We chat to VBM’s Chelsea Schep about how on pitch success is also driving the licensing.
The Women’s World Cup 2017 was the first time Velocity Brand Management (VBM), had produced a range of licensed products for the women’s standalone event.
Chelsea Schep, licensing manager for The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is clear as to why.
“There is a clear appetite from the fans for bespoke products that reflects the growing interest in women’s sport in general over the last few years,” she says.
Chelsea believes that cricket has lead the way in this context, especially with the success of the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) in Australia. “The rest of the cricket and sporting community has stood behind their female counterparts,” she continues.
For the tournament itself, VBM produced an event range of apparel which was sold online and through venue retail, available in men’s, women’s and kid’s sizes.
With the Ashes Series down under at the end of the year, VBM – which is also Cricket Australia’s licensing agent – is working with licensees to create product focusing on the women’s team.
The Official Trading Cards (Tap’N’Play) for the Ashes Series will have a full representation of the men’s and women’s sides. In addition, the Official Interactive Game from BigAnt will feature the women’s side with state of the art 3D technology replicating each of the players.
Both of these products will be dual licensed from Cricket Australia and ECB and is the first time the whole women’s team has been included as a part of the core player range. Both products are due to launch later this year and will be available from retailers in the UK and Australia as well as online.
In addition, VBM will be launching an Ashes pre-tournament guide through Programme Master Limited. The overall ECB licensing programme will also include memorabilia, supporter apparel and headwear, accessories, calendars and stationery, as well as publishing.
The Women’s Cricket World Cup saw a global audience estimated at 180million with live coverage available to 139 countries on television and almost 200 territories online. Indeed, more people watched Women’s Cricket World Cup final than average Premier League game and #WWC17Final was the most tweeted hashtag for a women’s sport final.
Impressive stats indeed and there are exciting times ahead for the women’s game, but Chelsea advises that VBM has no intention of easing off the pace.
“The success of WWC in terms of attendance, broadcast and sales of licensed product has proven to spectators, retailers and licensees that the game is changing. It is no longer a space purely dominated by men and is opening up a bigger, more diverse audience and as such, a bigger and more diverse buying group.
“We are making sure that all supporters can walk away with a tangible memory of their day at the cricket, regardless of who they are cheering for.”
This feature originally appeared in the autumn 2017 edition of Licensing Source Book. Click here to read the full publication.
