5 Future-Focused Insights from My Conversation with Licensing Industry Leader Sharon Weisman
After two decades in licensing, I've learned that the most valuable conversations aren't always about what's working today—they're about what's coming tomorrow. That's why I was so eager to sit down with Sharon Weisman, US CEO of Portman Street, an agency providing end-to-end services from creative consultation to commerce.
Sharon's career has given her what she calls "the eagle eye view" of the licensing industry. From her time at License Global Magazine where "all the news came flowing through my veins" to her role at Licensing International (formerly LIMA), she's been positioned to see patterns, anticipate trends, and challenge the status quo in ways that most people buried in day-to-day deal-making simply can't.
What struck me most about our conversation wasn't just her predictions about where licensing is heading—though those were fascinating. It was her conviction that the biggest opportunities lie in the spaces where we're currently "sleeping on" innovation. From personalization to dynamic royalty structures to the responsive IP ecosystem, Sharon believes the next decade will fundamentally transform how our industry operates.
Here are five insights from our conversation that will challenge how you think about licensing's future.
1. Personalization and Customization Are Licensing's Biggest Missed Opportunity Right Now
The Insight: While other industries have embraced personalization, licensing is still operating on a "one size fits all" model—and that's about to change dramatically.
Sharon was emphatic about this blind spot:
"I think we're sleeping on personalization and customization. You see this in other spaces and industries—the med space, the content space. It's not one fits all anymore. It used to be, 'here's a blockbuster drug, David, take an aspirin, everything will go away.' Or we could have a conversation about what we watched on TV last night because we probably watched the same thing. But now everything is very fragmented and merchandise and commerce has to do that as well."
She explained how this plays out practically: "Once upon a time, it was 'David, take an aspirin, everything will be okay.' Now we want health products that are customized—my shampoo for my issues, my supplements for what I'm trying to achieve. There's this fractionalization of merchandise where everything will become customized and personalized."
The example that really captured this vision: "I want a fragrance that no one else knows the makeup of, so it's my smell and no one else smells like that. Or even maybe it amplifies David's pheromone—it's yours, it's something that plays off of your DNA."
Sharon proudly shared how Portman Street is already embracing this: "We create sometimes merchandise or websites for very small MOQs with product development that most licensees wouldn't roll out of bed for. They're still waiting for mass market, waiting for those big orders from Sears that ain't coming anymore. We're really trying to figure out what is that special something, what is that merchandise or category or magical moment where you need to connect, and we will create product that is very customized for a brand, specific audience or mission or goal—even if that means it's not huge margins or a huge PO, but it's meaningful."
Why It Matters: The mass market model that built the licensing industry is fragmenting. Consumers increasingly expect products tailored to their specific needs, preferences, and even biology. Companies still operating on the old "produce 100,000 units of one design" mentality will lose to competitors who can profitably deliver smaller runs of highly personalized products.
The Takeaway: Start exploring manufacturing partners who can handle smaller MOQs economically. Investigate print-on-demand, made-to-order, and customization technologies. The future of licensed products isn't bigger runs—it's smarter, more personalized ones that command premium prices because they're exactly what individual consumers want.
2. Dynamic Royalty Structures Could Replace Fixed Rates Within Five Years
The Insight: The licensing industry is moving toward performance-based royalty structures that adjust in real-time based on sales data, market conditions, and even external factors like tariffs.
Sharon introduced what she calls "the responsive IP ecosystem":
"I truly think that in the future, especially by 2035 for sure, we will have data-driven design, data-driven commerce, and the most important thing—dynamic royalty structures. This fixed percentage will change to be royalties that will be tweaked based on performance."
She explained the logic: "The only reason that didn't happen until now is that we didn't have AI tools to track that. A lot of what we do is based on very dusty CSV files. We never challenge if it's exactly what's happening in the market now or what will happen next year, what the benchmarks should be."
Using the Barbie movie as an example, Sharon outlined how this might work: "There's two options. Either it starts low and then if it's performing well, the licensee who took the risk will say, 'hey Mattel or Warner Bros., cough up more royalties.' There will be a structure in the contract that based on certain performance or feedback or insight or sales, the royalty rate will grow higher."
