Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the continent’s leading event for licensing and brand extension, is gearing up to welcome attendees at London’s ExCeL from 4 – 6 October and has now revealed some highlights from this year’s agenda.
Newly added to the line-up is Thea Green MBE, founder of Nails.INC, who will deliver a keynote address on day two. Green launched Nails.INC in 1999 and it is now the UK’s leading and multi-award-winning, British beauty brand, turning over $137 million in 2021.
She will join Ben Roberts, EMEA content director at License Global, for a fireside chat exploring trends in the health and beauty industry, how to deliver retailtainment and brand engagement in-store, brand partnerships and the company’s plans for growth.
LBE in the spotlight
The BLE 2023 agenda – now complete with speakers and participants – is available to view here. All sessions are free to attend and focus on the trends defining brand licensing, extensions and collaborations with sector-specific sessions covering gaming, LBE, fashion, food & beverage, anime and animation.
Wednesday 4 October
Day one begins with an orientation session and Licensing 101, followed by a tour of the show floor, ideal for first-time attendees.
Key sessions on the opening day include State of the Nation: The Licensing Landscape of 2024, where Roberts will take a deep dive into the latest trends, exploring the strategies that brands, agents and licensees are adopting for 2024. This is followed by a panel discussion led by PwC, called Building Trust to Enhance and Drive Value in Brand Licensing Partnerships.
Then, in Couture Culture: How to Curate Impactful Fashion Collaborations attendees will be given an introduction to IMPS – The Smurfs.
The opening day keynote is called Passing GO: Bringing the World’s #1 Board Game to Life.
In this, Hasbro and The Path Entertainment Group will explore the creative pursuit, potential, and problem-solving required to turn Monopoly into one of the most talked-about activations on the experience market today. The speakers will be David Hutchinson, CEO of The Path Entertainment Group and Matt Proulx, vice president of LBE at Hasbro.
This will be followed by an exploration of location-based experience trends. LBE is a $3.29 billion market and is expected to grow 30% by 2030. Attendees can learn about the key trends impacting LBE in this session from a brand, operator and media perspective. Speakers are Ella Baskerville, business development director at blooloop, Ngaio Harding-Hill, head of attractions & live experiences at Aardman and Danielle Tanton, head of licensing at The Path Entertainment Group & VP of the Themed Entertainment Association’s Europe & Middle East Division.
Other sessions during the afternoon of day one include Milano Cortina 2026 Licensing: Once in a Lifetime, where Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 will present exclusive licensing opportunities to join the next Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, hosted in Italy, and What’s the State of Play in Sports Licensing? which takes a look at the sports licensing landscape.
Finally, the new Ignite Brand Pitches session will feature speed pitches from five unlicensed brands looking to break into the licensing industry.
Thursday 5 October
Following another orientation session at the start of the day, day two will also feature a number of insightful panels and discussions.
Firstly, in Why Gaming is Taking Over the World, License Global will spotlight the entertainment medium that has now captured the imagination of over 3 billion people. Panellists include Chelsea Faso, commercial & licensing manager for XBOX & Halo Brands, Dave Tovey, associate vice president, brand management, head of digital media representation (Tinderbox) Beanstalk, Federico San Martin, director of Minecraft Consumer Products, Microsoft and Owen Rees, group head of licensing at Games Workshop.
In Crunchyroll: Amplifying Anime’s Global Impact, attendees will learn about the cultural phenomenon that is Japanese Anime and the remarkable impact it has achieved globally.
Following this, a session called Story board: Why Europe is an Exciting Market of Animation, IP and Storytelling will look at how the European region is emerging as a new hub for smash-hit intellectual animation properties.
In the afternoon, after the keynote session with Thea Green, attendees can learn how brands can create authentic experiences and choose the right attraction partners in LBE: How to Master the Experience Economy. Panellists include Alex Sanson, senior brand manager at Magic Light Pictures, Matt Wild, director of Wild Creations, and Gary Pope, CEO and co-founder at Kids Industries.
Later, the topic of F&B will be on the table in Navigating the Food Aisle. In the last session of the day, Partners, Promotion, and Protection, Trent Fairbrother, brand protection strategic partnership manager at Amazon, will discuss how to eliminate licensee disruptions, promote your brand and licensees, and protect against infringement & counterfeits on Amazon stores.
Friday 6 October
Friday is BLE & License Global’s Day of Purpose. From social responsibility to sustainability and brand ethics, day three of Brand Licensing Europe – in partnership with Products of Change & Diversity.Org – is a platform for change and a catalyst for good.
Sessions announced so far include Products of Change and Diversity Bridge in Partnership with Diversity.Org. Diversity Bridge connects students from underrepresented communities to career opportunities, empowering them to rise to their potential and find success.
Brand Licensing Europe brings together thousands of brand owners, retailers, and manufacturers working to develop new branded products and experiences that will develop relationships between consumers and the brands they love. This year’s event is on the theme of location-based experiences (LBE).
