Licensors are increasingly experimenting with “membership boxes” as a means of product sampling, promotion, and revenue generation. Membership boxes are delivered to customers monthly or quarterly on a subscription basis. Each box contains a selection of products, themed around a particular topic or focused on a specific product category, with the price typically about half […]
Seeing the Writing on the Wall Coverings
A growing number of authors with adult fan bases (or the authors’ estates) are overseeing merchandise initiatives. The efforts are focused largely on their own names and likenesses, rather than on their book titles, plots, or characters. Each initiative takes a slightly different form. Some, for example, are novelty-based. George R. R. Martin, author of […]
Fan Fitness
Within the past year, professional sports licensors worldwide have been expanding their presence in the health and wellness sector. They are teaming with licensees across a variety of categories, including: Nutritional supplements. Manchester United signed a deal with IVC for a line of wellness products in China, starting with a line of supplements under IVC’s […]
West Meets East
U.S.-based licensors of classic characters are making inroads into the Chinese market by forging deals with fashion-forward retail operators. Three examples announced in the last month illustrate the trend: Twentieth Century Fox paired with Her-Chain Clothing, a multibrand retailer, and HongFang Group to open Simpsons flagship apparel stores across the country. King Features and its […]
Some Like It Hot
Hot sauces have long been an active area of interest for licensing, with properties from chefs to celebrities to colleges dabbling in the category. Recently, hot sauces’ availability for outbound licensing is expanding a bit as well, especially in the food and beverage category, as the brands and their licensees take advantage of an ever-growing […]
It’s Raining Cats, and Now Dogs
The cats of YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms have long played in the licensing arena, with examples ranging from Grumpy Cat, Keyboard Cat, Nora the Piano Cat, and L’il Bub to Henri, Maru, and Venus the Chimera Cat. More recently, a number of pups have been added to the list, […]
Made by Hand
A trend in the world of commercial art and surface design—and, by extension, in the world of art licensing—is an affinity for imagery that is hand-created. Even when digitized for production, the hand-made qualities, such as brush strokes, show through and give the work a singular look. A couple of the artists and art studios […]
Umbrellas Up
The concept of “safety in numbers” seems to apply to the licensing business more and more of late. This fact was evident at this year’s Licensing Expo, as licensors (and sometimes licensees) gathered disparate properties under the umbrella of a single brand. These initiatives take several forms. In some cases, a network, streaming platform, retailer, […]
Boosting Brain Power
As the U.S. population grows older, more adults are seeking out brain-training games to maintain and improve their memory and mental acuity. Younger consumers are also turning to such games, often in app form, to help them reduce anxiety, increase focus, or simply perform better at work or school. Not surprisingly, the growth of brain […]
Around The World In Three Days
Last week’s Licensing Expo once again underlined how globally connected the licensing business has become. Properties from outside the U.S. and Canada commanded an ever-higher profile at the show, continuing a growth trajectory that has been ongoing for several years: A half dozen territories hosted large multi-exhibitor pavilions. Examples included Korea (with properties such as […]