Niche Targeting: Maximizing Licensing Potential

 In the competitive landscape of business, finding the right audience for your products or services is crucial. Niche targeting, a strategic approach to focus on specific segments of the market, plays a pivotal role in maximizing licensing potential. By understanding the nuances of niche targeting and harnessing its power, businesses can significantly enhance their reach and profitability.

Introduction to Niche Targeting

Niche targeting revolves around identifying and catering to a specialized segment of the market rather than adopting a broad approach. It involves delving deep into consumer behaviors, preferences, and needs within a specific niche. This method enables businesses to tailor their offerings with precision, addressing the unique requirements of the targeted audience.

Understanding Licensing Potential

Licensing, in the realm of business, refers to the process of granting permission to another party to use intellectual property, such as trademarks, patents, or copyrights, in exchange for royalties or fees. Maximizing licensing potential involves leveraging this intellectual property within a chosen niche to optimize revenue generation.

Identifying the Ideal Niche

Research is pivotal in identifying the ideal niche. It involves studying market trends, analyzing consumer data, and recognizing gaps or unmet needs. By understanding the niche’s demographics, psychographics, and purchasing behaviors, businesses can tailor their offerings to precisely meet the demands of that market segment.

Strategies for Maximizing Licensing Potential

Tailoring products or services for a specific niche is a fundamental strategy in maximizing licensing potential. By customizing offerings to cater to the unique preferences of the niche audience, businesses can create a strong connection, fostering brand loyalty and increasing the likelihood of licensing agreements.

Utilizing SEO for Niche Targeting

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in niche targeting by ensuring visibility within the targeted market segment. Implementing effective SEO strategies that align with the niche’s preferences and search patterns enhances the chances of reaching the intended audience organically.

Case Studies: Successful Niche Targeting

Several businesses have achieved remarkable success by effectively targeting niches. Companies like [Company A] and [Company B] have thrived by identifying and serving unique market segments, showcasing the power of niche targeting in driving growth and profitability.

Challenges and Solutions in Niche Targeting

While niche targeting offers immense potential, it comes with challenges. Competition, evolving consumer preferences, and market saturation pose hurdles. However, innovative marketing approaches, agile adaptation, and continuous market analysis serve as solutions to navigate these challenges.

Future Trends in Niche Targeting

The future of niche targeting is promising. Advancements in technology, evolving consumer behaviors, and globalization present new opportunities for businesses to explore untapped niches and expand their licensing potential.

Conclusion

Niche targeting serves as a strategic compass for businesses seeking to maximize their licensing potential. By understanding the intricacies of a specific market segment, tailoring offerings, and leveraging SEO, businesses can establish a strong foothold within their chosen niche, fostering growth and profitability.

Original Perfume vs Perfume license, or the whole truth about the "license"

Going on the Internet market perfumes, we were very surprised a huge number of online shops offering any "original" perfume "to 140 UAH. Per liter," or selling "perfumes" that was released on license, arguing that the differences are minimal with the original flavors .

So, let's investigate.

Luxurious genuine perfumes (the "original") - it is a genuine production of the leading global brands, which is produced by the original formula in the factories owned by big perfume houses in compliance with all standards of quality and concentration. The composition of the original perfumes contain only natural ingredients, respectively, this perfume has a high persistent scent, the same all over the world. That it is sold in Duty Free. It is working with her ​​official distributors.

What is a licensed fragrances ("License") - an imitation of the original perfume, which does not produce in the country to which the perfume house (most frequent production of Turkey and the UAE).
"license" has a good resemblance (package, name, bar code) and almost identical to the original perfume fragrance. The key word in this case, "almost." You can visually exactly replicate the original prototype perfume, but differ dramatically the quality, flavor and stability.

Now let's think logically.

We are hard to imagine even a very rich Arabic-Chinese-Turkish businessman, who comes to the famous perfume house with the statement: " Give me your "license", an exact formula for flavor and package design, and I'll publish and sell your products much cheaper and I will get rich on this. " Of course any self-respecting perfume manufacturer replied: " Yes, of course, take it, please " .

Just think what should happen with the manufacturer of the wild attack of altruism, so that while he continues to share advertising and other costs for promotion brand, someone else got a clean profit by selling flavor without the headaches under the guise of a beautiful word "license" .

If you stop for a moment and think about it, the only logical inference is a conclusion that NO "LICENSE" None of the known world producers would never give ANYONE AND DO NOT sell.

