Execs from Rocket Licensing, Sony ATV, Tottenham Hotspur and Hachette Children’s Group take part in industry debate.
The licensing industry is in good health at the moment, and there are still opportunities out there at retail for new and established brands alike.
That’s according to a panel of big names taking part in yesterday’s (May 4) annual Spring Fling Question Time debate.
The debate was chaired by LIMA UK md Kelvyn Gardner and featured Charlie Donaldson, joint md of Rocket Licensing; Richard Hollis, consultant; Katie Price, licensing director at Hachette Children’s Group; Gary Jacobson, brand licensing manager at Tottenham Hotspur; and Bruce New, sync and licensing manager at Sony ATV.
Kelvyn asked the panel for a status report on the health of the business currently, and all reported that their particular sectors were doing well.
“The licensing industry is pretty healthy at the moment and in a good place,” said Richard Hollis. “There have been some really good success stories.”
Rocket’s Charlie Donaldson added: “It continues to be healthy and dynamic. At retail, we’ve seen the growth of the value chains, with a lot of product in B&M in particular, so there is a big diverse retail landscape currently.”
Hachette’s Katie Price reported that the children’s publishing sector had notched up its third year of growth and that the rise of ebooks hadn’t impacted the children’s industry at all.
For Tottenham Hotspur’s Gary Jacobson, the sports sector is quite unique as there aren’t the peaks and troughs which are associated with the entertainment sector – people tend to support a club from the ‘cradle to the grave’.
“No one ever says ‘next year, I’m going to support a cheaper team’,” he joked. “They may support them in different ways, but the sports sector has longevity and is steady business.”
Bruce New from Sony ATV pointed out that, from a music point of view, there is a constant audience of people to sell to, especially when it comes to artists going out on tour.
New business models – such as Netflix and Amazon Prime – were also praised for offering alternative areas for consumer products to mine.
“These platforms are definitely strong enough [to build a licensing programme from],” said Charlie. “Breaking Bad, for example, has enjoyed huge success at retail. It’s a very different lifecycle for a brand; the tail seems to be a lot longer, especially as new audiences are able to discover it on Netflix.”
However, binge watching was viewed as both a “blessing and a curse” by Richard when it came to the children’s sector. “At DreamWorks, we’d see a surge in viewers when new episodes dropped, but then they would flit to something else until the next batch dropped.”
Gary added: “As an individual, I see how these platforms are now integrated into the market.”
There was also some advice for how smaller companies and brands could breakthrough at retail, with Richard and Charlie agreeing that it was all about innovation, individuality and effective targeting.
“If you can find the right retail partners there is space for these brands; it’s about imaginative collaborations and different routes to market,” said Richard.
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