Congratulations to our member V&A honoured with the prestigious LIMA International awards

For the first time in over a decade, British licensee and licensors were honoured at the prestigious LIMA awards.

The ceremony, held during Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, saw both Boots and the V&A Museum scoop major awards from the judges and members of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers Association. Boots as Best Retailer for its Strictly Come Dancing programme and the V&A for Best Art & Design.

In all, LIMA presented 15 International Licensing Excellence Awards recognising the best and most successful licensed properties and products in seven categories: Art/Design, Character/Toy, Corporate, Film/Television/Celebrity/Entertainment, Sports, Promotion and Retailer. Nominations were solicited worldwide from across the licensing industry and winners were chosen by a vote of the LIMA membership.

This year’s International Licensing Excellence Award winners included many recognisable brands such as LEGO, Victoria and Albert Museum, Animal Planet, NASCAR and Hello Kitty. More than a quarter of the entries were from non-US companies, emphasising the global reach of licensing.

All awards are based on calendar year 2010. The winners, by category, are:

ART

• Best Art/Design Program: Victoria and Albert Museum (by Victoria and Albert Museum/V&A Enterprises)
• Best Art/Design Licensee: Dom Pérignon (for Andy Warhol)

CHARACTER/TOY BRAND

• Best Character/Toy Brand Program: Hello Kitty (by Sanrio, Inc.)
• Best Character/Toy Brand Licensee: HARD GOODS – Smart USA (for Hello Kitty)
• Best Character/Toy Brand Licensee: SOFT GOODS – Loungefly (for Hello Kitty)

CORPORATE

• Best Corporate Brand Program: Animal Planet (by Discovery Communications/The Joester Loria Group)
• Best Corporate Brand Licensee: Shabby Chic for Simply Shabby Chic at Target

FILM, TELEVISION, CELEBRITY OR ENTERTAINMENT

• Best Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment Program: Toy Story 3 (by The Walt Disney Company)
• Best Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment Licensee: HARD GOODS – LEGO (for Harry Potter)
• Best Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment Licensee: SOFT GOODS – Awake, Inc. (for Glee)

SPORTS AND SPORTS-THEMED ENTERTAINMENT

• Best Sports Program: NASCAR Team Properties (by NASCAR and Teams)
• Best Sports Licensee: JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (for Ultimate Fighting Championship)

PROMOTION

• Best Licensed Promotion: Dove Glee (for All by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.)

RETAILER

• Best Retailer: Boots (for Strictly Come Dancing)

OVERALL BEST LICENSED PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

• Toy Story 3 (by The Walt Disney Company)