We decided some time ago with our client Bang on the Door that we should take the opportunity of exhibiting at the Hong Kong Licensing Show. At the time it seemed like a sound business idea but as we sat on the runway at Heathrow for four hours waiting to be ‘de-iced’ and hearing about a security alert on another aeroplane it didn’t seem to be the best decision ever.

Mercifully the delay was only four hours: apparently the rumour that the airport authorities had managed to get the local Halford’s branch to reopen and sell them 500 tins of de-icer was not so farfetched! The security breach was dealt with: the passengers were drunks not terrorists.

This inauspicious start was certainly the lowpoint of the trip and I am pleased to say things improved from there.
Despite our hotel being positioned in Lockhart Road which one of our party christened the 'Faliraki' of Hong Kong we were able to focus on the show and not accept the frequent invitations to other shows. As an aside we did spot a great use of Popeye in this road – the fantastically named Cockeye Bar. Best Promotion 2010 at the Licensing Awards?

The logic for exhibiting Bang on the Door at Hong Kong was that the brand has been successfully licensed in Korea and we felt encouraged by this. There was clearly potential for the unique style of Bang on the Door in the region, although it is important to appreciate that the each individual country in Asia has its own commercial outlook and it's not 'one size fits all’.

Secondly, we were attracted to the crossover of the Licensing, Toy and Stationery shows. This mixed market gave us the comfort that we would meet a broad church of licensees, retailers and suppliers – this hunch proved correct. Finally, we felt that by showcasing Bang on the Door brands like Fabric Animals and Groovy Chick in Hong Kong we would be able to engage with UK and other European visitors to the show because of its international aspect. This again proved correct as there were visits to our stand from existing and potential UK licensees plus French, Italian, German, Polish and Turkish licensees.

A real bonus was meeting publishers from markets like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia who were interested in taking Little Star Creation’s Groovy Chick books. This was a great connection for us.

We were not alone as UK exhibitors – our stand neighbours included the Natural History Museum and West Ham United, both revealing some of the trends in the global licensing market. There is clearly a growing appreciation of heritage brands and it seems UK-based brands are well respected internationally.

But West Ham United in Hong Kong? Strange you might say at first, but when you consider the breadth of coverage the Premier League has in Hong Kong and the wider region – Premier League football is broadcast in virtually every bar – it makes perfect sense.

I think West Ham should be applauded – difficult for me to say as a Millwall fan – for taking the leap of faith to attend. There is clearly a market to be won there. It was interesting to notice the wide distribution achieved by Topps’ with its Premier League Match Attax cards – they were in all 7-11 stores and other outlets.

Another trend we noted was the number of factory representatives that visited us. Many of these Chinese based factories reported that they had a long track record of supplying licensed goods to well established licensees but orders had dried up for them. They were keen to investigate taking their own licences to supply China but also international markets.

My initial feeling is that this will not be a viable model as they would not have the coverage and knowledge internationally, but it does open up the possibility of licensing companies creating direct links with manufacturers. My view is still needs to be done in concert with licensees, but it could be a useful asset from a product development point of view.

Indeed in developing Bang on the Door’s Fabric animals range we have worked hand in hand with a plush factory and achieved fantastic results. We were able to have a creative meeting with the team whilst in Hong Kong and we can now offer licensees a finished range and a well established supplier taking out some of the lengthy development period normally associated with licensed products.

It was also interesting to note that most rights were concentrated into a relatively small group of licensors and agents. The event didn’t have the breadth of the UK show, but is a reflection of the dominance of key agency players in the market. I would guess as the market matures there will need to be an injection of new agencies rather like has happened in the UK. That said the existing players are certainly doing a great job of promoting 'Licensing PLC' to their business communities.

It is important to be ready to go to market in new territories – we made sure we had good legal protection and Bang on the Door joined ACID (Anti Copying in Design) before attending this show. This allowed us to display ACID material on the stand which is a further deterrent from copyists.

For Bang on the Door this was a very successful trip. We made new contacts that will lead to agency representation in markets like Thailand, we introduced licensees to suppliers, met a number of new licensees and were also able to take on board new trends from the local market that will influence future developments.

We think it is important to make the journey (ice permitting) and meet people face to face; we hope to participate in more trade shows this year, Bang on the Door will have a stand at Las Vegas. As we add more agents and licensing grows internationally you need to be active to secure a position for the future.

I have just written to Millwall’s chairman – anything West Ham can do, we can do better...