From 21st through 24th March the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids will host the main brands and trends in the world of kids, teen and young adults. Announced the Winners of the Fifth Edition of the prestigious BLTF Awards
On the occasion of the opening of the fourteenth edition of the Bologna Licensing Trade Fair/Kids 2022, the winners of the prestigious Bologna Licensing Awards have been announced. The awards include Best PRESCHOOL, KIDS, TEEN and ADULT licensing project developed in 2020-2021, with special prizes for RETAIL, FASHION, PUBLISHING, PROMOTION, KIOSK and BEST PROPERTY OF THE YEAR categories (2021).
The Bologna Licensing Award is the only award in the Licensing industry in Italy, and the only one establishing itself internationally as a recognition for brands and properties for children and young people, thanks to the conjunction with the global leading Bologna Children’s Book Fair. The competition is open to all brands and properties in the sector; in this fifth edition over 130 projects from all over Europe were submitted.
The jury was composed of: Ivan Colecchia, Business Development Senior Vice President at Brand Trends; Lisa Hryniewicz, Owner of Koko Rose Media, expert in media, children’s IP development and strategic marketing for over 25 years; Helena Mansell- Stopher, CEO and Founder of Products of Change, an online hub for sustainability aimed at licensed consumer goods; Cecilia Padula, VP Kids & Family Brand South Europe, Middle East and Africa for Paramount Global, with a long experience in television, media and entertainment; and Will Pearce, CEO of The Insights Family.
After careful evaluation by the jury of the numerous projects nominated for this highly anticipated edition, here are the winners who will be awarded today, March 21st, at 7.30 pm at the Award Ceremony to be held at Palazzo Re Enzo, in the heart of Bologna. The products and projects awarded in the individual categories can be seen at the Fair by all visitors to the event in specially set up showcases (Gallery Hall 25-26).
Category: BEST PRESCHOOL LICENSING PROJECT
Winner: Baby Shark
Licensor : Paramount
Reason: For the particularly creative range of products, characterized by a lively, playful, and engaging design
Category: BEST KIDS LICENSING PROJECT
Winning Project: Poste Italiane for The Pokémon Company International
Brand: Pokémon
Licensor: The Pokémon Company International
Reason: For the original mix of two well-established brands, united in a new way that enhances a particularly long -lived property in an innovative way
Category: BEST TEEN LICENSING PROGRAM
Winner: Peanuts
Licensor: Peanuts Worldwide LLC
Agency: WildBrain Cplg
Motivation: For the wide range of products that know how to maintain a high-quality standard together with a strong appeal for a teen target
Category: BEST ADULT LICENSING PROJEC T
Winning Project: Clementoni for Life
Brand: LIFE
Licensor: Meredith Corporation
Agent: Maurizio Distefano, The Evolution of Licensing
Partner: Clementoni
Motivation: For its distinctive design and for branding its iconic images on a challenging product type
Category: BEST RETAIL PROJECT
Winning Project: ADOPT for Monsieur Madame
Brand: Mr Men Little Miss
Licensor: Sanrio
Partner: Adopt
Reason: For the particularly original product line, with unique designs and a great appeal for a very broad target
Category: BEST KIDS and TEEN FASHION PROJECT
Winner Project: IDO for Emoji
Brand: Emoji
Licensor: The Emoji Company
Agent: WildBrain CPLG
Partner: Miniconf SpA
Reason: For the great usage of brand assets within categories that are relevant to the brand
Category: BEST ADULT FASHION PROJECT
Winning Project: Benetton for Life
Brand: Life
Licensor: Meredith Corporation
Agent: Maurizio Distefano, The Evolution of Licensing
Partner: Benetton
Motivation: For a beautifully developed collection and campaign, with high quality coverage across all sectors
Category: PROPERTY OF THE YEAR
Winner: Baby Shark
Brand: Baby Shark
Licensor: Paramount
Motivation: For impressive expansion across all platforms and across major product categories, keeping an up-to-date brand for young kids
Category: BEST LICENSED KIOSK PROJECT
Winning Project: World of Crafts
Brand: Playmobil
Licensor: Playmobil
Partner: De Agostini Publishing
Reason: For the edutainment value of the product that has been able to combine play with educational values, always maintaining an important playability
Category: BEST LICENSED PUBLISHING PROJECT
Winning Project: Nina & Olga Publishing Program
Brand: Nina & Olga
Licensor: Enanimation
Partner: Mondadori – Children’s Books
Motivation: For rich and well-articulated editorial development on a wide variety of products and content
Category: BEST LICENSED PROMOTION / LOYALTY CAMPAIGN
Winning Project: McDonald’s Happy Meal “Schleich” Promotion
Brand: Schleich
Toys Licensor: Schleich
Partner: Created
Motivation: For the way they communicated the promotional campaign and for the excellent variety of products
The Bologna Licensing Trade Fair is rich of interesting events: awards ceremonies, international conferences, talks, masterclasses, webinars, live streaming, presentations, meetings and encounters.
