PLAYDIGM Entertainment Licensing & Branding

Learning by example. How I developed a brand.

Stage 6

Creating a three act screenplay is straight forward once you’ve read dozens of ‘How to Write a Screenplay’  books and absorbed so many scripts and compared them to the actual films.  This is mandatory, do your homework.

If you are going to introduce your brand in a novel or graphic novel form, then seek out the information on these publications and industries and work towards creating the best product you can.

When I finished the first draft of Galactic Gladiators I was pleased with myself (as anyone would be after writing 100 to 120 pages).  I read it again and again searching for spelling and grammar mistakes and changing a word here or there to increase the emotion or action.

Then it was time to give it to other writers, film contacts and friends for their opinion.  Guess I did a pretty good job because the majority loved the story and overall concept.

Stage 7

When I pitched the Galactic Gladiators idea to my corporation’s shareholders they were impressed.  I explained that I needed about $20,000 for storyboards to attract ‘A’ list actors, producers and directors.   My shareholders however, reminded me that they were capitalists and wanted to know how I would make money from selling storyboards.

It seemed no matter how much I tried to get them to invest further funds they would not do so as they only would give money to produce something that could be sold in a store.  So I banged my head for a couple days until I came up with the idea to turn my needed storyboards into comic books.

Stage 8

I pulled out my comic collection and reread all my Frank Miller and Stan Lee books.  Everything from Superman, Batman to Ironman, Spiderman to Sin City, 300, Ronin, Spawn, Men In Black and Hellboy.  Always trying to figure out why these brands hit it big.  I read a few books on drawing and writing comic format.

Then I approached my company shareholders again, only this time with the focus of financing a comic series based on my Galactic Gladiators screenplay.  Because they recognized the fact that I might be able to sell comics throughout the world, they started investing.  The cost of creating, developing, printing and marketing the GG comic books cost ten times what the story boards would have.

The next installment will be titled Galactic Gladiators Part #5.

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Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Pre-order by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Sandford Tuey continues to detail how to develop and market a brand by using his Galactic Gladiators brand as an example.

Stage 4

I purchased Movie Magic software after extensive research and talking with film and television industry contacts. Final Draft and Movie Magic are the most accepted software programs in Hollywood and I chose Movie Magic. I also read every screenplay I could get access to and watched hundreds of movies in the genre.

Writing a screenplay is a daunting task but since I  just finished the first draft of my first screenplay titled, ‘EXIT IN’ I was some what prepared for it. Exit IN is an immigration cop story where Richard Freedman, an immigration removals/detention officer, who during the escort of an illegal alien back to country of origin, loses his detainee and must complete the mission within three days or be fired allowing a major criminal to lead a deadly gang war in North America.

They say ‘write what you know’ and at that time I was working with Immigration Canada.  So I took everything I knew about this subject and added real life details to the fictional script to make it as realistic a story with drama and suspense.  I changed the names of the character to protect me. lol   Great practice for a first time screenwriter.  So practice by writing what you know as it is a great way to start learning the craft.

Stage 5

The main reason for writing Galactic Gladiators was due to some information I came across at the Film Forum during the Vancouver Film Festival (I’ve been attending this business conference since 1988).  One of the Studio types mentioned that for every dollar made at Box Office, there are three to five dollars made from DVD/VHS sales but anywhere from ten to twenty dollars made from the toys and merchandise associated with the movie.

Well it takes the same amount of time to write a drama or love story (without a toy line), as it does to write a screenplay or novel with the possibility of toys and mass merchandise branching off of it.  It made sense to come up with a concept with toy potential.

One day my son (age 8 at the time) asked me, “Dad, if aliens exist, why do they always abduct hillbillies and not the President?”  I didn’t have an answer to that but I came up with one, and that is how Galactic Gladiators was born.

The next installment will be titled Galactic Gladiators Part #4.

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Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Pre-order by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

The Making of Galactic Gladiators

Stage 1

Originally I wrote a short story to be used as a synopsis and outline for the screenplay that I wanted to write.  Standard procedure before writing the script. By putting down my thoughts on three pages of paper in the form of a short fictional story I established two things, 1) immediate copyright protection and 2) it structured my concept into three acts.  This helped with the writing of the screenplay later.

Stage 2

As I wrote the short story I had to come up with the lead characters – protagonist and antagonist, their friends and henchmen, names for the intergalactic races and describe what each of these creatures looked like.  What kind of worlds do they live on and what structure of governments, mind set, life styles or if they even lived above ground or in oceans of methane.  In a resumes form I wrote out each important item in this sci-fi action adventure. This is one of my favorite parts of developing a brand.  Using my imagination.

