The licensing agency The Point.1888 says it’s working to get better results for its clients by launching its own marketing division, called Story.1888.
The Point.1888 prides itself on breaking the mold for licensing companies, and in this case obviously feels if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself. As a result, clients will now have the option to use the company’s in-house marketing team.
Story.1888 will be run by marketing and advertising specialists as well as licensing and retail veterans to ensure that clients’ social, PR and marketing efforts benefit from The Point.1888’s renowned creativity and extensive specialist knowledge, the company says. Its offering will include creative services such as product branding and style guides; product marketing; strategy; content creation and campaign management.
Martin McLaughlin, who joined The Point.1888 in June 2019, has been tasked with leading the new agency.
“It’s not the norm for a brand licensing specialist to launch a marketing agency but it’s the most obvious next step,” McLaughlin says. “The licensing industry is great at creating amazing products, but not always so effective at telling the brand story and connecting the product purpose to the consumer. Connect those dots with a retail hat on and you can create really powerful moments that drive consumer love and revenue.”
McLaughlin has experience in licensing but also delivered communications, advertising and brand partnership planning for super brands such as T-Mobile, Cadbury, Amazon, Warner Music, and Ford, among others. Since joining The Point.1888, he has grown its book of clients as well as its Marketing & Creative division.
“Our business has experienced rapid growth thanks to talent, grit and strategic thinking,” said The Point.1888’s Managing Director Will Stewart. “Pre-pandemic we saw there was a need for specialist marketing support for our brand licensing clients and we have taken our time to find the right team and approach to make it work.
“I’m thrilled to be able to reveal this exciting development for our business and cannot wait to see it grow.”
Stewart says McLaughlin’s creativity and ability to deliver a compelling brand narrative for The Point.1888 has meant Story.1888 already has three clients on its books, including world-famous animated series The Raccoons and Comic Relief.
Martin and his team will be working to create a global hub for fans around the world to come together and celebrate the classic animation property, while also doing strategic and creative work for Comic Relief.
The Story.1888 team will be in attendance at BLE and will be taking meetings with interested parties to walk through their credentials and approach.