A look ahead to SILC

June will see two major European licensing conferences come together to offer two days of education on crucial industry issues - from sustainability to retail, the metaverse to driving social change, the ever-changing content landscape to what is required of business to be ‘future fit’. LSB takes a closer look at what to expect from Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit and Sustainability in Licensing Conference.

A meeting of minds

Above: Confirmed B&LIS speakers (top row from left) Daniel Avener, Emily Fawcett, Jeremy Orriss, Ruth Golightly, Marianne James, Allana Holmes, Hannah Craggs. (Bottom row from left) Nicolas Loufrani, Helena Mansell-Stopher, Will Stewart, Sian Rider, Susan Bolsover, Jalil Rahman, Trevor George, Abi Wilson Below: SILC will bring sustainability to the fore on 22 June.

The countdown is well and truly on to the uniting of two leading European licensing conferences this summer – with the Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit (B&LIS), organised by Informa Markets, and the Sustainability in Licensing Conference, presented by Products of Change, set to take place on 21 and 22 June at London’s Royal Geographical Society. The resulting multi-faceted event marks a critical date in the diary for global leaders and decision-makers from the world of brands and consumer products to enjoy panel discussions, live Q&As and roundtables, as well as a lively networking reception on both evenings to build new connections in-person.

B&LIS will kick off the two-day conference package and will spotlight retail and future trends through interactive panel discussions as it tackles next-gen topics such as NFTs, the metaverse, the ever-changing content landscape, breakthrough licensing categories and how to maximise opportunities at retail.

A raft of speakers have been confirmed from companies including Liberty, Sainsbury’s, Hasbro, Penguin Random House, The Smiley Company, Abysse Corp, Difuzed, MDR Brand Management, TrendBible, The Point.1888, KidsKnowBest, Hunter Price and Asda. “Retail disruption. Supply chain challenges. SVOD. Metaverse. Influencers. NFTs. Representation. Changing consumer trends. Meaningful retail experiences. Our industry is going through a transformation like we’ve never seen before, all led by an increasingly complex and demanding customer,” comments Anna Knight, svp licensing at Informa Markets. “The European Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit brings together 300+ brand licensing leaders and delivers thought-provoking content and networking opportunities to help drive the industry forward and get the business insights to address some of these critical topics.”

Anna continues: “B&LIS and SiLC share the same ethos: a desire to deliver genuinely thoughtprovoking, action-led content that has the power to challenge leaders and drive positive and

Right: The Products of Change team, Rob Hutchins and Helena Mansell-Stopher.

profitable decision-making in relation to everything from product development and distribution to consumer engagement and commerce. Uniting the two events means we can create a key moment in the summer when European licensing leaders can connect, learn and share, while also saving on time and travel.”

Sustainability in Licensing Conference, organised and owned by Products of Change, will make its inperson debut on 22 June, following two successful years as a virtual event.

Representatives from the United Nations will join a host of confirmed speakers including the global retail powerhouse Walgreens Boots Alliance and Primark Cares by Primark.

Delivering a talk on how businesses can be implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals within their day-to-day operations, Caroline Petit, officer in charge and deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre will highlight the many ways in which the UN is partnering with businesses to drive awareness of its global framework.

“We are so excited to welcome Caroline from the United Nations to the Sustainability in Licensing Conference this year. It’s been a dream of ours to have the United Nations help convey the importance of sustainable development in business at the conference since its launch two years ago, so this is a wonderful moment for us,” said Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder and ceo of Products of Change.

“It also goes to highlight the power and global influence that the licensing and retail landscape holds when it comes to the subject of sustainability in business. By heeding the message that Caroline will be delivering the licensing industry can play a key role in facilitating the positive and sustainable transformation of business the world over.” Joining Caroline on the speaker roster will be George @ Asda’s sustainability and compliance expert Jade Snart and her colleagues Jessica Brown, design specialist and Helen Scobie, product development expert. Also taking to the stage will be Lynne Walker and Sarah Hawkins, director and manager respectively of Primark Cares; Richard Lim, ceo of Retail Economics; Elizabeth Eaves, senior sustainability engineer, quality compliance EMEA at Mattel; Lucy Murphy, director of kids content at Sky (UK and ROI); Paul Earnshaw, senior packaging manager, Tesco; Gary Pope, founder of Kids Industries; and Tanya Aston, head of sustainability, global sourcing at Walgreens Boots Alliance among others.

Helena continued: “We are so proud to announce our incredible line-up of speakers and business leaders at this year’s Sustainability in Licensing Conference,” continued Helena. “We’ve got such a strong roster of inspiring leaders and pioneers in sustainability from across the landscape, we know conference attendees will be leaving charged with as much excitement to start their sustainable journeys as we are in delivering this year’s event.”

Below: B&LIS will address topics ranging from the metaverse to maximising opportunities at retail.

B&LIS one day tickets are priced at £275 and can be purchased from www.brandlicensinginnovationsummit.com. SiLC one day tickets are priced at £275 and can be purchased from www.sustainabilityinlicensing.com. POC and Licensing International members can enjoy a 20% discount on these rates (non-cumulative). Alternatively, two-day tickets can be purchased from either site for the discounted rate of £525.