Increase sales thanks to a character's license

By using the image of cartoons and other fictional protagonists in their products, SMEs benefit from their popularity and manage to link their brand with the positive values transmitted by these characters.

To create a competitive brand in the costume sector, impulsive.It is to obtain licenses to use the image of the best known characters of popular culture.This has allowed him to reach different types of audiences, because with Disney's characterizations they have attracted the youngest and those of Elvis Presley or ghostbusters have also managed to hook the older.

As in this case, SMEs can increase sales if they get the rights to market their products with a license that allows them to use the image of a cartoon or other series of series and movies."This strategy provides visibility and recognition to companies, who take advantage of the popularity of the recognized characters to attract customers," says Julio Alard, academic director of the Department of Communication and Advertising of ESIC.In addition, he adds, "a link between the values of the firm and those transmitted by these audiovisual products" can be established ".

Currently, licenses are widely used in the toy sector, editorial, fashion, school supplies and video games.However, it can be used by almost any type of business that is dedicated to manufacturing products for great consumption.The important thing is to know how to select the right character, get the rights with the best conditions and develop a good distribution and marketing plan:

Differentiate from competition

At the beginning of the century, Chinese competition threatened Claudio Reig's survival, an Alicante firm dedicated to manufacturing musical toys.Salvation came when the company began to market them with the brand of the 'lunnies', starting a differentiation strategy that still maintains."The licenses have been the decisive factor that allows our products to distinguish the rest," explains José Simón, sales director of the company, which currently has the rights of Marvel, 'Peppa Pig', 'Pocoyo' or the 'PatrolCanine '.To anticipate its rivals, Simon highlights the importance of "going to the great international fairs" of the sector and "maintaining a fluid contact" with the licenses.Despite these triumphs, he acknowledges that there are factors that escape their control and have caused other bets to have failed."The success of a license depends fundamentally on the content and promotion strategy, but your work as a graduate is to anticipate trends and offer a good service," he concludes.

An attraction for children

José Simón, Sales Director of Claudio Reig.

Getting a child educational application high.Xavier Prats, manager of the firm, highlights the importance of selecting classic drawings, because "they are very stable in the market and you have the guarantee that you are going to recover the investment", while "if you choose the one who is now fashionable in thetelevision, it can happen that when you have the 'app' ready, in a few months, the children have forgotten him ".For a company that sells worldwide, it is also important to know the popularity of these characters in different countries.For example, given the popularity of 'Caillou' in Turkey, the Turk was incorporated into the languages of the application in which this character appeared.The only inconvenience that Prats laments is "the restriction to make new designs, characters or objects", which limits its creative possibilities to design activities.

The strategy to license

Xavier Prats, manager of Tap tap such.

Television payments are not enough to cover the production costs of the cartoon that Kitchent animates, so the firm depends on the income of their licenses to be profitable.The company's manager, Víctor López, says that to develop his strategy in this area, "the most important thing is the choice of 'Master Toy', the company that will be responsible for manufacturing toys internationally, although then you can grant rightsTo other firms to make more specific games, such as collectible, educational or stuffed animals ".Although other sectors, such as textile or school supplies, are also important, the person responsible for the firm highlights "the importance of the editorial, since making good books is essential to establish a positive link with parents".Another decisive factor for the success of the content is the coordination between all these lines of business and launch the products once the character already has a certain recognition.In addition, López highlights the importance of linking it with positive values.Remembering his previous experience with 'Pocoyó', he emphasizes that they did not want to "license it for brands of chucheías or fast food chains, because childhood obesity is currently a very widespread problem" and did not want their creations to serve to foster it.