Start Licensing’s Ian Downes casts his Licensing Lookout eye over several catalogues and brochures and how they are highlighting licensed products in the run up to the festive season.
I know Keir Starmer has come in for some criticism about the fact that he mentioned that his dad was a toolmaker a few times. I sympathise with him because I know that I often mention that my dad was a postman. I generally mention it in the context of why I like sending and receiving things in the post. It is a form of tribute to my dad. As part of this I have signed up over the years to a lot of mailing lists for mail order companies. I like receiving catalogues and brochures – the added benefit is that it useful research for licensing as well. I do also make some purchases along the way. As Christmas is approaching we are hitting peak catalogue and brochure season. Pleasingly I have received a few in the post while I have picked up others in shops. While shopping patterns are changing and have changed it does seem there is still a role to play for ‘printed matter’, as I believe the Post Office classifies catalogues.
I thought it would be useful to do a quick snapshot of a few of the catalogues and brochures from the last week or so with my Licensing Lookout radar on.
One general observation I would make is that there are a lot of online ‘mail order’ companies out there that cater for specific parts of the market in a focused way – often by theme or subject. The mail order model allows companies to build up a good knowledge of their consumers and their purchasing habits. In turn they use this effectively to target specific ranges and offers to customers.
One catalogue I have received recently is Gift Discoveries. As the name suggests this specialises in the gift sector. I received the Christmas catalogue. Like many similar catalogues, it is divided into sections offering gifts in a range of categories such as food and drink. Featured licensed products include fudge tins using art from artist Stephen Brown. These are ideal for the gift market. It was also interesting to see Glenfarclas Malt Whisky flavoured fudge in a tin. A good example of how brands like Glenfarclas can feature in food gifting when it has a distinctive brand identity and flavour profile. Likewise Baileys Truffles and Guinness flavoured chocolates feature in the catalogue as well. Gift Discoveries was also selling a lot of food and drink gift hampers – themed hampers represent a licensing opportunity I think.
Licensed products were a little thin on the ground outside of food and drink, but it was good to see a range of Agatha Christie mugs and notebooks in the Gifts for Her section (you could buy them for Him as well if you want). I think this range shows the potential for licensed ranges in these ‘off the page’ selling situations. It was also good to see the art brand I Like Birds in the catalogue – the featured products being glasses cases. On the subject of birds, the RSPB makes an appearance with a RSPB Early Bird mug. With catalogues like Gift Discoveries there is probably more that can be done with branded pages and curated collections.
A catalogue I picked up in retail is the Booksellers Association Christmas Books catalogue. I picked this up in one of my local independent bookshops. Marketed in conjunction with the Books Are My Bag #ChooseBookshops campaign, this catalogue aims to focus on book buying opportunities in the run up to Christmas. It is a campaign and catalogue that has been in the market regularly over the last few years. This edition of the catalogue comes with an introduction from best selling author Elly Griffiths. This reinforces the support this initiative gets from authors.
Some particular highlights from the catalogue include a graphic novel version of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Not strictly licensing, but this title is a good example of how classic books are being reimagined in ways like this. Another trend in publishing is to re-issue classic books with new covers, special bindings and with new content opening up opportunities for gifting and tapping into the fan market. Rather like Ellie Griffiths is an author who has become a brand in the publishing market, the catalogue features a number of other authors who are now established as brands in the publishing industry including the likes of Graham Norton, Alexander MacCall Smith and Kate Mosse. Books from these authors become retail events. Independent booksellers can do well from high profile releases like these, but I am sure they are always keen to understand the promotional strategy behind such launches particularly in regard to pricing in other retail sectors. It is also interesting to see how certain publishing genres like crime and thrillers are thriving – authors like Richard Osman, Ian Rankin and Roger Harris helping to bolster this category. While big name authors can seemingly dominate the conversation, it is also important to remember that they can help switch readers onto a specific genre and inspire consumers to seek out other authors.
Returning to graphic novels, it was interesting to see Frances Lincoln publishing Vincent: A Graphic Biography – a graphic novel of artist Vincent Van Gogh’s life. The graphic novel seems to be having a renaissance.
Well known licensee Flame Tree has a full page in the catalogue featuring some of its books and notebooks. Good to see it getting involved at this level and also be recognised as a publisher of note. Also good to see successful artist Angela Harding’s latest book Still Waters and Wild Waves featured. Angela has a very successful licensing programme and her licensed products are well supported by the book trade. Indeed the catalogue features a ‘Bookshop Exclusive’ tote bag designed by Angela. It was launched on Saturday 12 October which was Bookshop Day. It is a great example of how the independent book trade are using a range of techniques to engage with consumers.
Within the gardening section the RHS, the National Trust and Kew all feature. This underpins the strength of these brands in the category but also how competitive the category is. There was also a strong presence for puzzle and quiz books including the official Agatha Christie Puzzle Book and the Prisoners of Geography Quiz Book. The TV brand Taskmaster also makes an appearance with its latest book An Absolute Casserole – a compendium that celebrates the hit show’s 10th anniversary. Other well known brands that are featured include Panini Legends, the latest book from ‘sticker authority’ Greg Lansdowne developed in association with Panini. There is also a board book edition of The Snowman which features ‘stunningly rendered new artwork’. Other featured characters that have a licensing footprint include The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Peter Rabbit and Spot. There is also an Elmer Book and Toy Gift Set in the catalogue which is a good example of how plush and children’s books sit together well.
It was also interesting to see WHSmith promoting its Christmas Gifts range with a small brochure last week coupled with a 20% off books and stationery coupon. The brochure included brands like Cadbury’s, Pringles and Sellotape, but also had some licensed lines including the Disney Lorcana Trading Card Game and Topps Match Attax Champions League, Europa League and Conference League card games. This suggests card games are a strong category for WHSmith at the moment. It also shone a light on the annuals category with a feature for The Beano and The Dandy. Annuals remain an important category for WHSmith and it has a dedicated annuals FSDU in most stores.
A final flyer I picked up was from Lidl this week. Its weekly flyer is a key feature of its promotional push. It highlights the week’s offers and runs in parallel with the ‘middle of Lidl’ promotional aisle. This week’s edition was previewing Black Friday and had a range of offers linked to this. It was also highlighting Christmas offers including confectionery selection boxes. Within this section both Baileys and Guinness featured with chocolate truffle products. They were ranged alongside confectionery giants like Cadbury’s and Galaxy suggesting that the Lidl category buyer sees these two brands as a great fit in this category.
Licensing also made an appearance in categories like Christmas Crackers with Cluedo crackers featuring. Lidl was also showcasing its Lidl Christmas Jumper, Socks and Hats. This range is being promoted in association with children’s charity NSPCC and £1 will be donated from every sale from the apparel range. Lidl is aiming to donate up to £150,000 to the NSPCC from this initiative. This is a great example of how a retailer can marshal their market strength to help a good cause and create a new reason for consumer’s to buy a product. Particularly at a time where there will be lots of similar products available across the market.
Beyond the catalogue and brochure, I noticed a new piece of street art in Waterloo this week. There is a large scale installation of Paddington just off York Road. It has been painted as part of a marketing campaign I believe rather than created by an artist spontaneously. Interestingly brands seem to be embracing street art and outdoor art more frequently these days.
Artwork like this one certainly grabs attention and in the ‘social media’ sharing world street art is perfect ‘shareable’ content. That said and remembering my Royal Mail roots, I have converted my photo into a postcard that I will be sending out to a few people. I need to keep the Royal Mail busy!
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.
