BLE opens Matchmaking Service for 2018

Nearly 3,000 business meetings were pre-arranged for BLE 2017 using the service.

Brand Licensing Europe has opened its popular Matchmaking Service for 2018.

Nearly 3,000 business meetings were pre-arranged for BLE 2017 using the service, a 150% increase.

It connected 1,000 licensors with licensees, made 12,000 contacts available for meetings spread across a wide range of sectors and interests and attracted over 250,000 online user profile views.

Notably, one Matchmaking Service user secured business worth $1.5m.

Introduced by BLE in 2016, the BLE Matchmaking Service is a free online tool that exhibitors and visitors can use to pre-book meetings to take place during the show.

“2018 will be the third year of us running the Matchmaking Service and the rise in its use and popularity last year was incredible,” said BLE brand director, Anna Knight. “BLE is a meetings event. People come here to do business. Exhibitors’ and visitors’ diaries are jam-packed from start to finish and the Matchmaking Service helps them to maximise their time at the show and also makes it possible for them to meet people they may have otherwise missed.

“To hear that one user secured $1.5m of business off the back of our Matchmaking Service is incredible – it’s exactly the reason we introduced it and here’s to more stories like that this year.”

Eye Candy Art Group managing director Mark Blackburn added: “I’ve been coming to the show for seven or eight years and the Matchmaking Service is fantastic. You are now even telling me who I should meet; the wonders of technology.”

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