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 […]
Archive | Licensing
More Sunscreen on the Horizon
A number of properties have entered the sunscreen category this year, and they are a diverse lot. For example: • Mandalay Bay resort and casino partnered with PakLab for a line of suncare products under the Bay Soleil brand. • eOne and Cancer Council Australia teamed for a line of Peppa Pig sunscreens that launched […]
Building a Bridge
The fashion sector within the licensing business has traditionally been somewhat set apart from the character, sports, art, and corporate arenas. To many fashion executives, licensing is viewed as a core tool for brand extension, fully integrated into other operations, rather than an “industry” on its own. Many do not see themselves as part of […]
A Rose By Any Other Name
Real Housewife Brandi Glanville announced last month that she would launch a licensing program under the Unfiltered Blonde brand, with Silver Buffalo the first licensee, for barware and accessories. The fact that Glanville chose to license the brand, first established for her wine label, rather than using her own name, illustrates an increasingly common strategy […]
Asian Licensors Look Abroad
Entertainment properties from the key Asian territories of Japan, China, and Korea have been strengthening their focus on international territories of late, both in other Asian countries and beyond. The classic Japanese preschool property Anpanman, a book-based TV series that is estimated to drive $1 billion or so in retail sales of licensed goods each […]
Seriously Comical
A large percentage of the top-performing entertainment/character properties in recent years come from the comic universe, most prominently from the two industry titans, Disney-owned Marvel and Warner Bros.-owned DC Comics. Other comic book publishers also are involved in outbound licensing. Their activity, which has long been a fact of life but seems to be on […]
Stop and Smell the Clothes
More licensed products made of fabric are incorporating scent as a differentiator. In some cases, the pairing is purely for novelty appeal. The limited-edition, eight-piece Wildfox Resort 14 Barbie Dreamhouse capsule collection of apparel and accessories, debuting last November, included some items with a sunscreen or cotton candy scent that lasted through 10 to 12 […]
Science to Go
Traveling science-themed educational exhibits, which live at the intersection of the STEM and experiential-licensing trends, continue to represent an opportunity for appropriate entertainment franchises. Successful properties in this realm are not always educational, or even strongly science-themed, as two of the most recent examples attest. The first is Fox’s Ice Age, which has some loose […]
Adding a Little Color
Licensed fragrances have been struggling of late, with sales for many lines falling faster than expected in a landscape widely considered oversaturated. The number of nail polish collaborations, so common over the past couple of years, has fallen off a bit as well, as that technique has become old hat. Color cosmetics, on the other […]
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 […]