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

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

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.

Toy Fair NY’s Steve Pasierb | “Brands Untapped” comes to New York to Showcase Toy Brands and Licensing Partners

Many well-known toy companies have successfully built their properties into iconic global brands that can be found in almost every aisle at retail – spilling out of toys and games into kids’ apparel, backpacks and lunchboxes, cosmetics, school supplies, housewares and more.

As this phenomenon grows, toymakers are also finding creative ways of tapping into older audiences who are either nostalgic for the toy brands they knew and loved as kids, or simply embracing their own inner child, resulting in toy company relationships with high-profile partners spanning the apparel, housewares, food & drink, hospitality, live event, video game, film & TV, and publishing industries.

During Toy Fair New York ’22 (taking place 19 to 22 February), we’ll be celebrating and showcasing these important properties and licensing partnerships in the show’s innovative “Brands Untapped” area at the newly renovated and expanded Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. 

This partnership between The Toy Association and the team at Mojo Nation, who are dedicated to celebrating the creativity of the toy, game, and designer community, assures “Brands Untapped” will be an experience-rich, curated area that will feature multiple activations designed to showcase toy and game brand extensions, product ranges, and licensed interactions. 

An accompanying “Brands Untapped” conference will host talks and panels delving into design stories behind the extensions of well-known toy brands into categories like footwear, video games, and even hotel suites, allowing New York attendees to get an up-close look at the synergistic relationship between toys, play, and licensing – both within children’s product categories and well beyond.  

Our annual New York marketplace continues to expand and evolve to serve a growing range of attendees across everything play at all ages, importantly including licensors and entertainment executives. With licensed products accounting for better than 30 percent of US toy sales, the future is far more than the past’s licensed product stemming just from movies. All forms of content and digital-first brands (originating from streaming platforms, social media, esports, and so on) are having an incredible impact on the business of play, and companies are licensing their own brands and transforming them into household names, following in the footsteps of Barbie, LEGO, Hot Wheels, and many others. 

Each February in New York, seminars on licensing fundamentals, the latest global trends in licensing, and how to evaluate whether a property is ready for licensing play a vital role. The Toy Association’s trends team also tracks and monitors the impact of blockbuster movies, preschool properties, non-linear channels, and original IPs on toys, among other toy and play trends, and their findings will be announced at Toy Fair ‘22.

In addition to licensing activations, content, and trends via “Brands Untapped” and other programming, the global toy & play community continues to tell us they greatly anticipate returning to the Javits Center next February. There will be so much to explore and discover – and even more reasons to celebrate and connect with toy industry colleagues who are passionate about play and entertainment! We look forward to seeing you all at Toy Fair New York 2022. Visit www.ToyFairNY.com for the latest show news.