Starting on 21 March with the International Kids Licensing Day, a day of in-depth analysis and meetings with the international leaders of the industry to discuss trends in kids licensing. The day is organized by Bologna Children’s Book Fair and Bologna Licensing Trade Fair, in collaboration with Licensing Magazine and with the sponsorship of Maurizio Distefano The Evolution of Licensing. At this event, about 20 executives are expected to speak, from some of the most prominent companies in the international licensing scene, such as: Moonbug Entertainment, Paramount Global, Sanrio, DePlaneta Entertainment, Studio 100, WildBrain CPLG, BrandTrends, The Insights Family, Products of Change, Egmont, Clementoni, Smurf, Leolandia and MadHouse. March 22nd also offers another particularly rich program. In the morning there is an event by NBC UNIVERSAL, while in the afternoon we will have “A look at the Japanese Anime World” organized by Starbright Licensing, an overview and news on the most successful Manga and Anime brands in Italy and Europe. The major representatives of the sector will participate: Toei Animation, Starcomics, Panini Comics, and others. Also on the same afternoon, there will be the Hasbro Roadshow 2022/2023, a presentation of the latest news from one of the major leader in kids entertainment. At the end of the day, there will be a meeting organized by BLTF/Kids in collaboration with Toy Store: POST PANDEMIC TRENDS. TOYS BETWEEN LICENSING, SUSTAINABILITY AND PARTERSHIP WITH NORMAL TRADE. Speakers include Ivan Colecchia, SVP Global Development, BrandTrends, Edgardo Di Meo, Spin Master’s Marketing Director for Italy and Greece, and Alessandro Bruno, Trade Marketing Manager Toys Division at Mondo.
Following are the many companies that will be exhibiting at the 14th edition of the Fair (in alphabetical order): ATLANTYCA SPA, BM SRL, BOING SPA, BONUS MP, CICABOOM SRL, COOL THINGS, DE AGOSTINI PUBLISHING SPA, DEA PLANETA ENTERTAINMENT, DY NIT, EMA SRL, ENANIMATION SRL, ETS STUDIOS SRL, EVENTI E FIERE SRL, GRANI & PARNERS SPA, HASBRO ITALY SRL, KIDDINX MEDIA GMBH, KIDS ME SRL, LEONI SPA, MONDO TV SPA, MAURIZIO DI STEFANO ADVISORY SRL, MEDIASET, MEDIATOON LICENSING, MUSGUMMI PROJECT SRL, NICOLETTA COSTA STORE SRL, NBC UNIVERSAL, NJ WORLD UAB, PARAMOUNT, PLAY AROUND SRL, RAI COM SPA, SANRIO GMBH, SANTORO LICENSING, SBABAM SRL, STARBRIGHT LICENSING SRL, TF1 LICENSING, THE POKEMON COMPANY INTERNATIONAL, VICTORIA LICENSING & MARKETING, WILDBRAIN CPLG.
Media partners of the event: Licensing Magazine, Distribuzione Moderna, La Cartoleria, Toy Store.
