Brand licensing is just like sex. Good cross licensing can turn the product look more beautiful. Ugly sex, on the other hand, leaves both sides mystified as to why it happened with neither party wanting to talk about it any more.
Disney and ITC
Disney’s famous aspirational brand – Hannah Montana has undoubtedly established itself as one of the leading tween icons in the country. Keeping the potential in mind, Disney has recently joined hands with ITC’s Personal Care brand Fiama Di Wills to launch a special”Shine in Style” fashion pack featuring the Disney character. The pact between the FMCG major and the popular character, points out how FMCG brands are making the most of
licensing to introduce new brands and engage the target customers by offering what connects with them the best. Let’s study this case further to decipher
relevant and significant facts.
CWG 2010
CWG 2010 Commonwealth Games are around the corner and in an effort to reach out to a wider audience and promote the games, the Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi (OC CWG Delhi 2010) has come up with ‘The Delhi 2010 Licensing and Merchandising Programme.’ Under the programme, the committee is seeking to appoint an official merchandise concessionaire to design, build and operate the online retail shop and games time venue concessions and superstores (to be located at Delhi-Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Complex) that will retail licensed merchandise.
The licensed merchandise will encourage hype, fun and frolic around the historic event and create enthusiasm and excitement among the people. Commonwealth Games are set to create history in Delhi from October 3, 2010 to October 14, 2010. There are five intellectual properties (brand properties) related to the games that can be leveraged by an appointed licensee or licensees. And they are Delhi 2010 logo, 2010 Commonwealth games mascot – Shera, games pictograms, signature elements and team India Logo. Sports enthusiasts are already familiar with the IPs and have developed an affinity towards them. Manufacturers and retailers can cash in on this great opportunity, which will eventually aid in enhancing the whole look and feel of the event by increasing the fan base.
THE UGLY
One of the current siren songs of marketing is the opportunity to earn some extra money by licensing your brand name. Someone comes up to you and offers you a deal you can’t refuse. After all, you’re playing with other people’s money. It’s also long-term trouble for your brand. The main cause of ugly licensing is short-term thinking applied to long-term pportunities. This is definitely true when it comes to the licensing agreement itself where a compromise can come back to haunt either side. Like any healthy sexual relationship, licensing essentially only works if everybody wins. The winning is a virtuous circle starting with the consumer who receives value for aproduct they buy from the retailer who takes their margin and pays the licensee who takes a profit and pays a royalty to the brand owner who puts more money into making the brand valuable for the consumer. Designers aren’t content to merely dress their customers anymore. They want to furnish their clients’ homes, outfit their children and formulate the shade of lipstick they wear. American designer Ralph Lauren was a pioneer in the “lifestyle brand” trend in the 1980s, but nearly every A-list designer today, from Giorgio Armani to Stella McCartney, has his or her name on sunglasses, jewelry, handbags and perfume. When it works licensing can create some unlikely bedfellows with fierce competitors in some markets working together on a shared brand.
