Brand Licensing Europe will immerse attendees in Location Based Experiences (LBE), as the theme for 2023’s event this October.

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) returns to ExCeL London from Wednesday 4th to Friday 6th October 2023, and visitor registration will open online in June. 140 companies are already confirmed to exhibit including Paramount, Bravado, Jazwares, Capcom, Tour de France, Rights & Brands and MGA Entertainment. Pokémon and Hang 10 will have an increased presence at BLE and Spanish licensee Stor, BioWorld and The Wombles are all exhibiting for the very first time.

LBE comes to BLE following a successful outing at Licensing Expo in 2022 with exhibitors throwing their full support behind the theme in Vegas. Hasbro was one exhibitor that created an entire LBE-themed ‘Experience’ stand, including:

• My Little Pony & Transformers Hotel Collection, Shanghai.
• Monopoly Life-sized and Top Hat Restaurant & Bar, London.
• Nerf Challenge, North America, which toured North America in 2022.

At BLE in October, the LBE theme will be woven into the following visitor features, with more details to be announced in the coming weeks:

• LBE-focused keynotes on Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th October.
• LBE Pavilion: A goliath of a stand at 400 sq m (the size of two tennis courts), the LBE Pavilion will house up to eight exhibitors showcasing super immersive and inspiring LBE content that visitors can walk through, around and interact with. Exhibiting enquiries are welcome from brands and licensees, with tailored packages available for show floor exhibiting and non-exhibiting companies.
• The LBE Stage, spotlighting a series of impactful and engaging, crowd-drawing LBE moments throughout BLE’s three days.
• LBE-themed show entrances.

BLE event director, Ella Haynes, commented: “LBE is already a huge market (valued at $3.29b in 2022) and is only going to get bigger (30% growth expected by 2030) as it expands into more categories and touches more diverse audiences. The potential for brands to get involved to both drive and benefit from this growth is massive.”

BLE organisers say the success of LBE is partly explained by the consumer preferences of new generations; while goods count for 39% of purchases by 21-34-year-olds, experiences count for 59% (according to The Journal of Consumer Psychology). There is also a growing desire, partly spurred on by the pandemic, for multi-generational experience sharing and engagement.

“This is also because LBE is now much more than theme parks,” added Ella. “In London alone, we have seen sell-out successes with the likes of Secret Cinema, the immersive Van Gogh and David Hockney exhibitions, Abba Voyage and Monopoly Lifesized. Magic Light Pictures first delighted pre-schoolers on the Gruffalo Trail as long ago as 2010, and many retailers have since enjoyed the benefits of LBE with ‘retailtainment’, such as Primark’s Greggs, Peaky Blinders, Disney and Friends in-store pop-ups and Westfield’s Squid Games experience.

”LBE basically exists to make consumers smile and spark a deeper, more immersive and engaging brand connection that leads to loyalty and purchase, so it’s a joyous space to be in. Our goal for BLE 2023 is to replicate that joy on the show floor and show retailers, licensees and brands how getting on board can be truly business changing.”

To find out more or to talk about exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, email greg.mcdonald@informa.com and cassius.anderson@informa.com.

For more on BLE 2023, click here.