BLE 2015 Educational Program to Be Bigger Than Ever

LONDON: This year's Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), taking place at London's Olympia from October 13 to 15, will offer its biggest-ever educational program, with 25 free sessions.

The 17th edition of BLE will feature two education theaters providing visitors with unique insights into the licensing industry from leading experts. This year's event will also see the show's Knowledge Partners hosting their own seminars for the first time on key trends and industry facts and figures. There will be 16 free seminar sessions in the Licensing Academy, with speakers from LIMA, Gately, Planet Retail and NPD Group. New SPLiCE sessions will discuss such topics as anti-counterfeiting, social accountability and direct-to-retail in conjunction with a number of partner organizations.

In the Brands & Lifestyle Theatre, which runs alongside Brand Jam, nine sessions will span the business of licensing across sports, not-for-profit, food and drink, museums, heritage and kids' categories. Speakers will come from IMG Worldwide, Help for Heroes, Beanstalk, British Library, Imperial War Museums, V&A, Barbie Mattel and Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Darren Brechin, BLE's event director, said: "The educational element of the show is just as important to visitors as the exhibitor lineup; for many it's a chance to discover the latest industry statistics, hear case study examples of how and why licensing has worked for them, and offers access to a raft of industry experts. For those who are new to licensing or the show, each morning the Licensing Academy program opens with a beginners guide from LIMA—the perfect way to set yourself up for the day. We launched our Brands & Lifestyle Theatre two years ago and have watched it go from strength to strength. These niche seminar sessions are ideal for anyone looking to drill down into a specific category. This is all in addition to our two high-profile keynotes, which will be unveiled shortly."