In May, Mr. Dee’s launched a line of Hidden Valley frozen potato sides, including Shredded Hash Browns, Southern Style Hash Browns, and Roasted Red Potatoes, under license from the Hidden Valley Food Products Company. This deal represents the latest of several in the frozen potato category, a small but growing slice of the licensed food […]
Archive | Corporate brands
Beyond the Body Shop
Most of the attention surrounding automotive-related brand extension is focused on car brands, as well as brands and properties tied to auto racing. Less high profile are the chemicals and formulas that make the cars look good and drive well, some of which also are active in licensing: Turtle Wax is reentering the licensing business […]
Spreading the Word
The number of magazine brands exhibiting at Licensing Expo has long been on the rise, reflecting the growth of this sector over the past decade or more. That remained true at last month’s show, where dozens of titles, from Healthy Living to High Times, were on display. New deals timed to the Expo give a […]
Working Out
Licensors of gyms and fitness brands represent an energetic sector for licensing, launching functional apparel, exercise equipment, fitness trackers, and other product lines closely related to their core mission. Recent activity includes: New licensing programs. Last year, Hard Candy Fitness, a chain of boutique gyms founded by Madonna and named after one of her albums, […]
Out of Sight But Not Out of Mind
Camouflage licensing, an already-significant sector that encompasses proprietary camouflage designs and brand names such as Realtree and Mossy Oak, has continued to evolve and grow in a number of ways over time: New brands. Camouflage suppliers beyond the big two have entered licensing, as U.S. military specialist Tennier Industries did when it retained The Brand […]
Power Up
Consumers have become reliant on batteries, back-up power packs, and chargers to keep their mobile phones, tablets, and other electronics—and their lives—up and running. It follows, then, that the battery category has become the focus of an increasing number of licensing deals. These may be standalone agreements focusing on batteries and chargers or, more often, […]
Sticking with Tradition
Sometimes it seems as if every licensing deal these days takes the form of a capsule collection or limited edition, as licensors and licensees look to test a concept, reduce their risk, and generate excitement. But good old-fashioned brand extension is alive and well in many categories. Take the automotive industry as an example. This […]
Following the Crowd
A number of licensors have turned to crowdsourcing to inspire and test new products and categories. To name just a few examples, toy companies such as LEGO and Mattel have implemented innovation programs to allow their consumers to suggest and vote on new toy ideas, while a variety of crowdsourcing sites, Designed by Humans and […]
Unconventional, Yet Compatible
A number of unusual corporate licensing tie-ins have emerged within the last year. Each makes sense conceptually, although some definitely skew more toward the novelty end of the spectrum than toward the long-term, branded end. In one of the most recent examples, announced this month, General Mills and Fulton Brewery partnered for HefeWheaties, a limited-edition […]
Cleaning House
Practical household products and tools may not be the most exciting or highest-profile area of licensing, but they are at the center of a burst of brand-extension interest of late. Some of the areas of focus include: Vacuums and floor care. Bissell retained agency IMC to expand its brand into home goods, DIY products, and […]