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The Licensing Game

Vigilante

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Vigilante, I have a proposition for you for an interesting licensing deal. I think I have a great idea but I would also like a mentor and someone with experience.

My idea + Your knowledge/experience = $$$$

But I can't seem to PM you for some reason. Please let me know if you would like to chat.

Regards,

Phil

Thanks Phil. Like all entrepreneurs, I have about 10 ideas of my own that I haven't gotten to yet. The idea is not where the money is. The money is in the execution. I would encourage you to just GO FOR IT. Make something happen. The first one of these I did, I had way less information than was in this thread. Do it. If you get stuck on anything, post generic questions here and we'll help out where we can.
 
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PEBBLE

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Thanks for the reply and the wisdom.

Execution it is.

Thanks again.
 

Dwight Schrute

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Made a call yesterday.
Told the boy in the call center what I wanted, and he connected me through.

The lady that spoke to me then listened to my offer,
laughed, said something I didn't understand and hung up.
I didn't even make it so far to tell her what the idea is about.

Bet she thought it was a prank call, I have to admit I sounded like Schwarzenegger offering to print money.:D

Besides working on my accent, do you know a few phrases I could use to sound like a professional?
I tried something along "I've an merchandising idea that has the potential to make you lots of money"
@Vigilante
 

Vigilante

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Go top down, not bottom up. Find out who the CEO is and call his office. You found a gatekeeper with that call. You have to bypass the gatekeeper. No matter what the topic, never start at the bottom again. Start at the very top, and they will always get you directly to the right person. The CEO's assistant will listen and route you. Then, you say "I spoke to Mr. Big's office, and they told me you would be the one to get this done."

That applies to any business venture… Not just licensing. Anytime you call corporation for any purpose from now on, research the company… Find a senior-level executives… And dial them directly.
 
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Iwokeup

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Vigilante

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We recently had an aberration from the pattern. We made contact with a potential non-profit with a large following, offering to donate proceeds from a license deal from them in exchange for their support, logo, and participation.

The deal became so arduous that we decided to walk away. This is only the second license deal that I have ever engaged that has not resulted in a partnership deal.

It has to be win/win/win (win for the licensor, win for the licensee, and win for the consumer.) License negotiations are a blend of vision, personality, and value provided. Generally, when you call to offer someone money, they are appreciative and engaged. If you call to offer someone a new source of free money, and they respond like they would be a huge pain in the a$$ to work with... In the famous words of Kenny Rogers, you gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em.

Spend time working on big, legacy building things and surround yourself with people you want to invest in.
 
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AllenCrawley

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BIG BUMP!

Thanks to this thread, @Vigilante's Summit presentation, and some personal guidance, I was able to negotiate a licensing deal with a very well known personality/lifestyle brand.

Entry - license deals may be the ultimate in difficulty of entry, from the standpoint that once you have the license agreement, nobody else can do what you do. You will have no direct competition, and you will capture a controlled market. You still have outside competitors, but nobody else can bring your product --- with your license --- to market.

^Think about that for moment.

This is one of the greatest benefits to licensing. No one can do what I'm going to do. No one.

Licensing is a short cut to branding. As Vig states, "Overnight Brand". The hard work of branding has already been done. You just ride in on their coattails. With the brand license I secured, hundreds of millions of people are already familiar with it. I just have to plug into it.

Vig says I worked a sweetheart of a deal:
  • A modest signing fee
  • 6 month development window
  • 3 year term that is renewable
  • royalty % lower than industry standard
  • no minimum payments due in the first contract year
  • minimum guarantees thereafter very modest
  • 1% advertising fee with specified deliverables
  • Licensed Territory: USA and Canada (negotiated Canada with no additional fees)
  • First rights to additional territories.

EDIT: Thread marked GOLD.
 
Last edited:

Vigilante

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BIG BUMP!

Thanks to this thread, @Vigilante's Summit presentation, and some personal guidance, I was able to negotiate a licensing deal with a very well known personality/lifestyle brand.



^Think about that for moment.

This is one of the greatest benefits to licensing. No one can do what I'm going to do. No one.

Licensing is a short cut to branding. As Vig states, "Overnight Brand". The hard work of branding has already been done. You just ride in on their coattails. With the brand license I secured, hundreds of millions of people are already familiar with it. I just have to plug into it.

Vig says I worked a sweetheart of a deal:
  • A modest signing fee
  • 6 month development window
  • 3 year term that is renewable
  • royalty % lower than industry standard
  • no minimum payments due in the first contract year
  • minimum guarantees thereafter very modest
  • 1% advertising fee with specified deliverables
  • Licensed Territory: USA and Canada (negotiated Canada with no additional fees)
  • First rights to additional territories.

I have a final negotiation and brand license deal of my own that hopefully will finalize on Thursday of this week. If it gets done (which I think it will) it will be the biggest (and probably last) deal I do before I call it good and switch from building businesses to chasing passions.

I was glad to come along side you and contribute to what will be an epic and possibly life changing deal for you. I am happy for you and proud of you.

Allen didn't do anything that any of you that attended the Summit couldn't do, a lot of which is highlighted in this thread.
 
