Tag Archives: lead

Darran Garnham’s Toikido launches with AmongUs global toy rights

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Given the manner in which Innersloth’s hit mobile and Steam gaming title, AmongUs, has managed to capture the world’s attention over the course of 2020, it was always to be the rather fortunate firm indeed to whom the licensing and toy rights finally fell.

Launched in June 2018, it took a global pandemic to give the free multi-player game the airtime it needed, driven in popularity by a number of high-profile Twitch channels that picked it up as the ultimate antidote to Coronavirus boredom, to officially become the most downloaded game globally of the past year.

Beating other popular mobile games such as PUBG mobile, Roblox, and Call of Duty, AmongUs hit a total of 264 million downloads globally last year. 41 million of those were in the US alone.

The game fired the collective imaginations of gamers the world over and incited much chatter over who – indeed if anyone – would be the company that aligned itself with the sensibilities of its studio, Innersloth, enough to take the game into the physical consumer products space.

Toikido founder Darran Garnham

It came as little surprise then when, only last week, the toy, licensing, and entertainment industry guru, Darran Garnham, declared that the honour had fallen to him and his boundary-pushing, multi-discipline business venture, Toikido.

The big news for everyone keen on tapping into one of the biggest entertainment IPs to have emerged from the 2020 pandemic – and most likely its ongoing 2021 twinned experience – is that, with the global master toy rights to AmongUs, we can expect to see launches across a number of categories, including – “but certainly not limited to” – collectables, figures, plush, play-sets, RC, and more.

The partnership will mark the first for Toikido, a business itself born out of the last year, as it looks to “push the envelope of innovation” in not only the kind of toys and IP it delivers to a contemporary toy industry, but in the way the industry itself operates. From the outset, Toikido certainly appears to be one of the many silver linings that the children’s industry has striven for over the last 12 months.

“Toikido has been born by handpicking amazing people who I have always wanted to bring together,” Darren Garnham, the business’ founder, tells ToyNews. “We’ve developed an ecosystem across many disciplines and skills that are really going to shake things up a bit.”

First and foremost, Toikido will be doing so by partnering with existing studios as well as developing its own brands, games, and content. Secondly, states Garnham, is that Toikido has been designed from the ground up, to push the envelope of what toy companies of the 21st century look like.

“We are a young team and between us have decades of knowledge, strong relationships throughout the industry, and we are trusted,” says Garnham. “It’s a group that includes Grammy and BAFTA winners, inventors, investors, social media, IP and tech experts, and it’s this unique blend of talent and skills that will make the difference.”

A name well-known in the toy, licensing, and entertainment circles, Garnham’s career has seen him attached to some of the biggest companies across the space, including the likes of Nintendo, Pokemon, LEGO, MTW Toys, and Mind Candy as part of the team that built Moshi Monsters into a multi billion-dollar retail business. It’s an enviable CV and one – through his experience with Moshi and a tenure at Universal (where he managed over 4,000 licensees) that has given him the skills needed to run a global IP business.

“I have worked with the very best toy companies, watched how they pitch, what they pitch, how they innovate and where opportunities exist to do things even better,” says Garnham. “I have also been exposed to models well outside the toy industry and this has led us to conclude that there are untried models we can pull from other industries into the toy space and make a real difference to how business is done.”

It’s through a career as diverse as the people and talent he has met throughout it that Toikido begins to be pulled together. It’s not just a team drawing from the toy or licensing industries, but backgrounds working with some of the biggest artists (in both music and social media) in the world.

“This allows us to not only launch toys from different platforms, but also from unexpected places,” he says. “This cross-functional, cross-platform integration and knowledge is one of the things that sets us apart.”

Garnham makes it abundantly clear that Toikido is here to “turn things on their head” in the toy space. A career spent watching innovation in product give way to cost in order to meet the demands of each part of the chain, Garnham wants to prove that “it’s still possible to make amazing products that give each part of the chain what they want without having to drop the quality bar.”

“Retailers want as much margin as possible, licensors as much royalty as possible, but also the best products, and the end consumer wants value for money. The we include R&D costs, marketing, shipping and placement, and compromise and mediocrity take over. This often leads to cheap, disposable toys making innovation difficult,” Garnham says.

“But we will be delivering toys that will be kept and passed down the generations because they are great toys with great play value.”

