Insight
GAMING LICENSING LIMA Interview
Kelvyn Gardner, Managing Director, LIMA UK
“Licensing continues to grow fast and clearly punches above its weight when compared to general economic growth. Te UK has now become the second largest market in the world against what is still a tough retail environment, testimony to the strength of licensed brands, the quality of licensees' products and the vision of UK retail which clearly understands the message: 'licensing sells.'”
Branding burns hot across all segments, especially gaming
We currently have a generation of people in the Generation X demographic that’s perfectly attuned to licensing and brands in a way that’s quite alien to the previous Baby-Boomers generation. It’s about an increase not just in recognition of the brands, but in the spending-power of a generation of consumers that was raised on the marketing of both international and national brands.
A new report from the Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), shows the industry increasing in size and scale. G3 asks Kelvyn Gardner, MD, LIMA UK, why licensed gaming products are growing in popularity
Licensing has changed dramatically over the last couple of decades. If you go back to 1964, Manchester United’s George Best was wearing a red shirt with a white circular collar, no insignia, no logos - nothing. It’s an image that seems a million miles away from today, in which everything is branded and licensed, partly due to revenue protection and partly brand owners’ business drive, but also because the public has become attuned to the fact that if something is “more official” it is also more desirable, to the extent that they’re willing to pay more money for it.
While it’s a long-way from the 1960s to 2016, more and more companies are becoming acutely aware of intellectual property (IP), whether it’s theirs or someone else’s, you’re only a step away from trying to trade in that property, whether you’re a brand owner looking to profit from the use of it or whether you’re a manufacturer that’s looking for a decisive competitive edge. If you buy a licence, what you’re buying is instant brand power.
THE VALUE OF LICENSING “Te majority of licensing opportunities are a short-
term proposition,” describes LIMA UK’s Kelvyn Gardner. “While the licensing industry looks for what are called ‘ever-greens,’ and in corporate licensing you have brands like Black & Decker and JCM for
P36 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM
instance that carry on forever, in entertainment licensing things tend to be based around movies, TV shows and characters that are only around for a short period of time. So there’s a built in ‘craze’ period and also an in-built ‘obsolescence’, because of the need to drive forward with something new in entertainment.”
Another element that’s part of that drive is the fact that licensing has historically been thought of as a children’s business, such as the current phenomenon for Pokemon Go. Licensing has never been just for children, but what has happened in the last 4-5 years is that it’s become more culturally acceptable and respectable for grown-ups to buy into licensed products. “Te shift in acceptance in the last few years has seen the launch of products such as Iron Maiden beer, a host of products associated with Game of Trones; you’ve even had the Motorhead ‘pleasure’ range and our own particular licence, Downtown Abbey, which has been an amazing success and has brought companies into licensing for the very first time,” states Kelvyn.
“Tere is an American lace-making company, for example, which bought the rights to Downtown, whose product line is now the most successful in its company history and they even picked up a licensing award. Te spread of licensing into older
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76