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Licensing Forum 2014

Previous editions

2013 - NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

The 7th Licensing Forum offered ideas and business opportunities for all professionals of this industry. The event was held on September 12 at Ifema, in parallel with Intergift and bringing together more than 150 professionals representing 87 companies from all areas of the business: licensors, agents, licensees and retailers. 

The event featured exhibitors thirteen , ten of them with their own booth:

- Biplano Licensing: this licensing agency presented its projects for its main properties, including Matt Hatter, Masha and the Bear, and the Dreamworks films, with franchises such as How to Train Your Dragon and Turbo.

- Copyright Promotions Licensing Group Barcelona, a multinational licensing agency with properties such as Skylanders and The Simpsons. The firm also introduced its new art property, inspired in the works of Michelangelo, as well as its plans for the 2014 World Basketball Championship to be held in Spain, plus Despicable Me 2 and the Minions.

- El Ocho Licencias y Promociones not only exposed its new agreements for Peppa Pig, which already has 60 licensees in Spain and Portugal, but also presented its projects regarding the preschool series Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, as well as the series produced by Vodka and Fremantle’s Tree Fu Ton, among others.

- Fremantle Media is an international audiovisual group, holding the rights for television series as Monsuno, Strange Hill High, and Kate and Mim-Mim, among others.

- Hong Kong Licensing Show – HKTDC explained the opportunities offered by this fair to be held in Hong Kong from 6 to 8 January.

- LIMA Iberia is the official representative in Spain and Portugal of the international association of licensing professionals.

- Luk Internacional not only presented its plans for Doraemon, but also for Banana Cabana, B-Daman, Trash Pack, and the app Line.

- Mattel Brands, the licensing division of the world's best-selling toy maker, announced its new property, Ever After High, aimed at girls over seven years, and the preschool licenses of Hit Entertainment.

- Planeta Junior, a company specializing in audiovisual content, detailed its plans for Maya the Bee and the Rainbow series, including Mia and Me.

- Selecta Vision focused on two properties: the preschool series Dinosaur Train, by Jim Henson and with Tomy as master toy, and La CQ, a series by Televisa and Cartoon Network.

Three other companies took part in the event using the new meeting spaces for licensing agents.

- Arait Multimedia, multimedia content distributor specializing in Japanese animation and with Inazuma Eleven as star property.

- Imira Entertainment, a Spanish company specialized in the production and distribution of audiovisual content for children and youth, with properties such as Lucky Fred in its portfolio.

- Mendía Licensing, licensing and promotional agency, managing classic brands like Pepsi and Asterix and Obelix, among others.

Roundtable on retail

The roundtable The increasing power of retail analyzed the weight and influence of the retailers in the licensing business, and outlined some ideas about how to address the relationship between retailers and other industry players.

The panel featured:

- José Manuel Cuesta, Director, Fnac Majadahonda.

- Jose María Cendra, General Director, Nickelodeon & Viacom Consumer Products.

- Pau Pascual, Director, Copyright Promotions Europe Group Iberia.

- Lluís Torrent, General Director, Panini Iberia.

- Fernando Pérez, Director, NPD Group Spain.

Among other issues, participants noted:

- The need for licensors and agents to explain properties to retailers.

- The concentration on a handful of licenses as retailers are committed to safe bets.

- The need for retailers to count with a licensing manager.

- The business opportunities presented by the industry.

2012 - IDEAS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE INDUSTRY

The sixth Licensing Forum was held on June 20 at the World Trade Center in Barcelona, on a day when the industry's top professionals were able to meet agents and owners proposals for the coming months, as well as learn about the latest trends to bring the products and brands to consumers. 

Visit the photo gallery of the show.

The event brought together 16 exhibitors, compared to 18 last year, with a total presence among exhibitors and attendees of 154 licensing professionals representing 84 companies. The show is organized by Licencias Actualidad, industry magazine published by Ediciones Just. The companies present at the forum were mostly licensees (54.7%) and agents and owners (33.3%), also including almost 10% of representatives of other related industries, such as distribution and legal advice.

Four of the exhibitors were new at the event: Advance Licensing, Mattel Brands Consumer Products Mondo TV and Nottingham Forest. The remaining stands were occupied by companies that have demonstrated their commitment to the formula throughout the history of the event: Arait Multimedia, Biplano, CPLG, El Ocho, Edebé, Hong Kong Licensing Show - HKTDC, LIMA Iberia, Luk International Mendia Licensing, Planeta Junior, and El Toro de Osborne.

