London 21 July 2015: Brand Licensing Europe has announced this year’s judging panel for its License This! challenge.
Kelvyn Gardner, Managing Director, LIMA UK, will chair the panel. He is joined by Charlie Donaldson, Joint Managing Director, Rocket Licensing, Tom Gunn, International Brand Director EMEA at MTV Networks and Wendy Munt, consultant, Be Inspired Consulting.
Now in its sixth year, License This! offers new creative concepts the chance to break into the global licensing industry. It is open to any new artwork, brand or character that has no merchandising deals in place or pending. The judges will shortlist four entries which will be pitched to them, in front of an audience, at BLE on 15th October.
This year’s prize is valued at over £6,000. The winner will receive a fully furnished nine square metre stand at BLE 2016 to bring the property to market; along with LIMA membership for one year and one ticket to the LIMA Licensing Essentials Course & Spring Fling Networking Party in May 2016.
Kelvyn Gardner said “With licensing increasingly being recognised as an extension of the creative process, it's vital that we continue to encourage new talent to embrace consumer products at the nascent stage of new properties. License This! is a rare platform, one that allows new talent access to experienced executives in a competitive format that we think really drives them to make their creations as good as they can be. I'm looking forward enormously to chairing this year's event.”
Last year’s winner was RaNT! a fun and irreverent character who has something to say about the bits of modern life that really get on our nerves. The creation of Adam Bestwick at Fourth Wall Brands, RaNT! has developed a series of lunch ware and stationery offerings since scooping the award. A RaNT! microsite is currently in development and the team is exploring other product areas including babywear.
Entry forms and competition rules can be found at www.brandlicensing.eu. Deadline for entries is 4 September 2015. Brand Licensing Europe 2015 takes place from 13-15 October at London’s Olympia.
Ends
For press information please contact Emma Harris at eharris@advanstar.com or Tel: 07919 408233. Image of RaNT! lunch ware range is attached.
About Brand Licensing Europe
Brand Licensing Europe 2015 (www.brandlicensing.eu) takes place from 13-15 October 2015 at Olympia, London. It is the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Now in its 17th successful year, Brand Licensing Europe 2014 was the biggest event to date; hosting 306 exhibitors and 7,164 visitors from 69 countries.
About UBM Advanstar (www.advanstar.com) UBM Advanstar, part of UBM Americas, is a US-based event and marketing services business serving the fashion, licensing, life sciences and power sports industries. The company owns and operates a portfolio of 54 tradeshows, 100 conferences, 30 publications, and almost 200 electronic products and websites. Its market-leading brands and a commitment to delivering innovative, quality products and services enable UBM Advanstar to “Connect Our Customers With Theirs.” UBM Advanstar is a UBM plc company.