ISP is doing its bit to educate on needs of licensors and SP shops

Promotions & Incentives 03-May-07

I broadly agree with Ian Downes' Licensing Authority column in last month's P&I (April 2007), but want to address a couple of points.

Ian convincingly outlines the reasons for a decline in the volume and quality of promotions with licensing at their core, and correctly identifies an educational need in both the licensing and SP sectors. I also echo his belief that many opportunities exist to add value to promotional campaigns through the use of licensed characters and brands. I was involved in many successful campaigns as the promotions controller at Kellogg, and have developed them as a licensor. I am convinced opportunities continue to exist.

For successful, creative work to take place in the future, SP agencies need to build an understanding of the basic structure of a licensing deal. But equally, licensors and licensing agents need to understand the fundamentals of SP mechanics and how they could be used to enhance the use of the licences they control.

Having said that, the ISP does have a module within its diploma dedicated to character licensing and merchandising, on which I lecture. Whether it is given sufficient exposure is arguable; it must squeeze a considerable amount into a short time. Nevertheless, it exists and the more that can be done to share mutual knowledge, the better any potential collaborations will be.

Richard Pink, founder, Pink Key Consulting and ISP Diploma seminar tutor.