She noted this already exists in sports licensing: "In sports, this has been done already. Licensees sign deals saying if they win the Super Bowl, this will be the structure. And if they don't, this will be the structure."
Sharon also pointed to tariffs as an early indicator: "With the tariffs, especially agents are looking at contracts saying if the tariffs will be like this, this will be the structure of the deal, or there'll be a certain cap. Right now there are already clauses, amendments, little tweaks to the contracts adjusting to reality."
Why It Matters: Fixed royalty rates made sense when tracking and adjusting them was administratively impossible. But AI and real-time data analytics now make dynamic structures feasible. This fundamentally changes risk allocation in licensing deals—licensees can enter agreements with less upfront risk, while licensors can capture more upside when products exceed expectations.
The Takeaway: If you're a licensee, start discussing performance-based structures in your negotiations. If you're a licensor, begin exploring the technology infrastructure needed to track and adjust royalties in real-time. Within five years, dynamic structures may become the industry standard—get ahead of that curve now.
3. Gen Alpha Doesn't Know What They Want Yet—And That's Your Competitive Advantage
The Insight: Rather than trying to predict Gen Alpha's preferences, brands have an unprecedented opportunity to shape them through strategic engagement across physical and digital touchpoints.
Sharon's perspective on Gen Alpha was refreshingly contrarian:
"Here's the dirty secret—Gen Alpha doesn't know what they want yet. There's tons of agencies out there and articles trying to tell you what Gen Alpha wants. There's absolutely no way they know. They're so confused. And that's our biggest opportunity in licensing."
She explained the opportunity: "They're discovering brands now through social play on Roblox, on TikTok. Brands have an opportunity now to absolutely shape their taste through cultural moments, through marketing, through merchandise. Roblox and Fenty hopped on that. Do you want to tell me that Gen Alpha knew that they needed a certain lip gloss that they can buy in real life and then get the exclusive avatar shade? They had no idea."
Sharon emphasized this isn't manipulation—it's responding to genuine needs: "We're not just selling products right now. We're programming their aesthetic, their preferences. With data-driven design and the fact that we know that actually 70% of them want one shopping experience, they want to go out, they want to—like my kids say—'touch grass.' But it's on us to create that flywheel, this hybrid that will bring them there."
She was particularly critical of assumptions about Gen Alpha being purely digital: "I think the thing that we're doing that we must stop is we have to stop treating Gen Z like they're living in Roblox or Minecraft, because they really aren't. They're actually begging us to find them new things to do in real life. Do they then want that red cloak that no one has so they can flex it in front of 2,000 of their closest friends? Sure. But we have a grand opportunity here to shape what they want and what they like instead of pretending we know."
Why It Matters: Most brands are trying to chase Gen Alpha's preferences when they should be shaping them. This generation is discovering their identity and tastes in real-time, influenced by every brand interaction they have. Companies that create compelling hybrid physical-digital experiences now will earn loyalty that lasts decades.
The Takeaway: Stop commissioning more research about "what Gen Alpha wants" and start creating experiences that blend physical and digital in innovative ways. Focus on cultural moments, social play, and giving them reasons to engage in real life while maintaining digital connectivity. You're not predicting their preferences—you're helping create them.
4. Virtual Influencers Are Lucrative Now But Will Become Oversaturated Within a Decade
The Insight: Virtual influencers represent a massive short-term revenue opportunity, but the market will eventually crave "messy" human authenticity again.
Sharon shared impressive statistics: "There are influencers right now making $2.6 million a month—it's like $33k a post. There's something about the aesthetic, about knowing that it's not real, not pretending to be real, that's exciting."
She outlined the current advantages: "It's still a novelty. Look at this AI influencer that showed up at Wimbledon—so much praise, all the rage. You don't have to waste money on photo shoots, on personalities and egos. You have full control as a brand. And I think you'll see in the next five years each and every brand will have a virtual influencer—call it whatever you want, creator, persona—that will help converge the sales and discovery."
From a licensing perspective, she noted: "On the licensing marketplace Nagosh, there is one virtual influencer doing deals. She doesn't exist—she's like anime. She knows who her audience is, what merch they want, and they promote it. So there's a revenue stream here."
