Transforming a license into a brand - licensing of Holly Hobbie toys

Discount Store News, June 4, 1990 by Laura Liebeck

Transforming a License Into a Brand

Nationwide DSN Report

The introduction of Mattel's new Holly Hobbie doll in March set off a worldwide program to fill retail shelves with products containing Holly Hobbie art.

Holly Hobbie, most familiar as the girl in a blue bonnet standing in profile, is being dusted off and updated to reflect the artist's work and the resurgence of traditional themes in the 1990s.

Over 50 vendors are supplying a wide range of girls' and women's products adorned with various characters and artistic designs from the artwork of Holly Hobbie - a real woman by the same name.

The efforts to bring Holly Hobbie to retail shelves is being undertaken by Those Characters From Cleveland, the licensing arm of American Greetings, which has had a contractual relationship with Hobbie since 1967 when the greeting card company purchased six of Hobbie's drawings and started a greeting card line bearing her name.

Although the old Holly Hobbie line contained 75 licenses in the 1970s and early 1980s, the relaunch is on a broader scale. It also is much more organized and carefully planned.

The big difference between the old Holly Hobbie licensing program and the new one is that the relaunch has a brand strategy and is concept driven.

TCFC and the licensees participating in the Holly Hobbie program aim to create a brand identification with all of the products involved. Towards that end, most participating licensees are emphasizing the Holly Hobbie name on packaging before their own name.

Clearly, Holly Hobbie is not intended to be a "hot" license. It is not expected to ignite a frenzy of buying activity like Batman last year or the current hot license, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Instead, TCFC is trying to position Holly Hobbie as a strong, consistent seller over the long term.

TCFC has created strict criteria for licensee participation that addresses all aspects of a product from appropriate colors to copy suggestions, packaging information and available art.

To be a brand, a product must have "a recognizable mark that stands for something," said Jack Chojnacki, co-president of TCFC, and the man who first licensed Holly Hobbie 20 years ago. In this case, the recognizable mark is the art itself, a cadre of homespun-looking girls who Hobbie describes in her book, "The Art of Holly Hobbie," as "a bit eccentric and spiritedly individual." Admirers have long found the girls, outfitted in pretty, often frilly dresses and bonnets, as quaint and old-fashioned.

TCFC determined that Holly Hobbie, the artwork, stands for good, wholesome, traditional values and warm, pretty things highlighted with honest, caring emotions. That concept helped steer TCFC to certain makers and away from ones who produce products deemed inappropriate for the license, said Chojnacki.

Once the Holly Hobbie image was set, guidelines were established to ensure the program achieved a consistent, "brandlike" look. "You don't build a brand without guidelines," asserted Derrill Dalby, marketing director at TCFC.

TCFC assembled manuals - one each for licensees of children's and adult products - to give licensees the direction they need to produce designs for the Holly Hobbie program. The manuals act as a kind of "philosophical background" for vendors to follow, said Dalby. These manuals specify logos, typeface, colors, designs, fabrics, packaging, trademarks, specific art and "Hollyisms," sayings to accompany or enhance products. The "Hollyisms," such as, "Every day is a Holly day," "Make each day a sunshine day," and "Wherever you go, keep love in your heart," were created by the TCFC staff to set a tone for the program.

In addition, advertising will have a consistent look and is being developed by the licensees and with their pooled resources. Individual licensees may advertise their own Holly Hobbie products as well.

Driving home the Holly Hobbie brand will be Hobbie herself. The artist is actively involved and her schedule includes personal appearances and meetings with makers both nationally and internationally.

The artist made personal appearances at the Housewares Show in Chicago in January, Back-To-School and Toy Fair in New York in February to meet both vendors and retailers, and she is appearing on major network talk shows. In May, she started a tour of 26 shopping malls in 22 cities.

In addition, Hobbie's photograph will appear on product packages and hang tags for greater brand identification, said Chojnacki.

For many licensees, Holly Hobbie is already a brand since she has a 22-year history. Therefore, participating in the Holly Hobbie program poses little risk.

Chilton-Globe, a toy manufacturer, has had Holly Hobbie tea sets in its line throughout the 1980s, said president Dick Wade, adding that it sold equal to other top names. With the new program, Wade said he expects sales to increase by 20 percent.

According to American Greetings market research, Holly Hobbie has a 97 percent awareness factor by American mothers.

What's most attractive to manufacturers participating in the program is the pure image of Holly Hobbie and the fact that the art's popularity is not attached to a motion picture or a cartoon series. In short, it's not a fad.