With a hand in Mediatonic, the wellness app Calm, KidsKnowBest and SuperAwesome, Garnham makes no secret of the fact that he likes to be involved in “fast moving, disruptive companies.”

“I love the journey, the energy, the belief to win,” he explains. “I also like data driven decisions. Research and launch, but don’t be afraid to kill or pivot if required.”

As a result of such mind-set, Toikido will be partnering with kids and family market experts Kids Industries and Kids Know Best as part of its service to partners, utilising the expertise of each to drive the firm’s insight and design strategy as well as targeted marketing initiatives through influencer programmes.

So to write 2020 off as the year we’d like to forget is to do a disservice to the leaps in innovation and forward-thinking that have been taken because of it. The toy industry itself has managed to find a new stride and has given space for opportunities as it has continued to grow during the challenges presented to it.

“Personally, I have taken 50 less flights this year and spent that time with my kids, while the negative knock-on effects for business has been minimal,” says Garnham. “I think we will question the need to spend the first quarter of the year running around the globe from fair to fair. With that being said, we work in an extremely sociable sector, and I can’t wait to bump elbows with friends when we next meet.”

When that will be, who’s to say. In the meantime, Garnham and the Toikido team have enough to keep them busy. Handling toy roll-out for the biggest mobile gaming IP of the past year is no small undertaking, and it’s a tone for the future of Toikido that the team is keen to pitch right.

“We are building a culture that will support our partners, avoid cannibalisation, and as a business, dedicate itself to supporting the shared visions, rather than taking in too many IP and getting distracted,” says Garnham.

“Within the team we have experts in numerous fields, so if the licensor requires, we can help expand IP from one platform to another – bring games into movies, toys into animation, social media talent into toys or music.

“We’re a new type of toy company for a brand new type of world, and we look forward to bringing a number of you on the journey with us.”

FanGirl Consulting named licensing agent for Somos Arte’s La Borinqueña

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The Brooklyn-based indie studio, Somos Arte (We Are Art), the name behind the hit comic superhero franchise, La Borinqueña, has tapped FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management as its agent to focus on licensing, promotional partnerships, and brand integrations.

Created by the graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriquez, the superhero emerged in 2016 as a direct response to the economic crisis affecting the island of Puerto Rico. Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, La Borinqueña is an original Afro-Puerto Rican character and patriotic symbol presented in a classic superhero story.

As a response to Hurricane Maria, Miranda-Rodriguez self-published the best-selling benefit anthology, Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico, under his own studio Somos Arte.

The anthology features La Borinqueña teaming up with Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and other DC Comics heroes. All sales from this benefit anthology were used to award grants to non-profit organizations based in Puerto Rico. During the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con event, Miranda-Rodriguez was bestowed the Eisner Award’s Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his philanthropic efforts.

Through sales of the graphic novels and various other collaborations, the grants program has raised over a quarter of a million dollars for grassroots organizations in Puerto Rico via the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

“Superheroes and their stories inspire us to help make the world a better place for all of us. With La Borinqueña, I set out to create a character that connects readers and fans to a real place rich with history and heritage,” said Miranda-Rodriguez. “Our hope is that La Borinqueña inspires us all to see our heroic potential to make a difference now, leaping from the comic book pages to the real world.”

Anita Castellar, CEO of FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management, added: “As a Puerto Rican woman myself, I couldn’t be prouder to build an official licensing program for La Borinqueña and to work with Somos Arte to celebrate our Puerto Rican heritage and share our stories with the world.”

In 2020, both Rosario Dawson and Zoe Saldana lent their voices to various public service announcements featuring La Borinqueña, and produced in conjunction with Voto Latino, Fair Fight, and Poder Latinx, to engage voters in the US general election and the Georgia runoff elections.

On December 18, 2020 La Borinqueña joined forces with Stretch and Bobbito + The M19s Band to produce the first song, music video, and comic book Que Bonita Bandera to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Puerto Rico’s flag which falls on December 22nd.

The song is released on 10x Grammy Award winner Eddie Palmieri’s label Uprising Music NYC (distributed by ADA/Warner Music) featuring vocals from such celebrities as Rosario Dawson, Rosie Perez and over a dozen more! On sale now with 100% of the net profits to benefit the La Borinqueña Grants Program.

FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management will serve as global Licensing Agent for La Borinqueña brand, overseeing and seeking deals across licensing, retail, and promotional opportunities, as well as build direct to consumer and ecommerce strategies.

