We chat to Libby Grant about what we can expect from the agency’s brand side.
CPLG is arguably most closely associated with entertainment brands, having enjoyed success over the years on the likes of Star Trek, The Simpsons, Minions, Mr Men, Marvel and Star Wars. Now, the ambitious agency is developing the brands side of its business, with Libby Grant on board as global business development director to spearhead the move.
“As retailers look to broaden their offering beyond the traditional entertainment properties – which may be very dependent on broadcaster, TV ratings or box office success – brands give them potential for long-term revenue, resonance across multiple markets and a low risk way of diversifying range and offering in-store,” Libby explains.
Libby certainly has the brand pedigree to make the move a success. As a founding partner and director of Fluid World, she helped to turn Hello Kitty into the biggest girls brand in the UK and also turned Chupa Chups into a lifestyle brand. Most recently, Libby has been working on cult design brand tokidoki and interior design company, Designers Guild.
Earlier this year, CPLG signed the rights to Billboard and will be building it into lifestyle categories, while, having launched in Sports Direct, the Tony Hawks brand continues to go from strength to strength.
Parental Advisory has also joined the brands roster, with CPLG taking on the rights to licensing across EMEA. The brand – which was originally made with the intention of alerting parents of potentially unsuitable material for younger children – has already been seen in retailers such as Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, H&M, ASOS, Primark and New Look on apparel. CPLG is aiming to continue to extend the brand out into new fashion and lifestyle categories.
On top of this, CPLG is also taking a more lifestyle approach to the aspirational brands associated with sport in its portfolio, such as St Andrews Link and RFU.
Libby explains: “Some sports brands have very similar foundations to lifestyle brands. They have a strong heritage, often an extensive archive and true multi-generational emotional connection with their audience, making it quite natural to extend into non-sporting goods products.”
Representation agreements on two more brands are due to be announced shortly and, now that the infrastructure is in place, CPLG will surely be looking to add to this in 2017. The agency is also looking to hire a design manager who will report in to Libby – they will work on supporting the growth of brands through style guide creation, concepts and visuals.
Libby concludes: “We want to become recognised as a global player in brand extensions, attract the best talent and truly strike the balance between our entertainment and brand business.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
