A comprehensive list of finalists for The Licensing Awards 2011 has been revealed. The winners will be announced when the Licensing Awards take place on September 13th – for the first time in The Great Room at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel. This year’s event is bigger than ever and the evening is destined to be a memorable one for the 1,300 retailers, licensees, licensors and industry suppliers set to attend, with hosting duties being undertaken by award-winning funny man Greg Davies, star of smash-hit E4 comedy The Inbetweeeners.

“Participation in the Awards at every level has been at an all time high this year,” says Ian Hyder, director of The Licensing Awards. “We have seen a record-breaking number of products entered, whilst over 80 top retail buyers have formed the judging panel, and the validation and judging panels for the retail and licensed property categories has included many of the most experienced and respected experts from across the industry.”

The complete list of finalists is as follows:

The Product Awards Finalists
Some 5,000+ products were entered into the Product Awards this year by a vast array of licensees, from large multi-nationals to small niche players. Each product entry was judged by an extensive panel of top retail buyers including representatives of Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Waterstone’s, WHSmith, Mothercare, John Lewis, HMV, Clintons, Boots, Next, Bhs, Primark and Harrods. For each product entry the judges considered the excellence of design, innovation and originality, consumer targeting and quality of manufacture and packaging.

Best Licensed Toys or Games Range
Ben 10 Ultimate Alien Toy Range from Bandai
Chuggington Interactive Toy Range from Learning Curve
Hello Kitty Roleplay Toys, Dolls Prams and Patio Furniture from HTI
Moshi Monsters Soft Toys and Talking Monsters from Vivid
Peppa Pig Toy Range from Character Options
Star Wars Talking Plush Range from Underground Toys

Best Licensed Dress Up or Party Range
Disney Fairies Costume Range from Christys By Design
The Gruffalo Dress Up Range from VMC Accessories
Hello Kitty Partyware Range from Gemma International
Mr Men & Little Miss Partyware Range from Talking Tables
Sesame Street Dress Up Costumes from Smiffys
Transformers Children's Dress Up from Rubies Masquerade

Best Licensed Children's Apparel Range
Baby Sesame Street for Mothercare from CMI
Beatrix Potter Classic Range for Bhs from Brecrest Babywear
The Gruffalo SS11 Range from Sainsbury's TU
The Gruffalo Outdoor/Garden Range from Briers
Mr Men Kids’ Night-time Wear from Crystal Martin International
Peppa Pig Children's Clothing Range for George@Asda from Blues Clothing

Best Licensed Adult Apparel Range
Glee Ladies Nightwear Range by Branded Clothing International
Sesame Street Ladies Underwear and Nightwear from Somerbond
Star Wars Luxury Adult Bathrobe Range from Groovy UK
Star Wars Men’s T Shirts from Brand Alliance
Visit London Adult Clothing Range from Leap Group
Where’s Wally? Underwear and Nightwear for Next from Somerbond

Best Licensed Written, Listening or Learning Range
Buzz Lightyear Learn & Go from VTech
Ladybird Personalised Fairy Tales from Gift Republic
Moshi Monsters Moshling Collectors Guide from Penguin
Mr Men & Little Miss Books from Egmont
Peppa Pig Electronic Learning Range from Inspirationworks
Waybuloo Book Range from Egmont

Best Licensed Paper Products or Stationery Range
Hello Kitty Calendar and Cards from Danilo
Orla Kiely Paper by Blueprint Collections
Star Wars Classic Poster and 3D Poster Range from GBeye
Super Mario Greeting Card Range from Gemma International
Where’s Wally? Adult Age Birthday Card Range from Woodmansterne
Winnie The Pooh Heritage Baby Gifting from Tigerprint

Best Licensed Giftware Range
Coronation Street Food Gift Range from Kimm & Miller UK
Disney Classic Romeo Britto Giftware Range from Enesco
Hello Kitty Nerdy Range from Blueprint Collections
Marmite Food Gift Range from Kimm & Miller UK
Rubik’s Cube Gift Range from Spinning Hat
Visit London Gift Range from Half Moon Bay

Best Licensed Home Décor, Tableware or Housewares Range
Edward Monkton Kitchen Ceramics from David Mason Design
JCB Simply Slot Together Furniture from Kidsaw
Love Hearts Homewares Range from Paladone Products
Scrabble Home Décor Range from Wild & Wolf
Sophie Conran Buckets Of Fun from Burgon & Ball
Toy Story 3D Lunch Boxes from Premium Factory

