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The following is an abstract of a Diploma Thesis written by Sabina Gockel at Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz at the Department of Applied Linguistics and Cultural Sciences in Germersheim in the year of 1999/2000, supervised by Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Stoll and Dr. Donald Kiraly and appears here by express permission of the author. As such it falls under our copyright and may not be copied, reprinted or sold in any fashion without the permission of LIMA. History of licensing in the USA Merchandise licensing is not a new phenomenon. The origins of licensing can actually be traced back to England in the 1870s (Upton, 1985, p. 8). In the United States the concept of licensing evolved more than a century ago and is closely linked to the development of comic strips. Back in 1900 the American mass media discovered the sales promotional effect of comics, when using them to tie their readers emotionally to their newspapers. Thanks to that the newspapers saw an upturn in sales and thus higher circulation figures (Wermke, 1991, p. 9). In 1902 Buster Brown became the first comic strip character that was merchandised with toys and games manufactured by Selchow & Righter and Steiff. Products featuring trademarks based on properties such as Chevrolet, Ford, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper were also merchandised during this period (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). Beginning in 1910, celebrity endorsement with such people as Charlie Chaplin started, as well as licensed designer merchandise, led by Coco Chanel. In the 1920s the arising of cinematography was another milestone in the history of licensing. Film stars and characters as well as comic strip properties were licensed and the first licensing rights to Walt Disney properties were also granted (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). Thanks to film, comics, and radio, these new forms of entertainment reached larger numbers of people than ever before. The first official Mickey Mouse license was granted in 1929 for a school notebook. Disney earned $300 on the deal; obviously he had little idea of the enormous potential of merchandise licensing at that time (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). Modern licensing truly started making its mark in the 1930s when in addition to Disney, comic strip and movie characters like Little Orphan Annie, Betty Boop, Felix the Cat, Popeye, and Bugs Bunny were born and became well-known. The Batman comic was launched and celebrities including Shirley Temple, Jane Withers and Roy Rogers were also merchandised extensively during this decade (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). With the advent of television in the late 1940s and early '50s, which made it possible to reach into the living rooms of tens of millions of homes, the licensing industry took off. Bugs Bunny, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Tom & Jerry and Woody Woodpecker are properties associated with merchandising during the 1940s (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). Although fashion designers such as Christian Dior had already set up shop in the 1940s, fashion licensing did not become prevalent until the 1950s when fashion designers including Valentino, Givenchy Charles Jourdan, and Pierre Cardin made names for themselves (Raugust, 1995, p. 4). Movie and entertainment-based properties began licensing during the 1950s. Warner Brothers gave us the animated characters Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and Sylvester the Cat (Upton, 1985, p. 9). The first Peanuts book was published in 1952, and the first licensed Snoopy product was authorized in 1958 (TLBI, 1999, pp. 23-26). Davy Crockett, also a creation of Walt Disney, was the only human character to do well then: all in all the property generated more than $300 in retail sales of licensed merchandise (Raugust, 1995, p. 5). The TV craze continued in the 1960 and so did the craze for TV-based properties. The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Star Trek and Sesame Street went on the air. The NFL began its first organized licensing program, and The Beatles were number one in music licensing. Fashion licensing flourished too. Designers including Ralph Lauren, Liz Claiborne, Laura Ashley, Anne Klein and Oscar de la Renta established themselves in the fashion trade (Raugust, 1995, p. 5). In the 1970s the licensing business focused almost exclusively on properties developed by the major motion picture and television studios. Pink Panther and The Muppets went on air in the early ´70s. The success of the television-based properties ranging from The Six Million Dollar Man to Mork & Mindy can be also associated with the creation of licensed consumer products (Raugust, 1996, p. 11). While not directly related to television, but rather to overall entertainment licensing as a whole, the release of the first Star Wars movie in 1977 was surrounded by a significant licensing program worth more than $2.5 billion of retail sales of licensed products. This is widely considered the start of the licensing business as we know it today (Raugust, 1996, p. 11). The Star Wars phenomenon indicated to marketers that licensed properties, particularly of the toy-driven children. s entertainment variety, were potentially big business (Raugust, 1996, p. 12). Based on this fact, television-driven licensing exploded in the 1980s, becoming a highly organized and sophisticated business. In addition to pure entertainment properties, as for example Roger Rabbit, ALF and Ghostbusters, toy properties that went on the air as television programs, including He-Man and The Smurfs, were prevalent (Raugust, 1995, p. 5). Nowadays the nature of licensing is changing. Although television-related properties such as The Simpsons, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Thomas the Tank Engine, Barney & Friends, and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were still prevalent in the early ´90s, today, in the second half of the ´90s, more and more niche opportunities present themselves to the business (Raugust, 1995, p. 5). Besides the fact that there are still several hit entertainment properties emerging, these niche properties entering the market are of great use for small groups of licensees, although they may not turn out to be as successful as other properties (Raugust, 1996, p. 13). Today there are thousands of different properties available as licensing opportunities. Manufacturers of every consumer product category imaginable are producing licensed product lines, and there is virtually no retail establishment foolish enough to turn its back on these opportunities: Licensing indeed has become big business. Reference List Next [ Participants
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