Almost a half dozen new licensing agencies have formed in the last few months, many headed by big names in the licensing business who have recently left corporate positions with major property owners. Each claims a distinct positioning within the market:
- Last week, Robert Marick, most recently head of consumer products at MGM Studios, a division of Prime Video & Amazon Studios since Amazon’s purchase of MGM in 2022, announced the formation of M2G: Marick Management Group. The agency’s initial clientele includes Warner Bros. Discovery, Jada Toys, Skynet Asia, China Central Television (CCTV), and Fox. The focus is on brand-building, including strategy and business planning, global brand management, entertainment licensing, and general management guidance across consumer products, interactive games, licensed media and advertising, and location-based entertainment. In addition to MGM, Marick has held positions at Discovery, Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros.
- In mid-April, Michael Kelly, most recently Vice President of Global Publishing at Hasbro, where he spent 12 years, founded Extensive Enterprises, an intellectual property development company and publishing and licensing agency. The company specializes in the development and incubation of intellectual property through storytelling and worldbuilding, supported by representation in publishing and brand licensing. Initial clients include Valaverse and its Action Force comic and action figure brand; King Features for Popeye, Olive Oyl, Prince Valiant, and the Phantom; Punkies Playhouse, owner of 1980s brands including Hugga Bunch; a brand-new property from DCS International Productions; a new manga/anime property from Anime Village; and the upcoming animated feature film Pierre the Pigeon Hawk.
- At the beginning of April, Marlene Cuesta officially announced her boutique licensing agency, Cuesta Licensing, which represents positive children’s properties and brands, with a focus on diversity and empowering women and girls. Cuesta has headed another independent business, MC Licensing, which has been consulting with licensors and licensees, including negotiating IP acquisitions on behalf of manufacturers, since 2018. Prior to that she held licensing roles at Mattel, the Valen Group, and Jada Toys. Current Cuesta Licensing clients include The Afro Goddess Warrior collection, NightBuddies, and ZombieZoo.
- In March, Steve Scebelo, long-time executive at NFL Players Inc., launched REP Worldwide, a sports and licensing consulting firm. Scebelo served at NFLPI for 10 years, most recently as President, and led the organization in doubling its revenue during his tenure. The agency is a new iteration of REP Worldwide, which was originally founded in 2017 by NFLPI, in conjunction with the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (representing soccer players) and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. It was headed by Scebelo. The new REP Worldwide will focus on areas that were at the core of the original’s business model, including women’s sports and athlete group licensing. Scebelo will be available to serve as a fractional Chief Licensing Officer to client firms.
- In December, a group of seven former Disney executives founded The Licensing Insiders. The agency works for studios; gaming companies; fashion, lifestyle, and corporate brands; and other clients, bringing them global strategic and tactical leadership across all segments of brand licensing. The partners, who include Simon Waters, Marc Low, Eva Steortz, Maria Ancieta, Ann Buckingham, Vince Brick, and Warren Phillipson, collectively have held leading roles at a variety of entertainment studios, toy companies, and other organizations, including Hasbro, Universal, Dreamworks, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Nike, and more, in addition to Disney. The company emphasizes that its partners are not career consultants but work for clients to head up licensing or solve problems on a fractional basis without the cost of an in-house department.
In many cases, the executives’ departures from their previous roles occurred in the wake of significant changes at their former employers, including corporate layoffs, mergers of formerly separate divisional licensing operations, leadership transitions at the corporate level, and the like. Periods of upheaval like this typically lead to the launch of many independent agencies. Some turn out to be temporary stops between executive roles, but many others become established and influential players in the business.
With all the changes that have occurred over the last several years—new business models and deal structures; increased speed to market; fragmentation in distribution channels, marketing platforms, and fan bases, etc.—the licensing business seems primed to support a growing number of independent agencies. That is especially true for those that are headed by experienced executives and have a well-defined and differentiated focus when it comes to clients served and capabilities offered.
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