Start Licensing’s Ian Downes brings back five well edited licensing-related observations from London Book Fair this week.
From art to archaeology, through to zumba and zoology, the London Book Fair is a comprehensive trade show which covers a range of topics, themes and readership in the publishing world.
It has a heavy emphasis on the buying and selling of rights. It is also a very international show with publishers from around the world exhibiting many of them in country specific pavilions. I particularly liked the Books from Poland booth as it was giving away free apples – a welcome fruit boost at a busy show. I’m sure it has some mind nourishing books as well.
Licensing features throughout the show in different ways, not least the buying and selling of rights in licensed titles. The show provides a great opportunity to extend a brand’s publishing reach through international rights deals and co-editions.
It is a show I have attended for many years – indeed even before I worked directly in licensing. I’m talking about the 1980s – does anyone else remember that decade?
I also recall the year the show decamped to ExCeL. This wasn’t well received and the London Book Fair quickly returned to Olympia.
This year’s show seemed particularly busy. The stand layout had changed a bit and some people suggested there was less floorspace being used but, judging by aisle traffic and looking at the meetings on stands, the show had pulled in the visitors. Indeed I think this is one of the show’s strengths. It draws in a broad audience from all quarters of the publishing and related worlds including retailers, but also others such as authors, illustrators and librarians. Even licensing agents.
Another group in attendance are university students which I believe is a good move. The show and industry are nurturing the next generation of professionals. I’m sure the students welcome and respect the opportunity to participate in the show.
As I have noted in my other trade show reports recently, it is risky to draw definitive conclusions from trade shows in regards to industry trends and movements, not least as it is difficult to cover all the ground in a couple of days. I should add at this point that the London Book Fair does a great job of curating talks, presentations and industry updates throughout the show. This adds to the authority of the show and provides an additional reason to attend. Unfortunately I didn’t attend any talks so my report is statistically light and the observations I have made are based on thoughts I had as I navigated the busy aisles.
One conclusion I did draw is that publishing personnel are on average politer than tube passengers – show visitors readily apologise for bumping and blocking you at a book show unlike on the Northern Line. Other tube lines are available.
In the spirit of a well edited book, I have confined myself to five licensing related observations from my two days at Olympia.
There still seems to be an appetite for celebrity authored books in the children’s space. Penguin featured books by Bear Grylls and Rose Ayling-Ellis prominently on its stand graphics for example. This approach to publishing divides opinion in the industry. Critics suggest celebrity titles reduce opportunities for other authors, particularly unknown ones, and also argue that they use a lot of marketing resource from publishers. A counter argument is that celebrity titles drive consumer, trade and media engagement. In some cases, a celebrity authored book can be an entry point into reading for children.
From a licensing perspective it is a trend worth noting as, in some cases, a successful publishing programme can be a foundation stone for other licensing activities and help build a brand. I think it is also dangerous to criticise all celebrity authored titles as an unwelcome trend on qualitative grounds – many celebrity titles are well written and often tackle subjects that have been overlooked by publishers previously.
A second observation from the Fair is that book shops sell more than books. I think we all knew this, but confirming this trend there were a number of exhibitors at the show which were marketing non-book products to the book trade.
Within this category licensing featured. For example, The Puppet Company feature Paddington and Elmer puppets in its range, while Paper Engine was showcasing its Wallace & Gromit and The Snowman papercraft kits. MuseARTa was exhibiting with its range of socks inspired by museums such as The Ashmolean. MuseARTa reported some really good interest from a range of retailers.
There are also specialist suppliers like Gardners which supplies the book trade with products from the likes of Aurora, Paw Print Family and Half Moon Bay. Indeed Gardners featured items including Shaun the Sheep plush on its stand graphics emphasising the potential items like these hold for book retailers.
I saw that Helen Exley had launched a range of Molang gift books. The range features titles such as All About Friendship and Choose Calm. There are six in the series and the publisher has also developed a countertop pack for retailers. There does seem to be a market move to sell gift books at till point – publishers and retailers are getting evermore efficient with their retail displays in this regard. Gift book formats also seem to be on the rise generally. Connected with this is an awareness that there needs to be thought given to the retail price of books, with publishers recognising the need to include lower priced books in their portfolios. Helen Exley has published licensed titles before but it has been away from the licensed market for a while. It is good to see it back. It will be interesting to see how this range performs, but I hope that other publishers may be more inclined to look at licensing after seeing how Helen Exley has worked the Molang licence.
It was also interesting to see how publishers have tapped the toy market for inspiration for book ranges particularly thinking about ‘added value’ books and the ‘books plus’ category. A couple of good examples of this are Curious Universe’s Squishmallows book range and Michael O’Mara’s LEGO book range. Elements of both ranges include books with a toy or in the case of Squishmallows an art component. I think this reflects the fact that many retailers selling books these days are hybrid retailers with a very mixed product inventory – for example The Works and The Range. I think this development also reflects publishers wanting to develop products that hold an appeal to non-traditional book purchasers. Publishing deals like these ones allow toy companies to extend their reach beyond the toy channel and also explore different play patterns.
A final observation from the show in regards to licensing was a reminder that licensed publishing opportunities can be found from a variety of sources, but seem to work best when they deliver unique content and appeal to a well-defined audience.
A great example of this is Search Press’ range of books developed in tandem with the Royal College of Needlework. A well chosen licence that fits nicely into Search Press’ portfolio, but also adds something distinct to its list. It is a ‘brand’ that is authentic, respected and has international potential. It is also a good reminder that licensing can work in different consumer sectors and appeal to a range of different consumer groups – a common thread is that the brand selected has to bring something unique and have the ability to persuade consumers to purchase.
All in all, a really enjoyable two days at Olympia with a lot of food for thought in terms of new ideas and creative directions to take. Trade shows can be great places to meet people, but also a great opportunity to learn more about an industry sector and they provide a ‘one stop shop’ for creative thinking. I think it is always worth switching off your screen and taking a trade show trip for some IRL inspiration.
Finally a reminder that next week sees the Northern Quiz take place (20 March). This is a fundraising event organised by industry charity The Light Fund. It takes place in Manchester and is a great opportunity for networking IRL. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available. I would thoroughly recommend it.
As a warm up for the quiz here is your starter for ten question inspired by my visit to the London Book Fair – which author secured the top two places in the UK best sellers charts last year according to Nielsen BookScan? I will see you in Manchester with the answer.
Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency. His X handle is @startlicensing and on Instagram he is @iandownesphotos – he would welcome your suggestions for what to look out for.
