Category Archives: Live

Rocket Licensing | “There’s real opportunity to make retail an experience and destination again”

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For those of the industry who tuned into the special licensing panel discussion at this year’s London Book Fair, albeit in its digital format, you’d have caught Rocket Licensing’s join managing director, Rob Wijeratna waxing lyrical on the virtues of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a phenomenon of the children’s publishing space and extended licensing market, despite the book itself being only 22 pages long.

At the crux of Wijeratna’s point was that building a brand is ‘about telling a story’ no matter the size (or page length) of the source material. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is today a globally loved franchise that is not only a staple of book shelves and schools across the country – or the planet – but of the preschool and nursery space as a whole.

Central to the storytelling that Rocket Licensing weaves through the wider activity around the title is the experiential licensing, a pocket of licensing that so often acts as ‘an anchor point around which the many facets of a licensing programme can centre. A sector that faced some rather ominous hurdles over the last year, experiential licensing has been forced to adapt and change shape over the course of the past 18 months, working to uncover new spaces within the home via virtual and digital means.

But it’s a space now beginning to open up once again. And as such, Licensing.biz thought it wise to catch up with Rocket Licensing brand manager, Melissa Satterly, to discover what the licensing agency has planned for the return of live experiences for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Beano, and a few others among its core portfolio.

Hello Melissa, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions this week. The most obvious point to address first and foremost is the pandemic and the impact this has had on the experiential licensing space. As we begin to ‘unlock’ and remove social distancing measures, what sort of excitement is there around the return of experiential licensing?

With things opening up again and families increasingly looking for, and getting excited about, staycations and days out nearer to home, now feels like the perfect time to be engaging with experiential licensing and family-focused activities. We’ve seen real enthusiasm and high visitor numbers for the branded events that we have put on so far in 2021 and are excited for the roll out of several more initiatives over the summer.

How do you think experiential licensing has evolved over the course of the pandemic and what lasting impression has it left on the market and consumers? How do you begin to reintroduce experiential licensing to a post-pandemic world?

The pandemic saw Rocket and our partners take a very different approach to experiences, with the transition to online and at-home events. For example, our annual The Very Hungry Caterpillar Giant Wiggle partnership with Action for Children took place online in 2020 as an at-home activity pack for families. In addition to this, Action for Children really responded to how families were spending lockdown by launching a Growing Challenge subscription pack for little gardeners, an experiential product that we are excited to see continue to do well post-pandemic as well.

We also worked closely with License to PR to deliver lockdown-suitable content, creating a social media campaign for The Very Hungry Caterpillar that targeted parenting/foodie influencers who provided fun caterpillar-inspired recipes for people to try at home, while also promoting the Feed the Hungry Caterpillar game from University Games, responding to the rising popularity of games and puzzles while families were at home. This was one of our most successful campaigns to date.

With lockdowns easing, we have been careful and strategic in the experiences that we have put on, for example focusing on fun outdoor activities while restrictions have remained in place indoors. The first major experiential partnership that we have seen in 2021 was the Big Beano Bonanza at Kew Gardens, which adhered to all guidance on social distancing, with Beano-themed Covid safety signs along the trail, hand gel stations, marshalls and pre-booked visitor slots.

The sale of our branded and co-branded Beano product was initially focused online for the earlier stages of the event while the visitor shops remained closed, and advertising took on an online and local focus.

Can you talk us through some of the key partnerships you’ve secured across the experiential licensing space recently?

We are really excited to have a current partnership for The Very Hungry Caterpillar taking place at London Zoo (running until 16th July). Families can enjoy a fun range of activities, including crawling through a giant fruit story trail, crafting and story-telling sessions throughout the day, as well as the opportunity to visit Butterfly Paradise and Bug House.

For 2021, we have also partnered with Gulliver’s Valley (Rotherham) and Gulliver’s Dinosaur and Farm Park (Milton Keynes) for a range of branded activities for both The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Beano. The Very Hungry Caterpillar presence launched on Saturday, May 1st and includes Meet & Greets, birthday parties, crafting activities and even themed accommodation, so that families can spend the night in their very own cocoons.

The Beano characters will be getting up to all sorts of mischief, including a Beano Blasters! laser tag attraction. We are also very excited to have just finalised a partnership with Escape Live for a Horrible Histories Escape Room, opening later this year and giving families the opportunity to be immersed in a mission that transports them through multiple different time periods.

