In 1909, a young boy came to the rescue of Chicago publisher William D. Boyce after losing his way in a dense London fog. But when Boyce offered to tip the boy for his help, the boy refused citing that he was only doing his moral duty as a Scout. Impressed by the simple gesture and curious about the Scouting organization the boy spoke of, Boyce organized a meeting with Robert Baden-Powell, the British founder of the UK’s Boy Scouts Association. The next year, Boyce founded The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in February 1910. Since then, BSA has evolved into one of the nation’s largest and most well-known youth organizations. Last year, BSA celebrated its 100th anniversary.
But in addition to the organization’s main mission (to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law), BSA now tries to share its message with the larger population. The BSA licensing program is one way it has raised its brand awareness. While licensing for BSA began in 1921, it wasn’t until 2005 when the program relaunched with a more focused strategy that the brand saw significant growth. From 2005 to the end of 2010 the program’s roster of licensees grew from a mere 18 to nearly 150.
The program is currently focused on four key categories, which include outdoor enthusiasts, toys and games, nostalgia, and the BSA 100th anniversary. While the outdoor enthusiasts and nostalgia categories target an older market (predominately males ages 16–39), the toys and games category has helped leverage the brand with its target audience of future recruits— elementary-aged boys.
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Class B:
Class B provides officially licensed custom T-shirts to Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Venturing Crews.
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W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company:
W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company offers BSA-licensed knives including the Case Stockman pocketknife pictured. This knife features an embellished clip, sheep-foot blades, a spey blade, a peach seed jigged, dark red bone handle, a new Eagle Scout shield emblem in the handle, a case collectible medallion and Eagle Scout medallion, an official case certificate of authenticity, and jewel box packaging.
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Revell:
Revell offers a line of BSA-licensed racer kits made for BSA Pinewood Derby races. Each kit includes BSA-branded Pinewood Derby wheels and axles, a pre-carved racer body, sand paper, and decals. A Revell Pinewood Derby Tech Station is also available to verify that all BSA racers meet legal race standards such as length, width, and height off the track.
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Henry Repeating Arms:
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the BSA, Henry Repeating Arms released the Henry Golden Boy .22 caliber Boy Scouts of America Centennial Edition rifle. The special rifle features the Scouts Oath, Scouts Law, scrollwork, and traditional BSA logo embellishing the receiver, as well as a “100 Years of Scouting” logo and centennial edition gold-filled etchings in the rifle buttstock and forearm. The stock is made of American Walnut with a brasslite receiver, brass buttplate, blued barrel, and metal barrel band.
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DK Publishing:
DK Publishing offers a line of BSA published materials including the new Boy Scouts of America Deck of Outdoor Cooking. The outdoor cooking deck is composed of 34 sturdy, wipe-clean cards including one eight-page fold-out. The cards show how to prepare and cook 33 recipes outdoors using only a skillet or Dutch oven. The deck includes 11 entrees, 11 side dishes, and 11 desserts. The introduction offers guidance through the basics of outdoor cooking.