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The end is nigh? Talk amongst yourselves.


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I really love how hasbro has been marketing their stuff! We have an almost full year look at what is coming our way and I have to say I’m really excited. They’ll be getting more of my dollars for sure. Love that they are honouring AOA 25. https://marvelousnews.com/252-26426 

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Unless DST starts offering something I like (Minimates from DC, Planet of the Apes, Tron, The Black Hole, Blade Runner, Star Wars, Star Trek, Saga, Hellboy, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Thing, The Goon, Dredd, Indiana Jones...) Hasbro and DC Collectibles will be getting my disposable income. I'm happy to jump back into 3 3/4" Star Wars and 6" Batman figures in the absence of Minimates. But I'll definitely miss the little guys.

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It's funny, with the lower number of Marvel Minimates releases recently, I've been getting into the 3.75" Star Wars line, and you see a lot of the same kind of worrying about limited releases and the potential end over there.

As long as those lines last, I'll be happy cherrypicking a few classic characters once or twice a year.

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The Sneak Peek was by no means a representative sampling of everything we will have there. It was just what we had images of prior to the show. Prototypes often ship directly to the show from the painters, and there are still some images I'm holding back for after the show. 

There should be a new wave or two of Minimates at the show, and we don't even exhibit Walgreens items there, usually. 

Edited by DSTZach
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2 hours ago, hellpop said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but AFI posted a DST Toyfair sneak peak, which includes no Minimates:

http://www.actionfigureinsider.com/new-york-toyfair-sneak-peek-from-collectdst-black-widow-it-star-wars-and-more-nytf/

:other_beatingA_DeadHorse:Always liked this emoji.

Speaking of horses, really wish they’d just get on the bus and copy the Hasbro promo model. It would keep fans happier and not have this gloom and doom. For me the straw that broke the camels back was Buffy Vinimates. I could take the insults of no DC, no Arrowverse, Aliens, TMNT, and Rocketeer but Buffy.... that was a step too far. So, started going toward what I like and I’m loving filling in the gaps of my 3.75 Marvel and of course the Legends. 

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38 minutes ago, thereasonsy said:

Speaking of horses, really wish they’d just get on the bus and copy the Hasbro promo model. It would keep fans happier and not have this gloom and doom. For me the straw that broke the camels back was Buffy Vinimates. I could take the insults of no DC, no Arrowverse, Aliens, TMNT, and Rocketeer but Buffy.... that was a step too far. So, started going toward what I like and I’m loving filling in the gaps of my 3.75 Marvel and of course the Legends. 

What is the Hasbro Promo Model again? Legitimately curious, they seem to reveal a lot of stuff at once, and put out more regular releases. Not sure how to copy that with Minimates. 

And nobody has said there WON'T be Buffy Minimates. We literally just announced that we have the license again, and Vinimates are the first item. I have no idea what products are in development, although to be honest, some of it may depend on how response is to the first products.  

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I'm legitimately curious how the Marketing Supervisor doesn't know what's being developed. Generally Marketing's role is to help develop product, isn't it? Seems like DST would want the market's input so Sales is better informed as to what the end consumer wants when they pitch it to retail.

But, hey, let's allow potential disinterest in static, 4" vinyl statues to be a deciding factor into whether 2" fully articulated action figures are ever offered.

I wonder how DST's sales commission works. The higher the profit margin the greater the commission?

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43 minutes ago, Dave said:

Enough with the negativity, did you see the John Wick Minimates have a ship date of summer. Also how many that are talking smack have a manufacturing background. Things take time.

I have a manufacturing background. And a licensing background. And a licensed product development background.

But yes, these things take time. I'm not sure why John Wick Minimates will be a year late when they've enjoyed very quick turnarounds in the past. "Ask DST!"

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2 hours ago, Dave said:

Enough with the negativity, did you see the John Wick Minimates have a ship date of summer. Also how many that are talking smack have a manufacturing background. Things take time.

To be fair, I think this is the designated complainer thread.

How about we just agree to keep our grievances here Instead of in other threads?

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There have been several designated complainer threads over the years & a myriad of separate threads that involve people complaining .

I would consider that this thread is amongst the latter but I have no complaints about others that might disagree with me :thumbsup:

 

 

Whenever I 'consider' new licenses I use my own personal 'acid test'  which is quite simple ....... would I put my money into it ? 

Three guys & a dog ain't ever going to get my money although a bunch of guys & gals slaying demons might get my wallet half way out of my pocket.........until I consider what , I'm sure,I'll be offered  by DST as my 'sponsored' box set ......Buffy,,Xander,Giles & Willow.  Those aren't the characters I'd want of course but sorry....call me cynical....those are the ones that my gut tells me that I'd be offered .   

 

Civilian minimates aren't getting my money  .

