Collaboration partners across categories come together for a variety of reasons. One driver for the creation of collaborative collections that has been gradually gaining steam has been the partners’ shared history and/or geography: Red Wing Boot’s collaboration with Indian Motorcycle, marking the former’s first foray into motorcycle boots, played on the companies’ shared history. Both […]
Archive | Licensing
Game On
Many retailers, both bricks-and-mortar and online, are looking to solidify their relationship with young adult, teen, and tween consumers, as well as younger future shoppers. Increasingly, they are turning to gaming as a tool in this quest. Value retailer Five Below partnered with Nerd Street Gamers, a developer of e-sports competition and training facilities, to […]
CBD In Style
The fashion world is the latest sector of the licensing business to start embracing CBD, with a focus on the health and beauty category. Among the collaborations announced during the second half of 2019: American Eagle worked with Green Growth Brands to launch a proprietary CBD skin-care collection called Mood. The gender-neutral self-care range features […]
Adaptive Products: An Unexplored Opportunity
Companies with ties to licensing are increasingly creating products for consumers with special needs, an underserved population. This customer segment encompasses everyone from children with autism to people of all ages with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or multiple sclerosis, to seniors who have trouble getting dressed due to dementia or physical ailments. Some of […]
Native American Culture in the Spotlight
The presence of Native Americans and Native American themes in creative and business pursuits is slowly expanding. Recent examples of ventures involving Native American culture differ from many of those that have occurred in the past, in that Native people are increasingly behind the efforts, lending authenticity. In addition, the initiatives are not about history […]
In Control
Licensors in the fashion and luxury industries accomplish their brand-extension activities, especially in international territories, in a variety of ways, including through licensing agreements, joint ventures, or owned subsidiaries, or even sometimes from their central headquarters. While each company has a different strategy depending on the particulars of its own business, the industry as a […]
Music and Merch
There has always been a strong connection between music and merchandise, but the relationship between the two is intensifying and broadening of late. Musicians continue to look for ways to strengthen their revenue streams from licensed products to help compensate for the album sales that used to be their bread and butter but have plummeted. […]
Boxes of Health and Beauty
The market for subscription boxes has been challenging for many companies. But the women’s beauty, wellness, and self-care area has been one of the bright spots. Recent examples of partnerships in this sector show its strength, as well as illustrating some of the key ways IP owners and celebrities are working with subscription box marketers: […]
A Need for More Space
Last summer, a number of licensors and their licensees created space-inspired products, promotions, and entertainment productions to capitalize on the high profile of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first steps on the moon in July. Some were tied to the Apollo space program and some to other space-related properties and/or themes. While […]
An Opportunity for a Short Vacation
Pop-up travel destinations represent one form of experiential licensing that has been on the rise in 2019. These immersive initiatives, which can last anywhere from a few days to a few months, include pop-up hotel rooms, complete hotels, and rental homes: Hotel rooms. New York’s Club Wyndham Midtown 45 launched a themed room tied to […]