IP Licensing Scorecard
Test whether borrowed intellectual property can create durable brand value
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Evaluate licensed intellectual property through three independent lenses: the audience it unlocks, the qualities it adds to the brand, and the story the company can build around it. A culturally prominent asset is not inherently useful; it must produce a specific marketing advantage. The framework then adds a time-horizon decision. A successful campaign can make the licensed asset more valuable, causing renewal costs to rise while the licensee loses the equity it created. Brands expecting to invest heavily or use the asset repeatedly should therefore consider buying it outright. Licensing remains appropriate for a deliberately temporary activation whose value can be captured within a fixed period.
Origin
Extracted from Marketing Against The Grain during a discussion of Coinbase, iHeartRadio, and brands licensing NFT characters.
Core principles
- 01License for a defined strategic benefit, not novelty alone
- 02Audience access, brand enhancement, and storytelling are separate sources of value
- 03Marketing investment increases the underlying asset's value
- 04Ownership is preferable when the brand intends to build lasting equity
How to run it
- 1
Define the desired upside
Specify whether the campaign is intended to reach an existing fan community, improve brand perception, or support a new narrative. Treat these as separate hypotheses.
Pro tip Assign one primary objective so novelty does not become the unstated goal.
Watch out Do not assume recognition automatically transfers affinity to your brand.
- 2
Measure brand fit
Determine what the asset communicates and whether those associations improve the brand's positioning. Reject assets that attract attention while creating strategic confusion.
Pro tip Describe the intended association in one sentence before negotiating.
Watch out Cultural relevance without brand relevance can produce expensive noise.
- 3
Build the story
Create a narrative, product, or media concept in which the licensed property has a necessary role. The creative execution remains more important than merely displaying the asset.
Pro tip Test whether the concept still makes sense when the recognizable image is removed.
Watch out A weak story cannot be rescued by famous intellectual property.
- 4
Estimate created equity
Forecast how much the campaign could increase awareness and demand for the underlying property. Include that transferred value in the economic calculation.
Pro tip Model the likely renewal price after a successful first year.
Watch out The licensee may pay twice: once to build the asset and again to renew it.
- 5
Choose rent, buy, or exit
Buy when the asset is central to a durable strategy; license when the activation is intentionally temporary. Establish a clear end date if ownership is unjustified.
Pro tip Negotiate a purchase option before the campaign raises the asset's value.
Watch out Do not build long-term brand recognition on rights that can disappear after one year.
In the wild
A software company licenses an orange NFT character and builds a graphic novel about the character growing a fictional banana stand. Because the company expects the story to become a recurring educational property, it negotiates an option to purchase the character before launching the campaign.
→ The company captures the long-term equity created by its own storytelling rather than facing escalating renewal fees.
A consumer brand licenses a recognizable character for a six-month launch aimed at that character's existing community. It defines the campaign as temporary, measures audience acquisition, and retires the asset after the launch.
→ The brand gains timely distribution without making its identity dependent on rented intellectual property.
Common mistakes
Licensing for recognition alone
A recognizable asset may attract attention without enhancing the brand or producing a useful story.
Creating equity for the owner
Heavy marketing can increase the asset's licensing price, leaving the brand to repurchase value it created.
Treating a rental as permanent
Building a durable brand property around a short license creates continuity and negotiation risks.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for marketers evaluating characters, collectibles, franchises, or cultural assets for campaigns and branded media.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal for opportunistic campaigns that lack the budget or creative capacity to build a meaningful story around the asset.
From the transcript
“what upside do you get from licensing that asset, right?”
“we actually really still have to come up with a great story around that orange ape ourselves? And that's actually the most important part of…”
“the game is not about licensing, it's about ownership.”
From the episode
Twittersode! Licensing Bored Apes, A Crazy Franchise Story and The Role of AI in Creativity