Brand Licensing 2006, organised by Advanstar Communications UK Limited, has been short-listed as a finalist for two prestigious industry awards.

Brand Licensing 2006, the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension, has been nominated in the Trade Show of the Year category of the AEO Excellence Awards, and for Most Effective Marketing Campaign in the inaugural Exhibition News Awards.

The AEO Excellence Awards represent the biggest annual gathering of the exhibition industry, with over 1,200 industry players in attendance. The winners will be revealed at the ceremony on June 14, and Brand Licensing 2006 is nominated alongside four other finalists for Trade Show of the Year: ATEI, ICE, ICEi - Clarion ATE; The Furniture Show - CMP Information; IPEX 2006 - IIR Exhibitions; and World Travel Market - Reed Travel Exhibitions.

Jessica Blue

“We’re thrilled to be nominated for these awards. We worked very hard last year to ensure that Brand Licensing 2006 provided our exhibitors and visitors with everything they wanted from their industry event,” commented event director Jessica Blue.

“As a result of extensive research amongst visitors and exhibitors, an intensified visitor marketing campaign, a comprehensive retail campaign and the launch of the Screening Suite - a purpose built cinema at the event, the 2006 show was a huge success: there was an increase in overall visitor numbers, a 12 per cent increase in European visitors and a 62 per cent increase in retail attendees.

Jessica Blue continued: “We have re-branded for 2007 as Brand Licensing Europe and will move to the larger Grand Hall at Olympia this October. The success of 2006 and the buzz felt during the event are still evident when we talk to exhibitors and visitors alike. The number and high calibre of companies signing up to exhibit at rand Licensing Europe 2007 is testament to this success and exhibitor numbers are already 41 per cent ahead of this time last year.”

The Exhibition News Awards launch this month on May 10 at the Hackney Empire, with organisers Mash Media planning an Oscar-style night of celebration for its inaugural ceremony.

Helen Woodbridge

Brand Licensing 2006 has been nominated in the Most Effective Marketing Campaign category alongside Internet World from Ithaca Media and The British International Motor Show 2006 from IMIE.

Marketing manager Helen Woodbridge headed the marketing campaign: “As a result of extensive focus groups with visitors and exhibitors, we pinpointed a number of key objectives for the 2006 marketing campaign. In addition to the traditional marketing communications programme, we developed a number of new initiatives to deliver the right quality, quantity and mix of visitors. This included a significant database enhancement, an intensive retail relationship programme, a wide-reaching European Hosted Buyer Programme, and an eight-month European PR campaign.”

Brand Licensing Europe is the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. This year’s event takes place from October 2-3 at Olympia’s Grand Hall in London where around 4,000 visitors and 170 exhibitors will congregate for a busy two days of deal breaking and networking. Visitors can register now at www.brandlicensingeurope.com for a complimentary two-day pass.