 

 

 

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As a hypothetical manufacturer I would not invest in an NC-heavy box set . The X-Files Minimate box set that was produced would be a perfect example of 'opportunity missed' .....of course you need a Mulder/Scully pairing but WTF were the FBI jackets ??  FBI jackets .....arguably their 'costumes'  would have increased sales .   Ditch CancerMan until 'later' ,replace him with a Grey & it would pass my acid-test. Flukeman was not a good choice so early on but I would have gone with it if it had been a good Minimate.....it wasn't.  

The 2 pack X-Files set :down:  The epitome .....the personification . 

There is also a vast difference between non-costumed & unrecognisable civilian , an easy example would be Doctor Who . Doctor Who is basically a civilian but each & every incarnation has an instantly identifiable civilian-like costume ....a scarf , a hat, a fez, a long coat , a suit , a colourful jacket etc.etc.   ........it's not the face its the costume.

 

 

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Doctor Who also has more going for it than a Time Lord dressed as a flamboyant civilian. For every Doctor and companion it's got a pretty weird alien.

How do properties like Back to the Future, Alien, Ghostbusters, and Kill Bill perform on your acid test? Not judging just sincerely curious. From the hypothetical manufacturer's point of view, of course.

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On 2/10/2020 at 4:38 PM, MisterPL said:

I'm legitimately curious how the Marketing Supervisor doesn't know what's being developed. Generally Marketing's role is to help develop product, isn't it? Seems like DST would want the market's input so Sales is better informed as to what the end consumer wants when they pitch it to retail.

But, hey, let's allow potential disinterest in static, 4" vinyl statues to be a deciding factor into whether 2" fully articulated action figures are ever offered.

I wonder how DST's sales commission works. The higher the profit margin the greater the commission?

The consumer may want one thing, but if you can't convince a retailer to carry it it doesn't matter. So the sales department has a certain amount of input. I can't dictate what products get made based on anecdotal data, and fan polling is not always indicative of actual interest.

And interest from retailers in one product, to an extent, reflects interest in the property as a whole, so yeah, sales of the Vinimates may affect other products, including Minimates.

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16 hours ago, MisterPL said:

Doctor Who also has more going for it than a Time Lord dressed as a flamboyant civilian. For every Doctor and companion it's got a pretty weird alien.

How do properties like Back to the Future, Alien, Ghostbusters, and Kill Bill perform on your acid test? Not judging just sincerely curious. From the hypothetical manufacturer's point of view, of course.

 I used Doctor Who as a perfect example of how a licence with a main NC character could also 'carry' an almost limitless amount of weird aliens . The main character is instantly identifiable in his/her various incarnations despite the fact that he/she is a civilian.   

Regards the other licences mentioned ?  Kill Bill stands out .....I loved that movie ( Pulp Fiction also) but I don't think it (they) had the longevity that they were granted & TBQH I had to check with the MMDB as to who we actually got because I had forgotten!  The Crazy 88 set however fits snugly into the 'if only' category .............if only DST could figure when & where to give us accessories. The Crazy 88 box set had numerous extra headpieces & heads ......whichever way you play it you still only have 4 Crazy 88 characters . I guess it was to promote further purchases of Crazy 88 box sets ,the only trouble is that you then end up with further extra headpieces &......er ...more heads.  Go figure.

I would not have invested in either Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction ........conversely (bizarrely) I enjoy them in my collection . For the record I could complete a Crazy 48 no problem.:D

Alien ........I'd have invested . Ghostbusters ......I would have sold a kidney to invest .

Back to the Future ? Hmmmm?  :other_beatingA_DeadHorse:  I would only have invested in the first set , I love the first set.

Q.  Is there anybody that really needs 16 (+1) versions of Marty McFly ?  

A . You might say the same person who needs 94 versions of Spidey ?    I can live with 94 versions of Spidey ...........16 Martys....... not so much.

 

MisterPL  , you asked ........there's your answer, please don't judge me.:thumbsup:

Edited by buttheadsmate
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Personally, I think that "real" people Minimates plays away from the strength of the figure, and I'm not a big fan. A lot of the figures are fairly drab and not really eye-catching. I agree with BHM that figures in costumes like the Ghostbusters are a better sell. Aesthetically, I think comics and especially animation translates best to Minimates, and if I were DSTHellpop that's more what I would be focusing on.

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I think its a ll a guessing game.  I would have put my money into the MAX line. Police, Fire, Rescue, and all customize material into civilians.  Didn't work apparently.  No idea why, yet stuff like Adventure People were wildly popular in an earlier age.

 

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On 2/10/2020 at 2:53 PM, DSTZach said:

What is the Hasbro Promo Model again? Legitimately curious, they seem to reveal a lot of stuff at once, and put out more regular releases. Not sure how to copy that with Minimates. 

And nobody has said there WON'T be Buffy Minimates. We literally just announced that we have the license again, and Vinimates are the first item. I have no idea what products are in development, although to be honest, some of it may depend on how response is to the first products.  

