Professional Agents Enhance Success

Back Each company has its own way to market and license its properties. Some just sell off the rights and let the buyer handle properties as they see fit. "With us, everything is orchestrated, with a carefully planned strategy and a detailed execution, with everything going back to Japan for clearance," he says. Animation Int'l also remains responsible for the legal protection of the characters and properties in terms of any trademark and copyright infringements. Although not vertically involved in the manufacturing and distribution, the company maintains high quality control on licensees' output and works with them on distribution and reach. The triangular relationships of licensors, licensees and agents are delicate, with success or failure often riding on an agent's skills. "It's very much a hand-holding business where we help the licensees through the gamut of industry nuances and requirements on the one hand, and also ensure that they do not deviate or default in their standards and comply wholly with what is expected of them, on the other," Sharat says. Choosing the right licensing partner is crucial in this business. "There is no winning formula in choosing a right partner. We go with experience and apply certain rules of thumb. We have an internal rating system based on four major areas to rank prospective licensees: product capability, distribution capability, marketing capability and financial capability," he says. He says western influences will continue to drive global markets for licensed goods. "Asian animation has come of age recently and is strong regionally. We are now seeing an explosion in movie-related licensing businesses. But, of all categories open for licensing, toys will drive the industry. Many western companies see post-World Trade Organization potential on the Chinese mainland. "They look for Hong Kong companies to represent them on the mainland," Sharat says. "But the sheer size and vagaries of the mainland market pose real challenges to even the most established players in this business. This will be the real test in the coming years."   While western influences are expected to continue to drive the licensing sector, Asian animation has come of age and offers unique opportunities.     Back