During a recent trip to the fabric store, I was amazed at the amount of branded material that is available. Back in the day, you could only buy florals, gingham and generic patterns, but today fabric is liberally licensed. There are authorized versions of material featuring Girl Scout emblems, 4-H, Dr. Seuss, Disney characters including Mickey Mouse and princesses, Harry Potter and more.
Somewhere along the way, companies realized that they were better served by giving up some control of their characters and gaining revenue from direct licensing instead of the lose-lose scenario that resulted from the thriving knock-off market instead. Yes, Disney may cringe if executives saw some of the uses for its material, but in the end, the trade-off seemed to benefit them.
Social media has shifted some of the power away from the C-suite, and in a similar vein, so has branded fabrics. Companies today are wise to explore avenues to give their customers or clients more latitude in how they interact with the organization and embrace ways that your clients can make your brand their own.
