The popularity of “ugly Christmas sweaters” as a pop-culture trend began to emerge almost a decade ago, and licenses across a wide variety of property types—from Bob Ross and Betty White to Bob’s Burgers and the Buffalo Bills—have had a strong presence over the past five years or so. Not surprisingly in such a crowded […]
Tag Archives | NFL
Data Protection
With today’s ever-present worries about credit card fraud and identity theft comes a relatively new product category: Protective RFID-blocking wallets, bags, and contactless protector cards. These items are positioned as creating a barrier against RFID skimming, which is when criminals steal information from the increasing number of credit cards, drivers’ licenses, passports, and so on […]
Saving the Earth Through Fashion
Fashion labels’ use of synthetic fibers created from recycled plastic bottles continues to grow, including some licensed examples. Among the recent eco-friendly apparel, accessories, and footwear initiatives of this type, industry-wide: Gant paired with Seaqual, a company that makes polyester thread from plastics harvested from the ocean. They are producing a line of shirts for […]
Shopping the Super Bowl
American football fans are gearing up for the Super Bowl this weekend. Not surprisingly, the NFL, the local organizing committee, and retailers across the Twin Cities—this year’s host site, U.S. Bank Stadium, is located in Minneapolis—are highlighting Super Bowl LII merchandise. Their activities provide a good illustration of what big-event licensing programs look like. The […]
Taking a Stake
The incidence of property owners taking an ownership stake in a manufacturer’s company as part of a licensing agreement—while not unheard of in the past—has been on the rise over the past couple of years. This activity has been particularly notable of late in the sports licensing sector. Back in 2015, the NHL took an […]
E-Sports Update
A lot has happened in the e-sports market since we last covered the topic in August 2016: More merchandise deals. Apparel licensee J!nx licensed Echo Fox, an e-sports team founded by former NBA athlete Rick Fox, for a line of clothing and accessories including hoodies, caps, and t-shirts. The company is also introducing a lifestyle […]
Regional Ties
Several recent collaborations have given rise to limited-edition products inspired primarily by the common regional roots of the two partners. In the craft beer industry, where local and limited are key tenets, Naragansett Beer teamed with Bananagrams in August for a banana-and-clove-infused Hefeweizen as part of its “Hi Neighbor” series of brews. Both companies are […]
Guitar Slingers
For decades, musical instruments have been a leading area of interest for licensing-savvy musicians, attracting well-known instrumentalists and music industry types such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Randy Jackson, to name just a tiny fraction. They have signed licensees for signature guitars, or whatever their instrument may be, as well as accessories such as […]