Sambro eyes ‘period of accelerated growth’ following £13m funding from Barclays

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Toy manufacturer and distributor Sambro International Ltd is assessing new growth opportunities after securing a £13m funding package with Barclays Bank.

Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic, the Manchester-based toys and licensed children’s products specialist achieved strong sales throughout 2020. It is now aiming to build on the momentum through its latest funding package.

Sambro currently employs more than 90 staff across its offices in Bury, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam.

Tony Hicks, CEO of Sambro International, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Barclays’ team and have been very impressed with their desire to understand our business and build a strong partnership approach. The next few years will be very exciting for our business.”

Tom Falcon, chairman of Sambro and partner at Elysian, added: “We have been really impressed by Sambro’s resilience and business improvements over this challenging period. Combining Sambro’s highly capable team with Barclays Bank support, the platform has been laid for a period of accelerated growth.

“Sambro can pursue new opportunities and markets and we are excited by the future for the business.”

Barclays’ head of North and Midlands large corporate retail and wholesale, Matt Ryan, added: “Barclays has been building a close relationship with Sambro International since it was acquired by Elysian in 2016 and I’m delighted to see this latest facility put in place to support their continued growth aspirations.”

The Point. 1888 and Moonbug Entertainment sign six new partners for pre-school hit Blippi

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The Point. 1888 and Moonbug Entertainment Ltd have secured six new licensing partners for the popular children’s brand, Blippi. The latest raft follows the brand’s recent publishing partnership with DJ Murphy and builds on the growing demand for licensed Blippi products.

The Point. 1888 was appointed in the summer as the master licensing agency across EMEA for Blippi, along with other brands in Moonbug’s portfolio, including CoComelon, My Magic Pet Morphle and ARPO.

Since coming on board, The Point.1888 has sought to capitalise on the show’s popularity with young children as well as the need to keep them entertained and engaged by signing licensees across a broad range of categories, including clothing, puzzles and games.

The new licensees secured by The Point.1888 for Blippi include Scholastic as master publisher, Poetic Brands for kids daywear, Misirli for Blippi branded socks, TDP Textiles and Aykroyds & Sons for Blippi pyjamas and swimwear, RMS International for Blippi puzzles, and Zak for Blippi branded lunch boxes.

The new line-up joins Blippi’s existing partners in Jazwares, Creative Kids, Texco, Round Room and DJ Murphy.

With over 12 billion content views worldwide, the fun and playful Blippi educates and entertains children aged two to six years old across the world, empowering them to explore their curiosity.

Bethan Garton, Commercial Director at The Point.1888, said: “The brand licensing programme for Blippi is really picking up pace, and that is in part thanks to the incredible team at Moonbug who have been so open to our ideas and share our passion in making this a success. It may look like there’s a lot going on now but trust me when I say it’s about to get even busier.”

Simon Philips, senior in-house advisor, Moonbug, added: “The Point.1888 has been an excellent partner and these new licensees are a testament to the hard work that the team has put into expanding the playful world of Blippi.”

Chancellor details £4.6bn relief package for retail, hospitality, and leisure as England enters third lockdown

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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has detailed a £4.6bn relief package for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors that will offer UK businesses a one-off grant worth up to £9,000.

The measures were announced this morning, following a public message from Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night that England is to enter a full lockdown period for a third time in the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the latest developments surrounding a new strain of the virus here in the UK.

The payments, detailed by the chancellor on Tuesday, January 6th, are expected to support 600,000 business properties across the UK. A further £594 million will be made available to councils and devolved nations to support businesses not covered by the new grants.

Sunak said: “The new strain of the virus presents us all with a huge challenge – and whilst the vaccine is being rolled out, we have needed to tighten restrictions further.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve taken swift action to protect lives and livelihoods and today we’re announcing a further cash injection to support businesses and jobs until the spring. This will help businesses to get through the months ahead – and crucially it will help sustain jobs, so workers can be ready to return when they able to reopen.”

The third national lockdown will once again see the closure of all retail, hospitality, and leisure facilities deemed non-essential. A lesser blow to the toy industry than the previous national restriction measures imposed in the build up to the Christmas shopping period, its impact will still likely be felt across the indie retail network.