How important will experiential licensing be for retail in enticing consumers away from the online space? What opportunities are there now available to reboot the retail sector through experiential licensing? Are there any examples of this you can give from your own portfolio?

With the shift to ecommerce and online over lockdown, there is a real opportunity now to make retail more of an experience and destination again, as people get excited to get out and about and enjoy a physical browse in store. Another of our The Very Hungry Caterpillar partners is Bluewater shopping centre who has used experiential licensing to enhance the family shopping experience with the addition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar nature trail and in-mall storytelling telling events.

Bluewater is surrounded by 50 acres of landscaped parkland, which was a popular location for local visitors during the lockdown. They opened a new The Very Hungry Caterpillar storytelling trail this May half term to further build on the existing branded nature trail. The new story trail consists of seven signposts, which are designed using imagery from the book and feature cut outs for photos opportunity and QR codes that tell the story through narration by local school children. It’s a lovely way for families to enjoy time together whilst shopping at Bluewater.

From a Rocket Licensing perspective, what makes a successful partnership in the experiential licensing space?

It’s always so important to be able to match up the brand values of the location with the licensed property. For example, with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we have really focused on nature-driven partnerships with the likes of the Royal Horticultural Society, the Eden Project and the nature reserve at Bluewater. In terms of execution, we aim to create multi-dimensional experiences, with not only a variety of activities, but opportunities for co-branded merchandise in location-based retail outlets.

Indeed, experiential licensing offers great opportunities to showcase product for our brands in fantastic cross-category displays and really get our licensees working together in collaboration. It is also important for venues to use digital engagement to drive families to the events through comprehensive marketing, advertising and social media promotion.

What do you enjoy the most about the experiential licensing sector, what level of innovation and creativity does it offer you guys and the brands you work with?

It’s always so wonderful to see children and families engaging and having fun with the brand activities; we get so much traction for the partnerships on social media and absolutely love looking at all of the photos! And yes, the creativity of the activities is always fantastic to work on. For example, our recent Beano trail saw a mile long trail including 3D bespoke comic strip, whoopie cushion stepping stones and water pistols over the lake! It’s always really satisfying to see the collaborative effort that goes into these experiences, bringing together marketing, creative and events team with product offerings from our licensees to create brand-immersive events.

What do you think the future looks like for experiential licensing and what are the key points of change in this sector?

We are confident that this sector will continue to grow, generating strong awareness and revenue for brands. Venues like Escape Rooms are only just beginning to engage with licensed IP so this is surely an area that will continue to expand. It’s also likely that experience and retail will draw increasingly close together, exploring more in-store experiences at retail as well as increasing the focus on co-branded product and retail promotion, in association with events and activity venues.

What’s the next big step for you guys in this space?

We are continuing to look for new appropriate experiential partners for our brands and have already started early conversations for next year. We have had great success with experiential licensing in particular for The Very Hungry Caterpillar over recent years and are now increasingly expanding our focus to some of our other fantastic brands, such as Beano and Horrible Histories, to find the perfect location-based fit.

We also have some fantastic adult brands in our portfolio which we would also like to develop in the experiential area. It’s always exciting sharing brand ideas with new partners to create collaborative, engaging and fun experiences for visitors whilst supporting licensed product, and this is what we will continue to do.

Toy brand LOL Surprise to innovate family entertainment with Live Hologram Tour of the US

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A new immersive LOL Surprise Hologram Tour is hitting the road across the US this autumn, marking the latest in innovation from the multi-award winning, globally revered toy brand.

LOL Surprise Live – Calling All B.B’s will feature fan favourite and best-selling characters Lady Diva, Royal Bee, Neonlicious, and Swag in the first family spectacular with original music, dancers, a DJ, and never before seen live holograms. The first leg of the US-wide, 44-city tour will kick off on September 30th in California.

The tour will travel coast to coast, hitting Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Las Angeles and more.

L.O.L. Surprise! is a toy brand that has fast become known for its innovation and mission to engage audiences in play and family experiences. The new tour will now use ‘groundbreaking hologram technology’ to bring the popular characters to life through singing, dancing and interaction with live audiences.

CEO of MGA Isaac Larian, said: “We love all of our L.O.L. Surprise! fans and this experience will surprise and amaze fans from ages three to 99. A must see, can’t miss moment. A Superbowl meets the Grammys event for kids and families of all ages.”

