With the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Finals in progress, WWE, the wrestling entertainment brand, announced last week that it was creating an officially licensed legacy championship belt for the winning team. The belt, like those given to winners of wrestling events, highlights the Stanley Cup in the center, where the WWE logo usually resides, […]
Archive | Sports
Medaling in Olympic Fashion
When the 2024 Summer Olympic Games open on July 26, national teams from around the world will be more fashion-forward than ever, as befitting the Games’ location in the fashion capital of Paris, France. A large number of fashion brands, from luxury labels to sportswear companies to streetwear brands, are pairing with national Olympic committees […]
Joining the Fight Club
Two toy-industry deals announced this month, for the fighting franchises WWE and UFC, respectively, are the latest of a number of agreements in this space to launch over the last couple of years. In addition to the loyal family audience attracted to the leading properties, fighting-related IPs offer a clear play pattern that makes them […]
Rappers Tee Up Golf Collaborations
In recent years, rappers and their fashion and lifestyle labels have become increasingly involved in licensing and collaboration deals yielding collections of golf-influenced apparel, accessories, and footwear. In fact, in some cases, the artists’ lifestyle brands themselves are golf-related. Some examples from the last 12 months illustrate the accelerating trend: Tyler, the Creator’s Golf Le […]
Pairing Anime and E-sports
By Karen Raugust on March 25, 2024 in Character/Entertainment, Interactive gaming, Licensing, Sports
A popular sub-segment within the e-sports licensing sector consists of cross-licensed apparel collections that bring together e-sports teams and anime properties. The audiences for the two types of IP dovetail nicely, and the anime characters help drive interest and purchase intent for the e-sports brands. This trend has been ongoing since at least 2019 and […]
Playing for Keeps in the Sports Card Sector
Interest in trading cards featuring women’s sports leagues, teams, and athletes is on rise, and so are licensing deals in this space. This month, Upper Deck announced an agreement with University of Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark, while Panini said it would be creating cards for the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), to name […]
The Peak Celebrity Era
Taylor Swift has had an outsized influence on pop culture and commerce in 2023 and 2024, putting her mark on music sales, NFL ratings, sales of official and unofficial merchandise, and more. While Swift is an anomaly in the breadth and depth of her current dominance, her situation nevertheless makes an interesting case study on […]
Revisions to the Collegiate Licensing Syllabus
The collegiate sports landscape has been undergoing some big changes of late, with potential ramifications for collegiate licensees and other companies partnering with universities and student-athletes on commercial ventures: A spike in popularity of women’s sports. Stars such as Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Angel Reese of LSU are driving interest in women’s NCAA basketball; […]
Hitting the Bullseye
Darts is an activity that has attracted growing interest over the past few years, both in participation and viewership. Increased demand for products such as signature and branded darts, dartboards, jerseys, and flights (the plastic or nylon stabilizers on the darts) has followed, with rights mostly granted to specialist licensees. The game of darts was […]
Full Speed Ahead for Motorsports Teams
Auto racing has been a notable inspiration in the fashion industry for the last two and a half years, with experts crediting the launch of Ferrari’s first full fashion collection in June 2021 with jumpstarting the current popularity of the look. The trend has also been driven by the fact that sports influences in general, […]