WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

Thinking about licensing a brand for your product and not sure what it entails? This free report is the perfect place to start. Learn about brand licensing, why companies license their brands and the licensing process.

INTRODUCTION TO BRAND LICENSING

To best understand brand licensing, it is important to understand first in its most basic form the definition of licensing. Licensing means nothing more than renting or leasing. When someone wants to gain temporary access to tangible property – something a person can touch – such as DVD or CD, they go to their favorite Blockbuster and rent one. Tenants, in turn, lease a home or an apartment. When someone wants to gain temporary access to intangible property or assets – things of value that cannot be touched – they license them. Intangible assets that can be licensed include technology, music, movies and brands. Brands usually are owned by companies. For example, P&G owns a host of brands including Mr. Clean, Pampers, Crest and Tide. P&G has made a concerted effort to include licensing as an important part of its growth strategy. In addition to entering the market via manufacturing and sourcing their products, they also enter the market through licensing.

The use of licensing as a marketing and brand extension tool has proliferated over the last 30 years. When well executed, a strong licensing relationship brings benefits to all parties to the deal: property owners and their agents, licensees and their affiliates, retailers and, ultimately, consumers. Each of those parties has its own goals and aims that ultimately add value to the final product or service. To maximize the outcome, each participant in the licensing process must deliver on their respective responsibilities.