Festival of Licensing is close to kick-off with a record 11,000 meeting requests made.
Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) 2020 opens its virtual doors at 9am on Tuesday October 6 as part of Festival of Licensing and the event is already breaking records: 11,000 meeting requests have been made since the platform opened just two weeks ago. With four days till launch, BLE organiser Global Licensing Group is expecting this figure to rise exponentially, beating all previous records held by the event.
BLE is being hosted virtually for 2020 as part of the month-long Festival of Licensing, the virtual celebration of the global licensing industry, which runs from October 6-29 and incorporates three regional events linked to the world’s biggest licensing markets – Europe (6-8 October), Asia (14-15 October) and the Americas (23-25 October) – and culminates with the global C-suite and executive-level virtual conference, Licensing Leadership Summit.
Attendees can download a Licensing International webinar recording on how to use the platform so that, come Tuesday morning, they can dive straight in and start enjoying content and meeting new business partners from the get go.
Smiley, Banijay, Formula 1 and Team GB are among this year’s BLE keynotes, taking place daily at 9am BST. The full Live Stage agenda can be viewed in advance to help visitors plan ahead.
The opening Smiley Keynote – Re-affirming Purpose through Positivity, Creativity and Connection – is scheduled for Tuesday October 6 at 9am, BST.
The Smiley has always been a steadfast symbol of defiant optimism in challenging times, but for almost fifty years it has also stood as a beacon to somewhere better. As many brands are faced with the challenge of reaffirming a more meaningful purpose, The Smiley Company CEO Nicolas Loufrani leads a spirited discussion about why the company has always believed in the power of positivity, creativity, and connection for companies and customers.
Visitors can expect to meet the same BLE exhibitors they know and love, thousands of IPs and a huge variety of brands, from animation to sports and art to gaming. Over 180 brands will exhibit virtually at BLE 2020 next week.
Licensing is one big family, which is why BLE has planned jam-packed Viacom CBS Community & Wellbeing and Hasbro Happy Hours events to allow everyone to catch have fun and catch up (safely) with their industry peers.
“Between 6-8 October, thousands of retailers, licensees and brands will be taking part in a completely reimagined, virtual BLE,†said Anna Knight, VP of Licensing, Informa Markets. “But while the format may have changed, and we will be meeting online from the comfort of our own homes rather than at ExCeL, attendees can still expect to meet the same amazing brands, discover tonnes of new IP, soak in the same high quality, thought-provoking content, and enjoy being part of the same brilliant European licensing community. We can’t wait to see everyone there.â€
Festival of Licensing is organised and produced by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets. Visitors can register for free at www.festivaloflicensing.com To register or learn more about Licensing Leadership Summit, visit: www.licensingleadershipsummit.com/en/home.html
