Brand Licensing vs. Franchise Licensing

It's often said that American and the United Kingdom are "two countries separated by a common language." We sometimes just can't sort out what they say without a translator.

The same can be said about brand licensing and franchising.

Franchising involves the licensing of the franchisor's brand to the franchisee. For example, if I open a Burger King restaurant, I'm allowed to use the brand and products under license from Burger King Corporation for the operation of my restaurant. I can't sell Burger King buns in the local supermarket, can't print up t-shirts with cute designs on them to sell on the corner or at the local flea market. All I can do is sell Whoppers, Original Chicken Sandwiches, Croissan'Wiches, Apple Friesm drinks and other items stipulated by the franchisor (BKC).

Brand licensing is when a food manufacturer "rents" the brand to use on products for sale in a specific channel of distribution. The Burger King-licensed snack chips pictured above, for example, are part of a deal Broad Street Licensing Group brokered for client Burger King. The chips (in Ketchup & Fries, Flame-Broiled and Onion Ring flavors among others) are manufactured by a company in Arizona called The Inventure Group. They pay a royalty to Burger King for the use of the brand name, advice on packaging, etc. It's actually more complex than all that, but I'll simplify here so I don't have to charge you a consulting fee....

One problem is that restaurant chains often confuse these two forms of licensing, thinking when they get calls from agencies looking to help them leverage their brands to retail "hey, we already do licensing." Or they assign someone in franchising to look into it, thinking there's some connection.

Not at all.

Licensing is a specialized skill set that requires a professional. Either hire me or hire someone like me, but as the car ads say in their fine print: "Professional Driver, Don't Try This On Your Own!"
For information about licensing, contact Broad Street Licensing Group (tel. 973-655-0598)