Movie merchandise the next big step for entertainment industry

The China Film Merchandising Industry Summit was held at the 16th Beijing International Film Festival on Monday. This was the first high-endfilmmerchandisingsummit held in China, symbolizingthe rising power of China's future film merchandising development. Representatives from industry giants, including 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, were among those present for panel discussion.[Photo by He Keyao/chinadaily.com.cn]

Long-term strategy and better design

Another key point for Chinese film merchandising professionals is that they need to plan for the long run and also expand ideas for better product design.

"Film derivatives are a perfect combination of film culture and merchandise, therefore the designers need to take the cultural elements into deep consideration," Xie said. He stressed that those products will be carriers of the cultural heritage of each particular film.

It does take time for merchandise development, and designers need to fully grasp the film's cultural essence to make it materialize. This generates a common conflict in China between the benefit-oriented entertainment companies who want the products to hit the market quickly and the designer teams who try to make their work perfect.

Mark Caplan, president of consumer products at Sony Pictures, offered a possible solution by sharing his company's experience.

"We plan (the merchandising) 18- 24 months beforehand and the creation of design is the most important step, "Caplan said. "In terms of content, we also localize our design according to a particular local market."

Meanwhile, a long-time strategy is also key to success. The extended merchandising development of a good film IP can last for decades, creating enormous values, both economically and culturally.

"Take Avatar for example," said Jeffrey Godsick, president of consumer products at 20th Century Fox. "The film has created an emotional connection with the audiences and it can have a lot of developmentin China in the future, which requires our long term perspective."

He stressed broadening the production line and designing diverse products. Instead of just products like pajamas, key chains, an Avatar-theme park, tour exhibitions and performances, a series of cultural events can also be organized.

In fact, the diversity of film derivatives is high and the space for full development of a good film's business value is huge. Wearable devices, online games, on-line and off-line activities are also on the list.