License This! Reveals the 2021 Competition’s Judging Panel
Santa Monica, Calif. (July 16, 2021)—The License This! Competition, produced by the licensing industry’s leading trade show organizer, the Global Licensing Group, and industry trade association, Licensing International, today announced the Competition’s 2021 judge panel comprised of 18 senior executives from every corner of the industry. Among the world-renowned companies and licensing agencies represented on the judging committee includes Bioworld Merchandising, Boat Rocker Studio, Crayola, FYE, Hallmark, Licensing International, Lisa Marks Associates, Product Counsel, PowerStation Studios, Redbubble, in addition to partner InventHelp and official sponsor WestEnd Software.
After 12 consecutive years running at Brand Licensing Europe, License This! is now a global competition with this year’s debut in the US market at Licensing Expo Virtual, held August 24-26. “Industry connection is mission-critical in the licensing sector, and the License This! program provides just that: accessibility to a bench of the world’s most influential licensing executives,” said Anna Knight, vice president of Licensing, Informa Markets. “We are so proud of the doors that the program has opened for creatives and inventors over the past 12 years. Many of our former winners have gone on to produce world-class products and licensing campaigns; we love seeing winners and participants return to our annual events as exhibitors to watch.”
Submit an entry here to compete to win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from 18 of the world’s most influential licensing executives; the call for submissions closes on July 19. Attendees of Brand Licensing Europe and Licensing Expo Virtual can tune into the live final held on August 25 —register to attend the free event here.
“Combining licensed content with product conceptualization creates new, robust innovation in technologies and play patterns that result in powerful consumer experiences,” shared Joe Moll, Director of Product Design, Engineering and Inventor Relations at Crayola and responsible for building an innovative and unique pipeline of Crayola products through cross-functional internal ideation and partnering with the external inventor community. “As a product developer, I am very excited to be a judge at the License This! event this year, and look forward to reviewing the innovative entries and learning how we can best bridge the gap between product inventions and licensing opportunities.”
The competition is made up of three different categories:
- License This! Character & Animation
- License This! Brand & Design
- License This! Inventions & Product Innovations – produced in association with InventHelp
The Character & Animation and Brand & Design categories are aimed at unlicensed brands and properties looking to use the Licensing Expo Virtual platform to secure a licensing deal or agency representation. The applicants are usually illustrator/publishing/animation focused.
The Inventions & Product Innovation category is about tangible product inventions (that are patented or patent-pending) or innovative product designs that would benefit from licensing, either through in-bound (i.e., putting a character on it to enhance it) or out-bound to a manufacturer (i.e., a wearables item that is licensed by a mass manufacturer from the inventor).
The competition provides select illustrators, designers, animators, and product inventors, the exciting opportunity to pitch their concepts in front of a panel of expert judges. This is then broadcasted live during Licensing Expo Virtual to an audience of manufacturers, retailers, and brand owners.
“With thousands of IPs available and new products launched almost daily, it can be very challenging to stand out in this highly competitive industry. License This! provides a leg up above the competition and helps you hone your craft from an idea into a successful, marketable product,” remarked Knight.
Important dates to note:
- Entries close: Monday, July 19
- Judging day: Friday, July 23
- Competition pre-record: Friday, August 13
- Live finals: Wednesday, August 25
The winner receives the following prize:
- One-to-one consultation with members of the judging panel and competition sponsor WestEnd Software
- Exclusively to the winner of the ‘Inventions & Product Innovations’ category one-to-one consultation with InventHelp
- Free-of-charge turnkey booth at Licensing Expo 2022
- One year’s Licensing International membership
- One year’s Products of Change membership
To learn more about License This! and to submit an entry, please visit here.
Follow Licensing Expo on social: #LicensingExpo
Follow Brand Licensing Europe on social: #BrandLicensingEurope
Launched in 1980, Licensing Expo is the world’s largest and most influential annual tradeshow dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Every year, more than 5,000 brands and 16,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers, distributors, and licensing agents attend Licensing Expo from more than 70 countries. Licensing Expo is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the licensing industry’s leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.
About Licensing International
Licensing International is the leading trade organization for the $290+ billion global brand licensing industry. Licensing International’s mission is to foster the growth and expansion of brand licensing around the world, raise the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners, and create greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community at large. Founded in 1985, Licensing International members in over 40 countries enjoy access to an array of benefits, including extensive educational programming and worldwide networking events. Visit www.LicensingInternational.org for more information.
About InventHelp
The License This! Competition, formerly known as Pitch The Brands in the US, is made possible through a collaboration with Licensing Expo and InventHelp, who has been helping inventors submit their invention ideas to companies for 35 years. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based invention services company has more than 65 sales offices throughout the United States and offers inventors services, including prototyping, 3D design, and patent referrals.
About WestEnd Software
WestEnd™ Software Inc. is an innovative developer of enterprise software solutions for the Licensing and Entertainment industries. The WestEnd™ Workspace solution offers a comprehensive, end-to-end suite of software tools that enable licensees, licensors and agencies to better manage all aspects of their licensing programs, including contract lifecycles, product approvals and royalty reporting.
