Dr. Strangebrand is not usually one for games but every once in a while he is intrigued. Such is the case with live action role-playing or LARP for short, and all the brand extensions surrounding this geeky hobby.

Like many others, the Dr. was first introduced to the phenomena through the movie Role Models, where the character Augie (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) was an avid LARP-er. Participants of the game act out their character’s roles, usually in costume, in a fictional setting that spans many genres and styles, from sci-fi and medieval to live combat or murder mystery.

Curious to know whether there was any licensing going on in the category, I began to do some research and found that many brands sell product perfect for LARP, including World of Warcraft, Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Assassin’s Creed and Harry Potter. Fans are scooping up the World of Warcraft DoomHammer, Gandalf’s sword from The Hobbit, Harry Potter wands, and many other officially sanctioned products.

These brands are boosting revenue by following one of Parham Santana’s 10 Ways to Extend Your Brand: Leverage your customer base. They’ve used a relationship with loyal fans to move into new product categories, where high brand recognition and reputation help drive sales. While only about three percent of the U.S. population has participated in LARP, there are many other fans eager to purchase these same products as collectibles to celebrate their favorite brands.

By looking at what gear LARP-ers are handcrafting themselves, you can identify which brands have the potential to extend. Two that come to mind are the trading card game, Magic: The Gathering, and the fantasy tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons. Both games have cult followings that probably participate in LARP already! A quick Internet search turns up countless images of fans with homemade gear based on their favorite weapons, costumes, and more.

What other brands should extend into the LARP category?

Here are some images of intense warriors and even a cat who wants to get in on the action:

Photography by: Greg Baker of Rooted Thinking

Photography by: Schnabuble of Etsy