Book packagers and other publishing professionals gathered for a mid-day panel discussion on May 19 on the topic of successful licensing and branding in children’s and young adult media products, held at the Manhattan meeting space In Good Company. Sponsored by the American Book Producers Association, the event featured Robert Riger, who has served as a consultant for Pimsleur Language and a publisher for Barnes & Noble’s SparkNotes and FlashKids brands, among other ventures; and Margaret Milnes, director of brand management, product development and licensing strategy at Running Press. Karen Matsu Greenberg of Hourglass Press moderated. Topics included seeking out brands for product development, maintaining effective partnerships, and creating novel, versatile, and proven product designs.
Riger spoke first, sharing his experiences working on behalf of two brands, both of which provided him with very different experiences. In 1997, Simon & Schuster acquired the Pimsleur brand of language learning books and software, which are based on the Paul Pimsleur method of language acquisition. While a successful, recognizable property, the Pimsleur brand has been licensed so frequently that problems have arisen; in fact, some of the licensees have come under-fire for perceived deceptive marketing, resulting in lawsuits. Riger noted that, with so many hands stirring the pot, a company runs the risk of losing sight of the brand.
In the case of SparkNotes, the brand initially catered toward students with literary guides, then expanded to include different types of texts to be used in conjunction with courses or for test study. Part of what made SparkNotes a success, Riger believes, has to do with its “customer-driven” origins story. In this case, necessity truly was the mother of invention: SparkNotes originated as a website called The Spark, created by Harvard students in 1999. Thus, it was a case of a “brand created by its intended audience,” one that “came up from the grassroots,” and was driven by “an internal engine,” which he feels is necessary for a brand’s staying power. Barnes & Noble took over the publication of the brand in 2001, and the list of lit guides has since expanded to include more than 500 titles.
When first publishing the SparkNotes brand, Riger was impressed to learn of the high demand for the literary guides. Students acquired them broadly and in different formats. The guides were available free on the web, for $4.95 at Barnes & Noble, and for $4.95 as a PDF on the website. “They all worked,” Riger said. “We were blown away.”
In an effort to continue to target the key audience for SparkNotes, Riger adopted the slogan: “Give it away and they’ll buy it.” He reached out to many educators with free copies of the guides – as well as coveted t-shirts tied to the No Fear Shakespeare series of books.
Over the course of his time with SparkNotes, Riger has been taken aback by the amount of fondness that he has observed among those who have used the guides. For many students, a certain book or lit guide “got them through” a challenging experience in high school or college, be it studying for the SATs or understanding a difficult piece of literature. Such affection for a brand is a definite driving force for their success.
Versatility in Action
Milnes then discussed some of the overarching lessons she has learned about branded products in publishing. Saying that while “kids’ licensing is very competitive and targeted,” Milnes believes that keeping an eye to “the big picture” behind a brand and “setting it up as a series long-term,” rather than as a stand-alone product, is critical.
When developing a publishing program, Milnes looks to the potential of expanding a series up to 12 titles. One such wide-ranging product for Running Press is its series of licensed mini-kits (the small, boxed kits include miniature books and related toys or objects) for properties that include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Harry Potter, Monsters Inc., and more. The format has also proven to be conducive to adult licensed content. For example, the Downtown Abbey mini kits were a big seller this year for Mother’s Day.
The key, when searching for more potential properties, is to be “smart and strategic with a format that works already,” Milnes said. It’s also not critical to “always partner with the biggest brand,” she said. Instead, she suggests hitting somewhere in the middle – not Frozen, but perhaps a series like Daniel the Tiger – and keeping in mind that, in publishing, “great success is driven by format and content” that is unique and can potentially “carve out a new shelf at Barnes & Noble.”
It’s about doing something that no one else is doing, she said, and having the grand vision to carry it into different avenues. Milnes shared that she is constantly reworking products as well as rethinking placement and marketing strategies. As a licensee for Game of Thrones, Running Press has released a gift-sized book devoted to characters that have died throughout the series. However, the book has not been as successful as it could be; Milnes has already strategized on how to rebrand the book to make it more appealing. She believes part of the problem with the Game of Thrones book in its current format is that it is “too gifty” for the more bookish consumers likely to be purchasing Game of Thrones content. “It doesn’t look smart or funny,” she said.
In terms of advice for those carving out niches in the branding and licensing worlds, Milne discussed how she will often meet first with a packager before heading to a company like Disney in the hopes of signing a new licensed product. She also noted how different companies and brands might supply different levels of support to a product developer, and said it’s important to determine these things in advance. For example, having access to a content writer can be a critically important asset; just being given access to a property’s logo, for instance, is definitely not enough.
In conclusion, Milnes reiterated how, despite the competition in the field, “smart, innovative ideas,” a successful format, and a concept of how a product can expand, remain the most significant factors for determining the success of a new licensing venture.