The cabinet secretary, Michael Gove, this morning said that he hoped the gradual lifting of restrictions could begin mid-February, but that the time it will take for the vaccines to take effect meant it was likely to be at least another couple of weeks before measures could start to be eased.

It is likely the measures will be in place until March this year.

“We can’t predict with certainty that we’ll be able to lift restrictions the week commencing February 15th,” he told Sky News this morning. “What we will be doing is everything we can to make sure that as many people as possible are vaccinated so that we can begin progressively to lift restrictions.

“I think it’s right to say that, as we enter March, we should be able to lift some of these restrictions – but not necessarily all.”

School closures of course mean that children will now be spending time at home, offering up more opportunity to the toy industry to capitalise on the need for home learning resources and toys. Many independent retailers are already primed for yesterday’s news, having implemented click and collect and delivery services throughout the course of England’s lockdown throughout the spring/summer of 2020.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the estate of Bruce Lee collaborate on social justice campaign

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Former NBA star and social justice champion, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has formed a new collaborative partnership with the estate of Bruce Lee. The partnership, presided over by Iconomy LLC, will kick off with the release of a limited edition t-shirt with the purpose of tackling systemic racism and fighting for social justice.

“We had an unlikely friendship – a 7 foot 2 basketball player and a 5 foot 8 martial artist – but we had a shared interest in music, the arts, philosophy, and improving the lives of people who looked like us,” said Abdul-Jabbar.

“We believe that tackling systemic racism starts with making a friends who doesn’t look like you and creating empathy for others. That’s what we’re hoping to promote with our social justice champion/social justice warrior efforts.”

Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee, added: “My father made martial arts an international phenomenon and made millions of friends who didn’t look like him along the way. This partnership is a tribute to his legacy and the inspiration he – and Kareem – continue to be when it comes to uniting our global community.” 

The partnership will be launched by Iconomy LLC and will kick off with the release of a limited edition t-shirt, scheduled to launch on November 27th – marking the 80th birthday of Bruce Lee.

“Iconomy, LLC is launching a ground-breaking partnership between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bruce Lee Family Company,” said Deborah Morales, CEO of Iconomy.

“A collaboration of this caliber – fusing sports, culture, and leadership – embodies the Iconomy mission of helping icons go from success to significance, and will open the door to more impactful partnerships.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the estate of Bruce Lee collaborate on social justice campaign

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Former NBA star and social justice champion, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has formed a new collaborative partnership with the estate of Bruce Lee. The partnership, presided over by Iconomy LLC, will kick off with the release of a limited edition t-shirt with the purpose of tackling systemic racism and fighting for social justice.

“We had an unlikely friendship – a 7 foot 2 basketball player and a 5 foot 8 martial artist – but we had a shared interest in music, the arts, philosophy, and improving the lives of people who looked like us,” said Abdul-Jabbar.

“We believe that tackling systemic racism starts with making a friends who doesn’t look like you and creating empathy for others. That’s what we’re hoping to promote with our social justice champion/social justice warrior efforts.”

Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee, added: “My father made martial arts an international phenomenon and made millions of friends who didn’t look like him along the way. This partnership is a tribute to his legacy and the inspiration he – and Kareem – continue to be when it comes to uniting our global community.” 

The partnership will be launched by Iconomy LLC and will kick off with the release of a limited edition t-shirt, scheduled to launch on November 27th – marking the 80th birthday of Bruce Lee.

“Iconomy, LLC is launching a ground-breaking partnership between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bruce Lee Family Company,” said Deborah Morales, CEO of Iconomy.

“A collaboration of this caliber – fusing sports, culture, and leadership – embodies the Iconomy mission of helping icons go from success to significance, and will open the door to more impactful partnerships.”

WildBrain Spark: How kids’ viewing habits changed in 2020 (and how to prepare for 2021)

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As we quickly approach the end of a year heavily affected by Covid-19, and look optimistically toward a post-coronavirus horizon, toy companies and brands have a lot to think about in terms of their 2021 strategies, especially when it comes to advertising in kids’ entertainment. 

WildBrain Spark’s Executive VP and MD, Jon Gisby explores how this year has changed kids’ viewing habits and how to prepare for 2021. 

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As one of the largest premium kids’ and family-content publishers on AVOD platforms, the thing we get asked the most from advertisers is: Where can we make the biggest impact based on Covid viewing trends in the digital kids’ space?

