Magic Light Pictures’ Pip and Posy sponsors this year’s Playday event with communities across the UK

Magic Light Pictures’ new preschool series, Pip and Posy, has joined forces with Play England, Play Scotland, Play Wales, and PlayBoard Northern Ireland to sponsor this year’s Playday event.

Recognising the fundamental need for play among children and their health, wellbeing, and development, Playday is a national day for play in the UK and an annual celebration that aims to highlight the importance of play in children’s lives. This year’s event will take place on Wednesday, August 4th.

Under its new partnership, characters from Pip and Posy, the hit new preschool series about a mouse and a rabbit whose live revolve around play, will feature in a resource pack designed with Playday that will be available online at www.playday.org.uk.  The pack will feature tips and downloadable activities to help families, carers, and communities create their own Playday event.

Michael Rose, executive producer and co-founder, Magic Light Pictures, said: “Play is central to the world of Pip and Posy so we are delighted to team up with Playday, a fantastic initiative that promotes the importance of play. Both our series and this wonderful event celebrate the joy of play and Pip and Posy are looking forward to helping many more friends have fun throughout the summer.”

Anita Grant, chair of trustees Play England, said: “With their love of play and understanding of how it can help to forge friendships and solve problems as well as being huge fun, Pip and Posy are the perfect Playday partners. The past year has been very challenging and play can greatly help children and young people cope with stress and anxiety.

“We are proud that not only is Playday continuing across all four nations of the UK but we are also encouraging a whole Summer of Play. We can’t wait to see the creative ways that families and carers will be celebrating on Playday and beyond with the help of a little Pip and Posy magic.”

Horticultured | The Royal Horticultural Society on bringing 200 years’ of gardening history to new audiences

From garden tools to wine, and chocolates to canvas shoes, all via the mulch aisle, when the Royal Horticultural Society puts its name to something, it carries with it the weight of over 200 years’ of rich heritage and authority on the subject of the country’s unerring love affair with the garden and the produce of the natural world it inhabits.

At a time in which heritage licensing is witnessing a stark upwards curve in demand from consumers today, while gardening is seeing an equal surge in consumer interest from across the age ranges, spanning children an families, to young adults and of course the core audience within which the RHS brands sits, it’s understandable that the organisation’s licensing division has become a hive of activity, abuzz with excitement over its latest developments in the space.

Here, Licensing.biz catches up with Cathy Snow, licensing manager at the RHS to find out how the firm brings its 200 years of history to the contemporary licensing space, what audiences are demanding from the heritage licensing sector today, and how the Royal Horticultural Society is embracing and encouraging new audiences to explore Britain’s own back gardens.

Hello Cathy, thank you for chatting with us today. To kick us off, could you give us an overview of the RHS brand and the values that it brings to the licensing space? How does the brand’s licensing efforts work to promote the ethos of the RHS, from wildlife and conservation to health and wellbeing?

Cathy Snow, Licensing Manager, RHS: “Inspiring everyone to grow” is our brand message and gardening has been our focus for over 200 years. But we turn this messaging into action. The Royal Horticultural Society is a charity, yes, but it’s also a campaigning institution, an educational powerhouse, and the owner of some of the most popular visitor centres and gardening shows in the country, regularly attracting millions of people. We also support everyday gardening and its proven physical and mental benefits, many of which became more apparent than ever last year.

Of course our licensing work helps us to fund these efforts and raise awareness of them. But licensing itself has to fit in with the brand and its ideals. Sustainability and good ethical and environmental practices are important in our campaigning work but also important in terms of choosing partners and supporting their manufacturing processes. 

The RHS brand is a hugely reputable and deeply respected name. How do you leverage the rich heritage of the brand itself to build on the licensing portfolio? Where do you begin with building out a programme for such a revered name as RHS?

The overall RHS licensing campaign, quite reasonably, references the brand’s rich British history. But it does a lot more than that. Our products succeed in the marketplace because we look at our core strengths and assets and focus on products centered around those. This approach is especially notable in the gardening category, where high-quality tools and stylish garden furniture are promoted alongside peat-free gardening products, and an extensive range of core gardening essentials suited to every level of gardening ability.