Jonathan Shank, LOL Surprise Live tour producer at Terrapin Station, said: “We are excited to be the first family touring show to use this groundbreaking live hologram technology. Fans attending the show are going to dance, sing and experience a show in a way they never have before.”

The live concert will feature songs from the forthcoming L.O.L. Surprise! album (Magic Star/Sony), including the first release “I’m a Queen,” along with classic hits like “Calling All B.B.’s” and “Remix.”.

A toy and children’s entertainment industry phenomenon, L.O.L. Surprise! became a hit since launching in 2016. With over 15 billion YouTube views, L.O.L. Surprise!  is one of the best-loved brands in the world with celebrity fans including Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, Ciara and many others.

Heritage Month | Modern history: The Cartoon Museum and the role of museums in a post-pandemic world

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There’s no question that the pandemic had a huge and still reverberating impact on the country’s cultural and heritage sector, forcing shut the doors of establishments across the UK, and applying a financial squeeze on an industry largely dependent on footfall and wallets of the nation’s leisure and tourism market.

According to the latest research from Art Fund – having drawn together some 400 responses from museum directors and museum professionals, the most pressing concern for almost all organisations across the country is safe reopening and attracting audiences back. In fact, 85 per cent of directors have expressed concern over the ability to attract visitors upon the continued easing of restrictions.

Among the many to be hit by the pandemic was London’s Cartoon Museum, an institution that shares strong ties not only with the cultural and heritage sector, but the licensing space, too – housing some of the most iconic comics and cartoons to have populated popular culture of the modern era.

Last year, the museum found itself the focus of a fundraising campaign to help keep its doors open – when doors were allowed to reopen, of course – that had ignited the passions of the comic book and cartoon fan communities across the country. The museum is now happy to report that those doors have firmly swung back open, and the museum is already welcoming back visitors from schools and pre-booked groups looking to get their cultural fix this year.

But from the pandemic, suggests the team, a new era for museums, and the cultural and heritage sector overall, could be arising, as organisations are forced to look towards local communities and audiences and less on the tourist trade. 

Here, Licensing.biz continues its look into the heritage sector and catches up with The Cartoon Museum’s Director, Joe Sullivan, to uncover the museum’s learnings through Covid-19 and what the future role of the museum could like in a post-pandemic world.

Hello Joe, it’s good to catch up with you again, and under happier circumstances with the museum now reopened! What has reopening the museum been like for you? What has reaction been like from visitors and public?

It has been wonderful to finally reopen to the public after another enforced lengthy closure during the Winter. During the downtime we worked hard on enhancing the museum to make it even better for our visitors – painting floors and walls, boxing noisy pipes off, hanging comic art in our learning space, revitalizing the shop, and putting up two new exhibitions. Visitors have enjoyed coming back to the site over the past month, with half term particularly busy, and it has been great to chat with people about cartoons again in person.

A really encouraging thing for us is that we have had a lot of first-time visitors. We hope that this continues as we bed into our new home properly (we still haven’t had a complete year open at the new site), and as people start to feel more comfortable leaving the house. Reopening has also been tinged with sadness however – we lost our Front of House Manager, Alison Brown, to COVID-19 in January. She was the heart and soul of the museum for 14 years and we all miss her terribly.

Can you talk us through some of the latest developments for the museum? You’ve mentioned some new exhibitions – can you talk us through these and what reception has been like so far?

 The two new exhibitions have been received fantastically, and I feel like our visitors can see the direction of travel we are taking and are enthused by it. By taking a larger theme – such as protest in the case of V for Vendetta: Behind the Mask – we can connect with visitors in a more personal way. 

The V exhibition not only displays incredible high-quality original art and rarely-seen film designs, it also encourages visitors to reflect on the world of V, how it relates to the world now, and what a subject like protest means to them individually.

We are very lucky with V as David Lloyd, the artist, is a close friend of the museum (he very kindly auctioned an original V page as a fundraising donation to our survival appeal last year). His support through the exhibition has been invaluable, allowing us to really dig into how V was made, and why certain design choices were made.

This focus on people stories and more universal themes crosses over to our In-Focus exhibition, Natasha Natarajan: FML Comics, a display of the work of British-Indian web cartoonist and animator Natasha Natarjan. The first two people through the door on the day we reopened were two older visitors who had travelled all the way from Scotland, one of whom went away grasping a copy of Natasha Natarajan’s FML Comics book. I was delighted to see this!

