BLE Licensing Academy to Spotlight European Trends, Gaming, Toys

The Licensing Academy at Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) is highlighting key trends that are impacting the future of the business in Europe, including gaming and toys, with a keynote led by Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe’s commercial development director, Mark Howsen.

Day one of The Licensing Academy will see the keynote panel Gaming: Dispelling the Myths, featuring Howsen, MCV Editor Seth Barton, UKIE Board Member Stuart Dinsey, Activision’s VP and head of global licensing and partnerships, Ashley Maidy, and Paladone Products Commercial Director Yann Le Bouedec. European-focused sessions include Licensing in Europe—The Background, the Present and the Future, Including the Potential Implications of Brexit, led by Kelvyn Gardner, the managing director of LIMA UK, and NPD’s Overview of the European Licensed Toy Market in 2017, led by Frederique Tutt, Toys Global Industry Analyst at The NPD Group.

“The one word that’s become synonymous with Brexit over the last year is ‘uncertainty’ and that’s just as true for the licensing industry as it is for everyone else,” said LIMA UK’s Gardner. “My session at BLE will spell out what the potential implications of Brexit could be for licensees, licensors and retailers, and hopefully, how we can all navigate through any challenges it throws our way, dependent on the various potential outcomes at the end of the negotiation period.”

Other European-focused sessions are Opportunities in the European Grocery Retail Market, led by Milos Ryba, the head of discount at IGD, and Assembling a Pan-European Licensing Program, led by Teri Niadna, the managing director of Brandgenuity Europe.

Dorian Block, the business group director at GfK Entertainment will also offer insight into how licensing and gaming can work together in a session about the U.K. video game industry. Complementing NPD’s session on the European licensed toy market, Billy Langsworthy, co-founder of Mojo Nation, will lead a panel titled Playing with Brands: A Look at the Design Process Behind Toys and Games.

“Whether it’s board games that adapt an IP and reflect its style, narrative and tone via gameplay, or toys that embrace the latest tech to bring much-loved characters to life in innovative ways, the world of licensed toys and games has never been as exciting as it is right now,” said Mojo Nation’s Langsworthy. “The Playing with Brands panel will see designers lift the lid on how they go about creating licensed toys and games, dissecting the creative constraints and potential pitfalls involved in bringing characters and IP to life in this way, as well as looking at how the toy industry’s relationship with licensing has evolved over the years.”

Other sessions on the agenda include Introduction to Licensing, Brand Licensing: The Seven Deadly Sins and What Role Does Subscription VOD Currently Play in Our Television Viewing Habits? BLE will be held October 10 to 12 at Olympia London.