We chat to Charlotte Reed, creator of License This winner May The Thoughts Be With You.
From motivational thoughts to a successful book, May The Thoughts Be With You is now on the brink of securing exciting licensing deals after winning the License This competition at Brand Licensing Europe last year.
We talked to creator Charlotte Reed about her journey into brand licensing.
The first steps into licensing
May The Thoughts Be With You, created by Charlotte Reed, originated as a self-help, inspirational book sold on a market stall on Portobello Road. After seeing her sales soar, Charlotte quickly realised that her brand would work well with merchandise, so she looked at taking the first steps to license her brand.
On the recommendation from a friend, she entered her property into the License This competition at BLE 2016 to make this dream become a reality.
The opportunities for growth through licensing
With sales growing globally and her book making it into the hands of a few celebrities, it was the perfect time for Charlotte’s book to get into brand licensing.
“Licensing out my characters would be a great way to gain more awareness of my work,” she says. “My mission is to spread as much positivity in people’s lives as possible, so having my characters and positive thoughts on merchandise would be a great way to do that.”
Establishing your brand values and the purpose of your brand is key to its success. In this case, her brand values were clear: inspirational, positive and motivational. With this in mind, Charlotte realised that becoming a household name that people can associate with would give her brand the recognition it deserved.
Entering licensing with Brand Licensing Europe
By entering her brand into the License This competition, Charlotte was able to take the first steps into licensing, as the competition allows brand owners with unlicensed properties to pitch their brand to a panel of licensing experts, giving them immense exposure and recognition.
Charlotte competed with 17 other applicants and showcased her brand with 4 other finalists to the panel at the show. She always hoped that licensing her brand would be a great way to grow awareness and was delighted to win the competition.
“I genuinely was shocked but over the moon to win. I knew it would be great to have the award under my belt as it gives the brand more credibility. I’m really proud of it.”
Since the show, Charlotte has started working with Larkshead Media which has helped her to navigate around the industry and a deal was secured to represent the brand in May.
For brand owners, a professionally managed licensing programme can deliver revenue, brand extension, and protection from copyright breaches and even passing-off. It has also introduced her to a well-known investment company who are keen to turn the story into a film script.
“I’m so excited as it seems my dream might actually come true.”
Advice to other brand owners looking to break into licensing
Charlotte’s advice for other brand owners is to make the most of the Matchmaking Service, a dedicated meetings platform which allows exhibitors to pre-schedule meetings with relevant visitors at the show.
“I was actually able to have meetings with quite a few licensees who I didn’t think would accept my meeting so I was pleased when they did,” she says. “They were genuinely on the lookout for artists to actually work with, especially in terms of representing them as licensing agents so I think it’s a really good thing to do.
“If you have an unlicensed property then you should also definitely enter the License This competition because that really helped me massively.”
Entries for this year’s License This competition close today, Friday August 25. For further details simply click on this link.
