Brand Licensing Europe 2021 report

Best stands from the show

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Viacom CBS

As soon as you walk through the expo, you are met with vibrant animated screens featuring Nickelodeon favourites like Baby Shark and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the stand is angled displaying their properties on the interior of the stand. Notably, there was no physical product on the stand, presumably due to health concerns, as to not encourage people to handle items, instead, large mock-ups were shown on the exterior walls to great effect.

Simon (super rabbit)

Simon’s super vibrant blue stand pierced through the grey exhibition hall and was incredibly minimalist in its approach but, they used their space to great effect. In the latest series of the show, Simon the rabbit plays the superhero ‘Super Rabbit’ we even got to meet the rabbit himself!

Aardman

You wouldn’t have any difficulty finding this stand within the expo hall. Towering over everyone was an enormous Shaun the Sheep. Other than that, the stand was paired back, featuring printed panels showing the properties on the interior walls but the giant mascot was too good not to get a shout out.

The Smurfs

This stand didn’t leave us feeling blue. The perfect stand for the Smurfs with AstroTurf flooring and a great opportunity to get your picture taken with “Grouchy”. The stand features all the favourite Smurfs as well as the new characters seen wearing their distinctive yellow hats.

Hasbro

Hasbro had it all! They treated us to an amazing photo experience with animated My little pony characters, as well as a Nurf beat the buzzers game. They brought a lot of new product which was displayed on the stand and even had an artist paint Optimus Prime from scratch on one of the exterior walls.

top pick

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Moomin - Stand

Without doubt the most impressive and considered stand. With the cut out panelling we’ve come to know from the Moomins stands in years past, this time used as partial screens really made onlookers envious to gain access to the the stand themselves.

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What made us laugh

It’s great when we see brands having fun with their product and communicating their brands’ personalities so well. We absolutely LOVE these Simon’s Cat plush toys. The evil Feathers McGraw has been immortalised as a drinks bottle, complete with red rubber glove top. Battersea dogs’ home with character tennis balls are adorable and the brave choice to create a Warhammer baby grow. The mascots this year were incredible, but we’d like to give special shout out to Peter Rabbit for bringing incredible charisma, and he had a beautifully fitted blue jacket…compliments to his tailor!

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Apparel and accessories

We were spoiled for choice this year with accessories and apparel. Although a lot of attendees decided to opt for showing off their product either through cutouts or simply donning their stand walls with visuals, The Gigantisaurous branded sneakers were incredible featuring a scaly pattern and orange fangs and talon details. Miffy had a lot of simple but super stylish products on display, we particularly loved the knitted dolls as well as the Miffy purse bag.

Sustainability was at the forefront of a lot of brands efforts this year again, Mattel introducing a “Barbie loves the ocean” packaging range with no plastic at all.

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Top Experiences

Experiences were not as evident this year as they had been in previous years due to Covid concerns. However, there was still some stand out examples to talk about. Hasbro had a really fun Nerf branded beat the buzzer game that was a great distraction while waiting for your next meeting. They also had an interactive My Little Pony photo op. Strawberry shortcake had a very comfy branded sofa, and for the sports fans, the UEFA Champions League had their trophies on display and Manchester City showed off their silverware with the Premier League and Carabao cup trophies adorned in the Man City coloured ribbons for photo opportunities.

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Mascots

Although experiences were lacking this year, the friendly mascots were certainly in abundance. Whether that be the cheeky elves causing mischief as they moved from stand to stand or getting the chance to preview brand new properties such as Milo the cat or Moley from his new animated series voiced by Warwick Davis.

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and finally, Happy Birthday to...

Smiley

Smiley celebrates 50 years and does it in style. With their new “Future Positive” sustainability campaign. Their stand this year featured a cardboard tube counter and amazing corrugated cardboard stools and tables. Their anniversary logo on the chipboard wall works so well.

All in all, it was amazing to finally be back at BLE meeting people in person and immersing ourselves in the brands that currently rule the market and perhaps the ones of the future. We can’t wait to see everyone again next year!