Trends in international licensing

Zia Daniell Wigder | May 20, 2008, 03:27 PM

This morning I attended a panel on global licensing in advance of Licensing International Expo here in New York. The panel consisted of executives engaged in licensing, global licensing agencies and representatives from industry organizations.

A handful of figures on the industry, courtesy of the show: The global licensing market is set to surpass $200 billion dollars this year, with the top markets consisting of the US ($108 billion), UK ($17.2 billion), Germany ($12.7 billion), Japan ($11 billion) and France ($7.7 billion). Character licensing remains one of the largest categories at $2.7 billion in retail sales worldwide.

Some takeaways from the panel:

- Interest in licensing mobile applications is growing rapidly. World Poker Tour, for example, has a TV presence in more than 100 markets; the mobile game application is available in over 50. Mobile remains an enormous growth area for them, particularly in developing markets where mobile penetration far outpaces PC or Internet penetration.

- While brands may be licensed in multiple countries, localization of licensed goods remains critical. With Jeep, the South African market proved a strong match for Jeep’s outdoorsy, rugged image. In China, by contrast, Jeep focused more on developing products such as polo shirts that connoted an upscale, clubbier image.

- India’s logistical infrastructure has improved drastically over the past five years, and as a result is becoming a much more compelling licensing market. However, with 12 million retail outlets in India - and 95% of those estimated to be mom-and-pop organizations - the highly fragmented retail market remains a challenge. Some companies are localizing their products by language or region to try and compete, but most still have a nationwide offering. Sesame Workshop, a highly advanced organization when it comes localizing global offerings (there are 20 co-produced Sesame Streets in more than 120 countries), provides uniform content throughout the country but has localized for different Indian languages.

- Although there’s been much focus on the youth market in developing economies, companies are more often targeting the older demographic given the greater disposable income among adults.