Three recent retail exclusives involving reality TV series and their stars provide an illustration of how these types of shows can be a good fit for relevant product categories in the bricks-and-mortar environment: Project Runway, which airs on Lifetime, paired with JCPenney for a line of branded women’s clothing. Collections inspired by the winner of […]
Archive | Celebrity
Celebrities Reach Readers Through New Magazines
Three celebrity-connected brands are taking the plunge into the world of quarterly print periodicals: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop brand announced in April that it would introduce Goop magazine in partnership with Condé Nast this September. The publication brings the Goop lifestyle website to the print magazine format, with a focus on wellness. Blogger Ree Drummond paired […]
Feeling Fit
The world of licensed products tied to fitness experts is set to expand, with a number of these celebrities recently retaining licensing agents. Just in the last month, for example: Joe Wicks, creator of The Shift, Shape, and Sustain Plan, signed Global Merchandising Services to extend his name and The Body Coach brand into sporting […]
A Tasting Menu of Chef-Related Deals
The landscape for chef-based licensed products is among the most crowded of all celebrity-licensing segments. A wealth of chefs who have gained fame through restaurants, cookbooks, instructional TV cooking shows, and competitive cooking reality series have extended their brands, and others are entering the fray. This segment can be challenging. New licensors are trying to […]
A New Celebrity Sector
The increasingly high profile of transgender celebrities in pop culture over the past few years has led to a relatively new and niche realm of celebrity licensing focused on signature merchandise inspired by transgender models, reality stars, and actresses. Examples, while still few and far between, date back at least as far as 2013 and […]
Of Makeup and Men
Makeup brand CoverGirl announced earlier this month that James Charles would become its first-ever male endorser. That news put a spotlight on a previously little-known segment of Internet celebrity: male social media stars who have gained followings for transforming their looks through the application of color cosmetics, often in dramatic fashion. Marketers are starting to […]
At Home, Watching TV
A number of recent and ongoing home-goods product lines have been built around actors who made their names as secondary characters, or as members of an ensemble cast, on a TV show. Most of the series are no longer on the air. In many cases, these personalities have little obvious connection to home furnishings and […]
Faux-Leather Fashion
Fashion and celebrity labels are increasingly forging licensing deals for “vegan leather” handbags and footwear, in which the items look like leather but are made from substitutes such as microfibers or PVC plastic. A case in point: Just this week, the Carlos Falchi brand signed a deal with Accessory Headquarters (AHQ) for a handbag collection […]
Living On Through Licensing
Two decades ago, celebrity licensing skewed strongly toward merchandise tied to the estates of deceased musicians, actors, and athletes, rather than living personalities. The thinking was that estates were less risky; not only had the celebrity’s fame often stood the test of time, but there was no danger of bad behavior causing problems for licensees. […]
Celebrity Sightings
Celebrity presence at this year’s Licensing International Expo, which officially opens tomorrow (June 21, 2016), promises to skew toward the sports arena, as many of the scheduled appearances are tied to athletes or others in the sports industry. The NFL Players Association is bringing a contingent of pro football team members, from Ameer Abdullah of […]