The Bugg Report had the chance to speak to Cathy Skelton prior to the 2018 Toy Hobby & Licensing Fair to learn about the new division she is working on at Showtime Attractions; premiums & promotions.
Cathy, it must be great to be back in the licensing business and in partnership with Keith Brown to bring a new dimension to the Showtime Attractions business with premiums & promotions?
It is just fantastic to be back in the licensing industry and a field that I love so much and enjoy. I have known Keith Brown and Showtime Attractions for many years now and it is a pleasure and an honour to be a part of the Showtime Attractions team and have the opportunity to grow this area within the Showtime Attractions portfolio. I do not think many people know the extent of what Showtime Attractions actually do across many areas. Showtime Attractions is not just meet-and-greet, it’s live activations in both non-ticketed and ticketed format, plus major live touring shows around Australia and across Asia. The client base is massive and it opens up great opportunities for premiums & promotions, both on-package and in-package.
Having so much experience in the premiums & promotions business is obviously very important when starting a new business venture; what are the goals for this new division at Showtime Attractions?
The goal is to bring a wider offering to our current clientele that is tailored to their unique requirements and needs, whether that be corporate branding or branding around a particular licensed property. To be able to deliver great value and high-quality premiums & promotions at the right price is the ultimate goal.
Can you take us through some of the things you are currently working on and some of the major projects you will be working on in 2018 and beyond?
We are currently working on many projects with the major shopping centres and also across many fast-moving-consumer-goods promotions. We also have a large merchandise program with Santa’s Magical Kingdom and we are already working on some massive Christmas promotions for 2018. Unfortunately I cannot go into detail as these are confidential with both the clients and the brand owners, however you can look forward to them when they launch!
As retail is changing so rapidly with the increased uptake of online shopping, premiums and promotions would seem to be a great place to start with bringing new and exciting projects to licensing, retail and events?
Absolutely; this is more important now than ever with online shopping and eCommerce. The shopping centres are requiring more in-centre activations that excite, entertain and allow children to go back to the basics of writing, colouring, craft activities and the like. It is all about driving people into the shopping centres and as a result, into the retail stores and premiums & promotions really do work so well in this area.
For any companies wishing to work on premiums and promotions in the licensing business; what will your new business venture bring to the table and how can companies get in touch with you to start a conversation?
We can bring so much to the table with new innovation and creative ideas through products which add value to any purchase. We will be working across corporate blue-chip brands and of course major licenses and ever-greens. This is a very exciting time for the Showtime Attractions team and we encourage any brand owner who would like to invest in premiums & promotions to get in touch and start the conversation.
