Updated: May 4
By Philippe Guinaudeau, CEO
BrandTrends shares the Most favorite Entertainment brands in the autumn of 2022
[Article published in the Total Licensing Magazine / January 2023 Edition]
BrandTrends Group unveils some major findings from its most recent research, and some key facts can be extracted when compared to the previous three years.
With a combined children population of 2.8 million, Sweden and Denmark (often referred to as “brotherfolks”) are an interesting part of the Nordic countries.
Sweden is known for several famous innovations, such as Alfred Nobel’s creation of dynamite (yes, the same who instituted the Nobel Prizes). Or Anders Celsius’s invention, the centigrade system, which uses degrees Celsius to measure temperature. The first pacemaker that controls patients’ hearts’ beating was also developed in Sweden.
Of course, many of you already know IKEA, originating from Sweden, or even Volvo, Tetra Pak and Electrolux or Ericsson.
Denmark tops the list of the happiest nations in the world, with all of the Nordic countries following closely after. Denmark is renowned for its philosophy that no one is superior to the other. It plays a significant role in the society’s egalitarian and accepting culture.
Naturally, a lot of you already know about LEGO, one of the most favorite Entertainment brands to children, families but also adults! And what’s about Pandora or even Ecco, not to mention some well-known beer brands in the world.
Well organized and segmented markets
In comparison to other countries, the total number of brands existing in these countries may be viewed as low. When compared to Canada or Spain, the 150 different brands that children up to the age of 14 know about seems low. However, this competitive set is rather severe given the size of the targeted population.
When broken down to a thinner demographic level, each age group & gender is familiar with around 75 different brands of those 150. And, in their tradition of equality, a very large proportion of those brands are well known by both the boys and the girls.
Where videogame brands typically experience short-term growth
As expected, LEGO lead the most favorite brands, and even rise on the long-term (+1.4 pts).
The market’s most intriguing statistic, though, is that videogame brands, lead by Roblox, have increased significantly despite experiencing a decline three years ago! I should claim that the countries are back in business with the global trend.
And comic book characters slowly develop
The Marvel and DC Comics universes have experienced substantial development, much like many other well-developed countries. As a result, Marvel achieves 6.8 % of the most popular brands in the autumn of 2022, up from 2.5 % three years prior, while DC Comics reaches 1.9 % against 0.8% three years prior.
Marvel does not, however, occupy the leadership or challenger roles, in comparison to the majority of the countries, even if the brand finishes a respectable #5 rank.
The fact that the Nordic marketplaces carry a wide variety of regional brands, such Bamse, Babblarna, and Bolibompa, is another interesting aspect of these markets. Additionally, the vast majority of these regional brands focus on infant and preschool audiences rather than older kids.
Since LEGO is one of the most well-known companies in many nations throughout the world and frequently competes with Marvel and other leading brands for market share, I chose not to list it in the previous; but you understood my point.
Ownership and Licensing Opportunities
Overall, the Nordic market is just lively for products with an entertainment license. The variety of purchases has expanded in terms of product categories and quantity (more categories, more products within each category), but it has also increased by 5 percentage points in terms of new consumers who don’t currently own a licensed product (about 138,000 new buying households for the demographic group). Overall, this indicates that the market for these products will grow over the next year (2023).
Another thing to keep in mind is that, aside from the dynamic Swedish brand Bolibompa, all regional brands often exhibit significantly smaller customer demand gaps than do the other worldwide brands.
A greater variety of Entertainment brand categories are expected for the Nordic markets
Due to their unique characteristics, the Swedish and Danish markets demand a greater range of varied entertainment brands and balance the many formats: whether they are international or regional brands, originated from movies, TV shows, videogames, or comics, there is a place for many of the products. Even while the most popular brands have the same market share as in other developed nations, their makeup leaves room for other players and growth potential for up-and-coming firms.
There are a ton of possibilities emerging for mid-level brands, giving those who can take advantage of the opportunity the potential to forge their own path to the top. The level of sophistication of the countries and the numerous options make it challenging to pass up this opportunity.
About the report
The current report provides a detailed analysis of brand awareness, popularity, and purchase intent of the most important Entertainment brands within a country. The most crucial aspect is that it predicts product category purchasing intentions. The service reports on 11,500+ different Entertainment, Fashion, or Sports brands four times a year, and interviews 200,000+ people ranging in age from infants to seniors in 42 countries, including Sweden and Denmark.
