As Rovio will attest, building a successful suite of merchandise around a brand can be just as important as delivering the games that fuel it.
Outfit 7 has already licensed its Talking Friends franchise out to Beanstalk Secure with characters from the series popping up on apparel, footwear, sleepwear, home décor, collectibles and plush toys as a result and now it's set to branch out into the world of virtual merchandise.
Future focus
Owing to a deal with Iconicfuture, characters from the Talking Friends range will now be virtually branded on merchandise from six of the biggest football clubs in Europe AC Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, Benfica, Marseille and Real Madrid.
The move comes as series downloads to date cross the 300 million mark, with Talking Tom launched in July 2010 accounting for 100 million in its own right.
"Today's brand integration news is the first step towards expanding the significant global reach of the Talking Friends network further, through valuable partnerships with world-renowned brands," said Outfit7 CMO Paul Baldwin.
"In the same way app networks are becoming the new studio system where beloved characters are born, in-app branding is the new form of strategic product placement. The possibilities are endless and we couldn't be more excited."
Outfit7 claims Talking Friends as a whole now boasts more than 90 million monthly active users worldwide, with the studio averaging 25 million downloads a month.
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With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
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