The first edition of Licensing Source Book of 2024 is now available to read online – along with a special publication celebrating 20 years of Peppa Pig, plus the launch of Licensing Museum & Heritage Book.
Welcome to the first edition of Licensing Source Book in 2024 – the Year of the Dragon, a general election, the Paris Olympic Games, the men’s Euros and Taylor Swift coming to the UK (excited? Us? Absolutely). It’s also a leap year, meaning a valuable extra day for us all (but we’re hoping for fewer ‘unprecedented’ events than in the last leap year of 2020).
LSB has kicked off the year with a new launch – the Licensing Museum & Heritage Book (you can read more on that here) – while its parent company, Max Publishing, completed the acquisition of London Stationery Show. We did also manage a holiday over Christmas, promise.
Speaking to licensees, licensors and retailers for our first issue of the year, it seems that many are optimistic, having come off a better than expected 2023. Numerous licensees told us that they were entering the New Year with a healthy order book, thanks to a mixture of evergreen and new licences. A bumper crop of milestone brand anniversaries in 2024 – across character/entertainment and lifestyle – is adding some extra bounce, while a willingness between licensees and retailers to work on exclusive ranges to create points of difference is paying dividends.
More licensees also seem to be targeting seasonal opportunities throughout the year (Funko deserves a shout out here for its Funko Pop lines for Valentine’s Day), while the expansion of retailers into new territories (the growth of Primark in Italy for example) is reassuring to see for licensors.
As well as product innovation, we are also seeing more inventive consumer engagement strategies. In our 24 licensing talking points for 2024 feature, we highlight supermarket chain Booths, which has removed self-checkouts in the majority of its stores to boost its customer service levels, while the trend of using immersive experiences to build strong connections with consumers will continue.
Crucially, this thinking is not limited to just entertainment brands… the National Gallery will be kicking off a year-long programme to mark its 200th anniversary this year, for example.
We’re also celebrating 20 years of muddy puddles with our dedicated Peppa Pig publication – discovering how the favourite preschool character is continuing to grow.
This issue also features exclusive interviews with HMV, Boat Rocker and Alligator, while we also take a closer look at the UK animation sector and some of its most recent successes and how the Hot Wheels brand is using licensing to further expand its reach and appeal to all fan bases.
Don’t forget too, entries for the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards 2024 are open until 8 March – you can read more on how to enter here.
As Taylor might say, 2024… are you ready for it?
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