Spin Master: Inspiring Imagination

Canadian multi-category entertainment company, Spin Master, has built its foundation on creating toys, games, entertainment and digital games for children around the world. From “PAW Patrol” to Rubik’s Cube and more, Spin Master brands are huge in the licensing industry. The company is continuing to grow its licensing programs to build on its 30th anniversary this year.

Andre Lake Mayer, senior vice president, global strategic partnerships and consumer products, and Tammy Smitham, vice president, communications and corporate social responsibility, Spin Master, chatted with License Global about what was next for the company and what they hope to accomplish at BLE. Smitham credits the company’s multi-departmental approach to inspiring the imaginations of children and continuing the upward route of the company, through three different creative centers.

“Spin Master began with three friends who manufactured a single novelty item that spawned a rich history of partnership, innovation and entrepreneurship,” says Smitham. “Today, the company has evolved into a global leader in children’s entertainment with three creative centers: toys, entertainment and digital games, that work together to create magical play experiences for kids and families. Our strategy is to reimagine everyday play to ensure we continue to capture and inspire their imagination and engage them now and into the future.”

Related:Brand Licensing Europe Issue – September 2024

Growth has come through expanding both territorially and through each of the three creative centers. Spin Master conducts business in 100 countries with toys, 180 countries with entertainment and more than 190 countries with digital games. Spin Master also continues to expand through acquisitions, most recently Melissa & Doug.

Andre Lake Mayer, Tammy Smitham, Spin Master

Toys and Games

“Melissa & Doug was a strategic acquisition for Spin Master,” says Mayer. “We’re all so excited about this alliance and bringing Melissa & Doug into Spin Master. There’s a wonderful integration going on between the two companies. On the licensing side, we have created a strategy. First and foremost, the tentpole for Melissa & Doug in consumer products will be publishing. We’re talking to all the major players, and then after that, we are thinking about collaborations. We don’t have a partner there yet, but we have partners in mind that we’re having conversations with. It’s really about the essence of the brand, not just the label of the brand. We get the benefit of the recognition. Parents want their kids to have open-ended play, no screens. This is great early learning positioning for the Melissa & Doug brand. It’s extending what they already are, open-ended play and inspiring imagination combined with extending that sustainability initiative.”

With strategy and talks underway, Mayer says Melissa & Doug fans can expect licensed product to hit shelves in early 2026.

“Melissa & Doug has become one of the most trusted brands in the early childhood play with a stable of evergreen products that are built to last,” says Smitham. “In addition to their beloved activities, role play and puzzles, we are also thrilled to introduce innovation from Melissa & Doug that is truly break-frame and designed to take advantage of growth categories within the toy space. We plan to increase penetration of the trusted brand by putting the full weight of Spin Master behind it, leveraging our retail customer relationships and local market expertise.”

Spin Master’s expertise extends beyond its acquisitions, with brands like Rubik’s Cube also benefitting from the company’s knowhow. As License Global previously reported, Rubik’s recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, with multiple collaborations stemming from the celebration. Collabs in the works include “Stranger Things,” Lids, U.S. Soccer, G Fuel, Tetris and Sushi Shop. Smitham also notes that a well-known YouTuber will be getting a toy line through the Spin Master brand.

“Another major launch we have coming this fall is the first-ever toy line for early childhood educator and YouTube sensation, Ms. Rachel,” says Smitham. “The toy line has been designed to help them connect through play and reach important early childhood milestones together and takes inspiration from her videos, which support language development and early childhood milestones. The collection includes a wide range of toys at affordable price points, including plush, puzzles, playsets, vehicles, role-play toys and learning aids. We are excited to deliver hands-on play to her avid fanbase of 50 million unique monthly viewers and counting. Presale for the toy line began on Monday, Sept. 16 at retail, with the full launch planned for Oct. 1.”

