Subline imprint
A subline imprint is a partial re-branding of a franchise—typically with a sub-title reflecting a theme or gimmick running through the entire franchise.
Examples include "Battle for the Spark" during Beast Machines and AllSpark Power for the 2007 movie. United States airings of the second season of the Beast Machines cartoon were re-titled to feature the subline imprint - though not the Canadian or UK versions, nor any of the DVDs - while the "Allspark Power" toys occupy a loose umbrella story which occurs after the events of the movie.
Game Theory
Purchasing agents known as "buyers" make purchasing decisions for hundreds of American retail stores, making their best guess what products will sell and how many while trying to avoid being stuck with the dreaded "old product" (unsold toys) when the toyline ends.
Buyers purchase many toys from early waves reasoning that even if the toyline flops these will sell eventually over the line's (hopeful) year-to-eighteen-month "lifetime." Toys in later waves (eight-ish) represent a higher risk because they have only a six month window to sell, and tend not to be purchased as heavily. As a result, toy companies spend less money developing later waves, often heavily featuring redecos and retools, making them even less attractive to retailers.
For their part, consumers try to avoid purchasing the pegwarmers and shelfwarmers left over as a toyline winds down, but lacking the encyclopedic product knowledge known only to buyers, fans and small children, they learn to suspiciously avoid any packaging they recognize from the last birthday/Christmas/Kwaanza etc. (again making later-wave toys less attractive to retailers.)
A subline imprint refreshes the packaging for consumers (orange may become bright green in the same layout) while assuring the regional buyers that "No, seriously, this is a new toyline, you should purchase it more heavily!" Buyers aren't particularly fooled by this argument, but the re-branding is understood to be a sign that the toy companies have invested in these tail-end waves rather than filled them with junk, making larger retailer purchases a safer investment.
Subline imprints for Transformers series
- Beast Machines: Battle for the Spark
- Armada: The Unicron Battles
- Energon: The Powerlinx Battles
- Cybertron: Primus Unleashed
- Movie (2007): AllSpark Power, Premium Series
- Revenge of the Fallen: N.E.S.T. Global Alliance
- Transformers (2010): Hunt for the Decepticons, Reveal the Shield
- Transformers: Prime: Beast Hunters
