Personalised consumer experiences, clever collaborations and staying true to your brand values were some of the key messages from an expert panel at BLE 2015.
Bruno Schwobthaler, senior licensing executive and author of Licensing for Growth chaired the session on trends and future growth strategies on the second day of BLE 2015.
The panel of experts included: Hilary Plummer, licensing director for Lego; Fredda Hurwitz, chief strategy officer for Havas Sport and Entertainment; Malcolm Pinkerton, director of research for Planet Retail and Ilaria Rossi, senior licensing manager of Adidas.
The changing face of consumers: what are their needs and aspirations and how can brands meet these?
Fredda: “Brands need to engage with fans on a whole different level. Fans want to feel a connection to a brand. Sponsorship is a great way for brands to connect with something that fans really care about and if a brand believes in what it is doing, then the fans will believe as well.”
Malcolm: “The shopper journey is so much more complex now with consumers expecting much more from the brand and experience. Brands no longer control messages and conversations as they used to through traditional forms of advertising. That space is now owned by the consumers on social media, blogs, YouTube and other platforms.”
Hilary: “Brands need to listen to fans, but also stay true to brand expectations. We have developed Lego Ideas which is a fan-generated platform. Fans can submit ideas for new Lego products and vote for the projects they love the most. Projects with the most votes go on to be considered by Lego to go into production.”
IP management strategies: how do you manage your portfolio across multiple platforms?
Hilary: “Don’t lose sight of your core brand values. When considering any opportunity, always think ‘what is it we do well?’ It can be easy to lose sight of what you stand for. It is better to deliver outstanding experiences in your core business than mediocre ones away from in.”
Ilaria: “Co-branding has been important for Adidas to make a statement and reach a wider audience. We’re not just a sport brand anymore. Partnerships with Stella McCartney have brought the brand to a fashion-led consumer and our relationship with Disney has taken the brand into the children’s market.”
Fredda: “Brands do need to be careful with licensing. It doesn’t work for all brands, particularly some really niche brands with a hard core fan following, like some extreme sports. The wrong sort of partnership can really annoy fans.”
Retail: how has online changed the retail sector?
Malcolm: “We’re seeing a closer collaboration between online and in-store. Stores are becoming digitised, from ‘click and collect’ to actually giving floor space to online brands like Selfridges has done with Birchbox. I think the dash button concept (an auto-replenishment button that automatically re-orders a product when you run out) from Amazon is also exciting. I think we’ll see brands start working with manufacturers on building auto-replenishment into consumer products.”
What does the future hold for brands?
Ilaria: “Working with partners who share your vision and values is really important. We’ve just collaborated with Pharrell Williams on launching Supercolor, where consumers can choose from 50 colours of shoe. Pharrell was involved right from the design through to promotion.”
Fredda: “Be open-minded and co-curate with the right people. Our challenge is getting brands over the initial sponsorship of an event to see how it can work for them all year round.”
Malcolm: “Look at ways to personalise the shopping experience, through offering a seamless shopping experience, whether that is in-store or online.”
Hilary: “Use content to allow fans and consumers to experience your brand in other ways. Don’t be dependent on one source for story-telling and always stay true to your brand.”
