Marilu Magsaysay Corpus, CEO of Click! Licensing and Promotions, Inc., has never let go of the child in her. And just as they thrilled her then, toys are delighting her now.
A true-blue Snoopy fan, Marilu started collecting Snoopy items when she was seven years old. Her collection ranged from stationery to books, stuffed toys and figurines. As a college student, she even sent letters to Snoopy asking what Snoopy club or group she could join.
It is thus no coincidence that toys figure prominently in her present profession. "I never thought," Marilu begins, "that my passion for Snoopy would bring me this far."
A Holy Spirit Fine Arts graduate, Marilu now supervises the three-year-old Click!, the country’s biggest full-service brand management and licensing company. Click!’s main thrust is to create markets for intellectual properties (both character and lifestyle brands) for publishing and promotional activities.
"As a licensing agent," Marilu explains. "We look for companies that will use our properties or brands on its products like handbags, shoes, t-shirts."
Under Marilu’s guidance, Click! now boasts of hot brands like Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Dragon Tales, Barney’s, Clifford, Paramount and Universal Studios, Miffy, Thomas The Tank Engine and Blue’s Clues. But what does licensing really entail?
"It is actually a marketing tool," Marilu explains. "Like merchandising, it helps manufacturers expand their market. With brand on their products, the products get higher visibility or recall. An increase in sales is thus assured."
Being in the business for almost 20 years has made Marilu knowledgeable about the ins and outs of licensing. Carefully considering the risks and intricacies of her competitive field has become second nature to Marilu.
"To become part of the industry," Marilu says, "one should know what properties will fit a certain territory or country. One should also have a keen insight on a country’s culture, economic status, market profile and children’s emotional ties to the property or brand. Because licensing is one competitive field that requires anticipation of what is ahead."
Besides market analysis, psychological and research skills, a licensee must set standards to determine whether the product has captivated an intended market or not. Marilu adds that one way of gauging success is through retailers’ response.
"In my company, our benchmark is ourselves," Marilu says. "My staff makes sure that we are always one step ahead of the others. We basically compete with ourselves. If last year’s licensing show was good, this year’s should be better."
In 1984, Marilu left the Philippines to find her own "American Dream" in the Big Apple. Her first job was at New York’s United Media Licensing.
"There, I handled Snoopy and Garfield," Marilu recalls. "My first few days at work was really clueless! My boss just instructed me to open the contract files and read them. According to him, that’s how I would learn. I learned everything on my own."
Her willingness to learn opened doors for Marilu. "I handled Europe during the first two years of my employment," Marilu says. "Two years later, I handled Latin America. Then the Asia and the Pacific. In all, it was a great learning experience."
During her travels and meetings with personalities from the licensing world, Marilu realized that she was really meant for this field.
"Most of the agents I dealt with," Marilu reveals, "were older than me, from 55 to 60 years old. I got deeper insights from the wisdom they shared. That’s why I consider myself fortunate."
Living in America was one tough challenge, but it taught Marilu how to become independent and self-reliant. "I learned how to do certain things and be creative at the same time," she says. "I learned how to make things easier and quicker."
Today Marilu is enjoying her work more than ever, and looks forward to greater challenges.
"I want to see us grow," Marilu envisions. "Hopefully, we can develop our offices in Taiwan and Hong Kong. We also wish to buy TV programs to support the brands or properties we offer. And also to be recognized as the best agent in Asia. I have business development managers for the Philippines, Greater China and other Asian countries. We also have representatives in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The company also hired Mandarin-speaking staff so we could penetrate the elusive Greater China market."
Marilu also envisions coming up campaigns that will make a difference in the lives of Filipino children and the youth.
"If we could just work with people (who have the expertise) in espousing literacy and other issues, why not?" Marilu says. "Just recently, I read that the Philippines ranks 37th among 38 countries in literacy among grade six students. With that scenario, I thought, how can we use our characters or brands to educate Filipino children? We want to be part of meaningful campaigns that will help alleviate the young people’s lives."
Click! has been recognized as this year’s "Licensing Representative of the Year" for Sesame Street, the highest award a licensing company could ever receive.
"It is something that I’m truly proud of," Marilu gushes. "Imagine, out of hundreds of licensing companies worldwide, Click! ranked number one. This feat does not only recognize us but also the country Click! represents. It really says a lot!"
This workaholic and Charles Schultz fan credits her dedicated staff with the success and prestige Click! is now enjoying. "It’s the team effort that determines success," Marilu says of her staff. "Without them, I don’t think the company will be successful."
With the way things are turning out now, an even brighter future awaits Marilu and Click!