Start at the Beginning – Be Original
11-03-08
J. K. Rowling created and wrote the first Harry Potter book less than 15 years ago. It is rumoured that the second richest woman on the planet earned only 10 percent of all the money made from her stories. This percentage is for an established author. Take into consideration that means 90 percent went to the book publishers, the film companies, taxes, accountants, lawyers, etc…
Still, wouldn’t you like to create a revenue stream that earns even 10 percent of what she received? Or what Stan Lee gets annually or (pick any successful entertainment product/franchise).
The key to standing out from the pack is to have an original idea and a diverse group of products based on that concept. Nothing beats originality, especially if it is a good story with great characters that is easy to promote to the target market.
For example: When I was designing the first prototype for my martial arts board game, I knew the chance of success was limited. The toy industry was about ten billion dollars a year in the USA and the funds I was raising ended up being just under $200,000 Canadian for this board game (back in the day when Canadian currency was 65 cents against the American dollar). The odds of success were against me, plus I had never done anything like this before.
This meant that it would be next to impossible to manufacture the first print run and have enough funds to advertise and penetrate the toy and martial arts markets. The key was to attach a BIG NAME CELEBRITY or LEGEND to the game. Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee. Well Bruce Lee had been dead since the seventies and this was 1984. I still believe today he was the best choice at the time.
My mother always said, “If you don’t ask, you won’t receive.” So I telephoned Black Belt magazine, which I was a reader of and they directed me to Adrian Marshall, the attorney to the Bruce Lee Estate at the time, who invited me to forward to Mrs. Linda Lee, Brandon, Shannon and the Bruce Lee Estate a copy of my game prototype.
After months of preparing and waiting for a response, it came back in the form of a one page letter that explained that upon their receipt of an advance payment I would have the legal right and endorsement to use the name and likeness of BRUCE LEE worldwide. I sent the payment and immediately retained artists to complete the layout of the game.
This would be the last time a licensing deal was so easy and not a thick contract. I will be discussing licensing contracts in future posts.
INSTANT RECOGNITION
By licensing Bruce Lee, I saved millions in advertising dollars because (at that time) everyone still knew who he was and he is still a legend today. His recognition factor helped launch the product faster than not having a famous name involved. If I would have called the game Grandmaster, Kung Fu or Black Belt, something generic, it would of required a huge amount of advertising money to gain mind share (consumer awareness) with no guarantee of success.
I managed to negotiate this licensing deal with no lawyers on my end because I could not afford one at the time. I didn’t know it at the time but years later lawyers would pay me to speak to them about how I did all this without legal counsel (but that is for another day.
Once production was completed and THE ORIGINAL BRUCE LEE MARTIAL ARTS GAME was produced, I marketed it into 75 countries around the world. You too could take your idea from the Mind to the Market.
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