Bringing together the great and the good of the European licensing industry, Brand Licensing Europe 2022 (BLE) is a veritable who’s-who of some of the world’s most recognisable brands and licensing agencies.
Licensing is, of course, primarily a revenue driver – but with consumer products and partnerships proving crucial to brand positioning, it also has significant marketing potential, making BLE an interesting show to visit from a marketing perspective.
Brand extension allows property owners to maximise the reach and awareness of their intellectual property, extend their customer demographic, enhance their credibility and much more besides.
In that lies the key – for marketers, securing a licensing agreement with a brand that commands global recognition and positive sentiment can be likened to gold dust, boosting product sales like never before.
The sheer range of brands exhibiting at the event, from museums, charities and universities to global commercial powerhouses such as Mattel, Sega and BBC Studios, lays bare the staggering scale of the licensing industry, which appears to have a finger in every conceivable pie.
MB spoke to Black Lives Matter UK, Topps Europe and Pink Key Licensing to gain a better understanding of licensing and the vital role marketing plays within it.
Pink Key Licensing – Richard Pink, managing director
Can you tell us a bit more about brand extension and the role that agencies such as yours play?
“If you take a brand – like Kellogg’s or Pringles for example – what we’re effectively doing is taking the brand equity that they’ve got invested within their own food products, and extending that equity into other areas, which they would naturally not go into.
“You’d never get Kellogg’s making a t-shirt, or Pringles making a t-shirt, well, we can do that. We manage that process and build the brand awareness for them, securing additional distribution channels they would never go to themselves.
“Essentially, we manage that whole process and build the brand awareness for them. That’s basically what our role is: to extend the brand from a commercial point of view, because what we’re also doing is driving a revenue stream for them at the same time.”
Where will your marketing focus be over the coming year?
“Trade marketing for sure. We focus on trade marketing, we focus on social media, particularly Instagram, some LinkedIn, that sort of thing.
“But we also do some consumer-facing Instagram and social media, which is picked up by retailers. Because if we want to be on trend or something like that, then we’ve got to, really. That helps us but also helps the brand as well.”
What is the most interesting brand extension you’ve seen at BLE 2022?
“The one we did ourselves, of course! Which is Pan-Am gin. We’re working with a company called Silent Pool Gin, based in Surrey.
We talked to a multitude of gin companies, but they were the ones who really got it. The nostalgia around when travel was glamorous, back in the 50s; we’re trying to evoke that.”
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Topps Europe – Ian Foster, marketing and digital content director UK & Ireland
Could you give me a rundown of Topps’ marketing strategy in the licensing space?
“We’re investing in digital, but it’s probably harder than ever to tie down an audience. Maybe 20 years ago, you could guarantee that if you put a primetime TV spot on, you’re guaranteed the whole family would watch it. Whereas now it’s much more disparate.
“I think the challenge for us as marketeers is finding where our audiences are. Increasingly, it’s easier to appeal to people on social channels, because you can produce content.
“You already know that on Tik Tok, you’re probably appealing to a younger audience, and on YouTube, you can do targeted, sponsored ads. We do still go down the route of promoting in newspapers and magazines, we give away products, it’s still really valuable.”
What brands will you be working with over the coming year and how much of a role will marketing play in those plans?
“Obviously massive, the role of brand is to make the best product possible – then it’s up to marketing to tell people that the product’s there and how good it is.
“One of the main things we’re doing, as we’ve got a lot of football licences, is using ambassadors.
“We’re using younger players, maybe closer to the age of our collectors. Mason Mount is a player we just had a content day with, Jack Grealish we shot with in March. We also shot a day with F2 Freestylers, who have 27 million followers, so it’s a lot of eyes, lot of ears…
“I would say Tik Tok is probably the fastest-growing channel, with really rich content. You have to be pretty planned about what you do in terms of marketing on Tik Tok, as it’s not really a brand platform.
“Creating engaging content really works on that. You’ve got something you can do in 10 seconds, and it could reach something like 10 million.”
What’s the most interesting brand extensions you have seen this year?
“An interesting example recently, was the sports day that Sports Direct did and invited a load of influencers. Influence is just so big now they’re almost like the new kind of media personality.
“I’ve probably been at events where the queue for influencers is as big as the queue for football players. Influence has become really key for brands.”
Black Lives Matter UK – Hannah Ojolola, podcast host and content creator
How important is brand licensing to BLM, what brands are you currently working with?
“At the moment we’re in collaboration with Toni’s Dolls and we’re just on the lookout for other retailers and other brands to collaborate with.
“Basically anything that makes sense for fruitful partnership and just brings as much awareness to Black Lives Matter UK as possible.”
What are your upcoming plans?
“Primark is someone that we have our eye on, because of how big the brand is, and how much people rely on it as just something to wear comfortably. Brands like that are key, but at the moment retailers are our key focus.”
Most interesting brand extension at BLE?
“I really like Mattel, just in terms of the creative eye. The aesthetic is very eye-catching, so it’s been really great to see what they’ve had to offer.”