“More heritage organisations than ever are entering the licensing arena and developing licensed products – but the best of them are not solely focused on commercial gain.”

However, this approach also influences other categories, which aim to raise awareness of our work and ideals. Many designs – including those used on a growing selection of adult apparel – are inspired by imagery from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s largest collection of botanical art. Scholastic UK has launched a programme of entertaining, informative and beautifully illustrated activity books for children aged seven to 12, encouraging readers to explore and enjoy nature outdoors. Information on tags and packaging helps to promote our work. Our children’s clothing promotes gardening in a fun way with veg and plant imagery and witty slogans. And of course many of our products are made by craftspeople and sourced in the UK.

Whatever the category the licensing team work with licensees and retailers not only to provide the best possible products but also to educate consumers about gardening and share our own love of horticulture with everyone no matter their age, ability or gardening space. 

How has ‘heritage licensing’ changed over recent years, what do consumers expect in terms of brand narrative and story-telling in ‘heritage licensing’ today, and how is this reflected in your approach to licensing RHS?

More heritage organisations than ever are entering the licensing arena and developing licensed products – but the best of them are not solely focused on commercial gain. RHS licensed products must be relevant, appropriate and the best quality possible. If we don’t think a product is right for the RHS, we won’t approve it.

Consumers expect RHS licensed products to outperform other similarly available items; if a customer buys a pot with a 10-year frost-proof guarantee they expect it to last for more than 10 years. This is why we carefully approve every product and check its performance and quality. 

And of course, the brand narrative – inspiring everyone to grow – influences all our partnerships, from garden tools to wine and chocolates, and from mulch to canvas shoes.

The licensing and story-telling potential that RHS boasts must be incredibly exciting. What level of creativity does the depth of the portfolio afford you with your licensing plans? How are you applying innovation in licensing to new and varied audiences?

The RHS style guides are an obvious starting point. They make use of the RHS Lindley Collections – the world’s largest collection of botanical art, including some 25,000 works. This is the perfect combination of exciting and original but also highly appropriate material.

However, the RHS encourages licensees to use the Collections as they see fit – the art is an inspiration rather than a rulebook. For example, the recent Hotter range of canvas shoes created two exclusive repeat pattern designs from Lindley Collections illustrations to deliver something unique and evocative, while the Oasis design team re-sketched its chosen images by hand for a series of prints to be used in a new fashion collection.

“Gardening came into its own in pandemic-hit 2020 when RHS gardening product licensees saw a surge in sales, and the health benefits (physical and mental) of gardening were not just interesting insights but news headlines.”

Regularly refreshed style guides add to the choice. One such was the very successful RHS Licensing Geometric Style Guide 2018; this uses Parterre and knot garden styles dating from the 1600s and 1700s to reflect the trend for geometric designs. Another was a style guide for children’s products – building on the charity’s success in outreach for children, families and schools, and in child-friendly events at its gardens and shows.

And yes, there are new audiences, and we constantly monitor home and garden trends. For instance, our supporter base is changing. A younger audience is discovering the benefits of outdoor spaces and gardening. We’ve therefore expanded our product portfolio into products for children, families and younger adults, and children’s products will be a major focus for the RHS in the post-pandemic world. A recent success was an association with the award-winning George brand that produced a fabulous collection of children’s clothing and accessories aimed at one to seven year olds. There’s also been an RHS-inspired series of children’s books from Scholastic UK. 

How can licensing unlock the values of gardening, the outdoors, nature, wellbeing and all that RHS stands for with new generations?

For our gardening products – a major part of our licensed offering – there’s a clear link. And of course, gardening came into its own in pandemic-hit 2020 when RHS gardening product licensees saw a surge in sales, and the health benefits (physical and mental) of gardening were not just interesting insights but news headlines.

But even with homeware, apparel, confectionery and other non-gardening categories we aim to use packaging and POS to inform and educate where we can. We have thousands of botanical artworks available to licensees, many of which inspire product designs. These help to raise awareness of our gardens, flower shows, research, education and the excellent advice and information we can offer on all horticultural matters.

