Special Feature - BLE

London Calling

Brand Licensing Europe returns for 2023 from 4th-6th October at Excel London, when it will once again play host to the licensing community’s biggest and best for three full days of networking, meetings, talks, and – hopefully – deals. Ella Haynes, event director, tells Toy World readers what there is to look forward to this year and what makes BLE an unmissable event for anyone interested in licensing.

There’s not long to go until BLE 2023 opens its doors. How has the show come together this year in terms of ticket registrations, new exhibitors and so on – are you pleased?

Four weeks out, we were tracking ahead on exhibitor numbers, first timers, visitor registrations, retail attendee registrations and meeting requests. Our exhibitor numbers have surpassed 250 (+14% up on last year), including almost 60 first timers. We couldn’t be happier.

It’s always been a great show for the toy industry. What (and who) can visitors from our sector expect to see this year?

Well, toys and licensing have always been such good stablemates, haven’t they? While global toy revenue grew by +1.5% in 2022, licensed toy revenue performed even better and rose by +2% - it really does pay to work with brands.

250 exhibiting companies will be at BLE this October, bringing thousands upon thousands of partner-ready brands with them, hoping to create the next generation of best-selling consumer products that fans will adore. Brands to explore include Sarah & Duck, Pembe the Pink Cat, Tamagotchi, Squishmallows, Playmobil, The World of Strawberry Shortcake, Gigantosaurus, The Little Prince, Moomin, The Smurfs, Simon, Leo the Truck, Call of Duty, Bibi’s World, My Little Pony, Paw Patrol, The Batman, Hello Kitty, Peter Rabbit, Minions, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sophie la Girafe.

Exhibiting companies, meanwhile, include Hasbro, The Pokémon Company, Bandai Namco, BBC Studios, Cyber Group Studios, MGA Entertainment and Miffy, as well as almost 60 first timers such as Naru Naru, Project First with Leo the Truck and Hari International, plus museums and heritage brands including the Natural History Museum, the V&A and the Science Museum, which all sell toys in their gift shops.

What will this year’s LBE theme mean for visitors and exhibitors and how will it be brought to life across the show floor?

Our Location Based Experiences (LBE) theme will be brought to life through our LBE trail, which will incorporate several interactive features across the showfloor. Don’t miss the Peppa Pig Party Café, The Arcade, and a Smurfland cinema activation. And that’s just for starters...

In addition, we have our brilliant day one keynote‘Passing GO: Bringing the World’s Biggest Board Game to Life’ - with Matt Proulx, vice president, LBE, Hasbro, and David Hutchinson, CEO, The Path Entertainment Group, exploring the creative pursuit, potential, and problemsolving required to turn Monopoly into one of the most talked-about activations on the experience market today. Plus, we have Ella Baskerville from Blooloop hosting a panel session looking at trends within the LBE space.

Away from the basic meetings and networking, which of the events taking place this year would you consider to be unmissable?

Depending on which sectors you’re interested in, there will be content that’s unmissable to you: we have sectorspecific trend sessions across Sport, Gaming, Fashion, Anime & Animation, and Food & Beverage. There will no doubt be some crossover with many of those sectors and toys. (But don’t forget to leave a little free time to do some ‘showfloor shopping’.)

Also, don’t miss the Green Zone, where there’ll be loads of inspirational conversation, products and businesses to see that can help visitors power their sustainability strategy. New to this year, we also have a Licensee Pavilion and Advice Centre. The winner of License This! will be unveiled on stage immediately ahead of our opening day keynote on Wednesday 4th, and the character parades will be back on Wednesday and Thursday at 11.30am. Finally, if you’re new to licensing or haven’t been to BLE for a few years, you might want to join our free Orientation Sessions and Show Tours. We meet at the License Global Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday at 9.15am.

The licensed toy category has enjoyed a really strong 2023 so far, but there are clouds on the horizon for 2024 in the form of the Hollywood writer/actor strikes.

Is BLE in a position to mitigate some of the negative impacts this action might have on the licensed consumer products industry in the coming months?

The last time there were strikes of this kind, we saw a surge in scripted dramas and reality TV further down the line.

This time, we feel there could be an increase in animated and animé content, and we have two educational sessions devoted to those sectors.

We are also seeing an increase in animé and animation brands at the show – a pre-emption of the next wave of successful consumer products, perhaps?

The difference this time is that we have all learned from what happened previously and are in a better place to plan. At BLE, we believe one of our key roles lies in education and information, which is why we are spotlighting these sectors. Gaming, too, will probably benefit as an alternative entertainment option and there is a session devoted to that too.

Is there anything visitors should be doing ahead of the show to ensure they make the most of their time there?

Plan, plan, plan. Set up your profile in the online meetings platform. Use the brand directory to identify which brands are a good match for your business objectives and start requesting meetings with exhibitors. They book their meetings early, so it’s impossible to start too soon. Make sure you check out the BLE agenda, so you don’t miss out on conference content, then book your hotel and travel. There’s actually a really handy guide to all this on our website.

If you are a retailer, our head of Retail, Laura FreedmanDagg, is always happy to help you book meetings and arrange your itinerary. She’s at laura.freedmandagg@ informa.com. All first timers – or anyone who fancies a refresher – are welcome to join the Orientation Sessions on Wednesday and Thursday at 9.15am, and the Show Tours starting at 9.45am. Just meet in the License Global theatre.

Is there still time for people to register to visit?

100%. Registration is free and stays open throughout the show. Of course, I don’t recommend leaving it too late as the sooner you register, the sooner you can start requesting meetings with brands and plan your visit. Is there anything else you think visitors really ought to know ahead of time?

Just three things:

• Don’t forget the Elizabeth Line is a brilliant and quick transport option for Excel London.

• The show is Wednesday to Friday this year.

• Show Welcome Drinks take place 5-7pm on Wednesday 4th October in the showfloor bars.

Toy World readers are invited to register for a free pass to BLE and discover thousands of new brands at www. brandlicensing.eu.