WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY?
HOW CAN THESE CHARACTERS (AND CCC) HELP
YOUR COMPANY INCREASE SALES?
The benefits of licensing and/or sponsoring are numerous and include the following:
"Attachment" Value - These properties, through their wide-spread name
recognition and visual familiarity, provide "attachment" value to the products
and services they are associated with. Because people know and like these characters, they generate immediate interest and thus
"attach" this familiarity and interest to your product(s).
Important or Constructive Social Message - Certain characters and symbols also
provide a positive social service value as well, connecting their well-known image with an
important and useful social message. This is the case for Smokey Bear - "Only you can prevent wild fires".
Licensing: a Powerful Marketing Strategy - Licensing is a powerful and versatile
component of any marketing program. Yet unlike other marketing activities, the investment
in licensing is minimal, while the rewards can be extraordinary. A properly managed
licensing program can:
Licensing Growth - Licensing, in one form or another, has been part
of product sales in America for nearly a century. Yet not until the last two decades did
this one-time business become a $115 billion giant whose economic force affects thousands of
companies and individuals and directly impacts their road to financial success. As we
approach the turn of the twenty-first century, licensed products account for an estimated
ten to twenty percent of all retail sales, depending on product category and property type
(The Licensing Letter).
A FEW DETAILS ON LICENSING AND SPONSORSHIP!
Licensing is the acquisition of the right to use specific properties, such as trademarks,
trade names, brand names, characters, symbols, logos, and/or the names of individuals
(usually well-known), in certain contractually defined ways. The licensed property can
then be used by the licensee to sell products and/or ideas.
Sponsorship, a more recently developed term in relation to the licensing of our specific
properties, defines a relationship between the property (character) and the licensee which
is a "sponsorship" of the property (character) and his/her message, rather than
an "ownership" of the same. Sponsorship creates a better balance between
Licensor and Licensee for properties belonging to government and non-profit organizations
and is therefore more appropriate for the formal relationship between the parties. For
example, to protect the integrity of Smokey Bear's well-cultivated national image, he is
generally "sponsored" by an organization rather than licensed. [Richard Petty's
sponsorship of Smokey Bear is a great example].
A successful licensing/sponsorship program is intended to complement a company's corporate
mission, goals and objectives while generating new sources of revenue from the licensed
property. Success requires the coordination and flow of information among the key players,
the licensor, the agent, and the licensee. Yet the results can be spectacular, as licensed
properties often create openings where none existed before and sell products where there
was little market before! Isn't it something your company should consider?
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