10 Minutes With … Vox Media

We are weeks away from the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit (B&LIS), held Nov. 2-3 in New York City. Ahead of the two-day event, Karp talks about the growing market and how a brand can stand out.  

License Global: Tell us about yourself. We’d love to hear about you and your company’s role in the licensing industry.

Eric Karp: I head up brand licensing for Vox Media, a modern media company comprised of over 15 industry-leading brands, including New York Magazine, Eater, POPSUGAR, The Verge, Polygon and The Dodo. Vox Media Brand Licensing oversees the extension of these brands into scalable retail programs, book publishing, badging, collaborations and fan merchandise. We are the only media company with digital-first publishing roots overseeing three contemporaneous mass-market retail programs.

Can you speak to the leading challenges the industry is facing right now?

The number of quality brands (which one might casually define as brands with a significant audience and appeal, steered by capable and innovative leaders) grows yearly while the number of available pegs/slots at brick-and-mortar retail steadily decreases. The number of virtual pegs (read: e-commerce listings) continues to expand exponentially, but the vast majority are not buoyed by search relevance.

How can the licensing and retail industries jointly overcome these challenges? 

Sophisticated CPG/FMCG manufacturers lean heavily into consumer/audience insights when making the decision to bring goods to market. Brand owners would be well-served to put in this work prior to engaging either manufacturers or buyers. Audience size is a fine selling point; audience intent-to-purchase is a rallying cry.

What excites you about engaging and learning from your community in person at B&LIS this November? 

We have much to share about our unique approach to brand licensing, but we also have much to learn from our colleagues. Some of our best practices are adaptations of others’ innovations and insights. We’re expecting a vibrant panel and active audience engagement.

Want to attend B&LIS in November? Get your ticket here.