NEWSLETTER Greetings! I was talking to a prospective client the other day. We were discussing how product innovation is critical to helping brand owners stay connected with their consumers. One of the best examples of this is to consider what Apple has done with their iPod, iPhone and most recently the iPad. Through product innovation Apple has made existing platforms such as the iPod and iPhone significantly more relevant to their consumers ever since the products were originally launched. Moreover, through the introduction of the iPad, Apple has created an entirely new category to help consumers... (Read More ...)

Greetings! I’ve been lucky enough to have scheduled every trip perfectly thus far this winter. When the snow storm of 2011 hit Atlanta on Sunday, January 9th, I was safely on the ground in Hong Kong having departed the day before. This week I had the same good fortune. When the freezing rain hit Atlanta on Tuesday night, I was comfortably resting in the warm central Florida weather having left earlier that day. It seems inclement weather hits the city within 24 hours of my leaving town. My next trip has me departing on February 22nd so you may wish to batten down the hatches if you happen... (Read More ...)

Greetings! It’s hard to believe that I am already back from the Hong Kong International Licensing Conference.  It seems like I was just talking about going. My biggest take away was how well the conference was attended and how engaged the exhibitors and attendees seemed to be. This year the licensing conference was co-located with the Toy, Baby Products and Stationery conferences, which certainly improved the overall turn out.  While I expected to see a substantial number of non Asian brands at the conference, I was surprised at just how many local brands were present. Moreover, I discovered... (Read More ...)

Greetings! Happy New Year! I hope you had the opportunity to rest a little over the holidays and spend some quality time with family and friends.  Here in Atlanta we experienced snow on December 25th.  It was the city’s first white Christmas in 128 years.  As you can imagine, kids of all ages got outside to enjoy the snow. As we begin 2011, I want to ask for your help and offer you a chance to be included in my first book on licensing which I intend to write this year. I am looking for anecdotes and/or personal experiences in brand licensing that illustrate the benefits of brand licensing,... (Read More ...)

Greetings! This past Saturday afternoon I sat in the upper deck of Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, home of the NFL Eagles, to watch the 111th playing of Army – Navy football.  I was there with my eldest son, brother and cousin as we observed what is arguably considered the greatest event in college sports. Back in 1944 and 1945, Army and Navy entered the game ranked #1 and #2 respectively.The 1945 game was labeled the “game of the century” before it was played.  Army defeated a 7-0-1 Navy team 32-13. Navy’s lone tie was against Notre Dame. This year, while both... (Read More ...)