The book – which is linked to our current In-Focus display – is full of frank, funny, very personal cartoons about Natasha’s experience as a young millennial woman in modern London. The fact that people from a different demographic and part of the UK related so strongly to Natasha’s work really showed the strength of the stories and art we are sharing, and how it can connect to people’s experiences universally.

 You’ve also mentioned the return to learning and engagement work with young people. What does this look like for the museum? What spurred the decision to return to this kind of work through the museum, and is this indicative of a new ‘post-pandemic’ role of museums and their position in the community?

Engagement work is my personal passion, and has been very high on the agenda since I came to the museum. The great thing about cartooning is it has a very easy ‘in’ – anyone can pick up a pencil, and our collection ranges from the finely engraved detail work of Hogarth to the comedic minimum-line doodles of Times cartoonist (and Museum founder) Mel Calman. The point this makes to me is that anyone can pick up a pencil and draw a cartoon.

Alongside restarting our cartooning workshops in an online form (we hope to return to physical workshops in the summer), we have spent the last few months building local partnerships in our local London borough, Westminster. Westminster has one of the highest indices of deprivation in London (the gap between richest and poorest areas) and it is essential that the museum serves and represents all of our local audiences.

We recently started a project with local youth centres called Life Under Lockdown, which works with local young people to draw comic strips telling their personal stories of their lockdown experiences. We will collect these for the future but will also compile them into a comic book to give to participants and libraries, and will hopefully display some of the work either on the museum site or on our website. 

Our team attended a street festival during the May bank holiday, taking cartoon and drawing resources with them for local families to take part in, and we are currently planning a really exciting local offer for the summer.

So, the big question: What does running a museum post-pandemic look like today? How do you think the public’s method of engaging with heritage and history has changed over the course of the pandemic, and what are you guys doing to tap into the new ‘lay of the land’?

Running a museum right now is based on balancing hope against financial pragmatism! The reality is that it will be a slow road back for visitor numbers, especially as foreign tourism will be absent for a while longer, and it isn’t certain that there will not be further lockdowns.

It is important that we are careful with our spending as 70 per cent of our income is through the door, and we have no idea when fluctuations and growth on that front will happen. On the other side is the hope – we want to be open so people can come in, and we have to move forward hoping that all of the doom and gloom lifts!

During the pandemic a lot more audiences went online, and at the times where there haven’t been lockdowns, people are not travelling far to go on outings. We need to ensure local audiences can find us and enjoy themselves, and we need to keep our online offer in mind.

We have had good success with our free downloadable drawing resources and our online workshops have reached a wider audience than we have done in the past, so we will be keeping a part-online approach to our engagement work in the future.

What is the role of a museum in today’s culture?

I believe a museum should form the hub of its community, both in terms of topic (in our case cartoon and comic artists) and locality (for us Westminster, and London). For a long time museums have been unique in that they are considered a trusted source of information. The work by academics over the past few years that has led into the so-called ‘culture war’ have started to challenge that, both for good and bad, as questions are being asked of the truth presented and how truly representative they are of Western Europe in the 21st Century.

I personally think that museums need to continue to be upheld as arbiters of truth, but to do that they need to take that responsibility seriously and ensure they are fully representative of the people, audiences, objects and stories that they champion.

 What’s the next big move for you guys? What does the future have in store for the Cartoon Museum?

Excitingly, we are currently pulling together our exhibitions programme for the second half of 2022, and getting ready to announce our next In-Focus exhibition that starts in August. We are also looking forward to getting schools and events back in the building!

With a slightly wider lens, we are beginning a period of collections work that will audit our current collection to understand exactly what we have, and the stories that it tells. This will feed into new collection policies that inform what we will collect and display, to ensure we can tell as full and representative a story of the cartoon art form in Britain as possible in the future.

Lionsgate partners with Egan Escape Productions to bring Blair Witch experience to Las Vegas

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Lionsgate has partnered with Egan Escape Productions to launch an immersive escape experience in Las Vegas, based on the studio’s popular horror franchise, Blair Witch. The experience is scheduled to open this summer.

