China has taken several steps recently to reign in the influence of its celebrities, as well as consumers’ ability to follow them. This could have an impact on licensing, collaborations, and endorsements tied to celebrities in China, and even limit Chinese celebrities’ marketability abroad. Celebrity tie-ins, especially with luxury, fashion, and cosmetics brands, have become […]
Archive | Celebrity
Consequences of Commercialization
A Licensing University session called “Spotlight: Sports Licensing,” produced by Licensing International and held as part of Licensing Expo in late August, hit on a number of current trends impacting the sports licensing landscape. One interesting topic that came up in the presentation, moderated by the late Bill Burke, senior VP marketing strategy and communications […]
Augmenting Activism Through Product Alignments
Celebrities are increasingly taking roles as activists, from supporting Black Lives Matter, to promoting women’s rights in light of the Me-Too movement, to highlighting sustainability. Meanwhile, activists working toward various causes are more often becoming celebrities in their own right. Members of both groups are looking at fashion and other product collaborations and brand ambassadorships […]
Raising the Barre
The news this week that ballet dancer Tiler Peck is pairing with sportswear label Stateside for a capsule collection is a reminder of the handful of ballet dancers who have entered into merchandise collaborations over the past few years. Now is an ideal time, as ballet-inspired fashion, sometimes dubbed “balletcore,” has been on trend since […]
No Animals Were Harmed
As young adults and other consumers become increasingly concerned about the environment and make their purchase decisions accordingly, marketers of apparel, accessories, and footwear are touting a growing number of vegan products. These are made of natural materials or recycled synthetics in lieu of leather and other animal-based components. Vegan footwear in particular is starting […]
Beyond the Nail
Last month we wrote about the diverse landscape of nail color collaborations, driven in part by the enjoyment many young adults get from creating nail art and sharing it on social media. This has led to ongoing demand for new colors, finishes, and combinations thereof. Some of those amateur nail artists, along with professional salon […]
Skin and Bones
Collagen has been up-and-coming as a beauty ingredient for the past few years, both for topical uses such as lotions and shampoos and in ingestible configurations such as protein powder, tea, and bone broth. Lately, licensed properties, especially celebrities, have been jumping into the collagen space with short-term collaborations, long-term licensing deals, joint product development, […]
Rocking Sustainability
A wide range of licensors have begun incorporating sustainable elements into their licensed products and collaborative collections—or are at least considering doing so—especially when it comes to fashion. Musicians represent one of the groups with a relatively long track record in this segment and, like other IP owners, their focus on sustainability has been on […]
Celebrities Crave QSR Tie-Ins
For quick-service restaurants, the past six months have represented somewhat of a golden age of celebrity tie-ins, as more and more athletes, musicians, influencers, and gamers have entered into promotional partnerships with fast food restaurants. Each initiative is unique, with some skewing toward the endorsement end of the spectrum, some being meal-centric, and others highlighting […]
Beautiful Inside and Out
The beauty industry has been increasingly fostering a connection between consumers’ health and wellness and their outward appearance. As one component of that trend, more cosmetics, skincare, nailcare, and haircare marketers are adding ingestible supplements with specific formulations as part of their traditional lines of creams, powders, eye and lip color, and other items for […]