Advice on where to start, who to meet and when to eat from event director, Darren Brechin.
With over 300 exhibitors, and more than 2,500 properties on display, a visit to the Brand Licensing Europe show can be overwhelming.
Where do you start? Who do you meet first? How do you maximise your time? How do you fit in those free educational sessions, and most importantly, what do you do about lunch?
Here are ten top tips which can hopefully help you plan for a successful three days.
- Use our show planner – sounds obvious, but it’s often overlooked in the pre-show chaos. This online tool helps you find exhibitors, sort them by location, and then add personal appointments to make the most of your visit. Hey presto, you’ve planned your day! http://ble15.mapyourshow.com/6_0/login/login.cfm
- Follow us on Twitter @bleurope – we tweet throughout the show and can remind you of educational sessions starting imminently or interesting things happening around the event you may have missed.
- Join our LinkedIn group – it’s a great way to network before, during and after the event. Many visitors and exhibitors use it to set up meetings at the show. Simple, easy and free.
- Subscribe to The BLE Blog – we will include all show updates and round-ups of each day during the show (www.thebleblog.com).
- Attend the LIMA BLE Garden Party on the second evening of the show – held in one of London’s most exclusive settings, Kensington Roof Top Gardens, it’s going to be a great networking opportunity and a chance to chat informally away from the hustle and bustle of the exhibition hall while enjoying a few drinks and some fantastic live music.
- If you’re new to licensing, or haven’t been to the show before, attend LIMA’s Licensing Explained sessions at 9.30am on each day in the Licensing Academy. This is designed specifically for those who are not sure where to begin and is the perfect way to start a day at BLE.
- Arrive at educational sessions ten minutes early – each session is seated on a first come, first served basis, so for the keynotes in particular it’s always good to get there early as these are often standing room only.
- Pick up a Show Daily when you arrive, these contain full listings of the educational sessions running throughout the day but also highlight exhibitors and some of the industry news breaking at the show.
- If you’ve got a new property, attend the final of License This! and hear a panel of experts give their guidance to our finalists. It’s a great way to hear from industry veterans and gather ideas.
- Last, but not least, the issue of eating! This is a common problem with many visitors and exhibitors fuelled purely by sweets alone for three days. There are eateries around the edges of the main hall, and upstairs on the gallery level there’s the Art & Design Gallery Café, in the Brands zone you will find the Brands & Lifestyle Bar (sponsored by Cosmopolitan) and the Brands & Lifestyle Cafe – not to mention the new MTV Bar located at the rear of the Character & Entertainment zone on the ground level (sponsored by none other than MTV).
We hope you enjoy the show!
Brand Licensing Europe takes place from the October 13-15 2015 at London’s Olympia. For more information, or to register for free, please visit www.brandlicensing.eu