This stage took me four months to work out and the writing of the story took about three weeks after this research.  Of course, tweaking and improving the overall concepts happens all the time, even to this day.

Stage 3

I gave the story to friends, family and business associates to gain input and opinions. I gathered up all this data and sifted through the material.   After a couple weeks, I went back to my original story and planned out the beats of the story in a new file within the movie magic screenwriting software.  This laid the framework, the blueprint and I commenced the screenplay. As the writing went on I made positive changes to the basic concept too.

How to decide which ideas to keep and which to discard came down to repeat comments.  First, if I liked an idea I came up with or one from someone else, I would analyze how it could affect the entire story, plot or characters.  If it seemed like a good idea I kept it and incorporated it into the concept.  If the idea did not fit or was questionable, I would run it past people to see what they thought.  If many liked it, I added it to the story, if no one liked it or only a few thought it worthy, I would chuck it.  The idea had to be liked by most of the focus group people to make it into the story.

Stay tuned for the next stages of Developing the Galactic Gladiators brand.

To read Galactic Gladiators Report #1.

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Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Preorder by contacting  Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

GALACTIC GLADIATORS is a Sci-Fi action adventure where environmental – animal rights activist Tessa Guess must lead a coalition of abducted, mutating, humans and aliens in a war against the Chaons or our galaxy will be destroyed.

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I originally created the Galactic Gladiators concept in a screenplay but the first draft was quite different from the epic story it is today.  To help followers of this blog understand the intricacies and effort needed to develop a brand, I decided to use this intellectual property as an example, since I am so close to the property I have insight that I can relay to readers that they normally would not be able to know.  As things develop, I will issue posts sub-titled:  Galactic Gladiators Brand. They will cover my progress on  designing and developing a new brand.

In the Beginning:

Initially, I wanted to give my personal opinions on manipulating DNA,  altering the genetic structures of our foods, animals and soon – us – humans.  I wrapped all this in an anti-war story set in our sector of the universe where a galactic war between the Psions and the Chaons has been ravaging for millions of years.

Original Concept:

The first draft of the screenplay detailed that a confederation of planets decided conflicts not by war but by gladiatorial combat on a War Planet tactically created for this sole purpose.  I had to decide differences between intergalactic species, representatives from their empires and worlds, who would be sent to the conflict zone on this war planet.  These Galactic Gladiators fought it out to the death and the survivors became heroes for the winning species, who now won the spoils as victors.

This was a brutal form of negotiation between planets, yet resolved hostilities with minimal loss of life to the populations of the disputing parties. Compared to a full out war that could kill hundreds of billions of lives, this combat resolution was deemed a more civilized form of warfare.  Only those selected to fignt for their planet’s position on issues would be sacrificed.

Early Changes to the Concept:

Well, this was an intense, violent, action based story and with input from my friends and interested business relationships who had an interest in the success of my entertainment projects, thought this concept was not epic enough.

So I rewrote the screenplay and made some major additions and changes to take it to the next level.  Keep posted to see how this happened and where this brand is heading.

I will get into the next stages that this brand went through to become the comic series it is today and how I intend to expand it into the film, television, video game and mass merchandising markets.

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Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Preorder by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Hasbro is a major toy license company.  They have a contract to develop and manufacture toys, games and other merchandise for Marvel and other movies.  It is a company that is focused on developing brands, it’s own and through licensing the right to attach other company’s brands to the products they manufacture. They are what is called in the entertainment industry – a Master Toy Licensing entity.

In 2007, I received a telephone call from George Delaney, a seventy-two years young entreprenuer, who has been a games and toy agent for decades.  I submitted several of my games and brands to him a year earlier but had heard only praise about the quality of my brands, comics and games.  After that, nothing. So I wrote off that attempt to expand my products and brands via his help.

A year passed. Then I got a group of telephone calls in November – December 2008 that he is talking with a Hasbro connection of his.  Now everyone in the biz knows he has had a relationship with this company for many years and sold/licensed a bunch of products to them before (plus to many other companies), so I became very interested right away.  I mean this is Hasbro, one of the world’s largest and most powerful toy companies. They could launch any brand internationally and finance brand penetration to the point where almost everyone on this planet would know what my Galactic Gladiators and other submitted brand concepts were all about.

This was the big leagues.

This was serious business.

This is every entertainment creator’s dream.

Two days later, George Delaney calls me again to ask me to send my bio and toy/entertainment background info to a Hasbro executive with the ability to make things happen.  We also discussed several other people in the Hasbro Research and Development department that we mutually knew (Hi Michael).  So this was the real deal. Things were getting exciting.