Escape Blair Witch will bring the horror film franchise to life at the Fright Dome, the same venue that houses the Official Saw Escape: Las Vegas, which launched back in 2018. The escape experience is another step in building out the world of The Blair Witch, following the popularity of the video game from Lionsgate and Bloober Team.

“Over the years we have partnered with Lionsgate many times to create world-class attractions,” said Jason Egan, owner of Egan Escape Productions.

“Way back in 2009 when we first worked with the Lionsgate team to bring the Saw films to life at our iconic Halloween attraction, Fright Dome, I could only have dreamed to be embarking on so many exciting projects with a world-class team.”

“To be able to offer Escape Blair Witch and the Official SAW Escape: Las Vegas all under one roof is truly amazing,” Egan added.

Escape Blair Witch visitors will find themselves immersed in the village of Burkittsville, Maryland where they investigate mysterious events and disappearances. Visitors will work together to escape various rooms, including trekking through the Black Hills Forest. Co-operation will be required to escape multiple rooms that bring the classic film and the curse of the Blair Witch to life.

“Fans will be able to immerse themselves like never before in the Black Hills Forest from The Blair Witch,” said EVP and head of Lionsgate Global Live, Interactive, and Location Based Entertainment, Jenefer Brown.

“We are thrilled to partner with Egan Escape Productions again, and by launching Escape Blair Witch alongside The Official Saw Escape, Las Vegas will become the can’t-miss destination for great Lionsgate horror experiences all year round.”

 

The London Stationery Show to make its in-person return this October

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The London Stationery Show is preparing to make its return to the country’s capital this year, as the writing and paper products trade show takes up an autumn slot this October 5th to October 6th.

As well as bringing together all the biggest brands in stationery and gifts this autumn, the team are thrilled at the prospect of uniting suppliers and buyers for the first time in over two years.

“We’re very much looking forward to bringing new and existing customers together to do business face-to-face,” said event director, Alex Butler. “It’s been a challenging time for everyone, but as much as we’ve all adapted to a new digital world, the pandemic really has highlighted the importance of experiencing products in person before buying.

“We know our audience has missed those chance findings – stumbling across an amazing product that you didn’t know you were looking for – that only happen at exhibitions. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the Business Design Centre this autumn.”

Some of stationery’s best loved brands are returning, including Cross, Cre8 Tapes, Kaweco, Leuchtturm, Sheaffer, Silvine, Stabilo, Staedtler, uni-ball, Pentel, Zebra Pen, Pukka Pads, edding, Montegrappa, Exacompta, Royal Talens, Ultratape, Manuscript Pen, ClaireFontaine, Avery, Hahnemühle, and Snopake.

The show will also welcome a line up of new brands, including Bark & Rock, Goldbuch, Makers Cabinet, Pixie Crew, Artcadia, London Block By Block, Accent Manufacturing and Carioca, among others. 

The London Stationery Show is taking place from October 5th to 6th at the Business Design Centre. Registration is now open via stationeryshow.co.uk.

BLE’s License This! adds new category, expands into US, and appoints Ian Downes as chair

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Brand Licensing Europe’s popular License This! competition is now opens for entries, as it welcomes a new third award category, courtesy of Mojo Nation, as well as its expansion into the US market.

License This! has been helping brands and designers to break into the licensing industry for over a decade and now, thanks to the launch of the all-new Inventions & Product Innovations category in partnership with Mojo Nation, it will provide a springboard for inventors keen to break into the sector, too.

The competition will also debut in the US market this year at Licensing Expo Virtual, with the same three categories open to entrants from both Europe and the US:

  1. License This! Character & Animation
  2. License This! Brand & Design
  3. License This! Inventions & Product Innovations

The Character & Animation and Brand & Design categories are both aimed at unlicensed brands and properties looking to use the platform to secure a licensing deal or agency representation. Judges are looking for new creative concepts which have the potential to spread across multiple product categories. Typically, applicants are illustrator, publishing, or animation focused.

Meanwhile, the Inventions & Product Innovation category is about tangible product inventions that are patented or patent-pending, or innovative product designs that would benefit from licensing.

Judging is based on the invention’s product design uniqueness, brand-ability of the product, and presentation and pitch of the submission video. All three categories will take sustainability into consideration for the very first time.

The European judging panel will be chaired by Start Licensing managing director Ian Downes who takes over from licensing industry legend Kelvyn Gardner, who sadly passed away at the start of the year.

