TOTAL LICENSING
By Martin Brochstein
SVP Industry Relations and
Information
International Licensing
Trade Shows Continue
Industry Merchandisers’
Association
www.licensing.org
To Give Great Bang
For The Buck!
Retail Forward. He’ll give an up to date
You can’t do it all via phone, fax, email and even videoconferencing.
perspective on how the psyche of the
shopper has changed, and a feel for
Those indeed are marvelous tools. In fact every few years for the past
which of those changes are likely to be
couple of decades, I’ve paused for a moment, thought back a decade or
short-term and which are more funda-
so, and wondered, “How did anyone ever do business before the (fill in
mental and long-lasting.
the blank)?” One communications technology after another has revo-
Another new feature – which will ap-
lutionized the way information is exchanged, relationships are fostered
peal to visitors from outside the U.S. in
and deals are done. Ask anyone about the days before the fax.
particular – is a retail tour of Las Vegas
on Sunday, May 31. I’ll make a luncheon
Even our clichés change. Several years adding another chance for creative in-
presentation on the state of the U.S.
ago, I was nagging my young daughter spiration.
market, which will be followed by visits
(she’s now 25 years old) about some- That brings me to the trade show. In
to notable mass and specialty retailers
thing. “I know I must sound like a bro- its purest form, it’s a marketplace of
in the Las Vegas areas.
ken record to you,” I said, and the look products, ideas, players, relationships
This year’s show also will mark the de-
on her face changed from exasperated and deals that can’t really be replicated
but of the LIMA Opening Night Awards
to quizzical. It took me a couple of sec- in digital form. It offers a chance to
Party – an evening event that begins
onds to realize that as a child of the people to immerse themselves in the
immediately after the show floor clos-
CD age, she had no idea what a broken process of building on current rela-
es on the first day. It will combine an
record was, and the implications of a tionships and finding new ones in an
extended high-end networking cocktail
skipping phonograph needle. (And if extraordinarily efficient manner .
reception that flows into the presenta-
anybody reading this is still unaware, As we get closer to this summer’s Li-
tion ceremony for the Annual LIMA
please don’t bother writing me for a censing International Expo, it’s impor-
International Licensing Awards and the
technical explanation.) tant to keep that final factor in mind.
induction of the newest member of
But the advances of technology don’t This summer’s show, June 2-4 in Las
the Murray Altchuler Licensing Hall of
necessarily make things better. Within Vegas, presents an opportunity to see
Fame. This combined evening will be at
the past decade, companies such as and form a pile of business contacts in
a price that’s sharply lower than previ-
Notara and
whatshotnow.com tried a very short time in a single place. The
ous years’ Industry Gala.
to establish hyper-efficient online li- Consumer Electronics Association,
Finally, a powerhouse Licensing Univer-
censing marketplaces where licensors which stages that annual mammoth
sity seminar schedule will be available
could post properties, and potential Consumer Electronics Show, says that
at prices that are significantly reduced
licensees could bid on them – ignor- the average CES attendee has 12 meet-
from those of previous years.
ing the fact that a good licensing deal ings during the show. Many, undoubted-
is built on factors that go way beyond ly, have far more than that. In these dif-
There’s no doubt that everyone
mere dollars and cents. ficult economic times, when everyone’s
– ourselves included – is keeping a
More recently, a growing number of keeping a tight rein on expenses, the
close eye on business expenses. But
property owners have done away with imperative to get the most bang for
no amount of digital or communi-
bulky physical styleguides, instead stor- your buck can’t be overlooked.
cations technology can replace the
ing them on DVD-ROMs, flash drives LIMA is undertaking several initiatives
experience of being there, meeting
or password protected websites. That to increase the value of attending Li-
face to face with current and fu-
might work in many cases, but some censing Expo this year. For example,
ture business partners, and taking
licensors (and licensees) still value the for the first time, LIMA and show
advantage of the myriad opportu-
tangible, tactile presence of a book on operator Advanstar are staging a free
nities to prepare for growth in the
a shelf or corner of a desk as a way of opening keynote session, featuring
years ahead.
cementing the property’s identity and noted retail analyst Dan Stanek of TNS
See you in Vegas!
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