BLE’s License This! Competition opens for entries Brand Licensing Europe - July 2016

 
License This!, the annual competition designed to introduce new properties to licensing, is now open for entries at www.brandlicensing.eu.

The competition forms part of Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the largest and most prestigious licensing event in Europe, which is organised by UBM and sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA).

Now in its seventh year, the competition is open to anyone with a concept that has yet to be published or broadcast, or a brand that has not yet extended to non-core consumer products. It applies to any new property with its roots in publishing, art and design, television or digital media. Entries are reviewed by a panel of experts and a shortlist of four properties are then pitched to the panel in front of a live audience at BLE on 13th October 2016.

This year’s winner will receive a prize worth over £6,000 which includes a fully furnished nine square metre stand at BLE 2017 to bring the property to market. They will also receive LIMA membership for one year and a ticket to the LIMA Licensing Essentials Course & Spring Fling Networking Party in May 2017.

“License This! is now an integral part of BLE, and provides a fantastic opportunity for property owners to present their creations at Europe’s biggest showcase for brand extension” said Anna Knight, BLE Brand Director. “For those who are shortlisted, it’s also a valuable learning experience – our judges are always forthcoming with advice and feedback; something which past winners and runners up have found extremely useful in shaping their strategies. We would urge anyone with a new creative concept to enter today.”

Past winners have included Pink Chillies, RaNT! and Mr Trafalgar, who have all gone on to sign successful licensing agreements. 2015 prize winner was OiDroids, a range of collectable pop-out and build robot characters aimed at the pocket money sector.

OiDroids creator, Jonathan Klemenz, added “Following our win, we enjoyed great sales over the Christmas period and released our new set of characters, the Nuts ’n’ Bolts Crew, which are currently on sale online and we’re hoping to release into retail shortly. After appearing at the show, we’ve had strong interest from a couple of publishers and are continuing discussions with a number of exciting potential partner brands. We are also looking forward to having our own stand at BLE 2016.”

Entry forms and competition rules can be found at www.brandlicensing.eu. Deadline for entries is 9th September 2016. Brand Licensing Europe 2016 takes place from 11-13th October 2016 at London’s Olympia.