Visitor registration is now open.
Brand Licensing Europe has revamped its License This! competition for 2018, doubling the awards to one each for art & design and brands & lifestyle entrepreneurs. The announcement comes as the show gets ready to celebrate its 20th anniversary and visitor registration opens at https://www.brandlicensing.eu/.
The increased emphasis on the art & design and brands & lifestyle categories is also reflected on the show floor as, for the first time, BLE will occupy both the Grand and National Halls to bring all of its exhibitors together on one level.
BLE brand director Anna Knight, said: “It’s really important that BLE represents and supports the entire licensing industry and that we offer maximum discoverability, so all of our exhibitors and visitors can have their best show. We are confident this will be facilitated by having everyone on one level across the ground floor of the Grand and National Halls.
“We’re also excited about the reaction from expanding License This!, which will result in two winners this year. Our 2016 and 2017 winners are both exhibiting at this year’s BLE, which shows what a valuable leg up the competition provides for start-ups.”
Over 250 companies are expected to exhibit in 2018 and well over 200 are already confirmed. Newcomers include:
- Acamar Films (character & entertainment), which owns hit pre-school property Bing
- Spanish pre-school brand Ioguis, winner of License This! 2017
- Larkshead Media, which represents May The Thoughts Be With You, winner of License This! 2016
- Blues Clothing
- Infinity Lifestyle Brands
- Seven new art & design exhibitors: ‘Ahh Inspiring’ Art, Linda Wood Licensing, Tiago Azevedo, Helz Cuppleditch, Joseph Sankar, Art by Lis Goncalves, Old School Art Studio
BLE is the definitive event for the licensing industry in Europe, taking place 9-11 October 2018 at Olympia London. Over 7,500 retailers, licensees and marketers are expected to attend, over one third of whom will travel to London from overseas.
This year, visitor features at BLE will include:
- A brand-new food and beverage theme uniting licensees and licensors and creating immersive, interactive and fun experiences for visitors.
- The Licensing Academy – promoting best practice and excellence in licensing with sessions focusing on key trends delivered by respected industry experts.
- Brands & Lifestyle seminar programme – inspirational sessions featuring some of the biggest brands and names in the business.
- Product Showcase – introduced in 2016 to shine a light on the variety and diversity of licensed products from brands & lifestyle and art & design providing inspiration for retailers and licensees.
- License This! – launched in 2009 to give unlicensed brand and image owners the opportunity to enter the licensing market. Shortlisted entrants have the chance to pitch their property in front of a live audience and a panel of expert judges at the show.
- The Matchmaking Service, which allows users to pre-book 1-2-1 meetings with the right partners.
