Binding Contracts
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.”
