Brand Licensing Europe opens entries for License This! competition

Posted on 27 May 2020

Events

Brand Licensing Europe has opened entries for its annual License This! competition, which gives young brands and designers a much-needed leg up into the multi-billion-dollar world of licensing and brand extension

This year’s judges are on the hunt for fresh, exciting new blood across two award categories: Character & Animation and Brand & Design. To qualify, entrants can hail from anywhere in the world, but they must be unsigned: not working with an agent or have any retail deals in place. Entry is free at https://www.brandlicensing.eu/en/learn-brand-licensing/license-competition.html

The finalists will be chosen on 11 September by two judging panels, including a bunch of new faces critiquing the Character & Animation category: Asda’s head of buying Ruth Golightly, GB eye’s Head of Licensing Emily Aldridge, C21 Kids editor Nico Franks and Start Licensing founder Ian Downes, who said: “Licensing is an industry that thrives on new ideas and fresh talent. It can be hard to break through sometimes, so a forum like License This! is a very welcome one as it shines a light on creativity. I look forward to seeing this year’s entries. Well done BLE for driving License This forward.”

This year’s two License This! winners will receive a free exhibition stand at BLE 2021, one year’s Licensing International membership, PR support, and invaluable advice from the panel of industry experts. In addition, all finalists will receive legal consultation from competition sponsor Wynne-Jones. Previous entrants – both winners and finalists – have successfully signed lucrative agent and licensing deals off the back of the competition and are championing fellow entrepreneurs to sign up.

Last year’s joint-winner Rosie Brooks: “It was a really fun experience and it has opened so many doors for me already – I can’t wait for BLE this autumn! If you’re thinking about entering this year, all the judges I spoke to said it was about the potential of the idea rather than finished and polished product lines, so if you have an idea you think has the possibility to grow, make lots of prototypes: the more you experiment, the stronger the idea will become.”

Returning judge Will Stewart, founder & MD of The Point.1888 : “License This! has never been more important. Every industry needs new young brands to be nurtured to build the opportunities of the future. There will be tonnes of home working or furloughed designers who have been doodling over the last couple of months. Be brave and submit your work – the exposure you get, the feedback you get and the confidence you will get are vital. Every year, the quality improves, and what’s really impressed me is when designers come back with tweaks based on the previous year’s feedback. Last year’s winner Drew Bristow is a great example of this.”

This year’s judges are confirmed as:

Sarah Ward, CEO, The Giftware Association
Victor Caddy, director and trademark & design attorney, Wynne-Jones
Kirsty Barr, client services manager, Wynne-Jones

Character & Animation award

Dan Grant, licensing director, Danilo Promotions
Clare Piggott, managing director, Larkshead Media
Ruth Golightly, head of buying, Asda
Emily Aldridge, head of licensing, GB eye
Ian Downes, director, Start Licensing
Nico Franks, editor, C21 Kids

Brand & Design award

Stuart Cox, owner, I Like Birds
Vicki Thomas, owner, Vicki Thomas Associates
Sarah Lawrence, director, This is Iris
Jehane Boden Spiers, founder, JEHANE
Will Stewart, founder and managing director, The Point.1888

Entry is free at https://www.brandlicensing.eu/en/learn-brand-licensing/license-competition.html