing group, highlights how the growth of the anime and manga sectors has extended into the licensing world. Whether that is a licensee find the next big IP or leveraging a popular series in a new category, Ekstract's far-reaching conversation with John Parker, principal, Patencio Development, highlights the breadth and scope of a globally growing industry.

"I'm not saying that every anime should have 2000 categories of products developed, but there's a long-distance between an anime Blu-ray or DVD and 2000 [product] categories," says Parker. "There's a lot of stuff in between, and if you understand the title and you understand the demographics – the demand of the particular audience for the title – you can really create a nice piece of business in many of these categories."

Hear more from Parker in the latest episode of the "Licensing Mixtape," and be sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud or Spotify. 

The Licensing Mixtape · Episode 5: How to Build a Brand Licensing Programme in Japan