Licensing Expo Holds West Coast Meeting for Exhibitors

The International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA) and Advanstar Communications, producer of the Licensing International Expo 2009, held the second in a series of town hall meetings on Friday in Los Angeles at the Mondrian Hotel.

Almost 60 exhibitors including all the major studios were on hand to preview new programming initiatives and exhibitor news about the upcoming show in Las Vegas, June 2-4.

The event, which was hosted by Charles Riotto, LIMA president, and Georgiann Decenzo, executive vice president of Advanstar Communications, addressed key topics of the Licensing International Expo including the changes and improvements to the programming as well as concerns about exhibitor participation and attendance.

Riotto reviewed the new format for the LIMA Awards program, the new conference schedule and the exclusive keynote presentation featuring Dan Stanek, executive vice president of consulting and marketing research firm TNS Retail Forward, who will address "What will the retail economy look like when the recession is over?"

Decenzo discussed several new initiatives including a new interactive showcase area, screening suites, a fashion show, the Global Partners Program, integrated marketing solutions and an expanded interactive Web site, along with an attendee e-newsletter.

"We are here to help our exhibitors in this tough economic environment," says Decenzo, "and have had discussions with many exhibitors to assist them in saving money on their show expenses."

Decenzo points out that back-end expenses for exhibitors will be 50 percent to 60 percent lower in Las Vegas than New York City.

"I want to set the record straight about the show floor in Las Vegas," Decenzo says. "All of the major companies have a presence on the show floor and remain committed to the show."

According to Decenzo, all the major studios are participating including Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Lucasfilm, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., MGM, Paramount and Marvel, while Twentieth Century Fox and Universal have rejoined the show floor this year.

In addition, the television and entertainment companies including Sesame Workshop, BBC Worldwide, Cartoon Network, CBS Consumer Products, HIT, 4Kids, Chorion, United Media, Fremantle, Mattel and Hasbro are all exhibiting.

Decenzo emphasizes that Advanstar is reinvesting in the show in several areas including attendee development, an automated online system for exhibitors to send out invites to key customer and prospects, new categories of exhibitors to draw interest, the addition of a VIP program for retail development and international outreach via the Brand Licensing Europe team based in London.

Additional show meetings are being planned, Decenzo says.

The first meeting was held in New York in conjunction with Kidscreen Summit at the New York Hilton last month.