Funko, the popular culture collectibles firm greatest identified for its big-headed and round-eyed Funko Pop! collectible figurines, discovered itself dealing with vital uncertainty with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many companies have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in all kinds of the way, however Funko particularly confronted challenges on two fronts: one, licensors have been delaying their plans for main theatrical and TV releases, which induced issues for Funko’s industrial planning and go-to-market technique. And two, a lot of Funko’s key retail companions, by which it bought the collectible figurines, have been pressured to shut their doorways throughout Covid-19 lockdowns.

Funko was in a position to maintain promoting its collectible figurines by grocery retailers, however the closures starkly highlighted the significance of ecommerce and the worth of getting a number of on-line factors of sale and routes for Funko prospects to work together with the model. In the USA, Funko already had a longtime direct to shopper (D2C) web site, Funko.com, however no D2C presence within the UK and Europe, though plans had been made to launch one.

These plans have been significantly sped up by the pandemic, however launching a D2C web site for a widely known and beloved model in the midst of a pandemic introduced each challenges and alternatives. I spoke to Eva Verhaak, Vice President of Advertising and marketing and Enterprise Growth EMEA at Funko, in addition to Matt Learn, Enterprise Director, Head of Digital & Coaching at Funko’s associate company House & Time, about what went into establishing Funko’s European D2C presence; how the corporate prevented encroaching on its current retail partnerships, and dealt with the advertising and marketing problem of launching a brand new web site for a longtime model; and the way they’re tapping into the “fandom” of popular culture lovers to amass new Funko prospects.