Authoring the Brand: Literary Licensing

The aim of this brand management research was to identify the strategies that artists have employed for the protection, use and extension of their own creative artefacts during their own lifetimes. These were then analysed into typologies of behaviour and assessed in terms of their relevance to contemporary creative practice and for the publishers and agents who work with them.

Three examples were selected, each with a reputation within the children’s market of the time which has subsequently endured. These were Dr Seuss (creator of The Cat in the Hat), A. A. Milne and Beatrix Potter. A spectrum of practices were revealed which can be characterised as the permissive (Milne), the purist (Seuss) and between the two the pragmatist (Potter). These strategies each show a drift towards the permissive as brand extension opportunities arose which went on to became particularly rife in the late 20th century. In all three cases, and especially Milne, whose principal character is now a major component of the Disney stable, brand extension has been radical. The research revealed to what extent brand extension of this type was already evident during the lifetimes of the creators.

The research also highlighted the value systems embodied in the works such as ‘childhood morality’, the focus or breadth of the original core product, the value of developing the brand and issues of intellectual property ownership. The researcher jointly researched Milne and Seuss with the co-author and made a strong contribution in terms of the theories of brand management and the development of typologies.

Preliminary findings were presented at the EIASM Cultural Industries colloquium at Bologna University (2004) to European professionals operating in the fields of advertising and marketing.

Research is underway on the effects of intellectual property and licensing legislation on the practices of a number of contemporary artists.