One of the main topics of conversation in licensing, almost since the pandemic began, has been whether and how contracts could be renegotiated to better share risk between licensors and licensees. The sports industry is one sector in which a number of contracts are currently being questioned, reconfigured, or discontinued in the wake of the […]
Archive | Licensing
Taking the Tiger by the Tail
Early in the pandemic, the Netflix documentary series The Tiger King became an immediate viral hit, spurring demand for plush, t-shirts, and other products with tiger themes—all unrelated to the show itself—on both traditional e-commerce and print-on-demand sites. The phenomenon led some in the licensing and consumer products business to predict that tigers would become […]
Sitting Pretty in the Pandemic
Almost since the beginning of the lockdown, pundits have been saying that demand for cosmetics would likely decline, as most of consumers’ time has been spent at home and, even as society re-opens to a degree, mask-wearing hides much of the face. This prediction has come true in many cases, as a large number of […]
Approaching the Starting Line
Organizing bodies overseeing global sports events are starting to look forward to when they can again host their tournaments and games—some as soon as 2021, they hope—and are jumpstarting their licensing efforts in preparation for that day. Here are some recent developments involving high-profile upcoming sports competitions: Rugby League World Cup 2021 is planning to […]
Hail to the Chefs
Cooking as a theme for animation is nothing new, but the phenomenon seems to be on the rise this year. New animated productions are increasingly featuring fictional chefs; established animated chefs are being taken in new directions; and classic animated characters of all kinds are being turned into guides to cooking and baking in spin-off […]
All The Buzz On Bees
A number of marketers have recently focused their attention on products and promotions to raise awareness and funding for the protection of bees, the most important pollinators of food crops globally: Two Australian luxury labels, fashion design brand KitX and jewelry marketer Heart of Bone, paired for the Tiny Bee Stud, with 10% of all […]
Clothing for the COVID Era
Populations around the world are slowly starting to test a post-COVID daily routine that involves some form of work, school, shopping, and leisure. But the reopening of society has shown that the coronavirus is still a threat, as illustrated by the recent spikes in the number of cases in the U.S. and some other countries. […]
Influencer Accountability
Several high-profile influencers involved in licensing and collaborations have faced a backlash—in most cases with negative ramifications for their businesses—in the last month, due to past or present racist content: Shane Dawson posted a 20-minute video apologizing for using racist language and stereotypes, as well as blackface, along with other content such as jokes about […]
Going to the Dogs
The famed cats and dogs of the Internet can generate significant retail sales of licensed and collaborative merchandise. As a result, more and more “petfluencers” are signing with agents and/or launching licensing efforts. Dogs have been in the spotlight of late, with at least three notable examples having signed with agents to expand their merchandise […]
Potty Time
By Karen Raugust on June 25, 2020 in Character/Entertainment, Demographic groups, Design and content themes, Licensing
Among the new Daniel Tiger products announced earlier this month by Fred Rogers Productions and 9 Story Brands was a 3-in-1 potty-training aid from Fisher-Price. The product is a potty chair featuring a removable seat that fits on a full-sized toilet and a fold-down lid that becomes a step stool, along with activated sound effects […]