Top character and entertainment brands from all facets of media including film, television, online, music and gaming will meet once again at Licensing Expo.

April 6, 2018

2 Min Read

Top character and entertainment brands from all facets of media including film, television, online, music and gaming will meet once again at Licensing Expo.

The annual tradeshow is an opportunity for these brands to make connections, further their influence and extend into new product categories and territories.

Produced by UBM Americas and sponsored by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association, Licensing Expo is held on June 21-23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.

“Licensed products account for $241.5 billion in total retail sales worldwide, with 44.4 percent of that from character and entertainment brands,” says Jessica Blue, senior vice president, licensing, UBM. “Licensing Expo provides an opportunity for these brands to showcase new concepts and evergreen franchises, to update existing partners and find new ones.”

As the longest running licensing tradeshow, Licensing Expo connects more than 16,150 licensees, manufacturers and retailers with both iconic and emerging intellectual properties each year. The 2016 show features brands such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Angry Birds, Dr. Seuss, “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” Garfield, Hot Wheels, Minions, My Little Pony, “The Simpsons,” “The Smurfs,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” The Swan Princess, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Thomas & Friends,” Transformers and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Some of these characters can be seen during the annual Licensing Expo Character Parade, which is held at select times throughout the show. Anticipated by attendees and exhibitors alike, the Character Parade is the place where character and entertainment licensing comes to life.

“Each year, Licensing Expo is a critical event on Cartoon Network's planning calendar. It provides the perfect platform to showcase our ever-broadening portfolio of hit brands, whether at our highly anticipated partner summit, or our impactful presence on the show floor,” says Pete Yoder, vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises, North America. “This year, we look forward to celebrating our successful launch of ‘The Powerpuff Girls,’ making key announcements around global franchises like ‘Ben 10’ and ‘Adventure Time,’ and introducing Adult Swim’s breakout hit ‘Rick and Morty’ to the licensing community.”

More than 435 companies representing more than 5,000 brands will be exhibiting at this year’s Licensing Expo. Character and entertainment highlights include BBC Worldwide, C3 Entertainment, CBS Consumer Products, DreamWorks Animation, Hasbro, Iconix Brand Group, Mattel, MGA Entertainment, NBCUniversal Brand Development, Nickelodeon, One Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Rovio Entertainment, Saban Brands, Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Striker Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, Ubisoft Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and many more.

Can’t wait for June? Check out the NYC Licensing Summit video series for exclusive, on-demand content from executives such as Hasbro’s Simon Waters. Videos are now available for purchase here.

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry Article
Join 62,000+ members. Yes, it's completely free.

You May Also Like