The Summits are intended to guide the licensing community through changing retail, content and consumer landscapes.
The Global Licensing Group, the company behind BLE and the Vegas Licensing Expo, is to launch Brand & Licensing Innovation Summits in Europe and North America. According to a statement, the events are intended to “celebrate the power of brands, as well as provide trends and forecasts, retailer insights, spotlights on growth categories and deep dives into digital and content innovation.”
The stated aim of the Summits is to “help middle-management, business leaders and owners to navigate the changing retail, content and consumer landscape through keynotes, panel discussions, roundtables and workshops, all providing actionable advice, information and strategies on the future of brands and licensing.”
The inaugural B&LIS, focusing on the European market, will premiere as a virtual event from 9th-11th June 2021, and each day will spotlight a different topic.
Day 1: Trends and retail
Day 2: CSR + sustainability with a programme exclusively curated by Products of Change
Day 3: Content and digital transformation
The second edition of B&LIS will focus on the American market and is scheduled to take the form of a hybrid summit on 27th-28th October, with an in-person element hosted in New York.
Anna Knight, VP of Licensing, Informa Markets, commented: “We spent many, many hours talking to the industry before launching B&LIS, and our research confirmed there is huge appetite for forward-looking content that highlights the innovations, insight and future trends that will drive the success of brands and businesses post-pandemic.”
According to the statement, the Summits will complement the Global Licensing Group’s current trade show portfolio, which includes Brand Licensing Europe (17th-19th November, London) and Licensing Expo (10th-12th August, Las Vegas).
Anna added: “Our trade shows very much focus on deal-making, networking and trend spotting, whereas the newly launched B&LIS summits are a complementary thought-leadership opportunity for the industry to learn from and debate with experts inside and outside the world of licensing. They will provide inspiring and exclusive content on future-looking actionable trends and enable delegates to better navigate the changing licensing landscape.”
For the latest information, visit the BLE website here.