These agents and owners presented both in the stands and in their private conferences many of the leading brands in the Iberian licensing market, including Monster High and Barbie (Mattel) Inazuma Eleven (Arait Multimedia), Skylanders (CPLG), Clanners and Jelly Jamm (El Ocho), Doraemon (Luk International), Asterix and Obelix (Mendía Licensing), Redakai (Planeta Junior), Gormiti (Mondo TV Consumer Products), Dinosaur Train (SelectaVision), and Desafío Champions (Nottingham Forest), among many others.

There were also new announcements, as for example Biplano explained that the company will manage the licensing programmes of Hello Kitty and Pau Gasol, Edebé Audiovisual Licensing announced that it will represent Gorjuss, and CPLG said it will be managing the programme of Mr. Men.

Information and knowledge

The event also hosted two conferences focused on the licensing industry: License to play, about the interactive entertainment as a participatory tool for television audiences, which included Francisco Asensi, director of business development RTVE.es; Rafael San Miguel, CEO of Cupra Studios, and Diego Ibañez, general manager of Nottingham Forest. This conference presented new ways to engage viewers and improve the experience with brands including more interactive content. This would facilitate a stronger link between the audience and the property, and a better understanding of public preferences by the licensor.

Asensi discussed the "second screen" phenomenon. That is, how the audience watches TV while browsing with the phone or with the tablet, allowing, for example, to interact through social networks or by applications that provide both information about games related to the show.

Ibañez introduced the possibility of creating games and virtual worlds that allow the continued presence of the audiovisual property from season to season, for example.

As for San Miguel, he explained how to take advantage of games and mobile applications to develop the relationship between the brand and its target audience.

The second conference was the presentation of the Licensing Barometer, by Domingo Carro, general director of Advance Licensing. This quarterly report includes information about knowledge, attraction, desire and trends of the most important properties of the Spanish market aimed at children.

The representatives in Barcelona of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council used their presentation to explain how Hong Kong can serve as a gateway to the Asian market and, in particular China, regions that are growing and that can become a destination for exports from European and US companies.

Guillermo Rey, marketing director of Biplano, contributed to this presentation explaining the experience of his company in Hong Kong and China. Rey stressed the importance of trust in business relationships as well as the need for knowledge about the market.

LIMA collaboration

The event was supported by LIMA, the international association of licensing professionals. The company organizing the Forum, Ediciones Just, is the official representative of LIMA in Spain and Portugal. This young branch of the association is adding its first members, among whom were two of the exhibitors at the Forum: Arait Multimedia and Selectavisión.

LIMA members counted with discounts to attend the event, just as happens with other shows that have the support of the entity, including Licensing International Expo (Las Vegas) and Brand Licensing Expo (London).

The forum provided a unique opportunity to network and meet new proposals in one day, becoming a useful tool to help make decisions in a market that is constantly changing.

*****

2011 - CLOSING FIVE SUCCESSFUL SHOWS

Licensing Forum closed its most successful edition with an increase in exhibitors of 50% (12 to 8) and in attendance of 33% (from 165 to 220).

During the forum, held on June 22 at the Barcelona World Trade Center, licensors, agents, producers and retailers introduced new properties and programs, and learnt about business trends in Spain and Portugal. 

Exhibitors

Take a look at our 5th edition photo gallery.

Thus, some of the leading licensors and agents were present among the exhibitors: Arait Multimedia, Art Ask Agency, Biplano, Chupa Chups, CPLG, Edebé Audiovisual Licensing, El Ocho, Elastic Rights, Fulanitos, Luk Internacional, Mendía Licensing, Planeta Junior, Silver Line and El Toro de Osborne. There also were first-timers: Artoons, with products that play with augmented reality technology, Hong Kong International Licensing Show, and the young animation producer Impose Estudios.

These companies represent dozens of brands and properties, such as Sesame Street, Inazuma Eleven, SpongeBob Squarepants, The Simpsons, Hello Kitty, Anne Stokes, Pocoyó, Niña Repelente, Doraemon, Asterix and Obelix, and Consentidos, among many others.

Knowledge sharing
Lectures were also highly valued by attendees. The roundtable addressed the current licensing issues in the Spanish market: the saturation of the market, the need of understanding between owners, licensees and retailers, and the importance of innovation in products.

