West Design has launched a Mr Men and Little Miss collection that brings the characters into arts, crafts and stationery. The range includes paint-by-numbers, cross-stitch, embroidery and needle-felting kits, alongside scrapbooks, notebooks and sketchbooks.
The company says the collection gives retailers new ways to bring the characters into creative play, crafting and everyday stationery, while offering fans a more hands-on way to engage with a brand they already know.
Familiarity combined with creative activity
West Design describes the combination of childhood memories and fresh creative possibilities as the source of the collection's commercial appeal. The characters are instantly recognisable, but the products give retailers a different route into everyday life, spanning creative play and crafting through to stationery and giftable items.
Jo Bray, West Design's managing director of sales and marketing, ties the opportunity to the connection people already have with the characters. She said they are the kind of characters people remember with real affection, part of growing up and, years later, shared with their own children. She described that existing connection as a good starting point for a product offering, adding that West Design's job is to give people new ways to enjoy it.
More than a recognisable face
The launch also reflects an opportunity for established character brands, according to the company. In a crowded retail market familiarity matters, but West Design argues that a strong licence has to offer more than a recognisable face on a product and give customers a reason to pick it up, enjoy it and come back for more.
Arts and crafts invite interaction, encourage imagination and give a character a role in the experience itself, the company says. A book can introduce a favourite personality, while a craft activity can carry that character into a new adventure.
Bray said West Design is selective about the licences it chooses to partner with and that it is important to the company to focus on authentic British brands with a strong history and wide-reaching recognition. She said Mr Men and Little Miss, with their recognisable characters, quirky humour and distinctive design style, fit with West Design's product portfolio and roadmap.
She added that for retailers the opportunity lies in connecting licensed products with family activities, seasonal gifting and creative products that bring personality to the everyday. She said the thinking goes beyond putting familiar artwork on a product, and that the challenge is to translate a brand's character and personality into products that appeal to customers, work on the shelf, and give retailers a compelling reason to stock them.
Bray described the real test as what happens when a customer sees the product: whether it makes them smile, whether they can see who it is for, whether it feels right for the brand and whether it gives the retailer a compelling reason to stock it.
55th anniversary
Mr Men and Little Miss celebrates its 55th anniversary this year. West Design says the brand has a rich heritage to draw on while continuing to find new ways to connect with audiences, and that its new partnership and products give the characters more ways to become part of everyday life.