Some of our latest discoveries provide telling answers. Key findings and trends from an analysis of all our WildBrain Spark content, reveal shifts that brands and advertisers would do well to note in kids’ and family viewing habits from before Covid (December 2019 – February 2020) compared to after its arrival (April – September 2020).

CTV viewing overtook mobile and tablet for the first time

One of the first trends we discovered after analysing consumption data and patterns for WildBrain Spark content since April 2020 was that connected TVs quickly outpaced all other types of devices as the primary way to watch video content for children.

Smart TVs became the viewing device of choice for families starting in April and continue to be so, with 46 per cent of WildBrain Spark content watched on these devices even in October 2020. Connected TVs were already growing in popularity before Covid, but the pandemic has pushed families in the direction of co-viewership on larger screens.

Our recent report “Making Screen Time Family Time” in partnership with nScreenMedia, an independent digital TV analyst company, confirms this trend. Of the 3,000 US families we asked, 62 per cent of parents say the smart TV is the most popular platform for co-viewing, with 48 per cent using a connected TV device.

In the kids’ entertainment space, co-viewership on connected and smart TVs is likely to continue well into 2021 and beyond. Two-thirds of parents said they expect time spent with their kids watching TV/movies to remain the same or increase once the pandemic is over.

When preparing strategies, toy companies and brands should be sure to prepare spots optimised for larger screens, and partner with media companies that have a solid presence in the CTV market.

Viewing sessions increased on long-form content

In addition to the shift to co-viewing, we also discovered that viewing sessions on kids’ content have increased by 23 per cent since Covid began, particularly on long-form content of 10 minutes or greater in length. In fact, 57 per cent of all views since Covid began were on long-form content.

For example, the average watch time on long-form WildBrain Spark content between December 2019 and February 2020 was 3.7 times the amount of time spent on short-form content. Since April 2020, this ratio jumped 17 per cent, taking it to 4.3 times the amount of time spent on short-form videos.

This is a major shift in family viewership habits resulting from the rise of viewing on CTV during the pandemic. These trends show that kids and families are officially watching longer videos instead of shorter ones on larger screens for a more premium entertainment experience.

Toy companies and brands should keep this in mind when looking to partner with publishers: Aim to advertise against and sponsor longer-form content to help you reach a more receptive, family-friendly audience.

Media companies caught up to kids’ influencers and creators

While creators and influencers in the kids’ space often pull in billions of views a month, we saw a different viewing habit among children and families during the peak of the first lockdowns and stay-at-home measures in April 2020.

Essentially, premium content from media companies and publishers outperformed creator content, seeing a +22 per cent average view increase versus just a +3 per cent view increase for creators and influencers.

Some genres in particular saw a substantial increase in viewership. Kids’ music jumped 41 per cent from April to June 2020 compared to views garnered between December 2019 and February 2020. Kids’ animation saw a 32 per cent bump in views across these same months, while children’s TV properties came in a close third, at 30 per cent.

This increase of premium content views appears to be here to stay. The rise of premium content shows it’s important to expand advertising strategies to partner with media companies who have known favourites and premium shows that kids and families have turned to this year. This will diversify reach and improve the chances of getting in front of new audiences.

As 2021 draws near, make sure you’re ready to address this new kids’ entertainment market head on. In short, toy companies and brands should prepare their advertising strategy so it’s easily viewed on connected TVs, appears against longer-form content, and can be found alongside premium content from top media companies.

Culture sculpture: Beer Buddies and the fine art of merchandising

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A two-man operation working out of a headquarters in Wheal Vor, in Cornwall, Beer Buddies has started to make its presence known on the pop culture licensing and merchandise scene through its range of best-selling Motorhead, Iron Maiden, and now Original Stormtrooper bottle openers.

Using traditional sculpting methods put to use from its Cornish workshop, this is a company that has not only struck upon a unique angle within the traditional licensing space, but continues to champion an artisan approach within the sector, finding and bridging that gap between today’s demand for pop culture merchandise and the consumer’s desire for artistry.

Here, Licensing.biz grabs a quick five minutes with Beer Buddies co-founder Richard House to talk about the firm’s foray into licensing, its successes, and what’s on the horizon for the UK business.

Hi Richard, good to catch up with you. To start, can you give us a bit of history on the Beer Buddies company? How did this all come about for you guys, and what was the moment that got you into the licensing space?