He had talked with a few people who liked what I had created and set up a meeting for him to pitch my stuff. This was extremely short notice but being prepared for the lucky breaks is the best way to ensure to be ready for situations like this. His meeting was that afternoon and he would call me with the results later.

Everyone in my immediate circle was excited. Investors, business connections, family and friends were hoping for the best but I made sure they were aware that the percentage for a successful submission being licensed was very low.

This industry has the ability to take one to the highest peak, on top of the world.  This is a stressful state combined with the rushing to get packages together for important  meetings like this one.  My only wish was that I could be there to assist in the pitch because no one knows my products/projects better than me, just like no one else can explain your projects better than you.  Second hand information does not translate as good.

Anxious and uncertain were the next few days until George called to let me know that Hasbro had passed but loved the concepts and artwork used in developing my brands.  Their upper management decided to put over a billion dollars towards their Marvel Master Toy License.

They invest a hundred million to launch a brand these days.  Hasbro put a few of their own in-house brands on back burners to push the successful Marvel projects and toys.  A good decision, as I am a big Marvel fan.  I am sure this will pay off well for both parties.

However, the low of being pushed off to be reconsidered in 2012 or 2013 is some consolation but at least the iron is still in the fire.  If you knew me you know that I never quit and will continue to work on my projects.   Only next time, I am going to be at the meeting and help pitch and seal a deal, if not with Hasbro, then another powerful company.

Of course, I will continue to market my entertainment projects throughout the world as I have in the past.  With or without a major toy licensee.

I originally wasn’t going to mention this but this is part of the branding process and actual inside information can only help you with your endeavours.  Remember- the harder you work, the luckier you get!

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CONTACT: info@Playdigm.com or check out the Contact page.

What will be the next collectible craze?

That is the magic question every licensing and branding executive asks themselves. Research unveils that no one really knows what entertainment property or product the public will choose to watch/buy ‘repeatedly’ and collect everything associated with that brand. This is the holy grail of licensing and branding.

Why do some people collect running shoes, while others collect comics, or salt & pepper shakers, sport team jerseys and pretty much any type of merchandise their hearts desire. The source of a successful brand is a cross between individual personal taste and mass appeal, with a magic touch of hype.

Can advertising jump start a fad or fuel the collecting craze? Many marketing executives say ‘yes’. Ask any Ad agency that hocks products to the public and they will tell you that with the right mix of media it definitely will influences the interest and decision buying of the public. With enough money and repetition, they can design messages that will help brand a product or license. Quality mind-share.

Remember the buying frenzy of Cabbage Patch Kids (TM), Tickle Me Elmo (TM) or Pirates of the Caribbean (TM) related merchandise. I have never seen so many pirates as I have the past few Halloweens, all proclaiming they are ‘Jack Sparrow (TM).’ A good example of influencing the public interest and spreading the “I want to be associated with this” word of mouth popularity.

Sports teams spend a lot of cash to design new logos for their team jerseys, not just because they want their players to look cool while playing their sport but so that fans will gobble up their licensed merchandise. Marketing budgets ensure that these logos are prominent throughout the arenas and their team propaganda is disseminated via radio, television and print mediums to saturate their market territory and spread the word that wearing their team cap or jersey is the cool thing to do. Image is first and foremost to a collector.

Image and emotional attachment to a brand starts with the color palette chosen, the look or style of the logo of the team or entertainment property name. No one wants to look goofy when they don a team’s cap, or wave a banner in an arena or wear an item that does not invoke a feeling of being cool. That is why some team logos sell more than others.

Image and personal interest may drive the initial commitment in a brand but it does not make the licensed products collectible. Why do consumers purchase one brand over another (even if they are pretty much identical)? Quality.

Everybody wants to be popular. Nobody wants to be associated with wussies and wimps. So one of the keys to help your license is by getting celebrities and/or sports figures that are: a) already known and very popular but also have; b) the emotional image you want your brand to be associated with; and c) the magic touch of quality items that help the public decide to collect all things related to your brand. Lets address all of the above.

a) Which stars/celebrities or sports figures would be good for your brand? When Hip Hop clothing companies wanted to gain awareness for their fashion line, some paid Rappers to wear their clothes so followers of these stars would buy the items to look and be like their heroes. Depending on the street credibility of the star, determined the level of success of these products. Quality and popularity of the stars count.

b) You would not want something ‘not cool’ or give the wrong emotion to be associated with your brand. For example: if your license is a strong male superhero – allowing a Bra or Tampon company to use the name and likeness of your character would prove to be a wrong choice. It would be more appropriate to license companies and products that portray an image similar to the one your superhero already has. Products like certain sunglasses, energy drinks, sleek/fast vehicles and boy type toys. The kind of things that followers of similar brands already purchase.

