Segal Licensing: 20 Years of Seamless Partnerships
Licensing is an integral, yet often undiscussed role within the advertising publication world. It’s great fun to look at campaign partnerships where the likes of soft drinks brand Canada Dry find themselves collaborating with ‘Modern Family’, but what actually goes into making something like this happen?
As it turns out, the answer is a lot of hard work, and some expertise in navigating the field of licensing relationships. But where some agencies choose to do this themselves, FCB made the decision to literally buy a specialised team - Segal Licensing. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, Segal not only has its own running list of clients and partnerships, but also works collaboratively with FCB when merging worlds for the likes of BMO ‘NBATM’ work, and LOTTO MAX’s ‘Dream Drop’ campaign.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Segal president Stuart Pollock to discuss the company’s history, what a licensing team does, and how it works to strategically maximise revenue for partners.
LBB> Please tell us about what you do! How does a licensing company get started, and how did you evolve into the business you are today?
Stuart> The licensing adventure for Segal started off as a combination of our strength in strategic partnership and entertainment, and through our previous role as a buyer. Add in experience on the client side as a VP, some marketing, and our unique experience set up the ability to come out of the gates quickly while also setting us up for long term success.
In turn, the experience led the Segal team to focus on retail development, marketing/promotions, and partnership acquisition as our key strengths, in order to strategically maximise revenue for our partners.
LBB> Segal is a member of IPG and owned by FCB. Tell us about this relationship - how does it allow you to work together in ways that agencies without a built-in licensing team can’t?
Stuart> Segal and FCB work seamlessly together on projects for both Segal and FCB clients. For Segal clients, we will bring in FCB team members on brainstorms and meetings to look for applicability to the FCB client base. For FCB, Segal is brought in as a shopper marketing expert or as a strategic partnership subject matter expert.
LBB> What are the advantages of being a licensing team that’s integrated into an agency?
Stuart> In addition to helping the agency find strategic partnerships that bring a creative concept to life, Segal can also help deepen the client-agency relationship by facilitating licensing opportunities. One of the award-winning projects we worked together on was ‘Dream Drop’ for LOTTO MAX. Segal brought our expertise in apparel collaborations and helped to bring on a partner that brought the idea to life.
LBB> Segal is known for having established relationships with key licensees in the North American marketplace. To what do you attribute this success, and how have you approached this process?
Stuart> The Segal reputation is based on long-term success for partners, and our ability to create out-of-the-box programs for our clients. From creating new revenue streams in the middle of covid-19 to having best-in-class relationships with retailers, the Segal team has continued to evolve as retail and other elements in the economy have shifted.
One of the examples I would highlight is our work with our client Kevin Smith - writer, director, and podcaster. Kevin is always looking for strategic ways to interact with his fanbase, and wanted to bring his fictional fast-food restaurant, ‘Mooby’s’, to life. We were finalising our plans when the pandemic hit, so we found an opportunity to do a home delivery version of the restaurant. With our home delivery model becoming an instant success, as soon covid-19 subsided, we reverted to the original pop-up model, opening over 35 sit-down, Instagram-friendly locations that Kevin’s fans could enjoy. We ended up doing pop-ups all over North America, including one in San Diego during Comic Con 2022. And, to maximise the opportunity, we partnered with a direct-to-home food partner, Goldbelly, to make the food available US-wide, 365 days a year.
LBB> Your core focus is on building client properties in merchandise, retail, and promotions. Why these areas, and how does the way you approach the work differ by sector?
Stuart> Merchandise, retail, and promotions are the key areas where partners are looking to strategically maximise revenue for their IPs. We tailor our approach based on the needs of each brand. For popular TV shows, like ‘The Simpsons’, ‘24’, ‘Glee’ and ‘Modern Family’, we’ve worked with broadcasters and partners to create promotional campaigns for partners like KFC, Rogers, Kia, and Canada Dry. For Canadian properties like the ‘The Next Step’, we’ve worked directly with retailers like Walmart and Toys“R”Us to create merchandise programs that helped bring more awareness to these tween shows.
LBB> And does the way you approach licensing change between Canadian and American brands?
Stuart> The basic principles don’t change, and our strategy of building the best long-term partners for each brand is the key to success. The difference between the US and Canada is to ensure that both brick and mortar retail and e-commerce are maximised for the respective markets. With that said, while in Canada, e-commerce is important, online retailers are not as developed as they are in the US.
LBB> You mentioned Segal’s understanding of the promotional market as the differentiating factor for the team. What have you done differently, what key insights have you reaped, and how does this make you operate in a unique way?
Stuart> For Segal, our relationships mean that while some companies don’t think things are doable, we know they are doable. When someone on the team is looking for that key contact at a major studio, our experience proves that we can get to the right person and outline a range of possible partnerships. For example, there was a time when Canada Dry wanted to work with ‘Modern Family’, and was told by the broadcaster that it was not feasible. Once the Segal team was engaged, we were able to develop a partnership that met the client’s objectives, timeline, and budget.
LBB> Personally, what are your main aims and ambitions for Segal?
Stuart> As a team that has developed entertainment strategic partnerships for the last 20 years, we have found that agencies are sometimes at a loss when navigating opportunities involving entertainment IPs. At Segal, having been able to bridge the gap from brands to IP for many clients, we are now developing - thanks to our association with Licensing International - a program that will help agencies understand how to use licensing as a tool when developing a program for their clients.
Beyond that, licensing/strategic partnerships is always one of the levers that should be explored when developing campaigns for clients. Our expertise allows us the ability to create desirable partnerships, quickly. We know that most clients are being told that these types of partnerships are not achievable, but that is just not the case. Segal can connect the brands and the IPs to bring partnerships and big brand ideas to life. We want to be able to assist in all aspects of the business, from strategic partnership to shopper marketing, and everything in between. We believe that if there is a way to maximise revenue on any IP, we can be of assistance.
LBB> Is there recent work that sticks out as being particularly important for Segal? And if so, why?
Stuart> A great example is how we were able to drive revenue for a classic evergreen brand like Dr. Seuss in Canada. The Dr. Seuss team was looking to maximise revenue, and Segal was able to develop a program that brought Dr. Seuss to the top of the Canadian licensing charts - specifically making ‘The Grinch’ a staple at the majority of retailers in Canada, and proving that the country is a significant market, even if some of the US licensors don’t give it the importance it deserves.
