Keepin' it real garners recognition

LicenZing LLC, focused on lifestyle brand building through PR, marketing and licensing, was recognized as an outstanding Northern California Hispanic business by the area's Telemundo affiliate.

The award is specifically for "business acumen, success and community involvement making them a leader in their field and highly recognized in the community."

Though, one look at their approach and appeal shows that their success can be attributed in part to effectively reaching their target audiences.

What LicenZing does is work with a select range of clients in areas such as fashion, fitness, yoga, innovative design and technology to provide brand building services from strategic planning, creative, media, merchandising and licensing.

I've had some e-mail dialogue with the company's founder, Molly Robbins, who has launched the apparel lines Palomita and Chucho into the market. She came up with the tag line: “Esta marca es para ti” (This brand is for you).

She tells me:

"Through research and my daily involvement in the apparel world, I saw the obvious need for a 'real' Latino focused brand. I wanted to develop something that SCREAMED I am Latino from the shelf. The whole vintage/retro things is trending so that is why I pursued getting exclusive licenses from Hispanic companies. The initial properties I have obtained have been the most recognizable i.e. Topo Gigio, Bimbo, Pascual Boing, etc. As we establish ourselves as a true and original Latino brand I believe we can ad in “less obvious” properties, but they will still resonate with our consumers because the designs are fresh, fun and cool."

When I asked her about the tagline, she added:

The Tag line “porfin una marca para ti” says it all. We are not about being say like a Daisy Fuentes and having someone make apparel that is fashionable and simply sewing in a neck label that says Daisy Fuentes. Why is this Latino? The apparel items are the same as any other brands, yet what makes them Latino is the fact that her name is on them???

In addition to making me laugh (or lol for you "cool" types) she is also correct. It is about being real. It's also not about being cliche or stereotypical. Her use of recognizable icons like Topo Gigio isn't done in an over the top manner. She's also touching on an important facet (perhaps the hottest and fastest growing) of the Hispanic market: Latino youth that are bi-lingual to English dominant and perhaps experiencing retro-acculturation.

¡Buena suerte!