Licensing Expo will take place May 21-23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The event will offer several licensing, networking, and educational opprtunies and more.
The second Licensing Expo keynote, titled “Is Podcasting Where the Next Hit Franchise Will Come From? Sounds Like It,” will feature Wondery Chief Brand Officer Nicole Blake and Guy Raz, host and co-creator of podcasts How I Built This and Wow in the World. Blake and Raz will discuss franchise development opportunities from podcast IP during the keynote on May 22.
The keynote will highlight Wow in the World, a kids’ and family podcast series created by Tinkercast, and how Wondery Kids, including Raz, will turn the podcast into a global lifestyle brand. Blake, who has experience spearheading growth for global franchises like Harry Potter and Thomas & Friends, will examine how Wondery applies a Hollywood-style approach to franchise building and Consumer Products to develop podcast IP.
“We are incredibly excited to be working with some of the best companies in the industry to grow podcasts like Wow in the World into true lifestyle programs with touchpoints across audio, live events, consumer products, and more,” Blake says. “We believe podcasts hold as much potential for franchise building as traditional Hollywood IP and are thrilled that the licensing industry is eager to explore audio-first IPs’ untapped opportunities with us.”
As the co-founder of Tinkercast and host of How I Built This, Raz will provide insight into how companies can create a culture of innovation and how Wow in the World will move outside the bounds of streaming.
“Our kid and grown-up listeners are so committed to what we do and are constantly looking for deeper ways to connect with Wow in the World. Creating products that align with our values and our audiences’ was a natural step for us to take and we couldn’t ask for better partners than the experts at Wondery Kids as we enter the Consumer Products space,” Raz says.
The global podcasting market, valued at $2.22 billion in 2022 by a Fortune Business Insights Market Research Report, is estimated to grow significantly over the next few years. This could be a good fit for the business of brand licensing and consumer products.
“Licensing Expo is the global stage to highlight the multifaceted business of licensing and one of the areas we have identified for discovery and growth is from the podcasting space,” says Amanda Cioletti, Vice President Content and Strategy, Informa Markets Global Licensing Group. “Wow in the World’s origin story is a fantastic example of the endless opportunities audio-based properties have in the consumer product space, as Blake and Raz, each respectively celebrated for their industry-leading perspectives and expertise, challenge us to think about licensing in a fresh way — like from podcasting.”
For more information about Licensing Expo, visit licensingexpo.com.
