MLB's New Licensing Chief: Innovation Needed - Major League Baseball VP-licensing Howard Smith - Interview

Brandweek, June 29, 1998

Since the departure of Rick White in 1994, Major League Baseball has not had a senior executive running its licensing program. That changed with the recent hiring of Howard Smith as vp-licensing. Smith, 39, has been Reebok's sports marketing director. He formally starts this meek hut has already been in on some West Coast meetings, as MLB tries to capture more of the marketing dollars of footwear brands like Nike and Adidas. In his first interview since accepting the MLB job, Smith discussed his ambitions for the post and the state of the licensing business in general, with Brandweek editor-at large Terry Lefton.

Brandweek: What do you bring to the new job?

Howard Smith: I've been involved with Major League Baseball for almost 15 years as a sponsor, a licensee and a guy trying to get players to wear my shoes. So I bring an understanding of the needs of licensees and players. What I need to do is use that knowledge to get licensees, MLB, players and clubs working together.

BW: MLB is one of the few licenses that is up in a generally flat to down market. Can you keep that going?

HS: We are up, but the game still isn't close to where it has been in the past in terms of its overall appeal. The fashion stuff is working and 1 expect that to continue for the rest of the season. Other than that, kids and women are big targets for us and every other licensor.

BW: I don't have to tell you that sneaker companies aren't handing out money as freely as they once did. So what does MLB have to do to get some marketing support out of those brands?

HS: It is important to have them in that they can be incredible marketing partners. Baseball is still very important to Nike and Adidas and Reebok, and it is going to be more important to Puma as they extend themselves across the U.S. The key is for us to find a way to get them to invest in and build the game while we are making it profitable for them. You can't put them in a box the way some leagues do. . . . Having been through just a couple of meetings, I think Adidas is very excited about being involved in baseball.

BW: Let me you ask the devil's advocate question. Reebok has had very few licensing successes and a lot of sports marketing deals that it is trying to get out of. So everyone in the industry is going to be asking what you are offering MLB?

HS: It isn't fair to say Reebok is getting out of sports marketing. Are they going to get out of the licensed-product business at some point? Probably, although I recommended that they stay in. But I think what I have is the sensitivity from the licensee side that is sometimes missing from licensors. So as we build this thing, hopefully, that perspective will help us continue to grow.

BW: I didn't expect sports licensing to show geometric growth again. but why do you think that as a whole it seems to have hit a wall lately?

HS: It is a cyclical market per se, but there is also just too much of the same thing coming from the same people. Look at the NFL: you've got Pro Line, Team NFL and every other brand; the difference doesn't mean anything at retail.

So you need to get some innovation in order to break through. I think that's why our [multicolored] fashion caps and jerseys are doing so well. They are something unexpected, instead of something every store in the mall is selling.