Levi’s Rubik’s Cube

Entertainment

Toys are one of the biggest things Spin Master is known for, but another thing the company excels at is entertainment properties. From the ever-flourishing “PAW Patrol” to the brand’s newest additions, including Netflix co-produced “Unicorn Academy” and “Vida the Vet,” Spin Master has a lot to offer consumers.

“‘Unicorn Academy’ today is our tent pole entertainment franchise property,” says Mayer. “We started in November of last year, launching globally with Netflix all over the world to great success. The show hit the top 10, and with that, we brought in almost 50 licensees around the world. About 15 of those are in the U.S. Another 15 are in the U.K., and then we’ve got 10-15 key licensees emerging out of Western Europe and several of them coming out of Australia. The program’s getting very robust.”

“Unicorn Academy” just launched its second drop on Netflix and again made it to the top of the charts. Simultaneously, toys were placing, and Spin Master is starting to see good movement on toys in the early markets. This has allowed Spin Master to bring in additional partners that the brand is very excited about.

“To give you an idea of some of the partners that we’re working with, specifically coming out of the EU, are big names like Hatchette, Ravensburger, VTech and Panini,” says Mayer. “Those are some of the high-level, pan-regional best-in-class licensees that have just recently come on board because of the success that we’re already seeing both with our awareness levels on Netflix and the early read we’re seeing on toys.”

With this success, Spin Master is expanding agency representation for the property, bringing on a full arsenal of agents in Latin America: Redibra in Brazil, Mon in Central America and Tycoon for the rest of the region. Mayer also noted the recent signing of Planeta for France.

Spin Master’s “Vida the Vet” is also celebrating growth, with a publishing program currently closing with Hachette, toy launches in the U.S. and France TV brought on as licensing agent in France.

Still from “Unicorn Academy”

Digital Gaming

The third creative center of Spin Master’s success boasts “Toca Boca,” a popular digital game franchise currently building a licensing program.

“‘Toca Boca’ is a very successful digital game coming out of our digital division,” says Mayer. “We’ve just started our conversations with potential partners, both in the collabs space as well as in the traditional licensing space and retail. We announced our strategic partnership with Sky Brands as our soft lines partner out of Europe for ‘Toca Boca’ and they are pan-regional. They have soft lines, apparel as well as home products. That’s how we’re starting this program. Publishing will be a big part of it down the line as well.”

Ms. Rachel toy line

Growing Each Creative Center

Exhibiting at Brand Licensing Europe is another step toward Spin Master’s goal of building and supporting its brand portfolio.

“When we think about what’s next for the company within toys, we are focused on building our evergreen core brands like ‘PAW Patrol,’ Kinetic Sand and Rubik’s Cube,” says Smitham. “We are growing our licensed properties like Monster Jam and ‘Gabby’s Dollhouse,’ while also attracting new licensed partnerships and we are reinvigorating innovation – something which has always defined Spin Master. Within entertainment, we are diversifying our slate with the introduction of new series like ‘Unicorn Academy’ and ‘Vida the Vet’ while also continuing to expand into theatricals given our success with the ‘PAW Patrol’ movies. Within Digital Games we are focused on expanding our player network by introducing new games like ‘Rubik’s Match’ and ‘Toca Days.’”

Mayer agrees with this sentiment, building on the latest additions that have bolstered the three creative centers of the Spin Master brand and how BLE is another step in continuing that growth.

“We are exhibiting because we’re supporting a portfolio of brands,” says Mayer. “We are just kicking off quite a few of both our agent and TV broadcast relationships as well as our licensee relationships. ‘Unicorn Academy’ is still very new to the market, and we want to tell the story about how toys are selling. ‘Vida’ is very much connected to the BBC, and being in London, there’s a story there. We’re just bringing on agents for Vida and we really want to tell the story of the portfolio brands for Spin Master, making sure we’re supporting all our partners in the marketplace. Lastly, we want the retailers to know what we’re doing in Europe so that they can really consider the benefits of Spin Master brands and working with us and our partners.”

This story was taken from the September 2024 issue of License Global. Read the full issue here …