Start Licensing’s Ian Downes shares his insights on the B&LLA’s (27 April) and The Gift Awards (11 May).
“Recently I have been fortunate to attend two very enjoyable Awards events. The first of these was the B&LLAS – the Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards, followed by The Gift Awards.
“Awards can divide opinion, provoking debate around the winners and losers. Maybe the debate is part of their appeal, but I think this also obscures one of the benefits that awards like these can bring those involved in them at both the macro and micro level. Awards create a lot of focus on a business sector and individual companies. They create momentum. In the current economic climate they can seem frivolous but I think the benefits they bring are very welcome and, perhaps, even more telling at the moment. They are also a great way of getting some insight on trends, developments and emerging companies.
“The B&LLAs focuses on the brand licensing sector and provide a great focus on this dynamic part of the licensing industry. A highlight of the awards was the seeing Maxine Lister from the Natural History Museum being awarded the Brand Licensing Ambassador of the Year Award. This was very well deserved recognition for Maxine and her role in establishing the Natural History Museum as a leading brand in the heritage sector. The award also underpinned the growing importance of heritage licensing in the sector.
“Nominations for the likes of the Ashmolean Museum, the RHS and the Van Gogh Museum in the product categories further emphasised this. It was also interesting to see the variety of products in the gifting category at the awards – products nominated included Cath Kidston Flower Bouquets from Moonpig, a MTV Trivia Game from Ginger Fox and Costa Coffee Gift Sets from Kimm & Miller. Gifting companies are using brand licensing in very imaginative ways. The category was won by Blueprint Collections for their Natural History Museum stationery collection underpinning the selling power of heritage brands.
“Meanwhile, The Giftware Association uses the Gift of the Year Awards is a really effective way to shine a light on the gift industry and to celebrate the companies in it. As a Gift of the Year judge, I have seen at first hand the quality of the entries in the awards. It seems to be a real spur for companies and is helping everyone up their game.
“On a personal note, it was great to see one of the licensees I work with, Build Your Own Kits, pick up the Gift of the Year Award for Best Branded Gift Product or Range for their Build Your Own Wallace & Gromit Rocket. The win was even more satisfying considering the level of competition which included products like The Bottled Co’s M&S Colin and Percy Baking Kits and Cardology’s Peter Rabbit Pop Up Card Collection.
“Build Your Own kits are new to licensing and came on board following on a cold call from me. It is a good reminder that licensing generally, and the gift industry specifically, always benefit from new entrants. New companies bring fresh thinking, new distribution opportunities and alternative perspectives. It was also good to see The Giftware Association adding a new category to the awards this year with the addition of an award for Games, recognising how board games have become a feature of the gift industry. Companies like Big Potato Games, Ginger Fox Games and Boxer Gifts have recognised that boxed games work well in the gift market.
“Awards can really help shine a light on businesses and help categories thrive. I know Build Your Own Kits intend to use their Gift of the Year win to promote their company and the winning product. Let’s celebrate celebrating our businesses.”
E: ian@startlicensing.co.uk; Tel: 07776 228454; twitter.com/StartLicensing
Top: Ian Downes runs Start Licensing, an independent brand licensing agency.