If you buy once "license", if you pay attention to the inscription on the box: where manufactured goods? That's right, made ​​in France , made ​​in Spain , etc. If we follow this logic, then all bottled Coca-Cola, produced in Ukraine, will be written in USA made ​​. Although any official manufacturer of the goods will write the country of manufacture and will not hide the fact that the product was released on license. Have you seen the inscription on the "license" perfumes " made ​​in UAE "? The question is rhetorical.

And now more about what is behind the phrase "licensed perfumes."

Firstly, the production of perfume - it is an expensive, high-tech process. In the manufacture of counterfeits can at best use the same ingredients as the original perfume, but are mainly used synthetic ingredients, which is much cheaper than natural ones. Synthetic compounds have the same degree of volatility, so there is no disclosure of such a wealth of fragrance on the skin as if it consisted of natural extracts. A so-called "binding" substances, which are necessarily used in the fragrance, if not dose may remain in the body much longer than fast weathering components of the "top notes". As a result, after only a short time you can stay, for example, it is not a pleasant smell of amber, almost always included in the composition of any flavor, instead of refined aroma of expensive perfume, which you had hoped. And if we take into account that the human olfactory system does not detect the odor that surrounds it for a long time, we may disappoint you: You will be seen surrounding a different way than you had planned.

Second, it is important for us strength flavor. Most of the fakes fully weathered for an hour.

If we still have not convinced you of the obvious choice, try to find a definition of "licensing" of perfumes in English, French or even search engines. For all our zeal and desire, the knowledge of several foreign languages ​​and sincere desire to uncover the truth, we could not find detailed information confirming the existence of this form of perfumes in general.

Conclusion: If the seller tells you that the contents of the vial is made and bottled under license - it's definitely fake. Perfume brands do not issue any licenses for their products.

Reputation, image and reputation: what meanings?

What (s) difference (s) can be made between reputation, brand image and reputation?! Behind these words, employees at all sauces by professionals, do we find different meanings?! These terms are complementary?!
Before returning to the presentation of some tools I have in stock, I offer an article very "theoretical" to pose a clear and clean the mean THE employees of these three terms all the time on this blog. As I said previously, the reputation is not a new term emerged with the web, and island seems to me useful to define it to begin a second year on this blog dedicated to e-reputation ...
Reputation
According to the dictionary of the French language dictionary, 2009, the reputation is "[the] manner in which someone or something is known, seen in public." But also "favorable or unfavorable opinion of the public for someone, something."
The reputation is therefore two aspects: the perception of someone or something by a "public" (that is to say, a community of people see an individual), and the result of the cognitive process leading to the formulation of an opinion. Reputation can be seen as a result, more than a cause:
==> Result of actions taken by "someone or something" on the perception that people have of that person or thing. The term "manner" in use in the first dictionary definition then becomes a scale of value: what (s) way (s) and how intense the public consider you it signs and messages sent by someone or thing? This idea of ​​scale value is also confirmed by the Latin etymology of the term reputation "reputation" which means "assessment".
==> The result of the interpretation of signs perceived by the individual (thus becoming an opinion, that is to say the result of "evaluation" done, consciously or not elsewhere)
The individual thus receives signs that interpreter. These signs are referred voluntarily or not ("can not not communiquer1). The receiver of these signs then created an image of what he has collected, the assessment made by its own scale of values.
Reputation for being present every thing (person, object, event, etc.). We will focus our comments here on the reputation of organizations. The image is perceived by an individual becomes an image known brand.
Indeed, the mark is (a commercial point of view and mostly legal) a name, term, sign, symbol or other element used to identify a product or service and differentiate it from its competitors. This term applies to those organizations, which all have a "brand". For example: Renault, whose name is a trademark or Kronenbourg is a brand (a product) of the Danone group, see a craft that is commonly called the "brand" that helps to differentiate it from its competitors.
The brand name becomes the receptacle of the proposed reputation, that is to say, it can differentiate and name the object on which we project a reputation, for which one has an opinion. More specifically, it is rare to hear that the cars in general have a bad reputation, but rather that this particular model producer (designated by a mark) have a good or bad reputation.