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biophase

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Dave, can you maybe explain what types of products would be good to license out? I don't think many of us have a clear understanding of what licensing actually means. I think a small example would open the eyes of people who never thought that the product that they are selling could be actually licensed.
 

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I think a small example would open the eyes of people who never thought that the product that they are selling could be actually licensed.


The first thing that jumps to mind here was where Vig put together the Dale Earnhardt, Jr & a GPS device for the car. They had a product (GPS navigation system -yawn... been done before... boring, even) & matched it up with the idea of Dale Jr recording all the directional guidance vocals that the little device would use (holy shit, genius & tapping into a ridiculous market of NASCAR insanity).
 

Goldman snacks

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This just thread just re-wired my brain, I've heard people mention licensing but had no idea what it meant. I'm just thinking about how much profit the licencees of the kylie Jenner makeup kits are making right now. If i'm correct, when licencing you are in effect, a product developer for every business that exists, people at apple are thinking how can they improve the Iphone and coming up with the Iwatch....meanwhile we can use any brand that exists in any market that exists, the brainstorm begins
 
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LightHouse

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Britney spears perfume, Susan komen batteries...and well everything. Git-R-Dun guy(name?) Frozen meals at the dollar store, every kid snack with cartoon characters on it. Etc.

It's actually not super difficult to get out there and do a deal. Find a brand that can align with your product and vision and reach out to them.

@vig guided me as well, so when I say it's easy, that's because I had an experienced tour guide
 

Niptuck MD

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I have a final negotiation and brand license deal of my own that hopefully will finalize on Thursday of this week. If it gets done (which I think it will) it will be the biggest (and probably last) deal I do before I call it good and switch from building businesses to chasing passions.

I was glad to come along side you and contribute to what will be an epic and possibly life changing deal for you. I am happy for you and proud of you.

Allen didn't do anything that any of you that attended the Summit couldn't do, a lot of which is highlighted in this thread.

I love this stuff, so if anyone wants a licensing coach, I will consider throwing up an offer to assist you similar to what Kenric is doing on the product side, but I am interested in license acquisition coaching. I'd hold hands with you through the license project and act as your "agent" to get your license proposal in front of your target brand. You'd have to have some existing product knowledge, a concept of what you want done, and the resources to make it happen before I would consider getting involved. I'm not going to do product development (beyond the scope of helping you fit it to a license agreement) - that's Kenric. If multiple people are interested in this, I will put a program together and throw it in the marketplace. Timing is good now to get started a Q1 2017 license agreement. It took Allen maybe 6 months for his deal to come together from concept to first contact to agreement. Now, execution starts for him. If you're interested, drop a comment in this thread and I will consider opening up a small coaching plan for a couple of fastlaners.

congrats sir
 

Niptuck MD

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Britney spears perfume, Susan komen batteries...and well everything. Git-R-Dun guy(name?) Frozen meals at the dollar store, every kid snack with cartoon characters on it. Etc.

It's actually not super difficult to get out there and do a deal. Find a brand that can align with your product and vision and reach out to them.

@vig guided me as well, so when I say it's easy, that's because I had an experienced tour guide


Gir R Dun lol larry the cable guy
 
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KLaw

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Britney spears perfume, Susan komen batteries...and well everything. Git-R-Dun guy(name?) Frozen meals at the dollar store, every kid snack with cartoon characters on it. Etc.

It's actually not super difficult to get out there and do a deal. Find a brand that can align with your product and vision and reach out to them.

@vig guided me as well, so when I say it's easy, that's because I had an experienced tour guide
What did you license?
 

Vigilante

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Dave, can you maybe explain what types of products would be good to license out? I don't think many of us have a clear understanding of what licensing actually means. I think a small example would open the eyes of people who never thought that the product that they are selling could be actually licensed.

In every category, and every store, a significant percentage of the "branded" items that you see are the result of overnight branding using licensing.

If you see a Harley Davidson product, other than a motorcycle itself, it is a licensed product. Someone paid their parent company a percentage to put the Harley logo on a tee shirt. A coffee mug. A cigarette lighter. A deck of cards. A baseball cap. ANYTHING you see with the Harley Davidson logo on it that is not a motorcycle... is a license paid to the parent company for use of the logo.

Susan G. Komen. You see it everywhere, with their iconic white ribbon promoting Breast Cancer Awareness on everything from jewelry to apparel, batteries, clothing, anything. Everywhere you see the Susan G. Komen logo or the pink packaging with a white ribbon or pink ribbon logo, that's a license deal.

Barbie. Nickelodeon. 100% of ALL Nascar products ever made. NFL. NBA. MLB products. Collegiate products for all Universities. Kids toys from Marvel, Mattel, and others.

As someone mentioned, we did a deal with Larry the Cable Guy. He puts his name on EVERYTHING, from TV Dinners to soap-on-a-rope. Imagine using Larry the Cable Guy soap on a rope. Get-Er-Done.

Brand licensing can be complicated, like when we licensed the Samsung brand for categories Samsung doesn't participate in (very expensive).

Brand licensing can be very simple, like licensing The Millionaire Fastlane for a board game. (not available... it's just an example).

