Cobrandz, the collab’, licensing, and partnerships fair, will be held for the 19th time on 30 & 31 March in Paris. LM discussed about the licensing market and the latest news of the exhibition with the founder Nathalie Chouraqui.
Nathalie Chouraqui, Cobrandz Founder
In your opinion, how is the licensing market evolving today?
The licensing market has been transforming and reinventing itself for several years. We can split the market by distribution typology.
There is a real split between mass distribution, where long-term brands are very present with new content. They are becoming essential for children and benefit from the strong transgenerational effect. The emergence of new properties is therefore very difficult. On the other hand, specialist retailers, e-commerce, and luxury goods are taking risks by creating a new licensing space. Volumes are less strong and ROI must be thought of differently. Indeed, this whole approach is a real “viral” campaign and we must see savings in communication.
In this context, it is clear that the customer experience is the basis for developing licenses. The need to experience emotions with brands is fundamental today. We see big brands that have been established for years setting up huge events to constantly create a link with their public. I’m thinking of Harry Potter or even Pokémon for example, which excel in this field.
Technological evolutions also force brands to reinvent themselves and we can see that they are developing in the metaverse. It’s a new playground where anything is possible and where the customer experience has no limits.
The market is also turning towards more environmentally friendly manufacturing methods. Brands are orienting their discourse in this direction and we see initiatives at Clementoni or Ravensburger that show that sustainable licensing is possible.
What are the most important features of Cobrandz and what’s new in 2023?
Cobrandz is the collab’, licences, and partnerships exhibition entirely dedicated to the brand ecosystem and its functioning in the rights and derivatives market. The profession is evolving, changing, and adapting to consumer trends. Since 2004, Cobrandz (formerly Kazachok Licensing Forum) has also changed and is always looking to adapt its offer for business efficiency.
In 2023, 1,000 brands from the entertainment, fashion, publishing, art, video game, and food industries will present their news for 2024. These brands are also constantly evolving and like to think about developing new products and services. Cobrandz is the ideal tool for these new challenges. From the DNVB ChefClub, through the future saga The Three Musketeers, Kellogg’s, DC Comics, One Piece, Breaking Bad or even Japanese icons such as Aggretsuko and Rilakkuma, brands are not mistaken…
At the same time, we propose conferences and invite experts to share their visions on current topics. We want Cobrandz to be a meeting point that delivers content that goes beyond “pure licensing”. Among the topics are the behavior of young consumers in 2023, the management of fan communities, particularly in video games, the Metaverse, and brands and retail. Multiple exciting topics that will open the field of possibilities and ask the question “To innovate, should we break with the past or be inspired by it?
Finally this year, we will have our WebTV “Brands to be alive” on-site to interview the major players in the industry, find out how they feel about the market, and reveal the latest product trends. The programs will be broadcast on our YouTube channel and our website.
Licensing Magazine is a partner of the event and provides the code LM-FREE-CBZ23 to register for free: https://www.cobrandz.fr/le-salon
Curated by Andrea De Amicis
