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EVENT REVIEW: LICENSING WEEK VIRTUAL
Most attendees also engaged with seven pieces of content and averaged 23 hours and 23 minutes. Each day of the event featured content mirroring the experiences and content commonly found at Licensing Expo and Brand Licensing Europe, organised into different categories: Brands & Lifestyle, Character & Entertainment, Art & Design and Emerging Categories. A number of key industry trends emerged from each day. Brands & Lifestyle – consumer brands such as Kraft Heinz experienced net sale growth of 3.3% during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as nostalgia inspired Millennials and younger consumers to look to familiar brands for support and direction. The value of ‘purpose’ is now also popular among corporate and lifestyle brands that are being embraced by younger generations. Brands which showcase humility and values with conviction and stand for causes such as human rights and sustainability – supported with strategic licensing partnerships – can expect to see an increased interest from a new set of conscious consumers. Character & Entertainment – video streaming is projected to reach $27.1 billion in 2020. As the number of streaming subscription services expands, coupled with traditional cinemas unable to open, more streaming properties have opened the door to significant licensing potential. Viewers are consuming more content and establishing deeper connections with new properties. The shift to ecommerce during the pandemic also
means that direct to consumer opportunities will be a larger segment, even with retailers beginning to open up. Art & Design – licensing affords artists the opportunity to extend their brand to a wider audience through products that fall outside of their traditional product domain. Categories crucial to the art and design sector include home décor, footwear and accessories. Emerging Categories – interest in esports and video games influencers continue to rise. Companies which have managed to leverage the huge fan bases are enjoying significant success Anna sums up: “The most critical part of setting up a virtual event Inset: Content at the event such as this was was organised into Brands & Lifestyle, Character & keeping our Entertainment, Art & Design community and Emerging Categories. needs at top-ofmind - also realising that not every single element of a live trade show can transfer over to a digital event beat-for-beat. We’re pleased with the results of Licensing Week Virtual and will continue to complement live events with digital offerings to continue to reach the broad and agile licensing community.” Sharing her views of the event, Maura Regan, president of Licensing International, believes that the success of Licensing Week Virtual “marks the next step in the licensing landscape”. She adds: “Providing the licensing community with a platform to continue to build successful and influential brand partnerships is more critical than ever as consumer behaviours shift.”
Event feedback “Neopets (owned by JumpStart Games) had an excellent experience as one of the first Gold Sponsors of Licensing Week Virtual,” says Carlin West, licensing agent for the Neopets brand. “The entire show staff was extremely helpful in setting up our virtual booth, Matchmaking meetings and PR. The quality and quantity of the meetings and connections we made was outstanding. We would totally recommend this as an alternative or adjunct to anyone that could not attend a live event.” Meanwhile, Tony DiIoia, co-founder of AMGI Animation Studios, called the event “first class”. He commented: “The implementation of Licensing Week Virtual provided an opportunity for my company to open up new doors. The week provided a new platform to explore many new business opportunities that would have been difficult to pursue in the current work from home environment. “It’s impossible to replace the social power of face-to-face meetings but the event presents a new medium with opportunities to get business done - as a real-time alternative to physically being on-site.”
LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2020
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