With the Olympics underway, Start Licensing’s Ian Downes reflects on major sporting events and the opportunities that exist for retailers, both independents and multiples.
“I am sure a lot of us have lived through the ecstasy and agony of recent events such as the European Football Championships (the Euros) and the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. These sort of events and others, to include the Olympics of course, are ones which tend to bring communities together in a collective ‘water cooler’ moment. They also fire up business opportunities in the licensing sector. Brand owners, agents and manufacturers have got better at making the most of these kind of signature events and time their product releases to maximise the opportunity. This in turn opens up opportunities for retailers to get involved.
It was interesting to see how FMCG brands co-ordinated campaigns at retail around the Euros in co-ordination with retailers. Brands such as Wrigleys, Dove and Hellman’s Mayonnaise ran in store activations, on pack competitions and social media campaigns to leverage the opportunity. These campaigns helped create a marketing moment in retail and achieved cut through. This is definitely an opportunity for growth for licensing and retail.
Some people may be reluctant to get involved in event driven opportunities because of their unpredictability – thinking about the success of the ‘home’ teams or individual players – but there are ways of mitigating this. Plus, of course, there is a lot of accumulated knowledge from brand owners and licensees about how to make the most of an event. It is not a new licensing strand and it is a path that is well trodden.
It is also easy to think that these sort of opportunities can only be realised by large scale or national retailers. There are, of course, advantages to be had from working at scale, but I was recently in Wimbledon Village during Wimbledon fortnight and it was very impressive to see how the local retailers, businesses, pubs and cafes embrace the event. This is an annual competition which sees businesses decorating and theming their windows around tennis while the village is decorated with themed bunting and flowers.
The business community embrace the event and it seems to have a positive impact from a footfall point of view. Certain retailers dial things up – for example, Joe & The Juice created a special edition drink with tennis player Nick Kyrios, while others recognised that participating in the event was good for business bringing in relevant products from existing suppliers. Licensing can certainly help in this regard. Additionally, licensing can help theme regular calendar events such as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Related to this it has been interesting to see how licensed cards have become a feature of emerging card giving occasions such as Thank You Teacher. Licensing companies have become more tuned into the need to create bespoke art that is retail and event ready. As a consequence, there are good opportunities for ‘on theme’ product development.
It is also interesting to see how brand owners are creating their own events to help create momentum around brands, but also to deliver new opportunities for consumer engagement, retailing and creative development. The Helm Gallery in Brighton recently curated and hosted an exhibition called Mr Men Little Miss Reimagined. The exhibition featured the work of five contemporary artists who ‘reimagined’ these classic characters in their own style. The artists delivered a fresh take on the characters which helped with consumer engagement, brand outreach and also creative thinking. The exhibition included some merchandise and the opportunity to buy art prints.
Beyond the gallery, retailers in Brighton, in categories such as gifts, would have had a good opportunity to stock up on Mr Men and Little Miss products. Similarly, brand owners like Aardman are very active in live events working with companies such as Wild in Art to create public art trails. These are delivered in individual venues or towns. In both cases they generate a lot of publicity and public engagement. Shaun the Sheep currently has an art trail in Maidstone in Kent. It is being run in conjunction with local charity the Heart of Kent Hospice. They have opened a couple of pop up shops selling trail merchandise and licensed products bought in from licensees. Like the Brighton example, this activation will also create opportunities for local retailers to stock Shaun the Sheep product and many of the Aardman licensees have talked to local retailers about topping up their orders. The community has got fully behind the event.
Licensing, licensed brands and licensed products can all help create momentum and focus for retailers. Specifically, a well-timed retail campaign that taps into the appeal and engagement around an event can be very effective. Brand owners are increasingly happy to have conversations with retailers about working in partnership and often have a suite of support materials available for retail. It is worth planning ahead and thinking about how co-ordination around event planning could help secure a win at retail.”
Ian Downes
Start Licensing
07776 228454 | twitter.com/StartLicensing
Top: Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency.
