The pandemic ushered in a wave of nostalgia that is showing no signs of receding, and with it come anniversaries that mark everything old being new again.

Major milestones have long been fodder for licensing. When Disney marked the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse in 2019, there were 300 licensees in France alone. And with Disney itself marking 100 years next year, SC Exhibitions began work in March 2021 on an exhibit at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, PA that will debut in February.

The renewed interest in nostalgia is so strong it has recently spawned anniversary events and collections for properties both big and small. For the most part, these are entertainment properties, although the National Basketball Association hasn’t been shy about calling attention to its 75th year. And Coca-Cola Co., which rarely misses an opportunity to highlight milestones in its history, promoted the 50th anniversary last year of its famous Hilltop TV commercial with a “1971 Unity Collection” that attracted more the 25 fashion and beauty licensees.

This year’s slate has extensive licensing programs behind the 40th anniversaries of both Taurus Entertainment’s Creepshow and NBCUniversal’s E.T., as well as CloudCo’s Care Bears, the latter celebrating in the most au courant of technologies: NFTs with licensee Recur. And while Director George Romero’s 1982 film Creepshow may not currently be top of mind for everyone, the licensing program is likely to benefit from new content launching on Netflix on Sept. 23.

“Just putting a date out there and pointing out that it is a round number and has been around for a certain period of time won’t drive any business,” said Russell Binder, a founding partner at Striker Entertainment, which represents Creepshow for licensing. “It will create some visibility and awareness, but if you are trying to reinvigorate a brand you need a blend of something old and new that both marks both the age of the property and [signals] that there is something new about it.”

A new angle on a time-honored property is key to both appealing to long-time fans and bringing in new ones who may not have been born when it was trending. For example, Teletubbies is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and marked the milestone last fall with a new “Ready, Steady Go!” album featuring 10 songs and videos on WildBrain’s Spark Channel on YouTube. And NBCUniversal is expected to highlight E.T.’s 40th anniversary at Licensing Expo in May after having signed licensees including Mattel (plush), Funko and Fisher-Price (collectibles), Ravensburger (puzzles), and Tomy (pre-school toys).

For the most part, creating films, TV series and videogames is an expensive and high-risk business, but celebrating milestone anniversaries is not. These programs follow a relatively straightforward recipe: creative assets including a logo and style guide, and a range of capsule collections—limited and exclusive editions—and collaborations. The main benefit is that these programs are predictable and easier to control since anniversary dates are known well in advance.

“It has to be a meaningful number, whether it’s a decade, 25 years, or 50 years,” said Bill Graham, chief business development officer at collectibles supplier PhatMojo. “You can’t abuse the privilege but there are moments worth celebrating where properties still have an active lifespan and a fan base that hasn’t been serviced. There is an opportunity to bring something to the fans that is tied to a particular window where there is no expectation of ongoing engagement.  It is a pop-up of sorts where you can do a collection not worry about having it on-shelf 24/7.”