Archive | Licensing

Stepping Into Pickleball

Collaborations centered on pickleball are still on the rise as the sport continues to grow in popularity with mainstream consumers, both as a spectator and especially as a participant sport. Examples range from designer- and celebrity-driven apparel collections to paddles and other gear tied to all kinds of properties, from Vlasic pickles to the musical […]

Continue Reading

Making News with Consumer Products

Legacy newspaper and magazine brands have been struggling financially for years, in part because of increased competition from digital news and information sites. More recently, however, the latter have been facing equally steep challenges, as consumers rely less on—and often mistrust—official news organizations and turn instead to independent, often opinion-driven sources they follow on social […]

Continue Reading

Making Room for ‘Shrooms

Over the past couple of years, mushrooms have been at the center of a growing list of collaborations focused on sustainable accessories and footwear, functional drinks, and plant-based proteins, as well as gaining popularity as a design element. Psychedelic mushroom-based products containing psilocybin or other hallucinogenic compounds have been at the center of collaborations as […]

Continue Reading

M&A À La Mode

This year has seen significant numbers of mergers and acquisitions in the global fashion industry, with much of the action centered in the luxury and/or direct-to-consumer spaces. Some of the reasons given for the high level of activity include consolidation in the digital-first DTC space; the need to strengthen omnichannel distribution capabilities; a wish to […]

Continue Reading

Studying the NIL Collective Space

Just over two years ago, in July 2021, the NIL era began in the collegiate licensing sector, enabling students to generate revenue from licensing deals and other commercial activities tied to their names, images, and likenesses. Immediately after that, the first NIL collectives were formed. These are organizations that are independent from but affiliated with […]

Continue Reading

The Ingredients Tell The Story

Many collaborative alcoholic beverage releases involve pairing a beer or spirit with another food or beverage brand that offers a surprising but ultimately compatible flavor profile. Think Pinnacle’s Cinnabon vodka or Oskar Blues Brewery’s French’s Mustard beer. A smattering of collaborations over the years, however, have been built on the fact that the two partners’ […]

Continue Reading

Oh, Baby

The market for nursery décor and other baby products is crowded, and it can be difficult for new and expecting parents to make a decision on what to buy. Licensing helps marketers differentiate and add trust. Conversely, the category is attractive to licensors due to its growth prospects; most of the many researchers studying the […]

Continue Reading

Better Together

Licensors have over the years become more flexible in how their IP is integrated into licensed merchandise, as they look for ways to keep their properties and products fresh and embrace ideas from their licensees on how to do so. A relatively new manifestation of this trend is some licensors’ openness to redesigning their corporate […]

Continue Reading

Mascot Mania

Sports and cultural festivals in China give birth to extensive licensing programs, often centered on a cute mascot, with the design of the mascots and the products often highlighting elements of traditional Chinese culture. These initiatives typically inspire hundreds and sometimes thousands of products sold through official shops near the venue and online through sites […]

Continue Reading