Branding
As for the reputation, brand image is conventionally defined as the set of rational and emotional representations relating to a brand's value judgments brought by an individual on a brand.
This term is used particularly in marketing, and many authors associated with the discipline of management have written on this subject.
Jean-Jacques Lambin2 provides a precise definition of the image. For him, it is "all mental representations, cognitive and affective, that a person or group of people make a mark. He identifies three levels of branding:
==> The perceived image, that is to say how the target segment (the target audience, which is projected on the picture) sees and perceives the mark
==> The true or real image of the brand with its strengths and weaknesses, as known and felt by the company
==> The desired image, is how the company wants to be perceived by the target segment and follows a decision by positioning

Reputation, as we have defined above may be associated with "perceived image" as defined by JJ Lambin. "The true picture" would be the reputation of an organization as perceived by its members. "The desired image is the image projected by the organization to its audiences.
One of the objectives of an organization to control its image would thus reduce the gaps and reduce the dissonance between "perceived image" and "the desired image, while remaining faithful to" the true image .
Considering the large number of definitions of the concept of branding, Pinlon-Labbé3 proposes to distinguish three levels:

==> The image itself is to say, perceptions of a brand by consumers, either in a sustainable way and in absolute terms or in a specific situation to compare different brands or Finally, a special case of communication about this brand

==> The identity of the brand, defined as the set of characteristics that the company which manages the brand that the consumer wants it combines

==> The media coverage of the brand, which is the set of characteristics that mark diffused through signals from the company that manages, or from sources not controlled by the company

These three levels can be seen as a reformulation of the definition of JJ Lambin.
However, some points are worth emphasizing.
First, the notion of "media" that helps bring the concept to support the brand. The signals sent by an organization are charged to the individuals targeted by communication media, ie media. Each of these media have different characteristics that can distort or amplify the message. In our case, the support of the media message is that Web 2.0 and media types associated with it.
The idea of ​​"uncontrolled sources is here also in line with the concepts related to Web 2.0, namely the fact that any person (user) can become very easy (technically speaking) a source of information recognized by community, and thus outside the direct control of an organization (some would argue that traditional journalists are also out of reach of many organizations ... case demonstrates otherwise ... but this debate will not be developed here).

Then, the concept of brand identity. This "identity" away from the concept of "true image", since identity can be built from scratch (see be falsified). It is no longer here that members of an organization perceive it, but rather how they will highlight the characteristics that seem attractive to their targets. Beyond the notion of inner perception, the concept of brand identity like LA Gear reinforces the idea of ​​control of an organization's image.
The representation of the image by an audience thus requires knowledge of the attributes of that brand knowledge acquired by the information projected by the organization, as well as how information is perceived, understood and integrated by the public target.

Fame
According to the dictionary of the French language dictionary, 2009, the reputation is "[the] character of what is notorious, known to many people."
If one combines this concept with that "brand" awareness becomes the measure of the degree of brand presence in people's minds. It's sort of the result of the projected image of an organization's reputation and resulting in the minds of individuals.
More simply, the reputation is the public knowledge of a trademark: it exists or it is zero (when it is reduced to the single individual), or she is graduated (knowledge of some specific attributes that most of others).
Applied to the Web community, awareness appears to be complex. According communities, brand is known or not. On the web, brand recognition becomes its level of visibility: in virtual communities (social networks, forums) on search engines (based on certain keywords), sites or blogs linked to areas of expertise of the brand, etc.. The brand is present? Tell you one of them?
To summarize, we can define the different concepts as follows:

==> Reputation: image perceived by an audience
==> Branding: the projected image
==> Reputation: result of the projection and appropriation (memory) that it is the public

These three concepts are complementary. Relations between them can be schematically represented as follows:
The organization sends voluntarily or not the public a certain image of its trademark.
  The public interprets this image in his mind becomes a reputation. Reputation he referred in his speech (when it is mediated) to the organization. Awareness is then the quantitative measurement of traces of the projected image and perceived image (reputation): the public remembers the brand and / or certain of its attributes or not.

After measuring its reputation and evaluated its reputation, the organization can adjust the image it sends to the public, and return. And so on ...
  This comprehensive approach to the concept of reputation and other concepts associated with it (brand and reputation) lays the foundations for the concept of e-reputation.
  More precisely, it demonstrates the need and the overall objectives of the management of reputation, brand image and reputation of an organization: to match the image desired by the organization that paid by the public target, and ensuring that increased awareness of the organization (or one of its brands).
  If reputation is an objective, Web 2.0 is a vector and its associated media (blogs, forums, etc..) Facilities management (or correction).

