They May Be Corny, But They’re No Joke

As consumers in the northern hemisphere anticipate the approach of autumn, peak season for hayrides, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and other agri-entertainment, it seems like a good time to take a look at a somewhat under-the-radar but not uncommon form of experiential initiative—namely, the corn maze. 

For consumers, seeing their favorite characters or other IP integrated into a corn (or sunflower) maze can add to the fun of getting outdoors and away from their screens. For the IP owners, the mazes attract publicity and a large audience of potential new fans, and allow them to offer their existing fans a more unusual way to engage with the property. For the farms, the characters or other properties can bring in new visitors, generate repeat business, and help them stand out from growing competition. And, service providers benefit from marketable new content, a competitive difference, and opportunities for unique ancillary games, activities, signage, and merchandise. 

The small sampling of examples that follows gives a sense of the corn-maze landscape and the potential partners involved in such efforts, which range from individual farms to companies that design and mow corn mazes for farmer-customers across the country: 

• Sesame Workshop partnered this year with The Maize, one of the biggest corn maze service providers and a key player in mazes featuring licensed properties. The collaboration yielded mazes at 35 different farms, each with a different design spotlighting a variety of Sesame Street characters. In 2024, The Maize paired with Peanuts Worldwide to offer mazes to more than 80 farms in 35 states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada integrating different Peanuts designs in honor of the comic strip’s 75th anniversary; more than 2 million visitors, collectively, were expected. It also featured Luke Bryan in mazes at more than 35 farms in 21 states and provinces in 2024 to mark the country singer’s 15th annual Farm Tour, and collaborated with Reba McEntire in 2023 for mazes in 23 states to promote the release of her lifestyle book, Not That Fancy, among other examples.  

• The Little Prince returned to a farm in Combourg, France, this year with a new corn maze design, accompanied by a story line and a mystery to solve, after debuting in 2023 at the same farm in conjunction with its 80th anniversary. The corn maze, or le labyrinthe de maïs, with seven hectares of corn and more than seven kilometers of paths, is dedicated fully to the character. 

• In September 2024, the organizing committee for the 2025 NFL Draft, held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association enlisted four farms across the state to promote both the April 2025 draft and the Wisconsin agricultural industry, while giving the farms a new attraction. The partners worked with Maze Play as the designer, service provider, and consultant for the project. The completed mazes featured the NFL Draft logo among other iconography. 

• In 2022, LAIKA paired with Topaz Farm, a regenerative grower, for a corn maze marking the 10th anniversary of the studio’s second animated film, ParaNorman. The farm is located on Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, where LAIKA is based. Proceeds from visits to the maze went toward supporting regenerative practices. 

• Holiday Hill Enterprises, owner of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, and its licensee Evergreen Enterprises work with Maize Quest as part of their extensive Spookley Farm Program. The range of services provided to farms include full-sized and kiddie corn mazes featuring Spookley, as well as accompanying decorations, readings, scavenger hunts, inflatables, costumed characters, arts and crafts, and the like. Maize Quest’s role is to develop interactive mazes, such as “Tag with Spookley & His Friends,” for young visitors.

• In 2019, family-owned Rutledge Family Farm in Olympia, Washington, promoted the American Heart Association on a corn maze, one of the first created using GPS to cut a precise design, it said. Two percent of revenues from ticket sales went back to the Association to support its mission. The farm has featured other nonprofit organizations, including the American Cancer Society, in corn mazes as well. 

• Sanrio forged a one-year partnership with Tanaka Farms in Orange County, California, back in 2017 for a variety of educational experiences about farming and healthy eating featuring Hello Kitty as well as the additional Sanrio characters Keroppi, Chococat, My Melody, and Pochacco. The first activation was tied to the farm’s Pumpkin Patch experience, which included activities such as a corn maze as well as wagon rides, a petting zoo, a U-Pick veggie garden, and of course pumpkins. That event kicked of a year-long schedule that included daily photo opps and seasonal events (Christmas tree farm, strawberry picking, melon celebration) integrating the Sanrio characters throughout the year.

Initiatives like these can take the form of official licensing partnerships or be commissioned by the IP owner for promotional purposes. But there are many more examples of licensed IPs being featured in corn mazes unofficially, without permission or payments involved. While some licensors may go after these violations of their trademarks, especially if the use is harmful to their brand image, they typically look the other way, as the mazes help promote their property in a fun and family-friendly manner and are, by their nature, inherently short term. Some licensors have even been known to join in on the fun by commenting on social media posts that promote corn mazes unofficially integrating their IP.

In addition to corn-maze experiences, imagery mown into crop fields has occasionally served as a memorable promotional device. In 2015, to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the Minneapolis Institute of Art installed replicas of its artwork in unusual places, such as on water towers and at gas stations and restaurants. For one of these installations, it commissioned an artist to make a replica of a Van Gogh olive-tree painting it has in its collection, with an MIA logo in one corner. The 1.2-acre work was recreated through mowing, colored plantings, and rocks, in a field on a corporate campus near the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport so air passengers could admire it from above when arriving or departing. 

A heads-up that Raugust Communications’ monthly e-newsletter will arrive in in-boxes next Tuesday, August 19. The Licensing Topic of the Month will look at the ways licensors and licensees are adjusting product designs as a way of ameliorating higher tariffs; the Datapoint research spotlight will examine how quick-service restaurants utilize licensing and collaborations. If you are not yet a subscriber to this free publication, you can sign up here.