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The
New Face of Collectibles
Battleheads
Looking Good in the Licensed Marketplace
June 5, 2007
If you’re looking for an inventive licensed product, a great place to start is Battleheads by the Sentaur Group. Mario Carusone hit the market with his beautifully crafted masks last fall, and the reception thus far has been overwhelmingly positive. “We set up a booth at the Florida-Georgia game as sort of a test market for Battleheads,” he says. “People loved them.”
The idea for Battleheads has been percolating in Carusone’s head for more than 10 years. He wanted to give fans a creative and unique way to show their team spirit. Battleheads certainly accomplish that goal.
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“Fans root for the laundry,” says Carusone. “Players and coaches come and go, but the history of the team is always there.”
Battleheads capture that feeling perfectly. Carusone currently has five SEC teams in the fold—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee. He also has deals with Michigan, Miami, Florida State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Virginia, South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia Tech. Product for the second group of schools will be out soon.
“We’re expecting a big year,” says Carusone. “We’re already doing very well with the Halloween industry.”
Carusone is also finding a receptive audience among collectors. In fact, fans don’t seem to view Battleheads as toys. They think of them as collectibles. “Battleheads are great for autographs,” adds Carusone.
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That’s one of the reasons Carusone will eventually pursue an NFL license. For the time being, however, he is happy with his collegiate product line. “We’re selling Battleheads from our website and in fan stores,” says Carusone. “We’ll start looking into the bigger chains soon.”