  

The licensing of industrial property rights

The licensing of industrial property rights are three types of securities: patents, trademarks, designs and models. These are all contracts that contain guarantees to which the purpose is to protect the co-contractors identified.

The licensing of industrial property rights are three types of securities: patents, trademarks, designs and models. These are all contracts that contain guarantees to which the purpose is to protect the co-contractors identified. 

The patent license agreement

The license agreement in general is a contract whereby the holder of an industrial property right (patent, trademark, design or model) grants to a third party, in whole or in part, the enjoyment of his right to operate, free or for a fee, upon payment of fees or royalties. Thus, for the patent license, the owner of a patented invention to a person admits such a pleasure. It is more precisely an agreement sui generis under the law of lease of things, under Article 1709 of the Civil Code provides: "The lease deal is a contract whereby one party undertakes to make enjoy the other about something for a while, and for a price that it is obligated to pay him."

We talk convention sui generis, because it illustrates a legal position which prevents the singular nature of the rank in a legal position is already known.

The patentee is specialized in a specific field and has developed an invention on the basis of which it has filed patent applications. These patent applications, patents that will result and any improvement patents, patents will be called the contract. As the licensee, he wishes to manufacture and market products that comply with the contract for patent applications specified in the clauses.

The patent license agreement is a contract between two parties: the licensor and licensee.

Four types of licenses are possible:

- Total license: The licensee is entitled to exploit the patent for all possible applications (medical, agricultural ...) and for all modes of operation (manufacturing, sale, use ...);

- The partial license: The licensee is permitted to exploit the patent for certain applications or certain modes of operation;

- The simple or non-exclusive license: gives the possibility of granting multiple licenses for the same patent for the same modes and fields of application and on the same territory. Patented products can be marketed in various professional circuits. The licensor can ensure that the licensee will not grant other licenses more than X's patent agreement, and that its other licensees impose certain limitations.

- The exclusive license: the patent holder agrees not to grant other licenses of the same patent for the same applications on the same territory. If stipulated in the contract, the patent owner can exploit his invention in person. For this type of contract, the licensor grants the licensee an exclusive license under patent. The licensee may then legitimately manufacture, sell and / or use contract revenue, and / or implement the process of said Contract in the relevant field. According to the letter of the clause, the licensor will have the option whether to use the patent granted.

On the other hand, a clause on the guarantee paid by the grantor is frequently stated in the license agreements. It is generally intended to exclude or limit such guarantee. The grantor is still required to guarantee his personal act, that is to say the warranty against eviction, guaranteeing public order, as provided in section 1626 of the Civil Code.

The licensor is responsible for the mistakes he makes, especially in the contract when it is guilty of fraud. When the license is granted at the risk of the licensee or when it accepted the danger of possible eviction, the grantor may be released from the warranty against hidden defects and / or because others, particularly if :

- The licensee is convicted following an infringement action exerted by a third party (in this case, the licensee may no longer exploit its patent license agreement will be terminated with or without damages to the licensee was good or bad faith);

- The patent would be invalidated invalidates the license agreement for failure to object.

The Licensor may then insert the following warranty clause: "The Licensor represents that it has the full and free enjoyment of patents of the contract, that these patents or patent applications are scheduled administratively and all related taxes are paid. In addition, Licensor hereby warrants to Licensee that the physical existence of such patents in this contract to the exclusion of all other warranties. "

It can also insert the clause: "The Licensor gives no warranty, other than the eviction by his personal and material existence of patents. The Licensee acknowledges having read all documents and information relating to the patent, and claims to be fully informed as to its validity. Licensee accepts the license knowingly at his peril. In case the patent would be declared forfeited by a bare or final court decision, the Licensor agrees to indemnify the Licensee for the damage suffered to the extent the amounts he has collected under the fee during the year preceding the date of delivery of the decision. "

Extensive warranty clauses are valid, while the covenants can not be invoked for the contractor in good faith. With regard to material defects, the licensor guarantees the technically exploitable of the invention.

On the other hand, covenants not guarantee against hidden defects are valid if the licensor is in good faith or under a licensing agreement between professionals of the same specialty. In all cases, any compensation the licensee is excluded.

Finally, the minimum guarantee clause payable by the grantor can be formulated as follows: "The Licensor gives no warranty other than that resulting from his personal and material existence of the patent. " The trademark license contract

The trademark license is a contract by which the trademark owner gives another the right to exploit in whole or in part, a fee often consisting of charges corresponding to the operation known as royalties.

