It's A Wrap

If and when kids begin exclaiming "Show me the mummies merchandise!" it will be music to Joy Tashjian's ears. As DIC's president of merchandising and sales, Tashjian is responsible for getting the mummies to market. "Merchandising is called in quite early [to assess] product applications," she explains. "That does not mean we come in and change the story line and say `Gee, if we give the mummies a big gun, that'll make it a much better toy.' We don't really want to mix [the creative and licensing aspects]."

What they do want to do, says Tashjian, is determine at the outset the best way to showcase the property they're working on. "Once we know there is a series in place, we begin our presentation process to the various toy and publishing companies," she says. "Certain properties really don't lend themselves to toy [merchandise]; they may be better suited for computer games. Or they may be more appropriate for a publishing line. We need to make these kinds of determinations so we can design support materials and begin our presentation."

In drumming up interest for a property, Tashjian stresses the importance of distinguishing yourself from the pack. A simple task? Hardly. "Because of the glut of TV products coming out for children, the big dilemma we face is focusing on a position for the property," she says. "For `Mummies Alive,' of course, it's the twist of Egyptology [coupled with] Reitman's tremendous talent for humor. We have to make sure we find a way to have `Mummies Alive' rise above all the other new animated series coming out. So we develop a strategy on several levels--all of which culminate with the viewer, the consumer and the retailer."

Not surprisingly, domestic licensing is the first order of business--the international launch of a property generally follows a year later, according to Tashjian. Of paramount concern, clearly, is the selection of a master toy licensee for "Mummies Alive." DIC's choice? Hasbro Inc., a major toy manufacturer in Cincinnati.

"A partnership with any of the key toy companies is crucial to building a strong merchandising program," explains Tashjian. "You find the company [that will best support a particular property], and, in this case, Hasbro really identified with `Mummies Alive.' This is something they heavily believe in--in fact, they're calling this their number-one boys' line for 1998."

Which isn't to suggest that you can expect a veritable mountain of "Mummies Alive" merchandise coming soon to a toy store near you. Recognizing that it often takes a while for a new show to catch on, DIC has established strict ground rules to prevent premature product rollout. "With the exception of Hasbro, which will have small quantities of `Mummies' action figures in time for Christmas, we will not allow any licensees to ship product to retail [locations] until the first quarter of 1998," Tashjian reveals.

"Before [a property] is established, you're always walking a tightrope of sorts," says Brochstein of The LicensingLetter. "You want to have enough inventory to satisfy demand--and not much more. But if something explodes, you want to be able to take advantage of it--and that's where [your gut instinct] comes in."

This article was originally published in the September 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: It's A Wrap.