But Sharon's long-term view was more cautious: "Give it a couple of years where every brand will already have their AI influencer. I think people will start craving messy again—just human messy, just someone not perfect that doesn't say the perfect thing. Even if it looks a bit sloppy, it's their bedroom or their personality and their goofs. Ugly is the new sexy. I think that will start happening again and then you'll see them diminishing."
She also discussed AI clones—a related but distinct technology: "There are companies creating AI clones. It's not an avatar—there's an actual LLM that scrapes all your podcasts, all the posts you ever put, and builds a persona. You can create numerous podcasts at once, appear in different places, answer every single client or fan simultaneously, exactly in your mannerism, in your tone, with all your knowledge."
Why It Matters: Virtual influencers and AI clones offer unprecedented control and scalability, but they're most valuable during the novelty phase. Brands that capitalize on this technology now can generate substantial revenue, but they should plan for an eventual backlash when consumers tire of perfection and crave authenticity again.
The Takeaway: If you're considering virtual influencer partnerships, move now while they're still novel and command premium engagement. But build a diversified influencer strategy that includes real humans, because in 5-7 years, the pendulum will swing back toward authentic, imperfect personalities. Use the revenue from virtual influencers to fund longer-term relationship building with human creators.
5. Speed to Market Now Trumps Perfect Execution—Especially for Trend-Driven Properties
The Insight: The licensing industry's traditional 12-18 month planning cycles are becoming obsolete as consumer trends spike and fade faster than ever before.
Sharon described the shift:
"I'm seeing a lot of licensees owning the moment. What is the meme? What is the trend? What's exciting right now? And people, similar to fast fashion, buying and reacting to it in the moment."
But she acknowledged the challenge: "Things come and go so quickly. We have these big moments—that was a few weeks ago and we've all moved on. When it comes to consumer products, how do you be part of a moment that's so fleeting?"
Her answer focused on identifying sustainable trends versus momentary spikes: "You have to look at bigger trends to figure out what am I hopping on that will be sustainable and last for a while. We don't want constant bursts of excitement. We want to either own a moment in life or a season or an overall trend."
She gave the Olympics as an example: "There are trends that we know will stick, like the Olympic halo, the sports sensation that we're going through that will stick well into 2029. It started in Japan, then the excitement in France, and guess what? The World Cup as well as the Olympics is coming to Americas, which is the biggest market for licensing."
Sharon emphasized the need for tools to reduce guesswork: "I think the guesswork will start going away and technology will aid us doing that. We'll have data-driven design and data-driven commerce that will change strategies and optimize constantly where we're selling and how we're selling it."
Why It Matters: Consumer attention has become so fragmented and fleeting that by the time a traditional licensing program goes through development and approvals, the cultural moment has often passed. Companies that can't accelerate their processes will consistently arrive late to opportunities, while more agile competitors capture the moment.
The Takeaway: Audit your licensing processes for speed bottlenecks. Can you create expedited approval tracks for time-sensitive opportunities? Can you work with manufacturers who specialize in rapid turnaround? The winners in the next decade won't be the companies with the most polished programs—they'll be the ones who can execute "good enough" products while the moment is still hot.
The Bottom Line
Sharon Weisman's perspective on licensing's future is both exciting and challenging. The industry is moving toward personalization, dynamic structures, data-driven decisions, and unprecedented speed. Technologies like AI, virtual influencers, and real-time analytics will fundamentally change how licensing deals are structured and executed.
But perhaps her most important insight is about mindset: the companies that thrive won't be the ones trying to predict the future—they'll be the ones actively shaping it. Whether that's programming Gen Alpha's preferences, creating meaningful merchandise for specific moments, or building the responsive IP ecosystems that adapt in real-time to market conditions.
As Sharon put it:
"The idea is not to replace you. It is to free your time so you don't have to do the bullshit that can be automated," allowing licensing professionals to focus on "innovation and strategy."
That's the future of licensing: less time on administrative tasks, more time creating the cultural moments and meaningful connections that make brands indispensable to consumers' lives.
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