Field Notes

The Happy Little Business of Bob Ross

Bob Ross. Just hearing his name brings your stress level down a few notches. His laid back, down-to-earth style and demeanor always stuck with me. Ever since I was first introduced to Bob Ross at a young age, I’ve been a fan of his work and his outlook on life.

In 2017, as we’ve tried to strengthen and diversify the RSVLTS licensing partners, Bob Ross kept coming up in our discussions. After diving afro first into some research we quickly discovered that his presence and impact online was bigger than ever.

His official Facebook page had more than 1.5 million followers and Bob Ross related content had been responsible for some of the top posts on Reddit. And just look at his Google Trends chart (mic drop)... 150 % increase between August 2013 and August 2017! This was more than just a trend, this was solid sustainable growth over a substantial period of time.

What better a time to get in touch with his estate and work to further promote and expand his ever-growing brand? Bob Ross Inc. seemed like the perfect pairing for RSVLTS.

His estate continued to look for fun, creative and out-of-the-box ideas and partnerships. Some recent home runs have been their work with Deadpool 2 and the ‘Bob Ross Sleep Story’ (through the mobile app ‘Painting with Bob Ross’). When we were getting ready to pitch them, we knew we had to present them with something unique and on-brand (both for Bob Ross and RSVLTS).

Fast forward a bit and we are well into our first year working on Bob Ross related gear and we couldn’t be more pumped about all of the “happy little accidents” that came from this partnership. We’ve established an awesome relationship with the Bob Ross estate, as well as a loyal, dedicated new customer base.

The best part is that this is only the beginning. We have big things planned for our Bob Ross collection in the future and couldn’t be more thrilled to have his brand and legacy as part of our growing list of officially licensed partners.

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