Toward the end of her opening keynote about the present and future of retailing at the recent New York Licensing Summit, financial analyst and retail watcher Dana Telsey said that “the future is about ‘ization’ – personalization, localization and customization.” She pointed to technologies such as 3D-printing and virtual mirrors in stores’ dressing rooms.

Later on in the information-packed day, Nickelodeon’s Sujata Luther, EVP of Global Insights, mentioned the popularity of websites such as ancestry.com and 23andme.com as indicators that many in society are looking for the things that make themselves distinctive.

A Balancing Act

The quest for personalized and customized product has been spilling over into the licensing world for some time, but the flow has definitely quickened in recent months. Many companies have either dipped their toes or committed significant resources into the personalization and customization business, in many cases trying to balance consumers’ desire to create a product that’s uniquely their own, with the IP owner’s need to maintain control over the kinds of personalization that may take place.

As we first noted in 2016 (Inside Licensing Oct 25, 2016), “It’s been going on for years in the sports world with jerseys and hats, and through sites such as Etsy and Zazzle, but now a broadening cadre of licensors and manufacturers are trying to bring personalization and customization to a wider range of product categories and property types either directly or within brick-and-mortar locations.”

Recently, Mixed Dimensions struck an agreement with CBS Consumer Products for a program starting next month that will allow those playing Star Trek Online to design their own spaceship and upload it to Mixed Dimensions’ GamePrint website where it will be 3D printed, painted and delivered to the buyer within 3-6 weeks.

(The GamePrint service is a platform that can capture and 3D print a portion of a game with images supplied by the user. The GamePrint feature can be added via an update of a game’s software or built into a title during its development. Mixed Dimensions also has agreements with for inXile Entertainment’s Bard’s Tale and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed for GamePrint.)

The push for personalization comes as brands seek to deepen their ties with fans as the users take “ownership” of a brand, say industry executives. CBS will sometimes offer consumers customization with a new show to “give us a sense of what people are reacting to,” CBS’s Veronica Hart said during a panel discussion at the recent Licensing Summit in New York. And, said Cartoon Network’s Peter Yoder on the same panel, personalization and customization “deepen engagement” with a brand and “makes them feel they are part of it,” an aspect that has become increasingly important given the heightened competition for consumer attention.

Speed a Factor

One success factor is the speed at which consumers receive finished products or capture “in the moment” events. Specialty retailer Lids in its stores can turn around a custom embroidered cap in 30 minutes. And online purchases made through its Custom Zone are produced within 48 hours and delivered within 9-11 days.

“Consumers want their products anywhere at any time,” says Jimmy Pierri, Senior Manager, Digital Customization at Lids. “The level of instant gratification among consumers puts pressure on brands as consumers become conditioned to think the speed of custom should be comparable to the speed” at which they receive standard goods.

Custom Personalization Solutions (CPS) says its TVstoybox.com – a site that makes dozens of licensed properties available for personalization across 13 merchandise categories including t-shirts, bedding, home décor, pet products and toys – typically delivers personalized products within five days. Properties already include Dinosaur Train, Wild Krats, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Power Rangers and others. It also provides the personalization platform for some retail ecommerce sites, such as Bed Bath and Beyond, Wayfair and Walmart, the latter having 2700 SKUs.

Getting custom products in consumer hands at an ever-quicker pace was partly behind World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) deal with Lids, says WWE’s Casey Collins. The WWE service, which is being introduced in Lids stores this week, will offer custom hats in several styles starting with 12 wrestlers and four WWE marks; new groups of graphics, marks and autographs will be released bi-weekly in the run-up to WrestleMania 34 on April 8, says Pierri.

At the same, WWE also struck an agreement with print-on-demand supplier Evode Group, which is launching personalized apparel at Walmart.com, says Collins, who didn’t disclose details. WWE has offered a customization service at its arena events, but believes that having it available at retail will further broaden its audience, says Collins.

Justifying the Premium

Yet not everyone is sold on customization. The time and cost involved for relatively small orders doesn’t make a consumer custom service profitable yet for hardgoods, says Picnic Time’s Scott McCormack. Picnic Time does make custom consumer order available but at a premium, for example, $57 versus $49 at retail.