We always try to innovate and lead; this is reflected in our licensed products.

As for new generations, the move into children’s products – which actually started before Covid and lockdown – reflects the changing age of our supporters and, of course, the many initiatives the RHS as a whole has in place for children and schools.

How has the consumer’s relationship with ‘heritage licensing’ changed in the last 12 months? Has lockdown and the pandemic changed the way in which people want to experience art and culture? How does this influence your licensing strategy?

Consumers seem to be looking for products made by hand and closer to home, which we encourage, where feasible, through relationships with craft groups and UK-based partners. The growing public appeal of craft suppliers and companies based in the UK, as well as sustainability – in particular with the younger audience – fits in well with the brand values of the RHS.

Recyclable packaging, less plastic, low-impact manufacturing – these have always been aims of ours, but consumer awareness of environmental issues is now growing, and manufacturers are responding to this.

Another trend has been a huge increase in royalties for products for the home and especially the garden, not to mention more distribution channels opening up as retailers who might not normally look at gardening products or licensed products adjust to meet demand. 

“We won’t ever be complacent, but we do think we are now well positioned to grow the brand even more without compromising its values.”

What categories or licensing partners will be key to you as you build on the RHS portfolio? What will the lifestyle, home, and garden licensing spaces span, and how will you look to tell the story of RHS through these?

We’ve enjoyed enormous success in the ongoing expansion of our category portfolio and this expansion will continue. However, we also hope to strengthen existing product categories and in particular are looking to expand in homeware, children’s products and apparel. Partners with strong ethical and environmental credentials and those that highlight UK craftsmanship will remain a major part of our programme too.

Gardening will always be our core category and we aim to continue to target keen gardeners and would-be gardeners who are looking for quality and inspiring products to support their interest. But gardening too has branched out: luxury garden sheds, premium boots, trellises, indoor pot covers and the very successful RHS Gifts for Gardeners range are all indicators that the RHS is continuing to seize opportunities in both established and new categories.

The programme overall is well established and balanced: it’s making more money for the charity than ever while still reflecting our values and insisting on carefully chosen licensing partners. We won’t ever be complacent, but we do think we are now well positioned to grow the brand even more without compromising its values. 

What can we expect from the RHS in the licensing space in the coming year and beyond, what’s the next step for you guys in the sector?

We’ve announced several new partnerships so far this year (including hand-iced biscuits from Biscuiteers and children’s clothing from George) and more are to come. Some projects that were delayed last year are launching over the next few months. It has been – and still is – a really busy period. We’re expanding our small team and looking for a new Senior Licensing Development Executive and Licensing Development Executive to help generate new business and develop existing licensing partnerships.

The RHS gardens and shows are ready for a strong post-lockdown visitor response. This is an exciting time for us as a licensing team and for the RHS as a leading Heritage organisation.

In bloom: Gardening specialist Primus on the growing potential and demand for licensing in the back garden

With the increased time spent at home, with family, and the surge of the UK’s population turning to the garden space and gardening hobby as a means of exercise and ‘back to nature’ entertainment, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that the market has become one filled with potential for the licensing space to tap into.

It was only at the end of last month that garden and gardening specialist, Primus, took home a double award win at Glee Gathering, where its range of Peppa Pig garden ornaments triumphed in both the Best of British Award and Best Garden Decoration Award categories.

The win underscored an interesting and undeniable shift in the landscape; one that Steve Perry, head of marketing at Primus, reaffirms when he tells Licensing.biz that “the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products in the marketplace.” It’s something the licensee spotted when it first struck up partnerships with Aardman for Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit garden ornaments, or with RSPB for its hand crafted wooden bird gifting range, and continues to see today with the success of its latest partnership with Hasbro: the market for brands in the gardening space is currently blooming.

Licensing.biz catches up with Perry, head of marketing at Primus to explore the market, why the hobby is finding younger and younger audiences, and why now is the right time for the licensing industry to be sowing the seeds for a fruitful venture in the back garden.

Hi Steve, it’s good to explore the garden with you and congratulations on the recent award wins. Seeing a licensed product take the win across two categories, how reflective do you think this is of current trends in the garden/gardening market?

