While toys spring immediately to mind, this company’s repertoire of products also includes everything from books to fashion, food, live entertainment, and commercial clip licensing a practice that leverages the studios vast library of iconic film, television, and animation properties to help communicate brand messages to consumers.
Preston Kevin Lewis is Managing Director, Warner Bros. Consumer Products Australia, New Zealand and India. He started his career with cable network HBO, a Time Warner company, before moving to MTV, Disney, and then back to Time Warner in 2006 at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. He has extensive industry experience and has seen the entertainment sector, particularly the consumer-products licensing arena, change dramatically in recent years. The power of licensing has continued to grow.
Preston says, “Our much-loved and globally recognised properties establish instant connections with consumers. By linking our partners products and services with the Warner Bros. properties that consumers know and love, they are able to forge unique and long-lasting bonds with consumers, a bond that transcends a cluttered marketplace.”
Preston has adapted his business approach to change with this constantly evolving industry. He says, ”One of the most important accelerators of our business was a move away from a complex, matrix-style licensee structure to one that favours strategic partnerships. A critical part of our success can be attributed to this focus. We tender out our licences to fewer companies, and as a result they own a much broader and deeper part of our business. This way, we are just as important to our licensees as they are to us. These close alignments with our key partners have allowed us to much more efficiently and effectively deliver powerful solutions into the marketplace.”