BLE Creative Corner with… Magic Light Pictures’ Bridie Gibbs

Bridie, thanks for making time. First question: What fuels your creativity? What helps you have ideas?
The world around me! Being outside in nature and immersing myself in The Gruffalo’s natural habitat is a great way to come up with ideas for the brand. I also keep an eagle eye out for other unique collaborations on the market and shop around other competitors’ offerings to see what fresh products and designs are out there. Finally, there’s no better inspiration than discussing ideas with my amazingly creative product development team – Hannah McKevitt and Ella Richardson.

Can you tell us about a recent launch you were involved in that you feel is an especially creative use of the licensed brand?
The Gruffalo recently stepped up to the podium for a gold medal-winning collaboration with Team GB which saw an Olympic-themed range launch at major retailer Asda. This really inspired us to push our creative boundaries to find a natural way to link The Gruffalo and Friends with Team GB. We’ve never done a co-branded style guide like that before, which combined two very different artwork styles in a way that was sympathetic and synergetic with Axel’s beautiful book illustrations. It also conveyed a strong and clear message.

It was huge fun to find natural links between the books and the Olympic themes and ideals such as “go the extra mile with the Stick Man”. This could of course mean go running, but also hinted at ways people can go the extra mile in life.

Great pick. And can you tell us about a launch you’ve seen – but were not involved in – that you feel is a creative brand extension?
We absolutely loved the recent collaboration between Jo Malone and Paddington. Pairing a heritage trusted brand like Paddington with a high-end beauty brand like Jo Malone – where both brands are uniquely British – made for a wonderfully original collaboration. The resulting scent – Orange Marmalade – was perfect. It provided the perfect, instantly recognisable link to the themes in Paddington, but was also extremely enticing to the consumer. What a fun product!

What’s the key to successful creative collaborations between licensors and licensees?
An absolute must is a strong link in terms of common themes and ethos. The collaboration has to make sense and elevate themes with the original source material in a natural and unforced way. There is nothing worse than a collaboration just for the sake of it. It’s all about the storytelling and conveying a strong brand message through a new and exciting channel.

BLE is coming up. Is attending the is a good means of fuelling creativity and having ideas for you?
BLE is a great way of fuelling creativity. Whenever we get the chance, we explore the show and look at all the exciting stands and products out there. It’s hugely inspiring. Working in licensing can often feel like you’re in your own little bubble and BLE really brings to life the wider industry and the impact we’re all having on the preschool and children’s market. It’s also brilliant for meeting up with existing and new partners and sharing ideas. If the covid pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s that face-to-face time is precious and incredibly beneficial.

Thanks Bridie.

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