BRAND LICENSING
EUROPE 2011
MICHAEL ACTON SMITH
- KEYNOTE SPEAKER
THE SECRETS OF
SUCCESS – 5 THINGS WE LEARNT TODAY ABOUT
GLOBAL CHILDREN’S
PHENOMENON, MOSHI MONSTERS™
Olympia, London,
Tuesday 18 October 2011 – Michael Acton
Smith, CEO and founder of Mind Candy, the UK-based social online gaming company
behind global children’s phenomenon, Moshi Monsters, delivered today’s
keynote speech at Brand Licensing Europe 2011 to a packed hall. So popular was
his appearance, only standing room was available in the Licensing Academy as
hundreds of business professionals came to hear first-hand about the spectacular
success of Moshi Monsters.
Smith is the
driving force behind one of the biggest children’s licensing success stories of
the past few years and as such, has become a very influential figure in the
industry worldwide. In less than three years since its launch, Moshi
Monsters - an online community of adoptable pet monsters for children - has
attracted almost 50 million users globally. Currently half of all children in
the UK aged 6-12 have one and in the US the figure is one in five children in
that age group and growing rapidly.
Moshi
Monsters brought its
immense popularity to the licensing world in January 2010 with the launch of a
range of merchandise, including trading cards, a Vivid Imaginations toy line,
books from Penguin and a bestselling self-published magazine. Mind Candy expects
gross retail sales of all Moshi Monsters related product to be over $100m
this year alone, signalling an influential new licensing model for the first
generation of ‘digital’ children, directly challenging traditional children’s
media.
Key facts &
stats:
·
Moshi Monsters
has 50 million
registered users globally; one new user signs up every
second
·
It is played in 150
countries worldwide; its biggest markets are (in order of size) the UK, USA,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Ireland
·
Moshi
Monsters is the fourth most
popular website amongst girls and boys aged 4-6 yo and fourth for boys in the
7-12yo age group. In girls aged 7-12yo it is beaten only by
Facebook.
·
Around 65% of users
are female and 35% male
·
Moshi
Monsters is at the
forefront of the new transmedia trend, with a focus on taking the brand across
many different platforms in ways that benefit the audience as much as
possible
·
Mind Candy still
holds 100% IP for Moshi Monsters, giving it total creative
control
Smith said there
are five main reasons why Moshi Monsters has become so successful -
1. “Moshi
Monsters’ players drive development. We work hard to get the audience
involved; we constantly ask for opinions, for ideas, for feedback. For example
we recently had thousands of ideas submitted when we asked about trading cards.
When we use a suggestion, we always do our best to give the kids the credit for
their ideas, giving them social currency to show off in front of their
friends.”
2. “We use
many different channels to promote and grow Moshi Monsters, and we’ll
always make brave choices if we think it’s best for the brand. For example, many
people told us not to move into print, telling us we’d be better off sticking to
our core digital offering. Despite this, we launched Moshi Monsters
magazine, which is now the number one best selling children’s magazine in the
UK.”
3. “We never rest,
we are always evolving the Moshi Monsters world, adding new content to
ensure the brand remains fresh and exciting. Being digitally based allows us the
flexibility to iterate quickly and continuously introduce new characters in real
time, something that is restricted by the production processes of film and TV.
We have now built up to over 200 hugely popular characters. Our content can be
easily tweaked depending on its popularity. This is the appeal for kids – they
have control of this world in a way they just don’t in the real world, so rather
than a media owner telling them what they will and won’t like, they make those
choices.”
4. “Moshi
Monsters has an exceptional marketing team, covering live events, PR and
brand marketing. But even more importantly, we have the product right. Between
2007 and 2009 we had very little marketing, because we knew product was the key
– in my experience marketing is often used to mask problems with a product. We
knew we had it right in mid-2009 when it suddenly took off. The Eureka moment
was realising the kids want social interaction online just as much as adults, so
we overlaid the digital game with ways to connect, share and talk about it.
Suddenly it was a hit. A tip from us - marketing should be an accelerant to the
fire, not the spark that gets the fire going.”
5. “We make sure we
are the best licensing partner we can possibly be, responding quickly and
approving or suggesting ideas as proactively as we possibly can. Our
partnerships are critical to the expansion of Moshi Monsters. For
example, Moshlings, a sub-brand of creatures, has become one of our biggest
areas of expansion, with opportunities in many sectors, even a Moshling fashion
range.”
- ends
-
For more
information please contact Braben at ble@braben.co.uk or Rachel
Froggatt, BLE 2011 PR Team Leader on 0044 (0) 7515 587 199.
For further
information on Mind Candy/Moshi Monsters please contact Nicola Duarte,
Head of PR on nicola@mindcandy.com or 0044 (0) 207
501 1926.
Notes
to editors:
Photos
attached:
Michael
Acton Smith, CEO & Founder, Mind Candy
Over
50 costume characters, including Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam and Bananas in Pajamas,
took part in the annual parade at Brand Licensing Europe
2011.
About
Brand Licensing Europe:
Brand
Licensing Europe 2011 (www.brandlicensing.eu) –
taking place October 18 – 20 at Olympia in London
is the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Now
in its 13th successful year, Brand Licensing Europe 2010 hosted 236
exhibitors and 5,634 retailers, manufacturers and sales promotion professionals
from 63 countries.
About
Advanstar Licensing:
Advanstar Communications Inc. (www.advanstar.com),
producer of Licensing International Expo, Brand Licensing Central & Eastern
Europe and Brand Licensing Europe is a leading worldwide media company providing
integrated marketing solutions for the Fashion, Life Sciences and Powersports
industries. Advanstar serves business professionals and consumers in these
industries with its portfolio of 147 events, 68 publications and directories,
267 electronic products and Web sites, as well as educational and direct
marketing products and services. Market leading brands and a commitment to
delivering innovative, quality products and services enables Advanstar to
"Connect Our Customers With Theirs." Advanstar has approximately 1,000 employees
and currently operates from multiple offices in North America and Europe.
About
Michael Acton Smith:
Michael
Acton Smith is CEO and founder of online games company Mind Candy. The company
created Moshi Monsters, which now has over 50m players around the world
and is expanding rapidly offline into books, toys, trading cards, TV and film.
Mind Candy's first project was the Transmedia game Perplex City that played out
across different media including websites, text messages, magazines, live
events, skywriting and multiple helicopters. Prior to Mind Candy, Michael
co-founded Firebox.com (online
gadgets, game and gift retailer), Berwickstock (boutique music festival) and
Second Chance Tuesday (events to connect technology investors with
entrepreneurs).
===
Rachel
Froggatt
Director
Linkedin:
Rachel Froggatt and Braben
Twitter:
@BrabenPR and @globalfroggers
Skype:
RachelFroggatt
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