LTC 229-2016 City Licensing and Merchandising Program Update MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 229-2016 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Philip Levine and Members o the City C mmission
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: May 24, 2016
SUBJECT: City Licensing and Merchandising rogram Update
In 2015, the Administration identified the creation of an official City of Miami Beach store as a
possible avenue to generate additional revenue, while also supporting ongoing efforts to build
and maintain the city's brand. To that end, the city began seeking a promotional items
distribution company to manufacture (or have manufactured through a third-party), market,
promote, sell and distribute city promotional items and souvenirs through an online store to be
branded exclusively for city purposes.
During this process the Administration met with New York City's licensing team as well as
attended an educational conference regarding licensing. Through this research the overall
approach to licensing was reexamined. Based on the feedback and discussions from
professionals in licensing and tourism it is believed that starting an online store, prior to placing
merchandise in stores, may not be successful. As such, the administration recommended doing
an overall analysis of our current licensed marks as well as what inventory could be licensed and
work directly with manufacturers through non-exclusive license agreements to place official
Miami Beach merchandise in stores.
The administration began contacting possible companies to quote a consulting project to write a
strategic licensing plan for the City. Using recommendations and industry websites, 10
companies were contacted and 8 responses were received. As each quote was analyzed it
became apparent that one company, The Beanstalk Group, stood out with experience in the
areas that are most important.
The Beanstalk Group is a large company that has offices located in New York, Los Angeles,
Cincinnati, Miami and London. They are currently ranked number 3 out of 35 global licensing
Agents according to the Licensing Industry Merchandising Association. The company is divided
into 6 categories, brand representation, direct-to-retail, celebrity representation, manufacturer
representation, royalty auditing, and brand consulting; which is the department we would be
working directly with. The consulting division of Beanstalk is referred to as Blueprint. This
division focuses solely on consulting. Some of the companies that The Beanstalk Group has
worked with include HGTV Home, Honda, Wolfgang Puck, and Jaguar. Some of their strategic
partnerships include working with Jaguar to create a lifestyle brand, luggage line, luxury apparel
and fragrance. They also worked with HGTV Home to conceive and develop a collection of
smart and stylish products across a wide variety of home and garden categories. Through this
creation they also helped with the creation of packaging, marketing and POS materials.
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In May 2015 the administration hired Blueprint, the consulting arm of Beanstalk, to create a
strategic licensing and merchandising program to enhance the consumer perceptions of Miami
Beach as a lifestyle brand and continue to grow tourism to our destination. In addition, the
program will generate external partner revenue streams with a positive return on investment.
After analysis and research Blueprint delivered various items including a prospecting guidebook,
program management guidebook, and specific category evaluations and recommendations.
In June, staff will be attending the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas hosted by the Licensing Industry
Merchandisers' Association. With over 460 leading brand owners and agents and some 5000+
brands in attendance, the Expo will allow us to connect with strategic partners to help maximize
the City of Miami Beach's global brand awareness through key brand extensions.
Currently the City of Miami Beach has one licensing partnership, MB Suncare. The City of Miami
Beach partnered with Destination Brands International to develop the official and exclusive sun
and skin care product line for the City — MB Miami Beach Suncare. The products are infused
with natural ocean extracts to uniquely provide a variety of skin benefits, including those of
essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help protect against free radicals and early skin
aging caused by the sun. Launched in 2015, MB Suncare can be found in mass, specialty and
drug and grocery channels both domestic and internationally. MB Suncare contributes a portion
of all proceeds to beach cleanups and skin protection education. Through this contribution and
in partnerships with Mount Sinai Medical Center, we are the first City in the nation to offer free
sunscreen on public beaches, pools and parks in the City. This program, which has garnered
international recognition, serves as a platform for increasing awareness on the importance of
skin protection and sun safety.
The next steps in the process would be to continue working to build the essential items that are
needed to launch a successful program. These items include:
• Style Guide — guidelines for key brand elements, art direction, inspiration and an
essential tool to ensure a consistent and signature voice and spirit from all partners.
o This would include creating a collection.of all branding elements such as logos,
tag lines, creative, photography and other imagery.
• Sales Materials— specific to licensing and merchandising partners
• Legal contract boilerplate - specific to Miami Beach
The total price for all of the custom brand development materials needed to create a successful
program is $140,000. The timeline to implement would be approximately 16 weeks not including
time for internal approvals. The VCA has committed to a minimum of $50,000 and is currently
considering giving additional funding to support the program.
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