Best Licensed Food and Drink Range
Baileys Confectionery Range from Kinnerton Confectionery
Disney Princess Celebration Cake from Lightbody
Robinsons Classic Fruit Sweets from Monty Bojangles
Nando’s Food Gift Range from Kimm & Miller UK
Wallace and Gromit Biscuit Range from Huntley & Palmers
Wispa Ice Cream Range from Fredericks Dairies

Best Licensed Brand Range
JCB Tool Range from B&Q
Jelly Belly Fragrances from Corsair Cosmetics
Lego Clock Range from Clic Time Holdings
Me to You Pet Collection from Pet Range
Rob Ryan Gift Range from Wild & Wolf
Red or Dead Bicycle Collection from Raleigh

The Innovation Award
Fifi and the Flowertots Garden Bulbs and Tools from M&G
Jamie Oliver, Junior Jamie Grown Up Kits For Little Hands From Merison
Me to You My Place Facebook App from Sharkius Games
Play That Tune Board Game from Imagination Games
Scalextric Phone and Ipad App from Sabec
Volkswagen T1 Camper Van Tent from The Monster Factory

The Retailer Award Finalists
The finalists of the Retailer Award categories were decided on following an online nomination process involving manufacturers, suppliers and importers of licensed products, inviting them to state which retailers have excelled in their retail delivery of licensed merchandise to the public over the last year. These results were then taken into account by a validation panel of industry experts to arrive at the final line-up.

Best Pre-School Retailer of Licensed Products
Argos
Asda (includes George@Asda)
Next
Sainsbury’s (includes TU Clothing)
Tesco
Toys R Us (includes Babies R Us)

Best Kids Retailer of Licensed Products
Argos
Asda (includes George@Asda)
Next
Sainsbury’s (includes TU Clothing)
Smyths Toys
Tesco

Best Brands Retailer of Licensed Products
Argos
Debenhams
House of Fraser
John Lewis
Next
Selfridges

Best Direct Selling Retailer of Licensed Products
Amazon
Argos online
Littlewoods/Shop Direct
Next online
Play.com
Tesco Direct

Top Retailer Award
The winners of the other categories are contenders for this award, as such no finalists are announced until The Licensing Awards event.

The Licensed Property Awards Finalists

This year, for the first time, licensors and brand owners were invited to enter licensed properties online. The submissions were then considered by a judging panel of leading licensees and retailers to arrive at a list of finalists.

Best Pre-School Licensed Property
Disney Princess
Fireman Sam
The Gruffalo
Peppa Pig
Thomas & Friends
Toy Story 3

Best Schoolers/Tween or Teen Licensed Property
Ben 10
Hello Kitty
Moshi Monsters
SpongeBob SquarePants
Star Wars
Nintendo

Best Brand Licensed Property
JCB
Jelly Belly
Lego
Me to You
The National Trust
V&A

Best Sports Licensed Property
Arsenal Football Club
Chelsea FC
Liverpool Football Club
London 2012 Olympics
Manchester United Football Club
St Andrews Links

Best Celebrity Licensed Property
The Beatles
Orla Kiely
Jamie Oliver
JLS
Justin Bieber
Sophie Conran

The Best Classic Licensed Property
Betty Boop
Dr Who
The Simpsons
Star Wars
Thomas & Friends
Winnie The Pooh

Best Licensed Marketing Communication 2011 Award

The finalists in this award have previously been announced but are as follows:
Monkey Coming Home & Christmas Campaign for PG Tips from Unilever and Comic Relief (Monkey is licensed by Bulldog Licensing)
Mr Happy Should've Gone To Specsavers from Chorion
Speedy Gonzalez Advertising Campaign for Virgin Media from Warner Bros
Timmy Time Fairy Non-Bio Books Promotion from Aardman Rights
Wallace & Gromit Christmas Stamps for Royal Mail from Aardman Rights
Wallace & Gromit Great British Tea Party for Yorkshire Tea from Aardman Rights

You can now get a real ‘behind the scenes’ look at the run up to The Licensing Awards by following them on Facebook and Twitter – click through from the Awards website - www.thelicensingawards.co.uk - become a fan and follow the news as it happens.

Tables for The Licensing Awards are selling fast but tickets are still available via the Awards website or from Tracey at Event Solutions and Promotions on 01372 841001 or e-mail tracey@eventsol.co.uk