Annual Toy Fair introduces this year's entertainment promotional products

This Sunday, New York will host its annual Toy Fair, and the star attractions will be familiar to any moviegoer. As with any business, promotional products in entertainment help build interest in the main attractions. Characters from Toy Story 3, Iron Man 2, Dora the Explorer, Twilight, Avatar and other hit movies and shows will be appearing in toy form at the event.

Reuters quotes Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Reyne Rice as saying that this year will include "a lot of sequel or legacy film product," which usually sell better than first runs. Rice expects, for example, that retailers "will support Iron Man 2 more, because they know how well product for the first one did."

The value of branding is clear. Shrek, for example, may have seemed strange at the release of the first movie in the franchise. But now, thanks to the green ogre's presence in many homes through Hasbro promotional products, it is a recognized and beloved brand.

Approximately 25 percent of money spent on toys in an average year goes toward promotional products associated with a licensed or entertainment property, says Reuters. In 2009, sales of licensed toys totaled $5.4 billion.

MarketWatch reports that Hasbro expects sales this year to increase 7 percent.