BLE’s Anna Knight on how the sector is getting richer and higher profile by the day.
There’s no question that the character and entertainment category within licensing is huge; that it dominates the market. It’s worth $118bn* (LIMA Global Licensing Report 2017), accounts for 45% of total retail sales and was a key driver in global licensing’s impressive 4.4% uplift last year.
In a recent Top 150 Global Licensors feature, over half of the top ten brands were from within the C&E category. The Walt Disney Company can be found sitting more than pretty at the top with retail sales of $53bn – over twice that of Meredith Corporation in second place and three times that of PVH Corp in third.
It’s not surprising, really. C&E is the most mature element within brand licensing and its properties are the most recognisable among consumers who, once they understand what licensing is, will no doubt instantly refer to a movie or TV franchise like Star Wars or – if they’d been to Harrods over Easter – Peter Rabbit.
However, as mighty as C&E is – and deservedly so – it is not the be all and end all to the licensing industry. And that’s why I’d like to shine a light on the brands & lifestyle category, which is proving a very worthy sidekick. B&L is a growing sector of the global licensing industry, both in terms of size and the number of blue-chip brands and organisations now licensing out intellectual property.
But what makes it really interesting is how diverse it is becoming and the breadth and depth of content and range of licensors who are now operating in this area. B&L incorporates everyone from corporates, to fashion houses and designers, museums and galleries, charities, sport, automotive, food and drink and, of course, celebrities.
This is a phenomenon that’s reflected in this year’s B&LLAs, which BLE is proud to sponsor once again. Taking place this week on April 26 and now in their third year, the B&LLAS are proving to be a valuable mirror on the industry and the sheer breadth of different brands and products which are now being entered, shortlisted and winning is growing every year.
I love seeing B&L getting richer by the day. Just last Wednesday, LicensingSource reported on Holly Willoughby’s lifestyle brand announcement, Truly, which lands this autumn – one of thousands of celebrities attempting to build their own brand through licensing, just as Katie Price, the Beckhams, Gwyneth and Goop and the Kardashians have done before them.
If you’re over 30, it may feel as though the celebrity market has become saturated, but with the rise and rise of social media – especially more visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat – there’s no real sign it’s on the wane yet; people want the celebrity lifestyle now more than ever, and if they feel they can do that through clothes, perfume, whiskey or a mobile game, then it’s a win win for everyone.
Sport is also holding its own and, in the States, in particular, sporting brands have successfully established huge licensing programmes, the biggest being Major League Baseball, which is worth $5.5 bn. It’s one of the reasons we homed in on sport at BLE last year and highlighted it as one of our key themes. As a result, we had more sporting brands exhibiting in the Brands & Lifestyle Zone than ever before.
Also doing well in the B&L category are museums and galleries. V&A Enterprises is a great example of this. An early adopter, the V&A launched its licensing programme first in Japan following a William Morris exhibition, it has exhibited at BLE every year for the last ten years and has now established a programme worth £79.4 million, which has helped it to both increase brand awareness and generate a steady source of revenue.
As Lauren Sizeland, the V&A’s director, business development and licensing, said: “As a museum, we have a big retail operation, publishing programme and onsite catering. The revenue from these fluctuates depending on the number of visitors at the museum itself. Licensing on the other hand doesn’t depend on that as it is an outward facing activity. It enables us to reach the high street, department stores, gift stores etc. What is being appreciated more and more is that licensing is relatively steady and low risk and therefore it is appealing to the museum to increase the activity. There are a lot of advantages from a revenue aspect, but is also a great way of building brand awareness.”
At BLE, we have invested in giving the B&L category the attention it rightly deserves over the last few years: we have a dedicated seminar theatre and, at BLE 2017, we launched the product showcase to help retailers and licensees visualise these types of brands as end products.
This year, we are really looking forward to having the show all one level at Olympia, so that we can really drive the traffic to and through the B&L Zone so that those who haven’t yet had their eyes opened may well find something exciting and new.
Anna Knight is brand director of Brand Licensing Europe, which takes place at London’s Olympia from October 9-11. If you are interested in exhibiting in the B&L Zone, you can click on this link for further information.
