Countdown to the industry’s big night on Tuesday September 11 starts here.
The finalists in this year’s Retail and Marketing Communications categories in The UK Licensing Awards have been confirmed.
The shortlist for the Best Retailer of Preschool, Kids and Adult Licensed Products, plus the Radar Award, were decided as a result of an extensive nomination process, followed by validation by a panel of over 20 industry experts, made up of both leading licensors and licensees (pictured above).
The Retail Awards finalists in The Licensing Awards 2018 are:
Best Retailer of Preschool Licensed Products (Age Group 0-5)
Character.com
The Entertainer
JoJo Maman Bébé
M&Co
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Best Retailer of Kids’ Licensed Products (Age Group 5-16)
Character.com
The Entertainer
HMV
Next
Primark
Tesco
Best Retailer of Adult Licensed Products
ASOS
Forbidden Planet
Game
HMV
Primark
Tesco
The Radar Award – for retailers who have come on the radar on the licensing front as they have considerably upped their licensing activities in the last year
ASOS
Home Bargains
Lidl
Paperchase
Selfridges
Specsavers
All winners from the above categories are also contenders for the Top Retailer Award.
In addition, the finalists for Best Licensed Retail Execution – which is for a specific promotion or licensing treatment executed at retail over the last year – have also been confirmed:
- Cars 3 at Smyths
- JoJo Siwa at Primark
- Marvel Avengers: Infinity War at Tesco
- My Little Pony at Tesco
- PAW Patrol at The Entertainer
- Peter Rabbit movie at Harrods
- Paddington at Marks & Spencer
- The Rolling Stones x Bravado at Selfridges
Meanwhile, the finalists in the Licensed Marketing Communications Award category have also been confirmed.
Following a strong roster of self-nominations from the industry, all entries were then validated by a panel of marketing and licensing experts, chaired by Pink Key Licensing’s Richard Pink.
Best Licensed Marketing Communications Award Finalists are:
- 20th Century Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express Campaign with Movember (Agency: Lime Communications)
- The Gruffalo Spotter AR App Trails with Forestry Commission England
- LEGO Create The World Campaign with Sainsbury’s
- Masters of the Universe and Dirty Dancing Epic Lift Campaign with Moneysupermarket.com (Agency: Born Licensing)
- Mr Benn If You Love It, Keep It In The Emporium Campaign with The Insurance Emporium
- Roald Dahl’s Halloweden with The Eden Project
The finalists in the Product and Property categories will be announced on Monday July 23 and Tuesday July 24 respectively.
The winners of the Retail and Marketing Communications categories will be revealed at a glittering ceremony on Tuesday September 11, held in The Great Room of The Grosvenor House Hotel, London.
The headline sponsor of The Licensing Awards 2018 is Brand Licensing Europe and the awards are officially supported by LIMA.
Over 1,400 retailers, licensees and industry suppliers are set to attend this year’s big event. Tickets are available from Createvents on 01183 340085 or email clare@createvents.co.uk.
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