From Spider Man, Ninja Turtles, Thunder Cats, Transformers and many other cartoons we saw as a kid, these were the characters we were so fascinated with and they become our heroes who colored our overly active and imaginative world. We would act like them, talk, walk and fight like them and our Halloween costumes were designed in our favorite heroes and heroines. Not only do you see Halloween costumes in the likes of Lionel from Thunder Cats or Peter Parker's alter ego Spiderman, these character images were printed, designed, embossed and embroidered from every item that a child uses from water bottles to personalized lunch bags, notebooks and pencils, stationary and school backpacks.
These iconic characters have found their way into children's clothing, accessories, footwear, towels, lunch box, and sales from these cartoon inspired kids wear are gaining a positive feedback from the market. This type of marketing is called 'Character inspired merchandising' which is currently one of the hottest trends in the world of marketing and merchandising, promising big bucks for retailers and manufacturers.
Wizard Of Oz Lunch Box
With the steady rise of Hannah Montana to TV superstardom, the face of this iconic character that leads a double life is plastered on practically every known kids wear from personalized lunch bags to personalized backpacks, to Halloween costumes and even blouses and shirts. The kids wear market is currently undergoing a major boost as it witnessed more independent buyers in the form of children shoppers and not mommies and daddies shopping for their kids.
The common rule when it comes to character inspired merchandising is that the more popular the cartoon character, the more purchase it gets. From High School Musical, Hannah Montana to the Wizards of Waverly Place, Powerpuff Girls and Barbie, the timeless Cinderella and Totally Spies, these cartoon characters rake in the sales among girls and for boys, its Spiderman and Hulk, Ghost Rider, Transformers and Fantastic Four. Cartoons such as Barney, SpongeBob Square Pants, Teletubbies and Dora the Explorer as well as Stitch are more appealing to toddlers. Of course, these cartoons popularity sole depends on their international popularity and their national popularity.
Lunch bags and water tumblers have become a must personalized item when it comes to combining iconic cartoon characters with kids wear. Kids are the primary target audience that uses lunch bags and lunch boxes. To be part of the crowd and to use what their friends are using, kids also jump into the bandwagon of using the latest trends in shoes, bags, and personalized lunch boxes, stationary and even accessories.
Brands such as Walt Disney, GAP for Kids, JC Penney and Tea Collection, these companies have established the kids wear brand and are focused on not only shoes and clothing items but backpacks, personalized lunch bags, school stationary and costumes. Kids are excited to see their own favorite character and love wearing them on their clothes and apparel. Personalized character merchandising will never fade where kids or concerned as new and new cartoons take over the threshold of toon world.