For example: If your market audience is children from the age of 10 to 15, you would not try and market diapers or firearms to them. It is better to attract companies with products that are already selling their wares to the consumer group you want to entice.

c) Quality is the way you increase the collect-ability of your products? If the author of a novel signs his or her book they have written, readers believe the value of that item has increased because there are only a few with the writer’s signature on it. The fewer signed, the better for collectors.

If a hockey player signs a stick he used in a Stanley Cup final game it has a perceived increase in value over a stick he used in a regular season game. If this player autographs the stick, everyone would agree that the value has gone up, even more value is dependent on the popularity of that player. Perceived quality.

The more team mate signatures on that stick, the better the public will think this item is worth. That is why baseballs, footballs and hockey sticks signed by the whole sports team gain major attention and huge sales prices at auctions. Try and get all those people to sign something after the game is over or the season ends. Rarity enhances quality.

When we were exhibiting at the San Diego Comic-con, comic buyers would purchase my Galactic Gladiators comic books, posters, caps, mugs and original framed artwork. The savvy collectors would ask for signatures by the artist and creator because of the rarity of their autographs on these items together increased the value for each signed product. Even if the true monetary value increase is marginal, the perceived value rose due to the belief of the the fan in the brand.

I overheard one artist comment while autographing his graphic novel, “Put this in a safe place because if I am ever hit by a bus, it will be priceless.” The reason is that he will not be able to sign any more products if he is deceased and thereby the few products out there with his signature on them would dramatically increase their value in the public market. The media attention that is sure to follow the death of an artist/creator would increase interest from the public for everything he/she created. Media influences popularity and value of brands.

There are almost 7 billion people on our planet and if there is only one-of-a-kind made or only one signed copy out of thousands printed, then this would establish increased branding value.

Collectibles can be such a valuable tool in marketing and public relations. As a creator of content and product you should create collectibles by autographing a certain number for special followers of your brand. These few products will stand out from the other unsigned ones and provide the collector something to tell their friends about, which could lead to word of mouth advertising. The best form of free marketing.

When licensing your brand’s logo and character(s) name and likeness onto products, ensure they are quality products. I have seen several major brands allow their license to be placed on crappy products or products that just don’t fit the image or perceived concept of the brand. Don’t do this, as it is a sure way to destroy a brand which would require time and retooling/relaunching efforts that are very expensive and preventable by licensing only onto good quality items.

Never underestimate the value of collectors and their need to keep a complete set of whatever it is they are collecting. Do what you can to make your brand a collectors dream. That is what makes collections and those that collect, so rare and valuable.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Yesterday was the Vancouver Comicon held at the Heritage Hall on Main Street which is organized by Leonard Wong. He has done a great job keeping this event drawing audiences by bringing in international professionals from the entertainment and comic industries. There have been so many excellent artists, writers, editors and publishers, including independent creators, that I look forward to finding out who will be there every time.

I have always enjoyed exhibiting at trade shows like the San Diego Comicon, American Toy Fair and the smaller ones too. Sure, standing for hours on end can get to you but it’s worth it, as meeting the people is what it’s all about.

A good friend of mine owned a comic store in the Okanagan (where I first met him) and he now wholesales Marvel, DC, Image, Darkhorse and a plethora of graphic novels, comics, toys and merchandise at trade shows across Canada. He even sells my Galactic Gladiators comic series and licensed products. You would be surprised at the kind of revenue these events can generate.

Every now and then I help him with sales and end up signing a few autographs for customers. I chat with customers and ask what they think of this or that comic, artist, writer or story, but then I ask if they have read Galactic Gladiators. Some have, others don’t know about my endeavour into the entertainment industry. Either way, being involved at trade shows helps me realize why I am in this industry. The fans.

Self Promotion may seem egotistical to some folks but every one in the entertainment industry lives or dies by it. Unless you are paying a Public Relations firm thousands of dollars a month, you are your own publicist. Even if you have an Advertising Agency behind you, it is necessary to continue to promote your project as often as possible to get the message out. That’s one of the reasons these international celebrities come to the Comicons and to meet their readers.

Due to my efforts yesterday, sales of Galactic Gladiators issues sold out, plus an Archeologist wanted the GG poster on the window – which I signed and gave away happily. Who knows who these people will talk to? Word of mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing.

Another thing that surprises me, is every once in a while an independent creator will approach me and ask me questions on copyright, trademarks, licensing and marketing. These are questions I usually charge a consulting fee to provide but in the moment of the Comicon, I try to help. The thanks I receive is well worth my time. Hopefully they will use the tip or two and move their projects forward.

