TOTAL LICENSING
IMC: 38 YEARS OF REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
More information? www.IMClicensing.com.ar
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For 38 years, IMC has been commercializing the most successful and profitable properties and characters in the market, bringing business opportunities for multinational companies, SMEs and startups from Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. In 1980 a millionaire industry arrived in the territory in the form of the licensing business brought to Argentina by International Merchandising Consultants (IMC), the leading company in the market. In that year Leonardo Gutter, the president of the company, won the representation of Marvel and in record time first class companies, such as Pepsi, took the first licenses. A few months later, and with a whole bunch of signed contracts, Gutter went back to USA in order to get in touch with other big movie studios and entertainment companies. Within a few years IMC won the representation of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Sony Pictures, LucasFilms, Twentieth Century Fox, MGM and big Japanese animé companies. “38 years after our first representation I’m still convinced, as if it was the first day, about the importance of licensing as a business opportunity, even in a difficult economic climate,” reflects Gutter. One of the main pillars of IMC leadership is its deep knowledge of the market (know how), as well as having a client base that exceeds over 200 companies (know who!). Through this know-how and know-who, IMC became the national company with the most quantity and variety of licenses in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. In order to measure IMC’s success, it’s enough to mention that Marvel, Star Wars, Pokemon, He Man, ALF and Lazy Town, among others, have used its services in order to launch themselves into the market. Furthermore, it was Leonardo Gutter who convinced the presidents of River Plate and Boca Juniors soccer clubs to start licensing their brands.This is how soccer licensing began in Argentina, with
Leonardo Gutter San Lorenzo and other Argentine soccer clubs joining later. Nowadays IMC represents the most important soccer clubs in Europe such as FC Barcelona, Juventus, Real Madrid, Roma and Inter. A BUSINESS OF JOINT SUCCESS “Our responsibility as a licensing agent is two-fold. We represent licensors in merchandising, administration and care of their brands; and on the other hand, we take licensees as partners, more than just clients. Experience shows us that a client that experiences the benefits of associating a license with their products or services, never stops doing it,” explained Leonardo Gutter. The licensing industry is very dynamic and IMC knew how to adapt in every instance to cover the needs of both clients and the property owners of a variety of content such as animation, literature, cinema, comics, digital
world and even mobile games. IMC also works with licenses that belongs to less traditional categories and turns into overwhelming success. This is the case of Rasti, an icon of the toy industry in Argentina that extended the power of its brand to different product categories. Or Etermax, that generated success in the digital world and transformed it, via an excellent licensing plan including board games, for every target. A further success is the case of Reino Infantil who founded their success on infant discography and developed it on digital platforms. IMC’s licensee database includes SMEs, mass market, service and multinational companies. The reach of their projects is diverse and, in their role as agents, IMC develops the business model that fits best to the needs of specific clients. Throughout IMC’s history they have enjoyed many accomplishments as is the case with most recent award they received - the greatest distinction an agent can aspire to - being named Best Global Agent by Twentieth Century Fox. “These 38 years have brought us to a great moment. Our accumulated experience helped us to generate very specialized departments by category. This way companies work with more than a salesman, but a person that understands their business, senses their needs and offers the right solutions,” concluded Gutter.