Beer Buddies is just two people: myself and Seamus Moran. We both did design based degrees and formed Beer Buddies 10 years ago, we’ve worked together ever since moving to Cornwall from the Midlands in 1988.

Buddies started almost by accident when we were asked to design and produce a Green Man wall plaque. Seamus realised that a bottled opener could be incorporated into the mouth and I came up with the name Beer Buddies. We came up with a few more designs, made them in our workshop and began selling, as demand grew and the range increased and we moved the manufacturing to China.

We had never considered doing licensed products until Jens Drinkwater of Global Merch introduced himself to us at a trade show about three years ago. Motorhead bottled beer Road Crew was selling strongly and Jens suggested a bottle opener would be a great addition to Motorhead merchandise line.

The trail went quiet for about 12 months and then out the blue we got the green light from Global and six months later the first Beer Buddies licensed product was on sale. It immediately opened our eyes to the potential of the licensing world. Motorhead sold more than the rest of our range put together.

You pay homage to a real artisan aspect of creating Beer Buddies. How do you guys strike that balance of bringing the artisan to the licensing space? What do you think this brings to the licensing space itself and is it proof that artistry and merchandise can work together?

The artisan element of our working methods probably has much to do with our age. Seamus is a sculptor in his own right and totally at home working with traditional modelling materials such as clay and plaster. Neither of us are of the Cad era. Seamus has a meticulous modelling style and an eye for detail that is unique to him and that translates into the designs and brings a very human element to the work that a computer generated design can’t.

We look for brand icons that will translate into what we do without making too many compromises to the original concept. Also, because this is so new to us having good support from the licensee is very important. Global has been fantastic in this regard and Jens has introduced us to new customers and spread the cost of royalty fees when our cash flow has been tight.

What has reception been like to the Beer Buddies’ licensed roll out to date? 

The response to our licensed roll outs to date has been very positive. Motorhead and Iron Maiden are our biggest sellers. Original Stormtrooper arrived late due to the chaotic situation at UK ports but the initial signs are that it’s going to be very strong .

How has business been for you guys over the course of 2020? With lockdown keeping people in their homes for longer, has Beer Buddies spotted an opportunity here?

Like virtually all businesses this year, Covid-19 has caused us problems. Most of our trade accounts have been closed for 25 per cent of the year and some may have closed for good. We probably won’t know the full extent of the damage until next year. On the plus side our own website sales have more than doubled as lockdown has sent online shopping go off the chart .

What’s the next big move for Beer Buddies, what can we expect from you guys in 2021?

Next year we hope to get some more Heavy Metal under our belts with Metallica, they have the right look and like Motorhead and Iron Maiden already have a licensed beer and a huge loyal fan base.

FC Bayern Munich on path to revolutionise souvenir photos with AR and AI tech partnership

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With the opening of its new flagship store in central Munich, FC Bayern Munich is offering its fans a unique experience to have photos taken with its players at anytime, thanks to a partnership with the German virtual tech specialist, Sensape.

Under the partnership, the pair are setting out to redefine souvenir photos as the football club expands it Augmented Reality activities to offer store visitors the chance to take photos with their players through the use of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality technology.

Players and fans will be able to interact in real-time via the store’s photo screen where a realistic souvenir photo can then be taken. The project is the first permanent installation of its kind in Europe.

“Meeting players in person is a rare occurrence and not granted to many people anyway. Since the spread of Covid-19, personal contact is no longer possible. With this project, we are bringing a technology to Europe that allows anyone to take a photo with the players at any time, as it is not tied to a specific date. The photo even comes signed to the fan and makes the whole experience even more special,” said Sensape’s Michael Lehnert.

The AR technology has been developed at Sensape’s headquarters in Leipzig, Germany. The intelligent system recognizes as soon as a fan stands in front of the device and starts the AR application. After players pose virtually in the picture, fans can position themselves in the middle and a photo is taken. An intelligent rendering system automatically adjusts the exposure and proportions to the fan and the environment, creating a photo-realistic image.

The result can be downloaded to the user’s own smartphone via QR code and shared with friends and on social media channels at the touch of a button.

A similar procedure will soon be used in the Member Corner, where fans can sign their membership contract in the presence of club president Herbert Hainer and honorary president Uli Hoeneß and seal it with a photo.