I think the garden industry desperately wants to see more licensed products, having our range of RSPB hand carved wooden birds shortlisted for the same award last year also backs this up. The judges are looking for something new and original and licensed products in this category hasn’t been done like this before (other than us in other ranges).

After a very successful run from our Shaun the Sheep licensed products we decided that we would expand our licensing portfolio, so I reached out to the licensing agency behind the IP on the idea of translating the ever popular Peppa Pig characters into an ornamental form suitable for the home and garden, which they were incredibly receptive to. A deal was soon made and then after a lengthy development stage the final products have been released and all are in agreement that they are fantastic, the initial market feedback speaks for itself.

It’s here that the licensing category manager at Hasbro, Zahara Gul told us that given that the show is ‘very much about first experiences’, the team is “looking forward to working with Primus to extend the garden offering to get kids involved with nature.”

You guys mention other licensed lines in Shaun the Sheep and Wallace and Gromit. What potential do you see for the world of licensing in the garden and gardening market?

We feel that brand licensing in the garden sector is a large growth area, you don’t see the same kind of licensing activity like you do in other sectors and licensors now are definitely starting to realise this. In particular we feel this is the case with younger audiences who are heavily bought into brands and characters and no doubt in part why our new range Peppa Pig and friends did so well at this year’s Glee Gathering winning two awards – Best of British and Best Garden Decoration categories.

So far the response from the trade has been the best we’ve ever had to a new licensed product collection. We knew Peppa Pig would be popular but we doubled our initial order quantity purely from the demand generated by our pre-order catalogue. We know our retailers’ customers are going to love these ornaments, as well as the more than 200 other new products for the 2021 season. We loved them from the start but we were unsure what the reaction would be from the trade and customers.

Being shortlisted for best new product at the Glee Gathering 2020 and with the volume of pre-orders coming in we are glad everyone likes them as much as we do and I think this is simply going to open more doors for the world of licensing and the gardening market. It is certainly pivotal to our plans going forward.

What sort of increase in interest in gardens and gardening have you seen in terms of customers and audiences as a result of the UK lockdown measures? Has this fueled growth in the market?

Like many industries, the current pandemic has certainly had an impact on the gardening sector, but thankfully it’s potentially had a very positive long term impact in this particular sector, The Horticultural Trades Association states that ‘almost three million gardeners sprung up this year as a result of lockdowns.”

The pandemic has created a new generation of enthusiasts who have found the joy that can be had from their garden and we hope people continue to embrace this new found love of gardening especially the younger, family demographic we are seeing a big increase in.

Arguably the success of the Peppa Pig range suggests that more families are taking it up as an ‘at home’ hobby. Would this be the main market for licensed garden products? What do you look for in a licensing partnership or property to work with?

To this point garden gift and decor has been our area of focus, I would agree that part of Peppa’s success has been due to the family appeal but there is a huge amount of scope to be had with brand licensing in the garden sector.

For us, when choosing a license partner to work with we do not necessarily look for trends or fads, instead we look at characters and brands that have stood the test of time and can almost be seen as “classic”, certainly this is the case for our Aardman collection, with Wallace and Gromit having their 30th anniversary last year.

Unlike with plush for toy industry where licenses are based heavily on what’s hot right now, I think the gardening market appreciate heritage and something that is lasting.

What does the current licensed range at Primus span? Have you got plans to build on this? What plans have you got for tapping into the younger audiences?

Currently Primus has focused heavily on decor and gift lines such as Aardman metal garden ornaments, our RSPB hand carved wooden birds and now Peppa and friends, garden decor is the core of what we distribute at Primus with over 500 other non-licensed products in the category. However we do see that there is a real movement right now to encourage young gardeners and get them into the hobby from a very young age.

There’s a huge amount of positive experiences that can be had by introducing children to gardening and research suggests children perform better at school if they’re involved with gardening, as well as it being a healthy and active hobby as opposed to video games and other not so stimulating interests’ younger generations can have.

Working with our existing licensors and potentially some new partners we feel that Primus could help to lead the way by using some of their favourite characters to help inspire them to engage into this new activity and get a lot of joy from it.