Bogus' Revelation: It's the Brand, Swami

Seth M Siegel is co-chairman of The Beanstalk Group, New York, a licensing agency whose clients include Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Stanley Tool Works. He can be reached at sms@beanstalk.com.

Swami Bogus Sekali created shock waves recently when he announced he was departing from his job as head of licensing at one of Hollywood's most renowned studios and was moving to Manhattan to open Three Little Pigs Inc., a licensing agency specializing in the representation of corporate brands. Wherever Swami Bogus goes, licensing news--and controversy--almost always follow. His autobiography, From Royalty to Royalties, a beautifully told tale of his journey from a small and ancient town on the India-Tibet border to his first major studio licensing job in L.A., and The Zen of Licensing, a holistic guide to spirituality in the licensing business, have both become classics in the growing field of licensing literature. Brandweek columnist Seth M. Siegel caught up with Swami Bogus in the food court at the Javits Center as he was getting ready for the industry's annual trade event, the Licensing Show in New York, sponsored by the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association.

Seth M. Siegel: I guess the question everyone is asking is: Why the switch to corporate brand licensing?

Swami Bogus: Haven't you heard? Brands are where it's at.

Siegel: How did you come to that realization?

Swami Bogus: One day, I was multi-tasking in my backyard in Beverly Hills. I was simultaneously meditating and making a pitch on my cell phone to one of the big toy companies. I found myself explaining that the property--a TV mini-series--had limitless potential. I explained that it wasn't a license, it was a brand. At that moment, it hit me: I had been positioning everything I had sold for the past many years as brands. Why was I wasting my time when I could be selling brand names that people had actually heard of before? It was truly an but-of-body experience.

Siegel: Yet, we've never been closer to entertainment properties becoming brands. There's Star Wars, of course, but also Rugrats, Teletubbies and many others. It's not just "here today, gone tomorrow" as it was only a few years ago.

Swami Bogus: You are giving examples of licenses that have already arrived and have, therefore, to some degree, withstood the test of time and the winds of change. But, if the entertainment community were to agree not to license any entertainment properties until they have already established a following, I suspect you'd be able to hold the Licensing Show in the back room at Zen Adventure, my favorite new theme restaurant in New York.

Siegel: What has been your biggest challenge?

Swami Bogus: The switch from entertainment to corporate licensing has been harder than I expected. With movies and TV shows, people often want to believe that it is going to be the next Power Rangers. Those people would become my friends, my disciples and, most important of all, my licensees. I've found that it's harder to get manufacturers to buy licenses to tie in with companies that no one has heard of yet.

Siegel: What does a corporate license need to have in order to make it?

Swami Bogus: It either has to be able to be extended to a logical product close to the very essence of the brand, or it has to have a passionate following which wants to buy knick-knacks--now called collectibles--with the company name. By the way, from what I understand, very few corporate licensors ever permit licensing people to do brand extension licenses. The marketing and legal departments think they can do it better.

Siegel: It sounds like corporate licensing is less fun than your old life.

Swami Bogus: Just because clients don't automatically approve first-class travel and fancy hotel suites the way my old studio used to doesn't mean I'm not in nirvana. You can experience a state of bliss sitting in a three-hour brand immersion session as easily as I did when I was sitting in private screenings of upcoming films enjoying a bucket of warm popcorn. The only thing I don't like is that many corporate clients think there's nothing wrong with turning down deals or disapproving product, something I never did when I was calling those shots. Aren't all manufacturers and licensed products children of the divine, worthy of our support--and unconditional approval?

COPYRIGHT 1999 BPI Communications, Inc.
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