Broadcast Schedules Determine International Potential
Rarely does a company use the same advertising campaign throughout the world. Even in cases when a similar campaign is broadcast in different countries, popularity varies. Therefore, ad-related licensing efforts are typically limited to one or a few countries, rather than being extended worldwide.

Coca-Cola has established merchandising programs in 40 countries and licenses some of its commercial campaigns internationally. The Polar Bears are merchandised in some territories, as is the Coca-Cola Santa. Products based on Coca-Cola's football-(soccer-)themed advertising--which takes advantage of the popularity of the World Cup but is not officially tied to that event--is more popular abroad than in the U.S., particularly in Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Licensing for the Budweiser Frogs and Lizards is centered in the U.S., although satellite spill-over into Canada has led to some merchandise sales there; some demand also exists in Canada for "I Love You, Man" products. Anheuser-Busch is looking into the possibility of extending the Lizard commercials into international territories.

Karen Raugust is the author of several books and reports on licensing and entertainment, including The Licensing Business Handbook, International Licensing: A Status Report (both available from EPM Communications, New York) and Merchandise Licensing for the Television Industry (available from Focal Press, Newton, Mass.). She also writes about licensing, animation and other topics for publications including The Hollywood Reporter, Publishers Weekly and Animation Magazine, and acts as a consultant to the licensing and entertainment industries. She is the former executive editor of The Licensing Letter.