Brand Licensing – Europe’s event for licensing and brand extension – rebrands as Brand Licensing Europe from tomorrow. The move follows the highly successful two-day event in October, which was hailed by many in the industry as the ‘best Brand Licensing ever’.

“Since 2003, when Brand Licensing was repositioned as Europe’s event for licensing and brand extension and, European visitors to the show have increased by 48 per cent, and international vistors now account for one fifth of the total audience,” commented event director Jessica Blue.

The increased interest from European attendees in 2003 and 2004 convinced organisers Advanstar to launch the Hosted European Retailer Programme in 2005 and over the last two years, the programme has fully hosted 22 key European retail buyers from, for example, Carrefour, Auchan, Toys R Us Netherlands and Eroski.

Advanstar has also increased investment in European marketing and PR year on year since 2003: “More investment has equalled more activity, more intensity and a wider reach. In 2006, the PR team secured editorial in a broader range of titles in more European territories than ever before. We fully intend to step this activity up again for 2007,” added Jessica Blue.

“We can confidently say that Brand Licensing is now a truly European event and our exhibitors and visitors feel strongly about, and fully support, its international scope. With that in mind, we felt it was high time the show’s name properly reflected the content and reach of the exhibition and that’s why we have rebranded as Brand Licensing Europe for 2007.”

Brand Licensing Europe takes place at the Grand Hall, Olympia from October 2-3, 2007.