The Creative Question: Is IP the new creative brief?

For years, the starting point of an ad campaign was a one-pager pinned to a wall, a creative brief rooted in consumer insight and brand strategy. But in 2025, the conversation inside many agencies sounds different. The question is no longer just “What do we want to say?” but rather, “Whose world do we want to say it in?”

From whiskey brands borrowing the suave sophistication of Suits to confectionery launches roaring to life with Jurassic World’s T-Rex, licensed intellectual property (IP) is increasingly shaping the narrative backbone of campaigns, not just accessorising them. The rise of fandom culture, fragmented attention spans, and an audience primed for cultural storytelling have collectively pushed IP from the periphery of marketing to its very centre.

Few agencies have witnessed, and driven, this shift as closely as Black White Orange (BWO). The Mumbai-based brand extension and licensing company, known for collaborations like Squid Game x Royal Stag and Kung Fu Panda x Mumbai Indians, notes that the creative starting point for many campaigns today is no longer a traditional brief, but an existing story universe that audiences already care deeply about.

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The shift is partly a response to how audiences now consume content, and how brands are recalibrating to meet them there. Traditional campaigns spoke to consumers. IP-led ones often start with the fandom and build the brand narrative within that cultural conversation.

“The first filter is always the audience,” says Mitali Desai, Co-Founder & COO, Black White Orange. “We ask: does the IP speak to the same consumer the brand is chasing? Do they share similar DNA? Is the fandom strong? And can the collaboration extend across multiple platforms, from merch and digital to AR or gamification?”

That lens has become essential in ensuring campaigns feel like natural extensions of the brand rather than opportunistic partnerships. Take Jurassic World Rebirth x Mondelez Gems, which combined on-pack activation, social intrigue, influencer buzz and even a Universal Studios trip, far beyond a simple co-branding exercise.

The larger strategic question, adds Bhavik Vora, Founder & CEO, is not whether an IP is popular, but whether it enables a story the brand couldn’t tell on its own. “The true test of a licensing partnership is whether it deepens the emotion, strengthens the cultural connect and makes the campaign more memorable,” he says. “If it doesn’t feel authentic, we’d rather not do it.”

The advantage of working with culturally charged IPs is obvious: they come with built-in attention, existing emotional capital and a highly engaged community. But that, according to Vora, is only the starting point.

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“When you work with properties like Minions, Stranger Things or Baahubali, you’re entering a space where people are already emotionally invested. That gives your campaign a head start,” he says. “But the real magic is in how you use that IP to tell a richer story. Did it make the audience feel something? Did it spark conversation? Did the impact last beyond the campaign window?”

This long-tail view of effectiveness is why campaigns like Netflix x 4700BC Popcorn are often cited internally as benchmarks, not just for immediate recall but for the cultural afterlife they generate. In such cases, IP isn’t just a marketing asset but a storytelling scaffold that makes campaigns more durable and emotionally resonant.

With fandoms moving at the speed of streaming releases, there’s always pressure to ride the next cultural wave. But trend-chasing, BWO warns, is only half the equation. Strategic fit remains non-negotiable.

“Brands today aren’t using IP as a superficial hook,” says Desai. “They’re weaving those universes and characters into their storytelling. The first step is to understand what the brand stands for and how the IP can amplify that without diluting it.”

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That dual lens, cultural currency (is it relevant now?) and strategic depth (will it stay relevant later?) guides all BWO partnerships. Suits x Ballantine’s, for instance, leaned into timeless synergy, while Squid Game x Royal Stag capitalised on cultural momentum around a new season. The approaches differ, but the principle is the same: every collaboration must deepen the brand’s long-term positioning, not distract from it.

The ubiquity of IP across digital, retail, experiential and OOH channels also introduces a creative challenge: how to stay consistent without becoming repetitive. BWO’s solution is a segmentation-first approach, tailored to the nature of each property.

“Our portfolio spans kids’ favourites like Minions and Kung Fu Panda, youth-driven titles like Squid Game and Bridgerton, and homegrown IPs like Baahubali,” says Desai. “Each requires a distinct tone, strategy and execution.”

For younger audiences, campaigns lean on playful visuals, experiential retail and co-branded promotions with FMCG majors. Pop culture IPs, by contrast, demand influencer-led narratives, limited-edition drops and culturally relevant digital storytelling. Across all of them, the central narrative remains intact, even as the creative expression adapts to each platform.

As technology reshapes storytelling, licensing is expanding into newer, less traditional forms, from virtual influencers and AI-generated avatars to meme-led moments. But BWO insists the fundamental principle remains unchanged.

“The format is secondary,” says Vora. “If it helps tell the story authentically, it has potential.”

Perhaps the most exciting frontier, he argues, is the untapped potential of Indian IP, from institutions like ISRO to historical and cultural icons. “Many of these don’t have existing licensing playbooks. That’s creatively thrilling because we’re building from scratch. And the appetite from both audiences and brands is enormous.”

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The evolution of IP-led storytelling offers a broader lesson for the industry: relevance trumps everything. Campaigns succeed not when they borrow equity, but when they create new meaning, where brand and IP meet to tell a story neither could alone.

“We’re in the most exciting phase of IP storytelling,” says Desai. “Fans no longer just consume campaigns, they live them. Whether it’s AR/VR, phygital collectibles, localisation or immersive activations, it’s storytelling depth that drives real engagement now.”

The results speak for themselves. BWO’s Kung Fu Panda x Mumbai Indians collaboration, which combined apparel drops, influencer content, stadium activations and Hardik Pandya’s “Kung Fu Pandya” persona, helped Kung Fu Panda 4 outperform previous franchise releases in India and became part of fan culture in the process.

For decades, the creative brief distilled everything a campaign needed to say. Today, that blueprint increasingly exists within the IP itself, in its world, its audience, and the cultural capital it carries. As fandom becomes the new focus group and cultural relevance the ultimate KPI, IP is no longer a side character in advertising.

It’s the stage, the script, and sometimes, the story itself.