The Licensing session at Frames was moderated by Jennifer Coleman of LIMA. Panelists included Archie Entertainment President Steve Herman and Cartoon Network Enterprises Executive Director for Licensing, India & South Asia, Jiggy George.
Jennifer first shared about the Licensing Industry association and body LIMA and how Indian companies could be a part of, and partake of the vast information and resources available therein.
Archie President Steve Herman at the beginning of his presentation defined licensing for the benefit of the audience “Licensing is affixing the popularity or awareness of a property to a product, to increase its perceived value to the consumer”
“Why Licensing works is because it has overall advantages for everyone” said Steve, “For the consumer it is more choice, for the Retail store it gets in more footfalls, results in more sales and for the licensee it serves as a differentiator and helps in realizing full profit margins”
“Primary to any licensing program is protecting the trademark and the values of the property, that is something which the Licensor does and the licensee is responsible for marketing aggressively and agencies that specialize are roped in to plan strategy and day to day planning” added Steve.
Sharing some interesting data and figures, Steve pointed out that characters and entertainment licensing business was about US$2626 Million in 2005. “Amongst the top performing categories include apparel, toys and games, video games followed by Gifts & Novelties and Accessories”
Talking about how the multi platform environment was changing things, Steve pointed out that children, especially in the developed markets, start their PC before they start their TV “We must reach our audience where they are and our property must be available in every media
now the challenge is to build that‘
“We are entering into an era of unlimited choice, and digitized content, the challenge that one faces in terms of physical shelf space is reduced” concluded Steve.
Up next Jiggy George from Cartoon Network Enterprises began by saying “The easiest thing to do is the deal, the challenge begins after that. You just cannot lease equity and pick up cheques, you have to develop products”
“The thing is that everyone who gets into IP thinks ‘lets do licensing‘ but one needs to have a brand first” added Jiggy.
He shared quite a few examples including a Ford Mondeo commercial that used Tom & Jerry very effectively. Other interesting slides included Pogo Wheels -Jumpin campaign and Delta Airways Power-puff girls where not only was the Aircraft painted with the Power-puff girls but the flight had a lot in terms of in flight entertainment and special care for kids.
Jiggy shared a checklist for the success of a licensing program -:
– Need a brand
– Define the brand
– Personify the brand
– Set objectives
“Licensing may be the source of more than 50% revenue for many properties and brands but it is not always done for revenue generation” said Jiggy continuing “Licensing also helps in extending the brand awareness and reinforcing the brand image; it helps in protecting trademark and avoiding infringement; in test marketing products in a new country & region”
“It is also an excellent exercise while re-launching and re positioning the brand” he added.
“Stay as close as possible to the core of what the brands stands for” concluded Jiggy