Mensa is known as the smartest brand in the world. Founded in 1946 in Oxford, the nonprofit organization represents the top 2% individuals in terms of IQ, providing a forum for intellectually gifted individuals to connect, socialize, and collaborate.
At the Las Vegas Licensing Expo 2025, Licensing Magazine met John McGill, Director of Brand Partnerships at American Mensa, who revealed how Mensa’s brand identity and reputation align with the licensing business.
Following an admission test, Mensa welcomes intelligent people that seek to be part of an association with like-minded individuals. The organization’s asset is the power to provide an immediate validation to the products and services endorsed by its members – catering to the desire to be associated with smart products and people.
Additionally, Mensa aims to create products targeted towards gifted children within their 2% membership percentile. Their brand is expanding into diverse areas – ranging from an ATV show that Amazon Studios recently piloted, featuring four Mensa members investigating unsolved crimes, to items as varied as washing machines and cars.
The organization prioritizes protecting the integrity of the brand, encouraging people to view their products through the lens of intelligence – understanding what makes them different or ‘smart.’ This has opened the door for conversations with multiple brands.
Was the development of licensing and brand extension something you had in mind from the beginning or if it evolved naturally during your growth?
As a member-centric organization, our primary focus for a long time was simply getting people to join. They joined because of our brand, which we realized holds significant value. We refer to ourselves as “the smartest brand in the world” because that’s how Hasbro described us when they reached out to us.
They compared us to Harvard and concluded that we were the brand to partner with because we truly embody that intelligence. This led to an important realization: if we’re so smart, why didn’t we think of this sooner? It was an enlightening moment for a group of clever individuals. I don’t represent myself as a member; rather, I represent the brand on a national level. It makes me feel better to think they were smart enough to choose me.
For a long time, we’ve been known for our puzzles and quizzes, but we’re now expanding our offerings. When we engage with others, we focus on curiosity. Our goal is to have discussions with anyone who is doing something interesting. I may suspect from the start that a proposed collaboration may not be a perfect fit for us, but we explore these ideas together. That’s in our DNA – to explore and discover opportunities.
For instance, when John Tamay Llamas from Hasbro approached us for collaboration, we worked together to rebrand the Mitsa for Kids line to incorporate educational elements into a toy that was previously not considered educational. The result was very successful.
What is your goal when approaching the licensing business?
Building relationships: that’s where it always starts. We’re very much a worldwide organization. The US is our largest entity, but Mensa was born in the UK, where our international headquarters are located. We partner nationally and have close ties to partners globally, facilitating international relationships. Additionally, our brand is actually very strong in Asia, perhaps even more so than our organizational presence suggests, and we are planning to collaborate on new initiatives in Korea as well.
Many associate Mensa with the top 2% of intellects, which can be intimidating. However, it’s really more about the idea that this is endorsed by someone like Einstein. When we partner with others, there’s always an implied connection, encouraging those partners to consider Mensa deeper. You never know where these relationships might lead. We’ve formed great connections, and even if someone doesn’t become a licensee, they often become an ally.
We are always working hard to build our brand identity. There really is a sense of pride in membership, and people love the association even if they are not members. We have a Mensa store, and two of our most popular items are a wristband and a T-shirt that say Mensa-ish. Some people wear them even if they’re not members, they just like the idea.
Could you share more about your upcoming plans?
We’re exploring partnerships with companies, but we can’t reveal anything right now, so stay tuned!
What we can share is that we are planning to offer companies the opportunity to test their employees to identify those who qualify for Mensa. The only commitment we ask is that the company pays for the first year of membership for those who qualify. That way, they build an internal Mensa group they can use for things like focus groups and idea labs. It’s more than just putting our name on a product: we’re building real relationships.
As mentioned before, we are working on expanding our brand and developing meaningful partnerships and relationships. We’ve had partners who are no longer under contract but still send people our way and create new opportunities. For example, Educational Insights, the company behind Kanoodle, is one of our major partners. The game has over 17 billion hits, and we are figuring out if we can do something smart together.
Norwegian Cruise Lines slips a Mensa quiz under guests’ door every morning. American Way magazine featured the Mensa quiz for nearly two decades. Now, we are thinking beyond publishing to approach travel and fashion. We are currently exploring eyewear, with one of our sub-brands handling a line of classic, “intelligent” glasses. The association between glasses and being smart seems to work well – indeed, people with bad eyesight always get to look the smartest!
Additionally, we want to launch smart wear – clothing that’s smart in function or philosophy, integrating concepts as sustainability and practicality. The biggest lesson we’ve learned so far is that it’s not just about our goals, but the goals of our partners or potential licensees. If we can align on that, we’ll be partners for life.
