Students in Hamilton’s program in NYC met with Michael Stone ’72, founder and CEO of Beanstalk, a global brand licensing corporation on Feb. 11 to learn about the brand licensing business. While all of us recognize the logos of brands like Coca Cola and Disney, we don’t think about the fact that Coke or Disney and many other brands do not make the products that bear their names. Instead brands license their names or images to manufacturers to advertise and promote their brands across different markets.
Brand licensing, as Michael Stone explained, is a marketing and communications tool. NYC students this semester are studying globalization and media, and Beanstalk’s work, which combines business and creativity, appealed to many of them. It seemed appropriate, as well, that Beanstalk’s offices are located in the old Daily News building -- a reminder of how names and the associations we make between names and products have been around for a long time.
