TOTAL LICENSING
Opinion
All you need is love...
Licensing expert, Caroline Mickler, explains how maximising
a licensing program’s revenue without sacrificing the brand’s
integrity doesn’t just help you sleep better at night. It really does
make business sense.
How would you feel
There are two camps in the licensing there will be no decay in The
business: those that care and want to Beatles’s timeless appeal.
if Paddington Bear
make a profit and those just that want One would imagine that over
suddenly developed
to make a profit. In slightly more lofty the generations Disney has
a mean streak? terms, one camp is concerned with tried to exercise similar quality
If his innocent
how licensing programme revenue assurance. We may or may not
capacity for chaos
can be maximised without sacrific- like all the characters, but we
ing integrity. And the other? Well, the recognise them and we know
were revealed as
other, in my view, is just plain wrong what they stand for – and we
deliberate
- and this is why. have done for decades.
manipulation? When a brand is created by an author, We need to remember where
You would say,
designer or concept creator there is these brands start from. The
simply: “He wouldn’t
usually an iceberg effect. The brand authors and creators care.
itself that is visible to the naked eye They care about the respon-
do that!” And you’d
rests on an even greater base that is sibility of trust that has been
be right.
not immediately visible but underpins generated by the time, skill,
Paddington Bear its stability and strength – what one effort and even love that was
would never behave
could call the unseen values and DNA put into the creation of the
cruelly or with
surrounding the property. Those val- brand in the first instance.
ues build trust in the brand. They care, in short, about peo-
malice. He would
Take a very simple example. How ple and what they feel about
always stick to being
would you feel if Paddington Bear sud- their properties. Which is why,
someone to simply put a transfer and
the innocent sweet
denly developed a mean streak? If his when there is a betrayal by those that
some branded packaging on product
innocent capacity for chaos were re- just want to exploit properties for
that has been through no process but
bear he is.
vealed as deliberate manipulation? You quick profits it is such a travesty.
can then be described as offering the
We can rely on that.
would say, simply: “He wouldn’t do But this isn’t just a call for high-mind-
brand’s label. The product is simply ge-
that!” And you’d be right. Paddington edness over hard-nosed business
neric tat, but the brand allows a parent
Bear would never behave cruelly or decisions. It really is good business. I
to feel misplaced confidence that the
with malice. He would always stick to worked with the creator of a concept
brand values are being met. In other
being the innocent sweet bear he is. a few years ago who developed a beau-
words, it’s a con.
We can rely on that. tiful property that reflected the good
The net result of this practice is that
But when something betrays that in- in the world. As we sought the licens-
an intellectual property that has been
tegrity it’s not only our dreams that ees, we created an uphill journey for
created with love is then, usually due
get dented: values too get questioned ourselves by holding onto the prede-
to poor contracting or a desire for
- and, if we’re not careful, value disap- termined values of the character. As a
pecuniary gain without consequence,
pears, or at the very least is dimin- result, we missed out on a few licenses
taken out into the market and just rav-
ished. It’s at times like these when the that, we felt, would have undermined
aged.
gloss surrounding a quality intellectual its integrity. However, the product still
And there’s no way back. Just as a
property gets badly tarnished. How exists today and it wouldn’t have had
crime, once committed, cannot be re-
long, for instance, will the pet-naming we abandoned that value set.
versed, if you smash the integrity of a
scandal surrounding Blue Peter con- By contrast, I recently saw a prop-
brand’s values it is simply game over.
tinue to dent its wholesome image? erty of great character strength and
So trying to maximise licensing pro-
In licensing, the general rule is that charm with an exceptionally broad
gramme revenue without sacrific-
rigid quality control has proven time range of quality and purpose-designed
ing integrity really is good long-term
and again to preserve brand integrity. merchandise fall victim to reckless
business sense. All you need is care,
Take the Beatles. Apple Corps has a ‘label slappers’. It’s a common occur-
integrity and vision - or, to borrow a
strict policy to control licensed mer- rence: the terms of a license do not
phrase from a brand wildly successful
chandise. Its aim is to ensure that ensure quite enough control, allowing
since 1962, all you need is love!
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