See a Ford keychain? License. See an ESPN set of poker chips? License. Weight watchers food? Some licensed. Ferrari parking only sign? Licensed. Bugs Bunny slippers? Licensed. Sesame Street kids soap? Licensed.

The bigger the brands (like Pokemon today) the more you pay. The more you target niche brands, personas, celebrities, or smaller prominent brands, the easier the licensing discussions. Remember you're creating FREE MONEY for them if you license Snoop Dog's image and put it on a beach towel.

See your favorite NFL team on a cooler? License. WWE action figures? License.
The Price Is Right, Family Feud and Let's Make A Deal card games? All licensed.

Pierre Cardin cologne? License.

PGA Tour golf gloves? License.

Cinnabon oven pans? License.

All the Frozen kid's toy shit that is EVERYWHERE? All license.

We put the Akai logo on televisions. Samsung logo on CCTV/Security Systems. Susan Komen logo on everything. Daewoo logo on microwaves. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and NASCAR on a GPS. Emerson logo on all kinds of things.

See infomercials for flashlights with logos like Briggs and Stratton? License.

John Deere can cooler? License.

Motor Trend tool set? License.

Toby Keith restaurants? A form of a license.

Trump University? License.

Smiley squeeze ball? License.

Nintendo alarm clock? License.

Lamborghini sun glasses? License.

Polaroid brand televisions? License.

Jim Beam lamp? License.

My kid got a Talking Tom action figure from McDonalds the other day. License.

KISS (the band) bar-b-que apron. License.

Pepsi playing cards. License.

Budweiser bottle opener. License.

Girl Scout candy bars. License.

The list is endless. Probably a third of the consumer products you have in you homes in the United States are license. Ever have a Motorola phone? A Tommy Bahama furniture set? A kermit the frog tooth brush? Barbie band-aids? A Ford coffee mug? An Emerson microwave?

It's all around us, but as consumers, you don't care. You buy based on brand recognition, when in fact what is behind the products in a lot of cases is a company that used licensing... to create an OVERNIGHT BRAND.
 
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Goldman snacks

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I'm reading 'one simple idea' now, what are some books that I can read for getting a licensed product made and manufactured?, or any for that matter. Also what are some books for the distribution?
 

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I'm reading 'one simple idea' now, what are some books that I can read for getting a licensed product made and manufactured?, or any for that matter. Also what are some books for the distribution?

Not sure. My education all came from the school of hard knocks.
 

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Goldman snacks

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Seems like that's maybe a potential niche for a new book.
Yeah I like the school of hard knocks method, however The more mistakes others have made and I can learn from the better.

I accidentally clicked and bought 6 Amazon audible credits so I don't see why not
 

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I'm reading 'one simple idea' now, what are some books that I can read for getting a licensed product made and manufactured?, or any for that matter. Also what are some books for the distribution?
not to sound trite, but read through all the pages of this thread. there is no book that will tell you how to do this kind of licensing. Stephen Key is the opposite side (where you come up with the idea; as Vig mentioned in about page 3 here :) )
 

Vigilante

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I am en route this morning to a finalization meeting for a license agreement. I'll post the results tonight, win or lose (and I intend to win.)
 
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I am en route this morning to a finalization meeting for a license agreement. I'll post the results tonight, win or lose (and I intend to win.)

looking forwards to the out come
 

Vigilante

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Once a deal is signed, this isn't really relevant, is it? By definition, no one can steal anything since you've got a a unique contract in hand that no one can copy.

On this forum it is always relevant. We consistently have people looking for low hanging fruit... and just because you have a brand license doesn't mean you want forum members trying to replicate your business platform. Too many people here looking for Shortcuts, knockoffs, and money chasing. If I have a pencil company and license a brand for it that doesn't mean I want other people copying my pencil company. Operating as a brand doesn't mean you don't have competition. We are not going to enable people replicating other peoples business models regardless of the brand. MJ still gets people trying to replicate his limos aggregator.

Reminder... Don't post your business details on the forum unless you are comfortable with people researching it and replicating it. Part of growing a business is protecting it.

***Plus, his question was irrelevant and none of his business.
 
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Goldman snacks

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not to sound trite, but read through all the pages of this thread. there is no book that will tell you how to do this kind of licensing. Stephen Key is the opposite side (where you come up with the idea; as Vig mentioned in about page 3 here :) )

Are there some ideas that can go both ways?

Example:(in an ideal world+if it's a concept that would sell etc)
I get the bright idea for a new twist on the old idea for a wrench.

I could use snap on branding for my wrench, but I have to manufacture and design and sell it to retailers and pay snap on a royalty.

I could rent my idea to snap on and let them do the work and I get a royalty.

Do I understand correctly?

with the Larry the cable guy button though I can't imagine that you could patent it as you don't own the IP so you would only be able to do it the way in this thread right? Or could you?
 

AllenCrawley

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Once a deal is signed, this isn't really relevant, is it? By definition, no one can steal anything since you've got a a unique contract in hand that no one can copy.
I still believe you need to be careful here. No one may be able to do what I do, but they could still create a competing business that may now bid on my branded keywords effectively driving up the costs and possibly losing sales.
 

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