The conceptual elements of the planned Licensing-X Germany trade fair from Spielwarenmesse eG are being amalgamated with BRANDmate to form the basis of a licensing business and collaboration event at a different order of magnitude. This will bring together the skills of the Nuremberg-based trade fair and marketing services provider with those of the organisers of a cross-sector B2B networking event covering collaboration, partnerships and licensing, and of the global association Licensing International. Managing Director of the newly formed BRANDmate GmbH will be Eva Stemmer. The first joint BRANDmate event will take place in Offenbach on 21 and 22 June 2023. Licensing International Germany rounds off the event as an education partner.
“Here, a fresh idea and highly professional partners have come together,” says Peter Hollo on behalf of Licensing International. “We are already looking forward enormously to the event put together by BRANDmate and Spielwarenmesse eG, which will excite, among others, the retail trade and the corporate brands.” The joint event from these successful players in the market represents a clarion call. “It is important to me that the event should retain its modern, unconventional spirit and expand across many sectors, such that it becomes even more diverse and attractive to brands and companies from all areas,” explains Eva Stemmer, who sees great potential in this collaboration. “In Spielwarenmesse eG we have found a partner who wishes to travel this path with us. My team and I are delighted to be working alongside them.”
BRANDmate celebrated a successful premiere this year in the disused Fredenhagen steel plant in Offenbach, with 190 companies and 450 individual participants. The event will continue to be staged by Eva Stemmer and her team. Colleagues from Spielwarenmesse eG will be providing support with their global network in the fields of toys and stationery, on both the supplier and retail sides. The new partners will allow fresh approaches and visions to be implemented more effectively and on an even larger scale. Licensing International, the world’s most important association for this global sector, will bring its expertise and experience to BRANDmate and will contribute to the success of the event. Further strategic partnerships such as the collaboration with Hamburg agency Jung von Matt NERD will facilitate growth into new areas. In 2023, for example, alongside companies from the fields of entertainment, toys and stationery, there will be a focus on sectors of gaming & e-sport, food & beverage, home & living, mobility & travel, and sport & fashion.
The original concept of Licensing-X Germany is thus being absorbed into a new configuration of a refreshing and unconventional kind that extends well beyond a trade fair alone. In the words of Christian Ulrich, Spokesperson of the Executive Board at Spielwarenmesse eG: “Collaboration agreements are becoming increasingly important, and we ourselves as a cooperative embody this approach. Alongside the Spielwarenmesse, Insights-X, SPIEL in Essen and our involvement in international events, BRANDmate rounds off our portfolio perfectly. We are pleased to be able to inject our experience, our skills and our national and international contacts.”
The first joint event will take place on 21 and 22 June 2023, again in Offenbach. BRANDmate will retain all the agility, innovative power and transparency to all participants shown by this year’s launch event, allowing it to respond quickly to trends and to continuously improve the concept. As in 2022, alongside a stage for speakers with inspiring presentations, several networking areas, masterclasses and an evening event with a live concert, next year’s event will again include an exhibition space in which brands and companies can present themselves and bring to life their models for collaboration.
Brands, companies from industry, agencies and retailers who are interested can contact the BRANDmate team to discuss booking showrooms, branded networking areas and special areas before the end of the year. This gives all businesses the opportunity to put themselves into the limelight in the production halls or outdoor areas of the former industrial site at Fredenhagen where the event is to be held.
