Binding Contracts
FROM PUBLISHING TRENDS
(JUNE 2004)
Robert
Allen and Kathleen Spinelli recently established Brands-to-Books
as a literary agency specializing in representing brands
seeking publishing deals. Among their services is navigating
brand marketers through the publishing jungle. They
can be reached at agents@brandstobooks.com.
A multitude of new partnerships will be forged between
varying licensors and manufacturers next week, when
the Javits Center hosts Licensing 2004 International,
the largest annual gathering of licensing professionals
in the world. The contracts signed between them will
clearly state that the licensors, commonly referred
to as “brand owners,” will have approval over every
detail of the manufacturers’ (or licensees’) products
— down to the packing and bubble-wrap that’s used. When
accustomed to this level of control, it’s no surprise
that brands cringe at publishers’ favorite word: “Consultation.”
There’s a reason that licensors are referred to as “brand
owners.” As the responsible party for building up the
equity in the brand, the owner must maintain the consistency
that will distinguish and strengthen the brand. And
that requires approvals. Does that make them savvy marketers
or control freaks? “There has to be a unifying message,
an übervision of the brand,” according to Robin Sayetta,
Co-President of Ripe Ideas, a brand development
and licensing firm that represents designers such as
Jonathan Adler and Nate Berkus. “The consumer
should feel a seamless presentation of the brand, no
matter the product or the retail environment. The approval
process that a brand demands ensures that consistency.”
For this reason, publishers should be wary of brand
owners whose approval requests are lax or undemanding.
Licensors have moved far beyond coffee mugs and beach
towels, into much more sophisticated fare. “The days
of logo-slapping are over,” warns Sayetta. And we have
seen the effect in the publishing arena as well. Gone
(or at least fading) are the logo-slapped books, whose
content has no connection to the brand; now, lifestyle
books can truly translate a brand’s promise into every
detail. A consumer should instantly know the brand behind
the book by merely looking at an interior spread. When
working with a brand, publishers need to consider the
carefully honed message the brand is communicating to
their consumers. The brand has a built-in audience,
but is the book delivering something fresh to them?
Is the message consistent with the brand’s other products?
And publishers can’t rely entirely on the brand’s efforts
to sell the book. “The brand can use their marketing
muscle to drive consumers to the book, but publishers
have to do their part, too,” according to Michael
Palgon, EVP and Deputy Publisher of Doubleday
Broadway. When it comes to approvals, Palgon notes
“both parties have an interest in the brand being represented
consistently to the consumer, and the brand owner is
usually in the best position to determine that.”
Eric
Rayman, President and COO of Budget Living Media,
knew that a book program would be an important element
in the marketing mix of his brand: “You have arrived
when you publish a book.” The core of their business
is Budget Living magazine, recent winner of the
National Magazine Award for General Excellence, whose
tagline reads “Spend Smart. Live Rich.” The first book,
Home Cheap Home (published by Perigee), is fresh
to stores, in budget-friendly trade paperback and brightly
colored interiors that reflect the magazine’s distinctive
look.
Control, yes. But if you respect the brand, then respect
the brand owner and their expertise. Just as they are
tapping into your publishing savvy, tap into their firsthand
knowledge of the consumer. Insist on their involvement.
As a famed brand’s motto goes, “It’s a good thing.”
©2004
Publishing Trends
