Behind Towson University's Successful Internal Royalty Program Launch

Priya Exantus, trademark licensing coordinator at Towson University, shared with us how she was able to launch a successful university internal royalty program, something other schools have struggled with.  Here are some key takeaways from that conversation.

Use a tool that gives you control and tracking

Without tracking, it can be difficult,  even impossible, to accurately measure the impact of your royalty program.  Better yet, ensure that you’ve implemented the ability to track your ROI.

Get your buyers on board

Your buyers may balk initially because let’s face it, everyone hates change.  Once they understand that the changes are mandatory and relatively painless, they will come to appreciate the benefits.  One of the biggest benefits to buyers is that competitive bidding means university buyers can save more than 30%, so their budgets go further.  With a solid university internal royalty program, everybody wins and money goes back to the school.

Communicate the benefits to vendors

Your vendors, especially small vendors, may fear that a competitive quoting system will make every quote a bidding war, giving an advantage to larger vendors.  The actual vendor experience is positive, once vendors understand that buyers don’t have to use price as the only decision point and they will gain access to all campus buyers who purchase products in every category for which the vendor is licensed.  This gives vendors access to a larger pool of campus buyers and potentially more sales.

Manage your vendors to ensure they comply with your rules

Monitor your vendors to make sure they are following your rules and hold them accountable if they try to circumvent your process.

Reporting is important

Make sure you have the ability to report on the things that matter to your university, such as sales to Small Business Reserve (SBR)  and minority business enterprises (MBE).  

Read the full case study to learn more about what’s behind TU’s successful internal royalty program launch.