Licensing International is powered by an incredible group of licensing professionals hailing from around the globe who take time to serve the industry they love. Each week we’ll be profiling one of these professionals in this ongoing series.

Tell us about yourself.
My name is Caitlin Stephen, I’m a Senior Licensing Associate for Mattel Canada and I’ve worked in licensing for over 10 years. I began my career at Nelvana Enterprises, where I coordinated global approvals for Beyblade, Bakugan, Backyardigans, Babar and other notable properties beginning with the letter ‘B’. From there I transitioned into licensing sales where I helped launch programs for top tier properties such as Peppa Pig and PJ Masks in the Canadian market. Coming to Mattel has been a game changer for me, my background in broadcast, content distribution and brand building has been fortified by a new understanding of how global toy companies operate. Representing power brands such as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and Masters of the Universe has been a privilege, and I’m proud of the partnerships and deals we have rolled out of Canada. Mattel has been an exhilarating place to work, fostering creativity, encouraging me to push boundaries, and supporting the out-of-the-box thinking that I love.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find you)?
I got into licensing via temping. I was a struggling artist and restaurant manager in my mid ‘20s when I realized that I had no marketable skills, so I signed up with a temping agency and they sent me around Toronto’s corporate circuit. I temped at Indigo/Chapters (opening the electronic doors for Heather Reisman each morning), Groupe Média TFO (making props for French TV sketches), and many others until I was sent to Nelvana Enterprises at Corus Entertainment. Once there, I fell in love with licensing and was hired to the approvals department.

What is you biggest professional accomplishment?
My biggest professional accomplishments have been in business development and product ideation. We launched the Give & Go Prepared Foods Co. Barbie Dreamhouse this year and it’s getting a ton of buzz. I was able to secure the deal with pencil sketches of what a Hot Wheels Gingerbread Garage, Barbie Campervan and Cookie Dreamhouse could look like.

This month we launched the Barbie x Tim Horton’s hockey promotion which was a deal I brought in while pitching for a Timmies Minis QSR program. The original plan didn’t pan out, but it initiated conversations for a bigger, brighter and much more impactful program that includes co-branded hockey dolls, Barbie donuts, gift cards, a role model campaign honoring female Canadian hockey players, and a charitable component to encourage girls in hockey. This program has reinforced my belief that when you have the support, the knowledge base and the vision of a best-in-class team, anything you bring to the table is made better. Surround yourself with excellence and you will become excellent.

What keeps you up at night? What’s licensing’s biggest challenge now?
I find the biggest challenge is visibility into 2021/22.  How long will pandemic lockdown protocols remain in place? Will there be a rapid vaccine roll out and a rush back to our old habits or will recovery be gradual, with permanent changes to how we interact as a population from now on? I can’t think of another time in recent history when the world’s behaviors changed so rapidly and uniformly as with the lockdown measures of the past year. For me the question is how much of the old “normal” will be left when we come out of this and how to identify the innovations that will take its place.

What truly excites you?
The Killer App: when the synergies between the brand and the product come together to create something special, more than the sum of its parts. When you see a really good licensed product there is an ah-ha moment of recognition and delight. I think of products like Minions Tic-Tacs, the Millennium Falcon Air Hogs drone and the SpongeBob full face yellow T-shirt.

For me everything begins and ends with good product design, my motto is that good design is free. Creativity and imagination don’t require extra color hits, thread count or complex assembly, but they mean the difference between your product being another license in the line-up and an outstanding “must have” item.