Licensing Expo 2024: What a Show!
Jacky Kuerzi
May 30, 2024
Last week the IMC team took our annual trip to Las Vegas to attend the world’s largest licensing tradeshow, Licensing Expo. This year there were over 300 exhibitors and the energetic crowd felt as though we were back to a pre-pandemic level.
Licensing Expo 2024’s theme was “Brands at Play,” which focused on innovations in play for kids and “kidults” alike. Gaming and other digital forms of play were clearly at the forefront of everyone’s minds, however nostalgic IPs continued to have a large presence. Returning characters like Rainbow Bright, the Smurfs, Care Bears and Barney paraded through the isles daily. There was also an abundance of anime and manga characters on display looking for licensing opportunities on a global scale. Large-scale traditional board games for attendees to play were available to play by Mattel’s booth. The pickleball court space on the floor was a nice touch, too!
While the show’s theme was obviously more geared toward licensing character IP’s, we were thrilled with the number of corporate brands we were able to meet with in our suite. Our agency’s focus on connecting corporate brands with licensees to forge evergreen and impactful licensing programs offered a unique perspective for brands seeking representation. Licensing Expo’s online platform for exhibitors provided an efficient way to connect and schedule our productive meetings with potential partners.
The show offered fantastic programming, including sharing results from a global licensing study conducted by Brandar Consulting. The IMC team and industry colleagues were excited to learn licensed product sales grew at a higher rate YOY compared to non-licensed products globally. We were also encouraged to learn that non-profit proved to be the highest growth category, and certainly felt that throughout our prospecting meetings for our client, Lamaze International. Our team can’t wait to see all the study’s results published next month.
A previous trend that has turned into an industry shift is a focus on sustainability. Similar to last year’s show, programming highlighted the importance of sustainable practices for manufacturers from production to packaging. Corporate brands, while focused on their own sustainability efforts, expect more from their licensees wanting to mirror their practices to satisfy consumer expectations.
Another topic that played a big role in Licensing Expo was ecommerce. With ecom making up 37% of global licensing sales (2024 Global Licensing Industry Study, Licensing International), it’s imperative to include this within a sales strategy.
Lastly, one of our favorite activities at Licensing Expo each year is the opportunity to network with friends and colleagues in the industry. The show offered plenty of time and space to do so, most notably at the Opening Night Party. Headlining the event was CeeLo Green who brought excitement and energy only matched by those on the show floor.
Thank you to The Global Licensing Group, Informa and Licensing International for a fantastic week. We can’t wait to see what Licensing Expo 2025 holds in store!
