Hasbro builds a “supercharged” entertainment and gaming strategy

The Future. Hasbro is planning on pushing hard into entertainment and gaming while toys are caught in supply chain chaos. It’s a significant shift for a company that used to believe that movies and TV were a good marketing tool for selling more toys… but may now believe toys themselves are a perfect IP-generator for branded content.

Toy TV
Why play with toys when you can watch them?

• On its quarterly earnings call, CEO Rich Stoddart described the company’s “Brand Blueprint strategy” — the company’s push into entertainment and gaming.
• This involves developing 30 brands for film and television, including in-production projects such as a Clue reboot, Dungeons & Dragons, and another Transformers sequel.

Buoyed by its fairly recent acquisition of eOne — a major production, finance, and distribution company — Hasbro reported $327 million in entertainment revenue. That’s a 76% increase from last year.

Break the supply chain
Hasbro’s push into entertainment mirrors its main rival, Mattel. Both companies realize that with IP being the most coveted thing in Hollywood, they are goldmines for cash-rich streamers and studios looking to capitalize on built-in audiences.

Additionally, Hasbro admitted that toys and other consumer goods are caught in “supply chain disruption, including limited capacity and port congestion,” which has plagued most brands this season. By doubling down on entertainment, the only deliverable issue is downloading a project from a hard drive.