Artist: Winnie Dougall          Artwork: Diamond Life          License This artwork

The four hat approach…

 

Art licensing presents some unique challenges when it comes to connecting with the end consumer, so art licensing artists need to master the four hats:

 

Manufacturer

looking to license art and put designs on product

Retailer

purchases product from manufacturers & sells in store

Customer

shops in retail stores and loves your product

Effective strategies…

Your main customer is… the manufacturer

The manufacturer puts your art on their products.That makes them your main customer. 

The manufacturer then sells those products to the retailer. That also makes the retailer a customer.

Then it’s the end consumer who will buy the final product from the retailer.

Understand your customer’s expectations

When you create art for licensing you need to understand your manufacturer’s expectations. You need to understand how to work with the manufacturer and with retailer, while at the same time trying to figure out what the end consumer (the shopper with the wallet) will want to buy.

This is all very challenging…even for the most experienced artists!

Effective strategies…

Now you understand why you need to wear the four hats. At times an artist is so involved with their art that they cocoon themselves in their own world and forget that to be successful in art licensing they need to engage customers. Understanding the four hats means that your chances of success will be much higher than those artists and designers who are not customer focused.

These days, an artist just cant just keep creating art. It’s more important than ever to connect with the end consumer and build your brand in the market place.