Auburn University’s trademark and licensing department protects the school brand and builds scholarship revenue for the college. By Kat Zeman
With more than 12,000 designs landing on their desks each year, Jennifer Blackmon and Jason Harbison have a lot to juggle. Aside from approving requests, managing trademarks and licensing for Auburn University involves constant communication with hundreds of retailers, licensees and fans.
But Auburn, like many universities, realizes that trademark licensing is a lucrative way to create value from intellectual property assets. It is becoming a significant source of revenue for many universities. For Auburn, that means collecting an average of roughly $3.8 million in royalties on an annual basis.
“Last year, we had about three million units of Auburn products sold,” says Blackmon, director of trademark management and licensing. “It’s amazing how many designs come through our office for review. It’s anything from t-shirts and tennis shoes to chairs, coolers, blankets and tumblers.”
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ZAG is rolling out new movies, TV series and games for children and families. By Kat Zeman
Though in existence for less than a decade, ZAG America LLC is already leading the TV and film entertainment market for kids and families. The Glendale, Calif. and Paris-based independent animation studio specializes in the creation and production of original, high-quality intellectual property in the film and TV sector, as well as for a variety of online platforms.
Founded in 2009 by French entrepreneur Jeremy Zag, ZAG has produced more than 200 half-hours of original content that has been sold to major broadcasters including Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Netflix, and to distributors in more than 120 territories. “We started as a high-quality TV animation production company but once Jeremy moved to the U.S., we quickly got going on developing film,” says André Lake Mayer, president of brand strategy and consumer products.
The company has eight TV series in various stages of production and three feature films rolling out over the next five years. Its multiple divisions include production companies and animation studios in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.
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The UCLA Store launches a 15-year partnership with Under Armour as the official outfitter of UCLA athletics and adds product offerings to meet customer demands. (Photo credit: Don Liebig; UCLA Photograpghy) By Janice Hoppe-Spiers
Tourists from around the world are drawn to the mystique that surrounds southern California. Located in the heart of the region’s biggest city is the world-renowned University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
“It’s pretty iconic,” says Patrick Healey, director – general merchandise at Associated Students UCLA/UCLA Store. “UCLA is very high-profile throughout the world. In Europe and Asia it represents the U.S., and in some countries, UCLA seems to be a word more than an acronym.”
UCLA is consistently ranked among the world’s top-tier universities and is the most applied-to university in the country with an annual average of 100,000 freshman applications submitted. The university has a “can-do” perspective that has brought it 13 Nobel Prizes, 12 MacArthur Fellows, 113 NCAA titles and 261 Olympic medals.
“UCLA’s spirit of optimism can be found everywhere – on campus and all around the world – expressed by the limitless possibilities and can-do mindset that helps transform students into game-changers and faculty into groundbreakers,” the university says.
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The NFL’s recent product licensing efforts emphasize fandom both inside and outside of the stadium. By Jim Harris
Every National Football League fan has their own game day rituals. For many fans, putting out a spread of food and beverages for friends and family and watching their favorite team on TV is just as much a tradition as going to the game.
Meeting the needs of those fans is a high priority for the league and its product licensees. The NFL is adding to the products it offers to the fans it terms “homegaters.”
“This is something fans have been doing for many years, even before there was a name for it,” Vice President of Consumer Products Rhiannon Madden says. “People at different levels of fandom homegate in different ways – we wanted to be sure we offered something for them that fit into their lifestyle.”
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Teamwork Athletic’s patented technology and proprietary manufacturing processes enable it to develop, design, produce and market apparel much faster than its competition. By Jim Harris
Teamwork Athletic Apparel is just as much a technology company as it is an apparel provider. “We have technology that allows us to do in hours or days what it takes our competitors weeks or months to do,” says Dave Caserta, president and CEO of the San Marcos, Calif.-based company.
Founded 30 years ago as a provider of on-the-field uniforms for practically every sport, Teamwork Athletic 10 years ago developed proprietary manufacturing processes and patented technology that allowed it to greatly expand its offerings.
The company today manufactures uniforms as well as outerwear, active apparel, sportswear and fan wear. Teamwork Athletic’s products – which are marketed under brand names including Teamwork, ProSphere and Spectrum – are distributed through a network of authorized dealers and sold by a variety of brick-and-mortar as well as online retailers. Much of the company’s ProSphere and Spectrum products are printed using the process of sublimation, which involves transferring dye into a fabric using heat, pressure and time.
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The University of Texas at Austin aims to take its licensing to the next level with key partnerships. By Bianca Herron
The University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s licensing program was established in 1981 to not only protect and promote its brand identity, but also as a revenue source to support its campus programs.
More than 30 years later, UT’s licensing program has evolved significantly with 150 licensees domestically, according to Senior Associate Athletics Director Craig Westemeier. “We give credit to the forward-thinking people at that time for setting up the program, and laying a solid foundation,” he says. “UT was one of a handful of schools to establish collegiate licensing at that time.”
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London’s Victoria and Albert Museum aims to grow further by capitalizing on its rich archives, and innovative technologies. By Bianca Herron
Founded in 1852, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance with more than 2.3 million objects that reflect over 5,000 years of human creativity. The London-based Museum’s varied objects provide infinite sources of inspiration for its licensees, Licensing Research and Development Manager Amelia Calver notes.
“We provide a tailor-made research and design development service that gives licensees exclusive access, which also helps to identify the right patterns relevant to their product type and appropriate season,” she explains. “We do not have prescriptive style guides typical of entertainment and character licensing; instead, we are very flexible and encourage licensees to be creative with our archive.”
Calver adds the V&A works “on a case-by-case basis” to create something unique with each licensee. “The expert advice and support from the V&A team ensures that every design is specifically chosen; it’s a very individual service,” she says. “We also work closely with trend agencies to ensure we’re presenting design inspiration that will be relevant 12 to 18 months from now.”
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With their key licensing partnerships and by leveraging major social media platforms, ABG and WWE aim to further grow the Tapout brand. By Bianca Herron
Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and WWE teamed up two years ago to reposition Tapout, a lifestyle brand that was formerly associated with UFC and mixed martial arts fighting, as a fitness and training brand.
“Tapout has a unique brand voice and we are committed to preserving the essence of what the brand is known for,” says ABG Executive Vice President of Marketing Natasha Fishman. She adds that Tapout’s joint-venture relationship with WWE was “a strategic move towards validating Tapout’s position in the active space.”
“When we created the joint venture with WWE, it was about seeking a partner that was able to authenticate the direction we were taking Tapout,” she explains. “At that time, retailer needs and market trends were pointing towards the active space.
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