“It is still early in the game for personalization (for some toys) and consumers don’t always know [why it costs significantly more],” says McFarlane Toys’ Todd McFarlane, whose company has explored custom programs. “It is a question of whether they want the $29.99 [customized] or something that they can afford at $9.99. They ask based on the assumption that the custom version will be the same price as non-custom, and sometimes their desires have to be tempered with the realities of business.”

Yet the additional cost sometimes makes little difference in gift-giving or during seasonal periods, two of the largest revenue generators for personalization, says CPS’s Tabakin. Indeed, Aurora World offers Precious Moments blankets that are sold through retailers offering personalized embroidery aimed at events such as baptisms and weddings, says Aurora’s Dee Dee Valencia. The embroidery typically carries a $5-$10 additional cost.

Here are some programs that companies have put into motion:

• In addition to providing a WWE print-on-demand service for Walmart, Evode Group’s Merchmaker has integrated its system into ecommerce platforms in the UK. Late last year, UK retailer The Entertainer launched a “Create Your Own” service on its thetoyshop.com web site, starting with advent calendars licensed by Nickelodeon star JoJo Siwa. It has since added Mattel’s Barbie and Thomas the Tank Engine and Spin Master’s Paw Patrol to the program. The line consists of t-shirts and hoodies, mugs, iPad cases, towels and pillows all of which can include a name. Evode also has customization agreements with several Premier League soccer teams, including Manchester City.

• UK-based Signature Gifts expanded into the U.S. last year, striking an agreement with Disney to offer 32-page books with children’s names inserted both on the cover and into stories using classic properties including Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Cinderella, Pinocchio and others as well as more current ones such as Cars 3, Frozen and Moana. It also has books available with Mattel’s Thomas the Tank Engine and Penguin Ventures’ Peter Rabbit. The custom version carries a $10 premium — $35 for a hard cover versus $25 for a non-custom version. Signature makes the service available through some online retailers including Uncommongoods.com and independent bookstores. It also offers custom versions of newspapers including the Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times with the consumer’s name embossed on the cover and title page. The orders are typically printed within 48 hours and delivered in 3-7 days, says Bejarano.

• Sock supplier Living Royal launched Crayola brand “Color-In” ankle socks that are packaged with four fabric markers (blue, green, orange and red). The line, which 16 designs that can be colored in, were a nod toward the growing trend of consumer seeking to customize their socks but for a relatively low price ($10), says Living Royal’s Courtney Lindenman. Living Royal sells a range of non-licensed and licensed socks, but the Crayola product was the company’s first to target customization. The line also found an unanticipated audience in children with autism. According to Margarlit Francus on her “Autistic Globetrotting” blog, some autistic children have sensory difficulties with wearing socks and also need to improve hand-eye coordination. The Color-in socks, she writes, address both issues, and wearing socks they’d actually colored themselves has proven popular with autistic children.

Contacts:

Aurora World, Dee Dee Valencia, Product and Retail Development Mgr., 562-205-1222 x292, deedee@auroagift.com

Custom Personalization Solutions, Michael Tabakin, SVP Business Development, 973-420-8070, mtabakin@cpscompany.com

Evode Group, Charlotte Clisby, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, +44 207 112 9340.

Lids, Jimmy Pierri, Senior Mgr, Digital Customization, 317-333-5383, jimmy.pierri@lids.com

Living Royal, Courtney Lindenman, 312-291-9047, Courtney@livingroyal.com

McFarlane Toys, Todd McFarlane, CEO,480-491-7070, tmcfarlane@mcfarlane.com

Mixed Dimensions, Careen Yapp, SVP Global Business Development, 818-425-1092, careen@mxdd3d.com

Picnic Time, Scott McCormack, Licensing Dir., 805-222-2526, scott@picnictime.com

Signature Gifts, John Bejarano, Country Mgr., 561-414-7712, john.bejarano@signature-gifts.com

The Entertainer, Stuart Grant, CEO, stuart.grant@theentertainer.com

World Wrestling Entertainment, Casey Collins, EVP Consumer Products, 203-352-8600, casey.collins@wwecorp.com