So if you haven’t been to a Comicon lately, GO! Support your local creators. Our world will be better for it!

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – ebook will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.

You’ve come up with a great idea/product but what to name it? How do you protect the name you want it to be known and sold as? What is a good name to use?

A TRADEMARK (TM) protects what you call your product, service or character(s) in a distinct territory. Like Spiderman, Ironman, Galactic Gladiators, Harry Potter, Coca-cola, Pepsi, the title of movies, novels, toys, etc…

First, it is important not to reveal the title of your movie, comic, story, character(s) until you have registered the Trademark(s). You can register Trademarks on your own by going to USPTO.gov or CIPO.gc.ca and clicking on Trademarks. First, search to see if the title/name has already been registered in Canada AND the United States prior to spending money on logo designs, product creation and advertising. If it is available in the USA then check other government Trademark websites to ensure it is available in the markets you are going to sell into. Check search engines like Google, Explorer or Yahoo for your potential name to see what kind of international competition already exists.

If it is not previously registered anywhere else then go ahead and pay to protect the Trademark and start with the largest market you are going to actually be able to sell to. There is a limited time period you have to achieve what is called ‘First Use’ in certain markets, so double check the date and time you have to be selling your manufactured product by and ensure you meet this deadline, because if you do not, you may have to pay extension fees or even lose the TM.

Take into consideration that someone some where else on the planet, in say England or Japan or (pick a nation), may have already registered the Trademark you want in their country. Each country has a separate registration system and fee structure. If you have registered a Trademark in X country and someone else registered the same Trademark in Y country prior to your registration, then you should consult a lawyer. First use of the Trademark will be all important and you will have to foot the bill for any challenge.

The Trademark, once applied for, is sent out to Trademark lawyers in that territory and if not challenged, is approved. If it is challenged seek legal counsel immediately. I advise my clients to hire an intellectual lawyer to submit and file Trademarks for two reasons, 1) they handle all the paperwork, domestically and internationally and if they make an error they may be liable for the mistake and sometimes, even the loss of Trademark; 2) retaining the intellectual lawyer to handle your Trademark affairs allows you to add them to your business plan, which adds credibility and shows potential investors that you are smart enough to not do everything yourself. I will touch on financing in a future post.

Then there is the fact that a Trademark will only protect a certain segment of products like print or clothing or digital. This means that you will have to pay to protect your Trademark in each category. Again, an agent would explain this, the costs associated to protect each category and help decide which categories to protect first.

For simplicity, lets say you are the only one who has registered the Trademark. This allows you to use the mark/name and profit from its use plus challenge anyone who attempts to use the same Trademark in the territories and categories you have registered it in. However, you are responsible for the cost of any Trademark lawsuits and all your Trademark registration does for you, is to have a government document that proves you registered the Trademark on a certain date. That is why it is important to be the first one to register AND to use it.

So, you registered your Trademark, it was not challenged by other Trademark owners or their agents who represent similar or competitive Trademarks in the marketplace. You have the Trademark document in your hand and need to use it, but you do not have a manufactured product to sell yet. What to do?

A friend of mine created a half dozen prototypes of his product (handmade) and took them to a retail store. He convinced the owner to purchase his unproduced-handmade products at an agreed upon price, with the understanding that he would repurchase them at double what the store owner bought them for. All the Trademark owner wanted was proof that he sold his Trademarked product in a documented (sales receipted) transaction. Proving he is actually using the Trademark.

Another person I know sold her prototyped product on ebay to obtain documented proof that the use of her Trademark was a fact. Even though she sold it to a friend online who returned it to her later.

However, take note that some government(s) may not accept this type of transaction due to the limited marketing and sales, which could be deemed not proper ‘First Use’, allowing someone else to challenge your registered Trademark with a product of their own. The point here is that different markets have different rules and that is another reason I recommend hiring a Trademark agent to file and secure your Trademarks. It will cost you more than doing it yourself, but better to know problems up front, then to have spent more money manufacturing a product that can not be marketed because the name of the product is already Trademarked and owned by someone else or that you did not use the mark within the time limit, allowing someone else to pick up an abandoned Trademark.

You can’t judge a book by its cover, well, that is wrong. Professionals know that the cover or packaging of a product has to attract the consumer enough to buy it. Nothing is better than a good Trademark logo design and a photo/picture. One key is to give the people what they want and be clear on what it is you are marketing.

The catchier the Trademark the better your chances for success.

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Orders for the FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – e-book will be available in 2009. Preorder now by contacting Info@Playdigm.com and for further information. (c) Tuey All Rights Reserved.