Craig Bendle, manager, product licensing at The British Museum on introducing its new character IP, Bastet and driving growth in its licensing business.
Some 40 exhibitors will be taking to the floor for the very first time at Brand Licensing Europe from 24-26 September. LicensingSource.net catches up with just some of them to find out more on their plans and why they see the event as crucial to their brands’ growth.
Today: The British Museum.
Founded in 1753, The British Museum (C250) was the first national public museum in the world and in 2023, 5.8 million visitors passed through its doors.
“We tell the story of human history in its entirety,” explains Craig Bendle, manager, product licensing at The British Museum. “As master storytellers, [at BLE] we’ll be showcasing our dual licensing strategy, which is anchored by an amazing selection of 1,200 objects from the Museum’s over eight million objects, each with its own unique narrative.
“In addition, we’ll be introducing the floor to our character IP Bastet, based on the world-famous bronze Gayer-Anderson cat from the Ancient Egyptian collection. Bastet represents a new and innovative way for the Museum to collaborate with partners and engage new audiences.”
Indeed, expanding the Museum’s reach into character licensing is a key aim for being at BLE. Already proving a success both on-site at the Museum and in China, where it launched in 2016, the programme is now in the process of being rolled out globally, proving an “accessible and relatable” entry point into the Museum.
Craig is also confident that being at the show will allow it to showcase its collection to a broader audience, highlighting the value and added layer of authenticity heritage licensing can bring to a partner’s offering.
“Exhibiting is an exciting new opportunity for us that we hope will help us to expand into new categories for the Museum’s collection and provide a platform for us to launch into the character licensing space, ultimately helping us to expand our reach, diversify our product offerings and drive growth for our licensing business,” he says.
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2024 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
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