The ways in which the licensing business reaches into a wide array of disciplines was on full display during a webinar on “The Normal of Licensing?” yesterday – the first of two days of programs comprising the Licensing Essentials Course. It’s normally a face-to-face event in London, but this year is being staged virtually, accessible to all Licensing International members.

If there was a single theme to the wide-ranging discussion, moderated by Steven Eckstract of Informa Markets, it was the need for creativity in meeting the challenges of the pandemic, whether in marketing, supply chain practices, or extending a gaming experience.

Among  the discussion points:

• Stephanie Freeman, TSBA, on moving with the flow: “Prior to the pandemic, Transport for London (TFL) had a huge amount of tourism and souvenir-based licensing, and we were looking at ways to open up the licensing into “On The Move” — trying to get people think about getting on a bike, walking or getting off a station earlier to walk to their destination to make them fitter and healthier.
  “What the pandemic has done is , there are now more cycle lanes and the effort is being made to get more people on bikes and on foot rather than being enclosed and on trains and such. TFL has helped this and we are seeing people want to buy into these things that are… branded with TFL such as bikes and face masks. That’s because TFL is that stamp of approval that says the organization thinks this product is trusted and is putting their brand behind it.”
• Trudi Bishop, Bee Licensing, on an accelerating trend: “The pandemic has been a wake-up call for sustainability and given companies that were already pushing hard toward being 100 percent renewable or carbon neutral to further expand.
  “There are other ways that brand licensing can really encourage sustainability and a much better message for the planet. We can use the power of our brands to change the behavior of consumers and lobby governments for the changes we need to make it easier for us.”
• Ben Roberts, License Global, on videogames: “There is a complete changeover in which games are popular, and there is licensing built into whether its licensing out to toy manufacturing or in for new skins. It is taking an old franchise and completely remodeling it for a new generation to bring all the old and nostalgic stuff in, or creating a new franchise using modern-day characters. When it comes to virtual licensing, the possibilities are pretty endless.”

Licensing Essentials Course continues today (July 30) with three live sessions beginning at 2pm BST (9am US EDT), along with access to yesterday’s recordings as well as five prerecorded webinars.