Nonprofit organizations and independent brands that support military troops, veterans, and families have recently been expanding their licensed merchandise arrays. Some properties of note include:
- Homefront Girl. This lifestyle brand from artist and military spouse Gaby Juergens, represented by Firefly Licensing, has newly signed Udi Behr for jewelry, TF Publishing for calendars, and Kurt Adler for holiday ornaments. The brand has also licensed rights for its more than 1,000 designs to Enesco, which to date has released pink camo and signature collections of giftware. Homefront Girl has also forged limited-edition partnerships with companies such as Yankee Candle.
- Help for Heroes. Recent licensees of this U.K.-based charity offering lifelong support for injured British Armed Forces vets, which has been represented for licensing by JELC since September 2016, include Corincraft, Otter House, and Bianca, extending the brand into fragrances, calendars and diaries, and bedding, respectively. These products join licensed or cause-logoed greeting cards from Noel Tatt Group, chocolates from Cadbury, cut-flower arrangements from Flying Flowers, breakfast and baking sets from Scoop Designs, rugby shirts from Lovell, limited-edition t-shirts from Debenhams, meat products from Alf Turner, coffee from Lyons, baked beans from Branston’s, knives and tool kits from DeWalt and Stanley, mineral water from Hildon, and eggs from Noble Foods. Retailer Tesco produces personalized products through its Tesco Direct division.
- America’s VetDogs. Supporting service-dog programs for military vets and overseen by Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, America’s VetDogs operates a licensing program as one of many partnership opportunities. Some of its licensees over the years have included Ethical Products and Vo-Toys for pet toys and Pet King and Bil-Jac for dog treats. It also sells apparel and accessories, gifts and toys, and stationery.
- Support Our Troops. Aurora World partnered with this organization, whose mission is to strengthen the morale and well-being of current military service members and families, in 2016 for a line of special-edition Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, which was available at retail and through Amazon through mid-2017. Most of the group’s work with manufacturers is under its Seal of Assurance program.
The licensing efforts tied to the charities listed here tend to encompass not only traditional licensed and co-branded products, but also activities that veer more toward endorsement or cause-marketing than traditional licensing relationships. The mix varies depending on each entity’s specific strategy.
Next Tuesday, Raugust Communications will publish its monthly e-newsletter for November. The Licensing Topic of the Month will examine the growing scope of subscription-based retail and e-tail platforms as channels for licensed products, while Datapoint will focus on distribution strategies for celebrity-licensed products. If you have not subscribed to this free publication, you can do so here.
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