Anna Knight, VP of licensing, Informa Markets, said: “Discovery and creativity are pillars of the Brand Licensing Europe and Licensing Expo trade shows, both of which are foundational to the License This! programme. By expanding the programme geographically and demographically we want to drive new artists, illustrators and product inventors into the industry on a global scale providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to mark their place in the licensing industry.

“I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Ian as our new chairman in Europe. Filling Kelvyn’s shoes isn’t going to be easy, but we know he’ll do an amazing job.”

Ian Downes added: “License This! is a great initiative and is now firmly established as part of the licensing calendar. Licensing needs new ideas and fresh creativity to flourish. License This! provides a great platform for people to engage with the licensing world and to start building a network within it.

“I am delighted to be involved in the competition again and look forward to reviewing the entries. I am sure there will be some exciting new concepts to review. I thoroughly recommend it to the creative community.”

The winners from each category will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2022, one-on-one consultation with members of the judging panel, and free one year memberships to Licensing International and Products of Change.

Previous License This! entrants, both winners and finalists, have gone on to sign successful licensing agreements.

The 2016 winner Charlotte Reed, May The Thoughts Be With You, said: “Since winning, I signed with licensing agent Clare Piggott, and we have since signed three major deals and the May The Thoughts Be With You range from Half Moon Bay was a finalist in the gifting category at the 2020 Licensing Awards.”

Entry into License This! is free and open now online https://www.brandlicensing.eu/en/learn-brand-licensing/license-competition.html. Closing date is Monday 11 October at 5pm.

BLE’s License This! adds new category, expands into US, and appoints Ian Downes as chair

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Brand Licensing Europe’s popular License This! competition is now opens for entries, as it welcomes a new third award category, courtesy of Mojo Nation, as well as its expansion into the US market.

License This! has been helping brands and designers to break into the licensing industry for over a decade and now, thanks to the launch of the all-new Inventions & Product Innovations category in partnership with Mojo Nation, it will provide a springboard for inventors keen to break into the sector, too.

The competition will also debut in the US market this year at Licensing Expo Virtual, with the same three categories open to entrants from both Europe and the US:

  1. License This! Character & Animation
  2. License This! Brand & Design
  3. License This! Inventions & Product Innovations

The Character & Animation and Brand & Design categories are both aimed at unlicensed brands and properties looking to use the platform to secure a licensing deal or agency representation. Judges are looking for new creative concepts which have the potential to spread across multiple product categories. Typically, applicants are illustrator, publishing, or animation focused.

Meanwhile, the Inventions & Product Innovation category is about tangible product inventions that are patented or patent-pending, or innovative product designs that would benefit from licensing.

Judging is based on the invention’s product design uniqueness, brand-ability of the product, and presentation and pitch of the submission video. All three categories will take sustainability into consideration for the very first time.

The European judging panel will be chaired by Start Licensing managing director Ian Downes who takes over from licensing industry legend Kelvyn Gardner, who sadly passed away at the start of the year.

Anna Knight, VP of licensing, Informa Markets, said: “Discovery and creativity are pillars of the Brand Licensing Europe and Licensing Expo trade shows, both of which are foundational to the License This! programme. By expanding the programme geographically and demographically we want to drive new artists, illustrators and product inventors into the industry on a global scale providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to mark their place in the licensing industry.

“I also want to take this opportunity to welcome Ian as our new chairman in Europe. Filling Kelvyn’s shoes isn’t going to be easy, but we know he’ll do an amazing job.”

Ian Downes added: “License This! is a great initiative and is now firmly established as part of the licensing calendar. Licensing needs new ideas and fresh creativity to flourish. License This! provides a great platform for people to engage with the licensing world and to start building a network within it.

“I am delighted to be involved in the competition again and look forward to reviewing the entries. I am sure there will be some exciting new concepts to review. I thoroughly recommend it to the creative community.”

The winners from each category will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2022, one-on-one consultation with members of the judging panel, and free one year memberships to Licensing International and Products of Change.

Previous License This! entrants, both winners and finalists, have gone on to sign successful licensing agreements.

The 2016 winner Charlotte Reed, May The Thoughts Be With You, said: “Since winning, I signed with licensing agent Clare Piggott, and we have since signed three major deals and the May The Thoughts Be With You range from Half Moon Bay was a finalist in the gifting category at the 2020 Licensing Awards.”

