KAZACHOK Kazachok’s 20th anniversary special

KAZACHOK

Kazachok’s 20th anniversary special

Kazachok is an agency that has specialized in advising on events, brands and partnerships since 2001. It is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021. LM interviewed Nathalie Chouraqui, the agency’s General Manager, to learn more on the future events and this special anniversary.

Nathalie Chouraqui

Kazachok is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2021: what is your perspective on the licensing industry?

Licensing sure has changed immensely over the past 20 years! It went from being a very new and high-growth field - in which everything was yet to be undertaken - to a market that must constantly reinvent itself, and most importantly, its business model. It’s more segmented and diversified than ever, with abundant and extremely creative opportunities for buyers. Those same buyers have become more demanding. Their behavior patterns in terms of contents are more versatile, due partly to platforms and streaming services. Furthermore, they want purchasing licensed products to be meaningful. by becoming Cobrandz! Collabs, Contents, Co-branding & Copyright, Cobrandz has established itself as a real contents hub. This new kind of event enables brands better expression and exploitation of brand content by enlarging the pool of visitors and exhibitors. Today, in the digital era, we are launching the latest Kazachok creation Brandz Data, a platform dedicated to brands and their content - the logical continuation of the initial printed version!

What is your strategy for 2021 and beyond?

Under the very particular circumstances of the pandemic, we were forced to reshape our events so that our clients can continue to meet and remain updated on market evolution. As I explained we just launched a brand new brand information and connection platform: Brandz Data. We’re very proud since it represents years of archive collection and market watch. It allows access to the interactive database of licensing players as well as daily updated content thanks to news, interviews and reports. Furthermore, you can access marketing brand data to keep a proactive watch on brand possibilities over the next 2 years called Brandz Review. Moreover, in January 2021, we set up the first Brandz Keynote, a 100% virtual event, in which brands showcase their strategy to meet potential partners on a one-to-one basis, whether they might be advertisers, manufacturers, communication agencies or retail players.

The next edition will take place on April

8th, 2021. Last but not least, the 2nd Edition of Cobrandz is scheduled for July 1st & 2nd at La Grande Crypte de Paris and we are proud to make it possible for market players to meet in person!

How did your business evolve over the past 20 years?

We established this market step by step and provided a framework. Indeed, in the beginning, we launched the Kazachok Licensing Guide, whose ambition was to identify the various licensing players. Then in 2003, we professionalized the market by launching our newsletter Licensing News (now K-News) and providing consulting; in 2004, we launched the Kazachok Licensing Magazine; and soon thereafter, a trade fair, The Kazachok Licensing Forum, so that market players could physically meet in various prestigious venues in Paris. Based on the strength of its success, The Kazachok Licensing Forum also evolved in order to better meet brands’ expectations