Angry Birds are finally flying high in the real world thanks to the brand licensing partnership between Rovio and Capsule Skateboards. The collection includes seven different gnarly skate deck designs across five explorer boards and two cruiser boards, which are all inspired by the Angry Birds mobile … Read More
Licensed products always get into trouble if they're not performing well. Even more so now, as retailers have become more discerning with regard to the brands they'll purchase for their store shelves. This got me thinking about more than the design development work we do for our toy … Read More
One thing I could never overemphasize is the importance of establishing a perfect fit between licensed brand and licensee partner. Every licensed brand owner should pursue “perfect fits” rather than granting a license to anyone who would be willing to enter into an agreement and emblazon their … Read More
Two of my favorite brands, Vans and Crayola, have come together yet again for what I refer to as a “perfect fit” colab. Twelve years after their first partnership, the brands are getting back together with the much bigger and more explosively-colorful Vans x Crayola Capsule Collection. … Read More
Licensed brands achieve greatness by design. Clear strategy, consistent brand management, implementable tactics, as well as stellar design make superstars among a sea of licensed properties that often fail to live up to expectations. Design is a crucial component of the marketing mix. It represents both art and … Read More
Not a single successful licensing program in the history of successful licensing programs has ever launched without exhaustive research first being conducted to clearly define its target audience. The key to success is having a deep understanding of a brand's market. And it's the only irrefutable way … Read More
The marketers of strong brands inevitably turn their attention to licensing. It's a natural progression of things. Usually, their focus is on building even more brand awareness, sales and profits. It might sound counterintuitive, but that shouldn't be their primary goal. Their thought processes should be on … Read More
The best licensed brands aren't looking for just any opportunity. They're looking for the right ones. Some licensed brand owners rush into relationships with consumer product brands without making sure that they're truly great fits, which is why some partnerships are highly successful and others fail miserably. … Read More
If you wanted, as a marketer, to create a unique brand story that would be avidly adopted by a group of consumers, how would you accomplish that? There is endless media – books, articles, blog posts, social media commentary and interviews – focused on the magic of … Read More
If you want to engage the Design Force team and put more than three decades of expertise to work for your brand...