Entry into License This! is free and open now online https://www.brandlicensing.eu/en/learn-brand-licensing/license-competition.html. Closing date is Monday 11 October at 5pm.

Posh Paws to showcase latest licensed plush line-up through six Product Showcase Events across the UK

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Posh Paws is to host six Product Showcase Events across the UK this June, enabling its customers to see its portfolio of new licensed plush toys and gifts in person. The move has been made in accordance to the latest easing of restrictions on social distancing.

Next month, visitors will be able to see the new licensed product from across Posh Paws’ portfolio of leading brands, including Sesame Street, Jurassic World, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Croods 2: A New Age, and Swizzels Rainbow Drops.

New lines from the popular Sunny Bunnies, BBC Earth, Ragtales, and Love Hearts will also be showcased, as well as a raft of new own-brand product developments.

‘Posh Paws has ensured that all these showcase events will be 100 per cent Covid-Secure and adhere to all government and venue guidelines, making the safety of customers and staff a priority,’ the firm said in a statement.

The six locations of their Product Showcase Events are listed below and if you are nearby or able to travel to them, please get in touch to book an appointment today:

ABERGELE SHOW: Tuesday 8th – Thursday 10th June

Kinmel Manor Hotel, St George Road, Abergele, LL22 9AS


BLACKPOOL SHOW: Monday 14th – Friday 18th June

De Vere Village Hotel, East Park Drive, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY3 8LL


BRISTOL SHOW: Monday 21st – Thursday 24th June

The Bristol, Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QF


GREAT YARMOUTH SHOW: Monday 7th – Thursday 10th June

Ocean Room, Pier Gardens, Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, NR31 6PP


SKEGNESS SHOW: Monday 14th – Thursday 17th June

Southview Hotel, Burgh Road, Skegness, PE25 2LA


YORK SHOW: Monday 21st – Thursday 24th June

The Principal York Hotel, Station Road, York, YO24

 

Alternatively, customers who would prefer to book a virtual product showroom tour can do so by arranging this with one of Posh Paws’ sales representatives.

“With the Plush toy category showing the largest sales growth in April, it’s the perfect time to make sure you’re stocking the highest quality plush from the biggest and best-selling licenses that Posh Paws has to offer,” said the company.

For more information on Posh Paws Product Showcase Events, call them on 01268 567317 or email them at sales@poshpawsinternational.co.uk

Hasbro and Gamepath release first details of the Monopoly: Lifesized attraction coming to London this summer

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Hasbro and Gamepath – a new division of Selladoor Worldwide – have released the first details of the Monopoly Lifesized experience – a new gameplay attraction due to open in London on August 14th this year.

The attraction will bring together the best of the iconic board game with escape room challenges and team co-operation for the ‘first of its kind in the world’ experience as players move around the board, participating in missions in order to acquire properties, earn money, and progress through the game.

Monopoly Lifesized is an immersive, on-your-feet version of the world’s favourite family game brand. Players will be able to experience the thrill of staging a heist in Mayfair, competing against the clock to build some of London’s most iconic buildings, or solve a baffling murder mystery.

The experience will be held at 213 – 215 Tottenham Court Road, a 22,000sq ft building over three floors in the West End. The building will house a retail outlet selling a range of Hasbro game merchandise, as well as The Top Hat – a Monopoly themed bar and restaurant serving signature cocktails and a British small plates menu.

Monopoly Lifesized will consist of a 75 minute gameplay segment on a 15 x 15m board, featuring eight properties, two Utility Companies, two Train Stations, Jail, Free Parking, Go, and Just Visiting. Each board can host between eight and 24 people split into four teams, all playing against each other.

Each team will have their own personal Monopoly token  – Scottie Dog, Boot, Racing Car, etc. – leading them around the game, taking scores, and giving hints where required. Each property square will have a full-sized location specific room behind it that players enter to participate in a challenge to ‘acquire’ that particular property.

The challenges will be a mixture of physical and mental puzzles and games that will test players’ skills and lateral thinking, and will be themed appropriately for the square, featuring either some historical or current day relationship with that part of London.

Monopoly: Lifesized will be created by a team drawn from across the immersive theatre, tech, and escape room worlds. Creative producers on the experience are Tom Beynon and Paul Mansfield, with set design by Tim McQuillen-Wright (designer for Secret Cinema experiences Stranger Things, Blade Runner, and Moulin Rouge) with costume design by Sarah Mercade, sound design by Luke Swaffield, and production management by Entourage.

