The Emoji Company, launched just three years ago, is continually growing with licensed products in every corner of the globe.

In 2013, Marco Hüsges founded The Emoji Company through the trademark ownership of the term “emoji.” From there, he built the company and its 2,600 icons into a visual and product representation of the term, available for licensing in all categories. Today, Hüsges has trademarked the term “emoji” in more than 60 countries and, through brand licensing agencies, has built the company into a classic licensing success story.

The Emoji Company is no stranger to Licensing Expo, citing the show as one of the pillars of its business. Since Licensing Expo 2015, The Emoji Company’s first show, the company has secured more than 150 international licensees. Meanwhile, at this year’s show, Hüsges personally took more than 40 meetings for the brand.

License Global sat down with Hüsges to discuss the history of The Emoji Company, the benefits licensing has provided and his overall experiences at Licensing Expo.

To read the highlights from this article, click here.

How did you launch the licensing program for The Emoji Company?
After a significant investment in brand development, content creation, trademark and copyright protection and defining an overall market entry strategy (a process that took us close to two years), we introduced the official emoji brand to the market in 2015 at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Nev. While there, we met most of the international agencies who represent the official emoji brand today. Since our company does not produce its own products, the entire business is based on a licensing model, which has pushed us into the market very quickly.

Have you secured any deals since the show in June?
We have signed multiple deals since Licensing Expo with partners around the globe. We also entered into new relationships with agency partners such as Asiana Licensing in South Korea. Licensing Expo is, for sure, the most important international venue to drive your global licensing business.

How has exhibiting at Licensing Expo helped you grow your brand?
In combination with trade advertisement, Licensing Expo is one elemental pillar in our business to promote our brand and to meet our customers from all over the world.

To us the Licensing Expo is a melting pot of nations; clients from all over the world are joining the show and it is a perfect chance to meet with to your licensing partners face-to-face, which is so important in business.

How many meetings did you hold on site?
We held meetings since the Saturday prior to the show and also used a couple of days after the show to meet up with individual international clients. We took a whole week to meet existing and new partners. However, I personally had more than 40 meetings, which were efficient and effective.

Besides the regular pre-arranged meetings, we probably had another two dozen requests from interested parties that simply walked by the booth. The show could easily last two days longer from that perspective. Licensing Expo 2016 in Vegas was awesome for us and we are looking forward to exhibit in 2017.

When and how did your company discover Licensing Expo?
We introduced the official emoji brand to the world of licensing and merchandising for the first time in June 2015. We started off with a pretty small booth; however, this year we increased our booth space and have already confirmed the space for 2017. Licensing Expo clearly is a must for every brand owner.

What does The Emoji Company’s lineup of licensed merchandise look like?
Within just slightly more than one year The Emoji Company has secured more than 150 international partnerships. From apparel to personal care to food and beverages, from stationary to home and décor and from toys to promotions: the official emoji brand has experienced a strong acceptance in the market and enjoys a great popularity and recognition. We are very thankful for the strong support we received from our partners and we are excited about the various programs on multiple product categories that already have been executed and that will be launched in 2017.

Highlights from this article include: