Start Licensing’s Ian Downes notes that, like comedy, gifting is all about the timing.
Retailer shelves are often as good a way of monitoring the change in seasons as the trees are – as the leaves turn brown the retailers turn their shelves over to seasonal products.
As noted in The Source last week, retailers such as Boots have published their Christmas Gift guides which are brimming full of licensed products.
Christmas often sees brands on shelf that aren’t normally featured at retail through licensing activity. Retailers are looking for exclusive or semi-exclusive ranges to attract consumers and create a point of difference. Christmas is clearly a competitive time for retailers and a unique licensing offer can create a strong point of difference.
Good examples of this are gift ranges using the MENSA and Guinness World Records brands which I spotted in Waitrose and Sainsbury’s respectively. Brands such as these can be used to develop well targeted gift ranges that tick a box in consumer targeting terms for retailers.
This is also the time of the year where there is a plethora of composite gifts using well known FMCG brands. There are a number of specialist licensees who cater for this market including Kimm & Miller , Scoop Designs and Beams. The skill in these kind of products is developing original gift items, using well-known brands and being able to co-pack the FMCG item in a cost effective way.
The composite gift has to represent value versus the core product and also sit comfortably alongside core product in retailers such as supermarkets.
In my own work we have developed a range of Jammie Dodgers composite gifts with Beams. A signature item is a high spec Jammie Dodger biscuit tin that is filled with packs of Jammie Dodgers. The product has great stand out on shelf and has moved Jammie Dodgers from the biscuit aisle to the gift aisle. Beams worked hard to produce a range that delivered a gift component that had a premium feel to it. Gift ranges can also be a good starting point to create year round products and an added benefit is that they become talked about creating a stir on social media.
It is also interesting to see that Halloween is now firmly established as a licensing opportunity – Sainsbury’s has an apparel range that is sitting in their Halloween fixture featuring characters such as Peppa Pig and Scooby-Doo with bespoke designs.
Extra value has been added with glow in the dark finishes and it is interesting to note the use of a book based brand Room on the Broom which is spot on for the season. This is to be applauded – it is good to see retailers choosing licences to match a season or event in a strategic way.
Clearly seasonal opportunities offer licensing new business opportunities, but it is also part of retailing that needs careful management to ensure product arrives on time, is relevant and is managed carefully through the selling process to maximise success and to avoid deep discounting once the season is over. I remember a few years ago being in New York the day after Valentine’s Day and seeing Love Me Tender Musical Chocolate Boxes being sold off at a dollar each!
Not great for Elvis and not a good idea to buy your partner the day after Valentine’s – even if looked like a bargain. A bit like comedy, gifting is all about timing.
