Three recent retail exclusives involving reality TV series and their stars provide an illustration of how these types of shows can be a good fit for relevant product categories in the bricks-and-mortar environment:
- Project Runway, which airs on Lifetime, paired with JCPenney for a line of branded women’s clothing. Collections inspired by the winner of each season are integrated into the assortment, and each week’s winning design is featured immediately on a dedicated microsite and on the retailer’s website.
- Property Brothers, the HGTV series starring siblings Jonathan and Drew Scott, is generating awareness that helps promote a line of “livable-chic” furniture and home décor at Lowe’s. The products were made possible through a direct-to-retail deal between the brothers’ company, Scott Living, and the home improvement retailer. They are marketed under the Scott Living brand.
- Impactical Jokers, a hidden camera/practical joke reality series that has aired on truTV since 2011, launched its first national retail program through an exclusive with Spencer’s. Products include apparel and novelties such as glassware and temporary tattoos; they are available in select stores and through Spencer’s e-commerce site.
Unlike these examples, personality-driven reality TV properties—such as Duck Dynasty, The Jersey Shore, various series tied to the Kardashian clan, and the Real Housewives franchise—do not necessarily have distinct ties to a particular product category. Some of the licensing programs affiliated with these shows have been huge, of course, and several are still going strong at retail, especially those tied to celebrities who appear on the programs rather than to the TV series themselves.
For retail exclusives, however, shows (and their stars) that lean toward the DIY/how-to/subject-specific side, such as the three mentioned above, typically lend themselves more naturally to a given category, whether women’s fashion, home goods, or humorous novelties, thanks to their narrowly focused subject matter. This makes for a strong initial pitch to retail buyers looking for ways to differentiate.
A reminder: This month’s edition of Raugust Communications’ e-newsletter will be distributed tomorrow, August 15, 2017. The Licensing Topic of the Month examines the growing role of user-generated content in licensing, while the Datapoint feature offers a snapshot of the property types lending their names to branded subscription boxes. If you do not yet receive this free publication, subscribe here.
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