Afterword

• Author: Michael Sanford Stone
• Profession: B.A. from Hamilton College and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law
• Pages: 329-330

329

Afterword

I

have spent over 30 years in the licensing business, in large part

assisting brand owners in developing, implementing, and ma n-

aging their licensing progra ms and have been involved with many

groundbreaking licensing initiatives over this time, working with

some incredibly talented professionals, experts in so many dier-

ent elds. Yet writing this book has been a journey of discovery and

learning for me. Among the many things t hat have struck me is

the innovative thinking and creativity that is so frequently appar-

ent in the licensing business, as well as the pace of change in how

consumers purchase goods and how retailing is conducted. I see

evidence of this almost every t ime I pick up a trade or consumer

publ icat ion (ta ke no te of m any o f my fo otnot es). It only s tren gth ens

my be lief that smar t bra nds wil l cont inue to th rive in ne w way s and

that licensing is a strong path to engaging consumers a nd to sup-

porting a brand’s promise. So many things going on today exem-

plify licensing at its best or demonstrate market dynamics aecti ng

licensing that I have had great dicult y nally “putting my pencil

down” and delivering my manuscript to the publisher.

So I have decided that I’m not going to “put my pencil down.”

I will continue to write about licensing activations that il lustrate