I debated sending this all week but as the youth say "it's for the culture". Zach, in reviewing their channels and press mentions they seem to have a strategy that revolves around dripping of information that is usually one or two characters a wave each convention. If you follow the pattern instead of announcing a whole wave at once they have been announcing a figure or two a few days before major conventions internationally. They also have a content calendar that honours the anniversaries of the subjects. 25 anniversary of AOA here's a wave. 40th anniversary of Alpha Flight, here's a box set. They leaned in heavily into the 80 years of Marvel and also tapped into 90's nostalgia hard with the "Classic waves on ToyBiz cards" and their character selections. They also have been completing teams.

Just some quick hits but in the past year, they had over 359,053 mentions with a projected reach of 108, 825,690 of the #MarvelLegends hastag. Their brand sentiment is over 90% POSITIVE. Add in Neutral and you are looking at a brand that is in the high 90s. The majority of these mentions can be attributed to photos with instagram leading the way but with pinterest, flickr, reddit, and daily motion being the most important websites*. Cavat- not all comic sites are pulled into the media tool I am using so these numbers are actually higher. also checking on trends the summer is their most active time period and most searches in the US are from West Virginia. 

In the same time period, Collect DST as a WHOLE, got only 20K mentions with a reach of 241,350,159. Twitter is actually driving that volume. What I care about is Minimates. In the same time period the term Minimates has barely 8K mentions with a reach of 40K but a high sentiment score of 90%. #Minimates barely has 3,633 mentions with a reach just north of 3,402,043. Users of the hash have an even higher sentiment toward the brand at 93%. This is dominated by photos on Instagram. Three websites were pulled in pcgamer, actionfigureinsider, popcultureinsider. There are API limitations with the tool but even with that I can tell that the top conversation drivers are myself, Luke, btdatdbs, heinousfigures, professor_minimate.and the previews video with Walt and Weezie. In checking trends, your search volume is mostly on the coasts and not in middle America but Indiana and New York are the states that search the term the most.

And since this is "for fun" Buffy. Buffy the term has over 131,155 mentions with a reach of 531,492,275. Brand sentiment is at 84% but that is mostly due to the revamp news and Joss Whedon's ongoing issue. The show itself is doing well. The driver of the conversations is photos with gifs coming second and twitter is the channel of choice. .

I understand that you are saying preference is an issue and I don't disagree that it isn't a factor but the numbers tell me awareness is the actual issue. Archie may be cheap but I would recommend slicing that and putting the money into SEO, retargeting off of Walgreens properties and actually leaning in harder into your FB/Instagram including paid. You need to increase your reach and your frequency. Also you need better influencer partners and to give them materials way ahead of time. You need a clear social strategy and cadence to the channels. I would actually look at to what Luke is doing because it has a pretty good rhythm. I would also be in my insights every day. That's your free advice.

On 2/10/2020 at 7:04 PM, Dave said:

Enough with the negativity, did you see the John Wick Minimates have a ship date of summer. Also how many that are talking smack have a manufacturing background. Things take time.

Dave, I have an over 20 year career of working on Fortune 100s and have been focused on entertainment. That includes all aspects of manufacturing. licensing, product development, endorsements, and more. I can guarantee you have heard of every brand I have worked on in that career and you have listened to, watched, or bought something I have worked on. I have worked with Walgreens including during their acquisition of Duane Reade. So that "smack" I'm talking is called experience.

Edited by thereasonsy
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On 2/10/2020 at 4:04 PM, Dave said:

Enough with the negativity, did you see the John Wick Minimates have a ship date of summer. Also how many that are talking smack have a manufacturing background. Things take time.

 

On 2/10/2020 at 4:52 PM, MisterPL said:

I have a manufacturing background. And a licensing background. And a licensed product development background.

But yes, these things take time. I'm not sure why John Wick Minimates will be a year late when they've enjoyed very quick turnarounds in the past. "Ask DST!"

 

I call BS on this one. If those John Wick minimates come out next summer I will donate $100 to my local SPCA for the care of dogs. I don't want to rain on your hopes but there's no chance. I've seen DST play this game  with other lines that are definitely "not cancelled" but they never come out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Do Marvel Series 80 and 81 seem like a last hurrah to anyone? 

Series 78 was Spider-Man. Series 79 was X-Men. Series 80 doesn't really have a theme but is anchored by Iron Man and has some oft-requested collection-fillers.  Series 81 catches up on more X-Men and some X-adjacent characters.

Now I'm wondering if DST's license with Marvel is up for renewal. I'm also wondering what Walgreens will be taking, if anything. I'm still on the hunt for Series 11.

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21 minutes ago, MisterPL said:

Do Marvel Series 80 and 81 seem like a last hurrah to anyone? 

Series 78 was Spider-Man. Series 79 was X-Men. Series 80 doesn't really have a theme but is anchored by Iron Man and has some oft-requested collection-fillers.  Series 81 catches up on more X-Men and some X-adjacent characters.

Now I'm wondering if DST's license with Marvel is up for renewal. I'm also wondering what Walgreens will be taking, if anything. I'm still on the hunt for Series 11.

I view wave 80 almost as an espionage wave. I don’t see it as a last hurrah but I don’t are the line getting to 100 anymore. If you need help with 11 let me know I see it everywhere.

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