Although licensing itself is an old tactic, organizations are implementing licensing brand extension strategies today in a much more comprehensive and brand-oriented manner. Major organizations such as Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Black & Decker, The Coca-Cola Company and TGI Fridays have each embraced licensing and developed licensing-driven marketing programs that have not only generated additional revenue (a secondary objective that used to be primary) but capitalized on brand equity, extending the marketing message broadly and authentically. Licensing has become a powerful marketing tool.

As CEO of Beanstalk, a leading, New York City-based global brand licensing agency and part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), author Michael Stone has worked with companies as diverse as HGTV, the Ford Motor Company, the Coca-Cola Company and AT&T to create highly ambitious and successful strategic licensing and brand extension programs for Beanstalk’s clients. At an increasing pace over the past decade, all types of organizations with strong brands have been clamoring for information and expertise about how to make a licensing-branding strategy work that is aligned with and supports their corporate goals and objectives. These companies recognize that their brands represent a hugely underutilized resource; that unprecedented opportunities exist to capitalize on the equity they have built in their brands over decades or longer. The Power of Licensing helps organizations and marketing professionals understand how to evaluate and maximize these opportunities with their famous brands.

This is not a book about licensing a brand for t-shirts or hats. And it is not a legal primer on how to license. The Power of Licensing: Harnessing Brand Equity takes a look at exciting, new and emerging ways licensing can be used to achieve specific brand objectives, illustrated by stories of how some iconic brands have done it well.