The industry is “embracing the possibilities of exhibiting in a virtual environment” says Anna Knight, vp Global Licensing Group.
A further swathe of companies have pledged their support to next month’s Festival of Licensing, with total exhibitor numbers “hours away” from hitting 100.
New names which will be taking a virtual presence at the European part of the virtual event – powered by Brand Licensing Europe and taking place from October 6-8 – include: Asgard Media, Asmodee Entertainment, Bravado, Chef Club, Fruit of the Loom, Herschend Entertainment, IMG, JSC ‘CTC’ Media, Letters by Julia, Panini, Retail Monster, Science Museum Group, tesa scribos, Young Spirit Clothing and ZAG America.
“The response to Festival of Licensing has been incredible – not just in terms of exhibitor numbers (we’re hours away from hitting 100) – but also with how enthusiastic and creative they’ve all been in embracing the possibilities of exhibiting in a virtual environment,” commented Anna Knight, vp of Global Licensing Group, Informa Markets.
Since the first raft of exhibitors for the four-week festival were confirmed in August – including Acamar Films, Bioworld, Chupa Chups, Hasbro, Natural History Museum, NBA Properties, Penguin Ventures, Pokémon, SEGA Europe, Start Licensing and Yale – a host of companies have continued to come on board on a steady basis.
These include the likes of Aardman, BBC Studios, Beanstalk, Bulldog Licensing, Capcom, Caroline Mickler, Crunchyroll, Edutainment Licensing, IMPs, Licensing Works, Lisle Licensing, Magic Light Pictures, Mattel, Metrostar, National Gallery, Perfetti van Melle, Pink Key Licensing, Rocket Licensing, TSBA, Ubisoft, V&A, ViacomCBS Consumer Products, Warhammer and Xilam to name just a few.
“In these extraordinary times, it has been encouraging to see the licensing community come together to support one another, continue to network and share ideas,” said Denise Deane, founder of Edutainment Licensing, which will be launching NSPCC brands, Pantosaurus and Buddy, at the event. “We have exhibited at BLE for many years and have been successful in securing business opportunities from the connections we have made there.
“This year especially during such difficult times we feel that it is important for us to continue our support and look forward to meeting potential partners during the event.”
The full list of exhibitors can be viewed by clicking here.
As well as the European event, October 14-15 will focus on Asia (powered by Licensing Expo China and Licensing Expo Japan), while October 20-22 is the turn of North America and Latin America (powered by Licensing Expo).
The Licensing Leadership Summit is then due to take place on October 28-29.
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