Youth, creativity, and the sustainable development of the licensing industry. It all plays into the rich tapestry that is a welcoming, diverse, and forward-thinking sector. Anna Clarke, senior vice president of Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets explores brand, licensing, and retail’s new – green – frontier.
Youth and diversity in any industry is fundamental to its survival, bringing with it fresh perspectives and new ways of approaching subjects – some of which you may not even realise are on the agenda. Within the business of brand licensing, it’s an absolute no brainer.
We are in an industry serving consumers of all ages and audiences of incredible diversity. We need to be on the pulse of fresh ideas and creativity. And where do those ideas come from? From narratives of all backgrounds and from the future generation.
Being a millennial myself, I’m not close enough to some of the new consumer trends of the Alpha Generation. I’m not on Fortnite (sorry to disappoint you) and TikTok isn’t my second home. I know I can’t be an idea generator for that age group of consumers, just as much as I can’t for the generation before me. So, how do we tap into the stories of the ages and authentically represent the experience of these communities?
Acknowledging that is quite freeing. Because we then get to see what the next generation is offering our industry. They are coming through with a completely different perspective on life, in general, and I
find that very encouraging and enriching.
“Even within my own generation, I’m simply not close enough to some of the new consumer trends taking the forefront in the Alpha Generation. I’m not on Fortnite (sorry to disappoint you) and TikTok isn’t
Anna Clarke, Informa Markets
my second home.”
At Informa Markets, we are now one year into our partnership with Diversity.org, a US-headquartered, global organisation responsible for bringing students aged 12 to 18 from schools and universities to provide opportunity and exposure to industries and jobs they maybe never would have thought to enter.
It’s offered a reciprocal benefit. Brands involved in mentoring these students were able to gain direct insight through the questions these individuals asked them. Questions they hadn’t yet thought to ask themselves, and ones that were often quite challenging. Fascinating to point out, is the relationship the incoming wave of professionals have with sustainability.
It’s embedded into everything they say, do, or think without question. It’s not something that needs prompting, it’s just innately there with expectation.
This is the difference between the generations coming through and the older categories. While we are educating ourselves on the changes we need to see, those coming through simply expect it. They are aware, they are climate savvy, and they are purpose driven. And if you’re not, then why not?
The closing day of Las Vegas Licensing Expo this year will be dedicated to welcoming the future of the brand licensing industry: whether that is in purpose-driven partnerships; how to build the developing workforce; the advance of technology and AI within business and consumer trends; or in the sustainable development of an industry reaching into new territory and breaking new ground every day. And helping to pioneer in those spaces, we must thank our industry’s young leaders. They are carving out the future for this business of brands.
This evolution isn’t being spearheaded by individuals, just as sustainability isn’t the effort ofone chief sustainability officer in one company. Rather, sustainability is becoming embedded in every single function that is trying to achieve it. Every decision has a perspective to the sustainable future. And this is coming not just from the top-down but also the bottom-up. More and more, the youth coming into the industry are inspiring the older generations to think differently. And this is exactly the way it should be.
