Christmas comes but once a year. Whilst this is of course true I am sure that many in licensing and retail professionals are very happy that it is “that time of the year” again. Christmas should provide a welcome boost to the retail market and it opens up a number of unique opportunities for licensing which are worth reflecting on.
Live Events and Attractions Drive Momentum
It is widely acknowledged that live events, attractions and entertainment are a growing part of the licensing mix. The Christmas season creates even more momentum for this fast growing licensing category. There are an abundance of examples of how Intellectual Property is playing its part in the Christmas entertainment market.
These range from well established seasonal theatre shows like The Snowman at London’s Peacock Theatre through to immersive experiences like The Traitors. Brands as diverse as Stranger Things and Elmer have theatre shows. Live licensing is definitely an area of licensing on the march at Christmas and beyond. This category extends beyond theatre shows into art trails, exhibitions, bus tours and dining experiences.
The Rise of Licensed Advent Calendars
Another product category that works well for licensing at Christmas is Advent Calendars. This is a product that has transformed from the traditional paper and chocolate based calendars into a category that high profile brands play in to great effect.
This includes brands from areas like perfume through to toys. In the toy category Squishmallows and Hot Wheels have Advent calendars for example. These gift orientated products are seemingly created by the brands themselves and one attraction for these brands is the additional distribution they drive and how they open up gifting opportunities.
They also play well in the emerging Kidult marketplace. Licensing features in the category in a variety of ways. A good example is leading personal care and toiletries company Baylis & Harding who have created an Advent calendars with lifestyle brand Cath Kidston. This is being sold in retailers like Waitrose and features in dedicated space at the front of store reinforcing the point that products like Advent Calendars create additional sales opportunities for brand owners and licensees.
The Ever-Present Focus on Licensed Toys
Not unexpectedly there is also a lot of focus on the toy category at Christmas. Licensing and toys go together like Christmas and parties. Licensed toys feature heavily in retailers’ Christmas ranges and toycos target the Christmas season to release new products particularly higher ticket price items and special editions.
The link between licensing and toys is highlighted by how many licensed toys feature in the Christmas lists released by retailers. Many retailers release their Top Ten Toys for Christmas lists- these lists attract a lot of interest and generate noteworthy consumer PR.
The link between licensing and toys is highlighted by how many licensed toys feature in the Christmas lists released by retailers.
Indeed the UK Toy Retailers trade association recognise the additional focus Christmas delivers for toys and issue their own list – the Dream Toys list. This annual event is a rallying point for the UK toy trade and generates a lot of interest. It is a great example of an effective piece of proactive marketing by an industry trade body.
Licensed toys generally make up a significant part of the list. This year licensed toys that were Dream Toys included Hot Wheels Formula One Grand Prix circuit, Jurassic World Primal Hatch by Spin Master and Wicked dolls by Mattel.
Food and Publishing Dial Up Licensed Offers
Other major product categories like food and publishing dial up their licensing lead offers at Christmas as well. For example food retailer Iceland has a range of Bailey’s flavoured frozen desserts on sale at the moment targetting the Christmas party market whilst publishers use Christmas as an opportunity to release new titles with gifting in mind.
There are also some very specific publishing products that feature at Christmas most notably Annuals – special edition books that are a kind of “best of” a specific brand. It is largely a category that is a licensing lead category.
Licensed Content in Christmas TV Commercials
There is also a growing tradition in the UK of prominent brands and retailers developing bespoke TV commercials at Christmas. Retailer John Lewis were probably the pioneers of this and now there is a sense of anticipation around “Christmas adverts”. Licensing and licensed brands are playing their part in this trend – indeed the trend is fast becoming a tradition.
This year there are a couple of good examples of commercials that feature licensed content. Grocer Sainsbury’s is working with the Roald Dahl Company on their advert which features The BFG. They have worked together before which suggests it has been an effective creative approach for the retailer.
Specialist outdoor apparel brand Barbour is working with Aardman’s Wallace & Gromit this year. Aardman have created a commercial for Barbour that has been released online. The characters are also being used in store and in other ways such as a photo opportunity in London’s Covent Garden. Aardman and Barbour have worked together before – previously with a campaign focussed on Shaun the Sheep. Again it is reasonable to conclude this is a winning creative formula.
I am sure the UK Licensing community have all wished for a commercially successful Christmas. It certainly won’t be through a lack of effort on the industry’s part – there has been a significant amount of time, effort and focus put into making 2025 a Licensed Christmas.
This article was written by Ian Downes, Director at Start Licensing Limited, for The Bugg Report.
This article also appeared in Edition 52 of The Bugg Report Magazine
