Start Licensing’s Ian Downes discovers how Waterstones is using licences this Christmas.
In the week where the licensing industry charity The Light Fund announced which charities it has been able to help this year, it is a timely reminder that Licensing PLC has a great track record of helping good causes.
Companies like Louis Kennedy has led the way with its creative and innovative use of licensed characters to create fundraising merchandise for charities – a classic case study being character pin badges sold to raise money for charities. Famous characters, brands and personalities can be very persuasive supporters and advocates for good causes. I think licensing has done a lot, but there is scope to do more.
With this thought I was delighted to see how the charming Moomins characters are being used at the moment. I visited the excellent Waterstones’ shop in Piccadilly this week (worth a visit if you haven’t been there yet – a really interesting ‘retail space’). It has a dedicated Moomins area which included notebooks, bags, plush toys and books. At the centre of the display was a special edition book which contained two Moomin stories – The Invisible Child and The Fir Tree – the book was being sold in aid of Save the Children and in support of the The Invisible Child Campaign.
This is a really good example of a brand owner and agent recognising that they can contribute in a positive way to an important campaign while also creating momentum for their brand. The partnership seems a great fit and is another example of how the Moomins is being carefully nurtured in the licensing market.
Some of the product on sale – including Blueprint Collection’s notebooks – feature simple and straightforward designs which are very effective. It shows what can be done with a patient approach to property management and looking to the long-term.
The Moomins is also a great property for the winter/Christmas seasons and also suits retailers like Waterstones in locations such as Piccadilly as it has an international appeal. To the latter point I had to join a queue to get my in-store photos of the display – waiting in turn behind three very excited and animated Japanese tourists who were delighted to see the Moomins!
Waterstones was also featuring a well presented range of The Snowman and The Snowdog – again a perfect property for this time of the year and to Waterstones’ credit it has merchandised these seasonal opportunities well. It has coupled books with merchandise well – encouraging consumers to buy more than one item.
Penguin the publisher hasn’t stood still either. It has added a new publishing format to the range with a Snowdog shaped book. A good creative use of the character which will renew interest in the property, create new engagement with retailers while also inspiring licensees. Classic characters benefit from consistent management, a clear vision but also need a creative kickstart from time to time – this can be on a large scale or at a smaller scale through clever products and partnerships.
Waterstones was also backing annuals with a dedicated display – this featured must-have annuals like Beano coupled with licensed titles such as Star Wars, Disney Princess, Pokémon and Jacqueline Wilson.
Annuals are a solid category for booksellers and also feature in non traditional outlets. It is good to see Waterstones backing the category and giving it decent space at the front of store.
Like many book retailers, Waterstones is more than a bookseller these days – it sells a wide range of products including toys and games. One of the toy products it was selling caught my eye in particular.
It had a feature display for a Harry Potter branded version of Trivial Pursuit. I thought this was a great use of the Harry Potter licence and associated content which I think would really appeal to fans or, perhaps more tellingly, the friends and family of friends. A great pick up gift item.
Another reminder that licences with content can be stretched a bit further – Harry Potter is rich in facts, figures, names and characters a perfect match for Trivial Pursuit. A great combination of licence and licensee.
Christmas is also a time where we see some interesting products in the food and drink category, with brands that aren’t all year round players in licensing terms getting their moment in the aisles.
One such example is the whisky brand Glenfiddich. Biscuit and bakery firm Walkers has used the Glenfiddich brand, product and flavour to create mince pies and cakes. The product has dual potential – being bought for direct consumption as a Christmas treat, but also particularly in the case of the cake, being bought as a Christmas gift. The design and packaging of the products really reinforced the authentic nature of the partnership – the Glenfiddich branding working well in this context.
Walkers in its own right is a well known and trusted company with a strong brand identity. The two brands go well together and the attention to detail is completed by the fact that the product is ‘Made in Scotland’. You wouldn’t expect anything else I guess, but in this context this completes the offer well and, of course, will help with export sales I imagine.
Finally, I had a quick look in a vintage shop this week. It confirmed to me that Christmas and licensing is not a ‘new’ thing. It was selling a very charming Warner Bros. sweatshirt from 1993 featuring a Christmas design with the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in Christmas garb.
While this was reassuring, it was quite disturbing to see product from 1993 in a vintage shop – I started my licensing career around then…
Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency. His Twitter handle is @startlicensing – he would welcome your suggestions for what to look out for.