As the patent license, the license agreement can be registered between a licensee and a sub-licensee to the extent that the licensee is authorized to grant sub-licenses. Free licenses are available. On the other hand, the trademark license allows a trademark owner to take advantage of some markets it can not operate directly. As the licensee, it enjoys the reputation of the brand to market the products it manufactures. The license can only cover items contained in the deposit. A license for other products, even similar, would be zero. The Court admitted in a ruling dated March 3, 1987. The trademark license may be exclusive or not: it is when the trademark holder undertakes to grant to other licensees on the same territory, a license from the same brand for the same products or services.

The licensee has many obligations to his co-contractor, including an obligation to guarantee the same diet as that of the patent license.

There are three types of guarantee:

- Guarantee of crowding out others, if the licensee is sued for infringement by third parties, the licensor will have to defend under its guarantee obligation of crowding out others. If the action succeeds, the licensee is evicted, and unless otherwise stipulated, the licensor shall indemnify the licensee. This warranty is not of public order, the parties may include a clause limiting or suppressive guarantee favorable to the licensor. But the licensee's interest to require the licensor inclusion in the contract of a guarantee clause.

- The payment of royalties in case of dispute: the possibility to foresee that the licensee will pay upon service of summons, the fees payable to the licensor in a special account which blocked the release will be made as soon as the resolution will force of res judicata. If successful action brought by a third, the royalties will be paid blocked due to competition for the costs incurred by the licensee and the damages charged to it. In case of failure of the action, the fees paid will be blocked in their entirety to the licensor.

- Drafting of a clause suppressive guarantee: this clause has no effect if the licensor is in bad faith. This clause provides no guarantees the licensor to pay damages to the licensee, and give no guarantees other than that of his personal-guarantee public order, and that of the material existence of the title given licensed. Conversely, parties may provide a guarantee of extensive liability on the said licensor. Finally, it is possible to specify in the contract that prior art searches and brand name have been made regarding the make-up license, to verify the availability of this brand. Licensor may provide to the licensee a copy of this research so he knows where the mark. This obligation is especially made for laws that do not submit the application for trademark registration to a prior art search.

The drafting of clauses may be as follows (see: Licensed brand, Forms, Tips, Camille Guthmann, Juris-Classeur Literary and Artistic Property, Issue No. 7402, 1998.) "If the trademark license granted by the subject of a complaint or an infringement suit against the Licensee by a third, the Parties shall consult at the earliest opportunity to set their defense. In addition, Licensee shall pay upon service of summons, the fees and the guaranteed minimum royalty due to Licensor in a special account which blocked the release will be made as soon as the resolution will force of res judicata, based on result that the proceedings are conducted: - If convicted of the Licensee, the royalty will be blocked paid pro rata to cover the costs incurred by it and the damages charged to, - In case of failure of the action taken by the third party, the royalties will be blocked paid in full by Licensor. "

To guarantee an exclusion clause or "risk and peril, it can be stated: "The Licensor gives Licensee no other security than his personal and material existence of the mark. Thus, this license is granted and accepted the sole risk of Licensee expressly acknowledges. Licensee acknowledges the prior art search and report dated ...  on the mark for the following countries: ...  " The license agreement for design and pattern

This contract is an exclusive license for all or part of the design. It focuses on designs with a number assigned by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), and filed with the agency, as well as models using the same procedure. The operation of drawing and model covered by this right will be restricted to the manufacture and marketing of objects in particular.

In case of doubt as to whether product supports field-contract, the licensee shall consult with the Licensor will give written response. The contract is for an annual fee determined by the parties in general on turnover achieved by the licensee in respect of products manufactured under the design .contract, and sold.

Safeguards exist mostly to protect the licensee. They can be formulated as follows: "The Licensor hereby ignore the existence of any rights that may conflict with the prerogatives purpose of this Convention. The Licensor will ensure that any damage aside from the drawing or model contract could lead to the Licensee. Licensor warrants that the Licensee could cause him damage infringement actions brought by third parties. Expenses as the Licensor may need to pay to the Licensee will be capped at the amount of money he would have received under this contract. Finally, the Licensor warrants that the Licensee does not manufacture or market products incorporating the designs of the border drawing and model subject to this Agreement. If in doubt, consult with the Licensee will give Licensor written response. "

All the clauses mentioned above regarding industrial property rights have similarities editorial. Their goal is the same, namely the protection of the contracting parties, through the interplay of various guarantees.