Source finds out how the Team GB brand licensing programmes are preparing for a first class delivery.
With every Olympic Games, new Team GB heroes emerge that make our nation proud and inspire the next generation of athletes.
“It is great to see the team take shape with sailing and canoe teams already announced, the women’s football team, men’s and women’s hockey teams, and men’s and women’s rugby 7s teams have also qualified. The new sports are also likely to provide a great spectacle with skateboarding and sport climbing included for the first time,” comments Paul Ellis, head of licensing and retail at Team GB.
Team GB’s unique appeal – which sees an approximate 50/50 male/female split in fan base and all age groups – provides great opportunities for brand engagement. The Point.1888 has been working with Team GB for over a year now and, with close to 20 licensees signed across all core product categories, it’s been non-stop.
“We signed a full programme of licensees, held a large brand immersion summit at our headquarters and have developed a brand new packaging guide alongside re-launching our ecommerce with a new partner,” says Paul.
Retail is key to success and official product will start to appear in-store from April this year. “We focused on getting in front of key retailers and their preferred licensees as quickly as we could; we felt it was important to tell the Team GB story so that everyone knew all about us and what we stand for,” Paul continues.
The British Olympic Association is 100% commercially funded so Team GB is dependent on its work with partners, licensees and patrons to raise the funds needed to take athletes to the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic events. Team GB wanted them to know exactly what is involved in taking a team to an Olympic Games. “This has really helped the product development process and we’ll be unveiling news of the partnerships and the products in the next few months,” Paul adds.
Hannah Stevens, senior commercial manager at The Point.1888, comments: “Working alongside Paul and the team, we’ve made sure the new product ranges will offer something new for the whole family. What’s more, we’ve been able to sign the best of the best in the world of licensing to produce them, from high-end ceramics through to stationery, boxing gloves, nightwear, plush, publishing and beyond.”
As well a huge marketing push to attract support at home, Team GB has secured retail space in Tokyo, too.
“We are privileged to take a hugely talented group of people to the Olympic Games who have worked so hard to get there and the more support we can give them the better. Join us on the journey on social media, take a look at our product range when it’s released and get behind our team,” Paul concludes.
This feature originally appeared in the spring 2020 edition of Licensing Source Book. To read the full publication, click on this link.
