The winners of the 2020 Licensing International Excellence Awards have been unveiled in a live, virtual event.
This year’s virtual event was hosted by Handcraft VP and stand-up comic Marshall Mizrahi. The 23 awards winners from around the globe, including companies from Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom and the US, were unveiled by 10 leading licensing executives.
Winners of both the main awards and the Hall of Fame were presented with newly redesigned trophies that were unveiled at the event, designed by Alternatives and PowerStation Studios, respectively. Online attendees also saw Martha Stewart inducted into the Licensing Hall of Fame
Six international Rising Stars were honoured: Krystyna Braxton of NFL Players Inc.; Allison Cimino of RockLove; Carolina Garcia Souza of Cinecolor Colombia, representative of The Walt Disney Company; Gao Qiang of Tencent; Hannah Stevens of The Point.1888 and Louis Yenik of Crunchyroll.
Maura Regan, president, Licensing International, commenetd: “This year marks the 35th anniversary of the International Licensing Awards, and while we had of course looked forward to celebrating in person, this virtual gathering was an amazing event. Perhaps more than ever, it was important to celebrate the incredible creativity and innovation of our industry. Seeing the very best work of this industry on display, alongside some of the dynamic executives who drive it, was a powerful reminder that, in the wake of uncertainty, the power of trusted brands and well-known licenses is more critical than ever before.”
Of interest to those working in the kids’ space, winners of the Best Licensed Products included:
- WowWee for Pinkfong Baby Shark Song Puppets in Toys/Games/Novelties for ages 0-8
- Story Toys / Touch Press for Lego Duplo World App in Apps/Software/Video Games
- Dreamtex Ltd for National Geographic Recycled Bedding in Home Decor
- Lego Stranger Things Lego Set for Toys/Games/Novelties for ages 8+
In the Best Licensed Brands category, awards went to:
- Brown & Friends by Line Friends for Digital/App/Video Game Brand
- Cat by Caterpillar for Corporate Brand
- Peppa Pig by eOne / Hasbro for Entertainment/Character Brand: Animated
- Sesame Street by Sesame Workshop for Entertainment/Character Brand: Live Action
Other awards presented included:
- Squarespace & Sesame Street “A Cautionary Tale” for Best Licensed Promotion,
- SpongeBob Squarepants x Nike x Kyrie Irving for Best licensed Collaboration
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar at the Royal Horticultural Society for Best Experiential or Location Based Initiative
- Galeries Lafayette for Batman for Best Retailer for a Character/Entertainment Initiative
- Wildbrain CPLG for Best Licensing Agency
A full list of winners can be found here.