Julia Posen, head of development at Gamepath, said: “Hasbro’s original board game continues to lead the market year in, year out and is loved globally by every generation that has grown up with the game. It has been an exciting journey to work with the talented Gamepath production team to bring this new experience to central London.

“We’re very excited as we know we have created something really special for people of all ages. When you step into the world we’re creating, we promise a dynamic, lively interactive experience and a great night out. Get ready for high risks and high rewards where there’s no ceiling to winning. As long as you can stay out of jail.”

David Hutchinson, CEO of Gamepath, added: “For us, Monopoly: Lifesized represents a major entry into a growing and exciting marketplace. Audiences want to consume live performance differently, and what better way than to jump into a lifesized version of the world’s favourite board game? Our creative team has been working their magic to fuse an experience that puts our audiences centre place on the board, and brings together our theatrical roots with innovative, digital and immersive storytelling.

“After everything we’ve missed out on individually and collectively and given the decimation of our high streets and city centres, it’s really exciting to be launching this now – we hope that we’ll be able to contribute to the recovery of Central London, and bring people back together in our fabulous Capital with a major new attraction in a major new destination building.”

Matt Proulx, vice president, Location Based Experiences at Hasbro said: “We are thrilled to be working with our best-in-class partners at Gamepath. Given its track record creating world class live performances, we believe that combining their skills along with our beloved Monopoly brand will create an exceptional, one-of-a-kind experience that truly brings the Monopoly game to life in a way only once imagined. We cannot wait for individuals of all ages to be able to once again get out and play together.”

The venue will be Covid-secure, adhering to all latest government guidelines, including one-way systems for the retail and food and beverage areas, hand sanitisers throughout the building, an enhanced deep cleaning regime, and with temperature checks undertaken for patrons and staff on arrival.

The capacity for each gameboard is limited to 24 maximum, and players are encouraged to form teams within their household bubbles. The producers will keep guidelines under constant review.

Licensing Expo 2021 confirms all virtual event with plans for in-person return in 2022

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The Las Vegas Licensing Expo is now to be a fully virtual experience, Informa Market’s Global Licensing Group has confirmed this week, with plans now in place to return to its in-person format for 2022.

“We’ve heard from our industry, and the best way to serve the international market in 2021 is to provide in-person experiences later this year, as well as a rich online experience that everyone can be a part of this summer,” said Anna Knight, vice president, licensing, Informa Markets.

“We’ve all felt the impact of not being able to gather in-person in 2020, and while the speed of recovery is promising, we serve a truly global market. Feedback from Licensing Expo customers and partners indicate that August is still too soon for the majority of the licensing community to properly plan and execute participation in an in-person event of this size and magnitude with continued restrictions on international and corporate travel.

“Our mission remains to create the most valuable platforms for our industry to connect and grow, and therefore we have decided to focus our efforts on our virtual experience in August, followed by in-person events in Q4 and beyond.”

Licensing Expo Virtual is now set to take place August 24-26, 2021 as a free-to-attend event supported by a robust online platform that allows exhibitors and visitors to schedule and host meetings, enjoy on-demand content and thought leadership and search and discover a range of properties available for license.

Maura Regan, president, Licensing International, exclusive sponsor of the virtual event, said: “Licensing International’s mission is to serve the licensing industry, help advance our member’s business and celebrate our successes as an industry. Licensing Expo Virtual does all of that and we are proud to be the exclusive sponsor.”

Licensing Expo Virtual will offer curated matchmaking, digital brand roadshows, the Licensing University, a host of world renowned keynotes, and Licensing International’s highly anticipated Licensing Excellence Awards.

Following Licensing Expo Virtual will be the inaugural Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit U.S. (Oct. 27-28, 2021), which will take place live and in-person in New York City at Convene Liberty Street.

Then in November, Brand Licensing Europe will take place live and in-person at ExCeL London on Nov. 17-19, 2021, with an online event following two weeks later (Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2021). To make online participation and navigation seamless, BLE will also use the same platform as Licensing Expo Virtual.

B&LIS and BLE in-person events will be organized in accordance with Informa’s AllSecure health and safety standards designed to ensure all participants can attend safely and with confidence.

Licensing Expo will return to Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on May 24-26, 2022.