Thus, Elsa Gomes, general director of CPLG in Spain and Portugal, underlined the need of not launching too much licensed product for a new property, in order to extend its life cycle. In this sense, José Francisco Cerda, marketing and product director of Artesanía Cerdà, explained that these aggressive launches are forced many times by the manufacturer’s need to cover the cost guarantees required by brand owners. Ingo Sonego, head of marketing for FCB Merchandising, stressed the importance of timing in the release of a license. Sonego said that approval times could be shortened, and that his company had achieved this through legal autonomy. David Olesti, marketing director of Educa Borràs explained that manufacturers and owners needed to be aware of the importance of adjusting target and license.

Also in reference to this possible saturation, Lorenzo de Benito, commercial director at Toys 'R' Us, said that his company feels more comfortable working with licenses that are not the best-selling. Guadalupe Corzo, from the toy purchases department of El Corte Inglés, agreed, but nonetheless admitted that big retailers cannot leave top 10 licenses.

Social media
Enrique San Juan, director of Community Internet, gave a talk exposing the reasons why companies should rely on social media for their communication actions: their increasing presence, the importance of communicating with customers and the possibilities of awareness they offer.

Last presentation was by Cristina Perez, Toys Account Manager, NPD Iberia Group, who presented some figures on the licensed toy market, which accounted for 34% of toy sales in 2010 in Spain, the highest percentage in Europe.

The 2010 Licencias Actualidad Awards were also delivered, with Spongebob Squarepants chosen as license of the year.

*****

2010 - FOCUS ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES

The fourth edition was the first to be held as a Forum, on July 1, 2010, also in Madrid. The first conference addressed the internationalization of companies in the licensing business, with Enrique Rubio, international economist and advisor, along with Juanjo Conde, director of marketing for Elastic Rights, who emphasized the importance of having a business plan before embarking on a process of this kind, as well as studying in depth the market.

The second conference, "New technology as a marketing strategy applied to the licensing", was conducted by Raul Martin, ICT specialist, with Iago Fandino, deputy director of content for children in RTVE, and Diego Ibáñez, managing director of Nottingham Forest.

Exhibitors were up to twelve, from the seven of the previous show: Arait Multimedia, Art Ask Agency Licensing Biplane, Chupa Chups, CPLG, Four, Elastic Rights, Fulanitos, Luk International, Planet Junior, Rainbow Spain and Selecta Vision.

*****

2009 - FIRST EXHIBITORS AREA

The Licensing Seminar III took place on July 1, 2009, and was attended by one hundred professionals in Madrid. Although it was still a "seminar", this year's event was the first to feature an exhibitors area, adjacent to the conference room.

The first exhibitors were key players such as Biplano, Osborne, CPLG, Luk International, Imira Entertainment, Rainbow, and Mendía Licensing. All of them repeated their presence in subsequent editions.

Besides the longer conferences of longer duration, the show also held half-hour presentations, given by representatives from companies such as Sofres, NPD, and AIJU, as well as TV3, Elastic Rights, RTVE, Disney Channel, and Famosa.

*****

2005 - THE IMPORTANCE OF TV

The second edition of the Seminar on Licensing and Merchandising was held on March 15, 2005 in Madrid. One of the main topics was the influence and importance of television to the business, and counted with the presence of Carlos Ortega, director of Jetix; Jesus Ballesteros, director of marketing of Hasbro Iberia (now in Famosa); Francisco Gratacós, president of Luk Internacional; Valentín Villagrasa, executive producer of The Lunnis; Fernando Jerez, programming director of Antena 3, and Ignacio Segura, president of Planet Junior Iberia.

Also present at the talks and panel discussions were companies such as The Brand Company (Lourdes Torres, director), Biplano (Jordi Rey, director general) and Disney Consumer Products (José María Cendra, vice president of retail and marketing, nowadays in Nickelodeon), as well as professionals as Antonio Pueyo, director of Simba Spain; Vickie O'Malley, director of CPLG in the UK; Ricardo Quiroga, director of marketing at Toys 'R' Us, and Elsa Gomes, director of CPLG Spain.

*****

2003 - THE REFERENCE EVENT IN IBERIA

The First Seminar on Licensing and Merchandising was held on December 2, 2003 and consisted of a series of lectures on the sector, with the presence of distinguished professionals in the licensing business. This first event was attended by 80 licensing experts, who heard for example how Claudio Biern, president of BRB International, explained the origin of licensing in Spain, which began in the early 40's, with prints of the Football League.

The seminar addressed many issues that are still hot topics in the business, given its complexity, and included the participation of key professionals such as Jordi Rey, from Biplano, and Annette Bertelsen, Hasbro Iberia, as well as Sofia Noguera of Mendía Licensing.