Start Licensing’s Ian Downes takes a look at how Boots is promoting licensing in its Christmas Gift Guide this week.
Carrying on the theme of recent weeks, I have delved into a few more Christmas catalogues this week for my Looking Out.
As noted previously some retailers are still investing in physical catalogues and brochures to promote their Christmas ranges. A good example of this is Boots. It has been using printed Gift Guides for a number of years. It promotes the guides prominently in-store and it also links in-store activity back to the guide.
This year’s guide follows a familiar format covering a range of product categories with a core focus on personal care, electricals and home. Of course all with an added dash of gifting. It is a reminder that Boots is a multi-product retailer and is always one that sees Christmas a key selling opportunity. It is also a retailer that has adjusted some of its focus in terms of retail locations moving at times away from the high street – for example it has invested in shops on stations. It also still runs the Boots Advantage Card loyalty system which helps it build a relationship with consumers and also gives it insight into purchasing patterns.
At first glance the Boots brochure seems to have fewer bespoke gift ranges than in previous years – Boots has traditionally been a great supporter of composite gift sets tapping into brands such as celebrity chef brands and FMCG brands. However on closer inspection licensing continues to feature in the product mix. It does seem that Boots has cut back its product selection a little, perhaps feeling it is better to focus on fewer more compelling propositions. This may not be the case in-store of course. Although I did notice that in the brochure there were a number of products that were only available for home delivery. This is I suppose recognition of the fact that consumers shop differently these days and also that ‘home delivery’ can widen Boots’ product offering.
I should also say that in areas like personal care and fragrances it isn’t always obvious if a product is being produced under licence, but generally it is fair to say that these are categories that do feature licensed ranges.
One feature of the product offering in this category are advent calendars. Brands like Soap & Glory, Number 7 and Ted Baker are available in this format. Interestingly there is also a charity advent calendar developed for Macmillan Cancer Support that features brands such as No 7, Champneys, Liz Earle and Ted Baker. The trend for advent calendars in categories like this seems to remain strong and, indeed, there seems to be even more effort put into the construction of the advent calendars with great examples of paper engineering and cardboard construction on show.
As well as health and beauty, Boots was selling advent calendars featuring truffles, tea and coffee. A Harry Potter advent calendar featured in the selection as well.
There was also a separate dedicated offering of advent calendars for children – these items are being offered for home delivery only but include Hot Wheels, Thomas & Friends, PAW Patrol and Disney Funko. These are all toy and collectables orientated. Overall in the brochure the dedicated kids offering is relatively small, but does feature licensed products throughout including a feature page for the Tonies brand which includes characters such as Paddington, Care Bears and The Gruffalo. This underpins Boots approach to backing trusted and recognisable brands like Tonies. Boots seems to like brands. It has also dipped into licensing for a range of children’s bathing products. There are some good examples of licensing in this category with some innovative product formats such as Nerf Bath Fizzers, Squishmallows Bubble Bath, Bluey Bathtime Clock and a Stitch plush wash bag. It is good to see licences being used creatively in this category. There are some other interesting examples of licensing being used creatively in the adult gift ranges, for example there is a Gilbert Rugby ball shaped wash bag with face and body wash.
Boots curates its catalogue in a number of ways including by price. I guess it realises that shoppers browse catalogues and use them to plan out their purchases. There is also probably a lot of sharing of ideas within friendship and family groups. A printed brochure works well in this context and this is probably one of the key reasons retailers are continuing to use them to promote their ranges. In the modern world there is something quite nice about paper catalogues still being part of the retail marketing mix.
One featured category is Gifts Under £15. In this category licensing features with The Traitors Card Game and a Game Boy Heat Change Mug. There are also a number of examples of licensed products in the £5 and under category including Joules’ Lip Balms and Disney branded face masks. These masks are flavoured infused ones – for example there is a Kermit Cucumber one and a Darth Vader Black Tea one. There are also a number of examples of celebrity branded ranges such as a Kylie Jenner cosmetics range – this has its own page in the brochure underlining how celebrity brands can work well in this context. Likewise brands such as Champneys, Ted Baker and Joules all feature prominently. Character licensing features in Bath & Body with appearances for Barbie and Hello Kitty. In both cases the products featured are eye-catching and feature a degree of bespoke development. In men’s grooming brands such as Fat Face, FCUK and Superdry feature – showing the link between fashion and this category especially in a gifting context.
Within Boots’ Home category, which includes some food gifting, there seemed to be fewer large scale ranges with an emphasis on individual lines, but licensed products do feature with the likes of restaurant brand Leon – Boots is selling a gift set combo of recipe book and ketchup.
Nandos is also featured with sauce set, while Costa Coffee has products such as biscuit tins and storage jars. The Natural History Museum also makes an appearance with an Espresso Lovers Set which includes mugs, ground coffee and biscotti. This is a good example of how with the right design heritage brands can have a role to play in a range of categories. I think the product design used on the mugs celebrates the architecture of the Museum building itself.
It was good to see Boots maintaining its commitment to the Christmas Gift Guide. It is certainly a brochure that I think is part of a lot of consumers’ Christmas routines. As noted earlier there is something quite refreshing about brochures and catalogues surviving in the digital age. Retailers have adapted them to fit their current needs, but overall their appeal is as it always was – a convenient way of selecting Christmas gifts. Boots has added a nice touch to its brochure with a competition and a shopping list that consumers can use to write up their list. A further personal touch is that the brochure features Boots’ staff members including buyers who discuss their product picks and recommendations. I think consumers like this kind of personal connection. It is always good to see licensing playing its part in a Christmas selection like the Boots one. It is a good supporter of licensing and recognises the brand value licensing can bring them. It was also good to see that Boots has worked with suppliers to offer well crafted and innovative licensed products which use the licensed brands well.
Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency. His X handle is @startlicensing and on Instagram he is @iandownesphotos – he would welcome your suggestions for what to look out for.
