another idea

This business and this industry is about to break through to another level. Part of the reason, as we said at our talk in October, is the growth of private label which makes supermarkets into godzilla sized mega-licensors. As a supermarket you can 'license' out your brand onto anything. Tesco finest is on around 800 product all of which are guaranteed distribution and, with very little need for marketing, deliver quality that is comparable to the best branded competitor. Not only that but the market information Tesco gets from all its branded and unbranded suppliers is enough to tell it how and where to innovate. Talk about licensor heaven!

The only way for existing brands to compete is:
1) ask the customer where and how your brand should be extended
2) specify in as much detail the potential new product
3) seek out like minded licensees prepared to take on private label
4) develop and market the new product's point of difference
5) develop existing and create new licensed products that maintain the differentiator

in other words manage the licensing programme as if it was your NPD programme and market the brand in the same way.

what's your wait?

Not that I'm not busy but waiting for a response When you make someone wait for an answer, it is like leaving them in the dark on a suspension bridge, wearing wet sandals, blindfold.

quotes, quotes, nothing but quotes

It seems to be the time of year when every man and his dog is thinking about licensing. If it isn't one company it's another looking for a quote to develop a licensing strategy. The quote is urgently required and then, like a huge lead weight, seems to sit on the bottom of the pile while other things (brand related) take precedent. In the last 8 days we've quoted out the same amount in turnover that we did in the last 12 months! The silence between quote and order is the most pregnant of pauses.....

brand licensing show goss

brand licensing show was notable for 2 things. Beanstalk taken over by Omnicom and TLC picking up Reckitt Benckiser. Other than that the show held few attractions for anyone looking to work on the branded side of the business. Bring on Exclusively Brands at the Landmark.

Met some Danish Fund Managers looking to break into licensing (get your lycra on boys, the canon's ready)
Met my cleaning co, looking for cleaning brands and heard that the french sock team were in town.

Simone presented the results of our research into the growth of private label. You can see the summary of her talk here but basically:

81% of the UK accept private label instead of brands
UK is the biggest market for private label
If you're going to license your brand do it now. If you don't private label will invade your space
If your going into a new category, innovate or don't bother