Taylor Swift has had an outsized influence on pop culture and commerce in 2023 and 2024, putting her mark on music sales, NFL ratings, sales of official and unofficial merchandise, and more. While Swift is an anomaly in the breadth and depth of her current dominance, her situation nevertheless makes an interesting case study on […]
Archive | Licensing
Revisions to the Collegiate Licensing Syllabus
The collegiate sports landscape has been undergoing some big changes of late, with potential ramifications for collegiate licensees and other companies partnering with universities and student-athletes on commercial ventures: A spike in popularity of women’s sports. Stars such as Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Angel Reese of LSU are driving interest in women’s NCAA basketball; […]
Licensing at Sea
Boats and yachts, especially of the luxury variety, comprise a business that does not often come to mind as a potential licensing category. But marine manufacturers are regularly involved in licensing partnerships and collaborations. A handful of initiatives that have occurred in recent months illustrate: Frauscher Shipyard paired with Porsche for the 850 Fantom Air, […]
Adding Artistic Flair to the Denim Category
Denim has been experiencing one of its cyclical upswings in popularity in the fashion world of late, and the category has been exhibiting both more creativity in design and increased collaboration activity than in the past. At the same time, artists are partnering for fashion collaborations of all kinds with ever-increasing frequency. So it makes […]
Scrolling Through Webtoon Opportunities
By Karen Raugust on February 8, 2024 in Character/Entertainment, Content, International, Licensing, Publishing
Webtoons, or webcomics, are digital comics designed to be read on a smart phone, with consumers scrolling vertically to progress through the panels. The market got its start in the early 2000s and has exploded in the last few years, both in the medium’s country of origin, South Korea, and in other countries such as […]
Accessorizing with Music
Last month, Fendi announced a deal with Devialet for a portable speaker. This is the latest in a series of speaker pairings between luxury fashion designers and electronics companies that has been ongoing since the mid-2010s and has intensified since 2021. While the configurations vary, the majority, especially recently, are portable and designed as fashion-forward […]
Big-Name Content Creators Eye Toy Industry
The phenomenon of influencers expanding their brands into the toy industry in a big way goes back to the mid-2010s. There has been a burst of activity lately, with a range of personalities, including some very big names, jumping into the space: In January 2024, Moose Toys announced a new relationship with MrBeast (a.k.a. Jimmy […]
Painting the Town Red, and Beyond
Traditional licensing deals and especially limited collaborations continue to proliferate in the paint industry, as the major name-brand paint manufacturers and newer boutique and direct-to-consumer companies alike pair with designers and corporate brands to create new and different color palettes. Paint is a relatively inexpensive way to make a fun change and/or create a cosy […]
Boba Tie-Ins Bubble Up
By Karen Raugust on January 25, 2024 in Character/Entertainment, Food/Beverage, International, Licensing, Promotion, Retail
Bubble tea, or boba—a creamy, tea-based drink containing tapioca pearls—was invented in Taiwan and has been spreading around the world, including into the U.S., where boba drink outlets are becoming ubiquitous at malls and elsewhere. The U.S. bubble tea market was forecast to reach $464.29 million in 2023, up 6.9% from $434.11 million in 2022, […]
Hitting the Bullseye
Darts is an activity that has attracted growing interest over the past few years, both in participation and viewership. Increased demand for products such as signature and branded darts, dartboards, jerseys, and flights (the plastic or nylon stabilizers on the darts) has followed, with rights mostly granted to specialist licensees. The game of darts was […]