Brand Licensing Europe is the biggest week in the UK licensing industry’s calendar, so it was a major change for exhibitors when it moved online due to COVID-19 restrictions. The organisers Global Licensing Group, took the opportunity to make the event global, the ambition seems to have paid off as less big names dropped out than for other international markets such as MIPCOM or Licensing Expo. It was a welcome chance to catch up with some familiar faces, here is what I found while exploring the virtual aisles and watching the conference content online.

1. Business is good

The overall mood of the people I spoke to was positive, though this was before the current UK lockdowns were announced which are causing major problems in the short term.

Raugust communications highlighted buoyant categories as including “board games, puzzles, arts and crafts, videogames, health and nutrition, and home/DIY”. They went on to explain that “Most of these help consumers pass the long hours at home, while also creating a sense of community, accomplishment, and/or comfort.”

2. Board games are back

I’ve unleashed my inner geek during lockdowns this year, mainly through playing online board games, and it seems that others have been doing the same. Board game label Asmodee is expanding its licensing offer with Catan shoes (though surely slippers would be more fitting?)

3. Live attractions, including museums are prioritising licensing

The museum licensors I spoke to see brand licensing as a growth area for their businesses,, which have been hard hit by coronavirus. Raugust communications spotted that

“The National Gallery was touting its cosmetics license with Zeesea, with more than 100,000 sets sold to date”

4. Consumers want green products

Manufacturers are slowly responding to continued pressure from consumers, including kids, to improve the environmental sustainability of consumer products. Rikesh Desai of BBC Studios emphasised the responsibility of licensors and licensees in this process:

“More consumers than ever are making an effort to buy greener, healthier, ethically-sourced and more environmentally sustainable products. As an industry we need to adopt a more deliberate and ambitious approach with brand owners making bold decisions to evoke change.

5. Online trade shows work but the serendipity isn't there (yet)

I loved being able to speak to exhibitors straightaway, sometimes without an appointment using the Festival of Licensing platform, something which is hard to do at the live event. However technology glitches and sessions which look the same as the Zoom calls we do every day were less inspiring.

Festivals such as Burning Man and Glastonbury’s Lost Horizons went truly virtual to great effect this year, which allowed visitors to mingle and chat in a way which isn’t possible with the current B2B online event platforms. I’d love to see B2B events following suit, as a virtual way to allow for bumping into people on the show floor who you haven't seen since the last show.

A special mention goes to the ‘VR’ Korea Pavilion which I think is a step in the right direction, though if trade shows are virtual then why do they need to look like conventional trade show stands at all?

6. Exploring new funding models

Crowdfunding product development, startups and even football clubs has become mainstream. It has now reached the world of brand licensing, as Tomato Source’s Vine Studio launched a Kickstarter campaign for a Wallace and Gromit collector’s model. Their goal of £150,000 is ambitious, I for one hope they reach it.

7. Look to the East

Japanese and Korean brands were prominent at the show, and its new Asian section offered a chance for UK brands to reach out to markets there. Raugust Communications noted that "Crunchyroll, a leading distributor and licensor of anime and manga, told attendees of its panel that it has 70 million registered users, 40 million followers on social media, more than 200 licensees, and more than 100 retail partners globally".

8. Don’t just take my word for it

Here are some of the trend and post-market reports which I found most useful: Insight People, Raugust Communications overview, License Global.

9. Marketing is still king at MIP

MIPCOM and MIPJunior happened at the same time as Festival of Licensing, and often have a bearing on the brand licensing world. I wasn’t directly involved in MIP, so here are a few of the relevant reports from Deadline, Variety and TBI Vision.

In the TV distribution world, Jens Richter, of my old employer Fremantle, noted that promotional materials around new shows have to be more sophisticated. “You have to do it in a more bespoke way. You create a bigger deck explaining more. You put more of your sales arguments in your assets, reels, and brochure because you have less opportunity to explain it in person. Your material has to be absolutely top quality,” he explains.

10. Christmas isn't cancelled

Argos, John Lewis and pretty much everyone else has done a list of Christmas toy recommendations. Top of my Christmas list is the LEGO Super Mario Adventures Starter Course (I hope you’re reading this, Santa!)

I design and art direct a wide variety of materials including for marketing, sales and asset creation for the brand licensing and entertainment industries, and have worked on brands ranging from Danger Mouse to Baywatch to Yakka Dee! I also collaborate with Tessa Moore and Valerie Taylor on projects where strategy, marketing and PR are required - do get in touch if you would like to discuss where to go next with licensing your brand.