WowWee, LEGO, and Sesame Workshop Among Winners of 2020 Licensing International Excellence Awards

Source: Licensing International

After careful consideration, a panel of judges comprised of 152 executives from around the world evaluated more than 600 entries from companies in 22 countries to determine the nominees for the 2020 Licensing International Excellence Awards. This week, the winners were announced across 23 categories in a first-ever virtual event that was attended by nearly 1,000 industry execs.

Hosted by Handcraft Vice President and stand-up comic Marshall Mizrahi, the event featured the annual Hall of Fame induction. This year, Martha Stewart joined the Hall of Fame in honor of her years of building her personal brand into a licensing powerhouse.

The toy and kids’ entertainment industries were well-represented with wins for WowWee, The LEGO Group, and Sesame Workshop, among others.

“This year marks the 35th anniversary of the International Licensing Awards, and while we had, of course, looked forward to celebrating in person, this virtual gathering was an amazing event,” says Maura Regan, president, Licensing International. “Perhaps more than ever it was important to celebrate the incredible creativity and innovation of our industry. Seeing the very best work of this industry on display, alongside some of the dynamic executives who drive it, was a powerful reminder that, in the wake of uncertainty, the power of trusted brands and well-known licenses is more critical than ever before.”

Select categories and winners include:

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: TOYS/GAMES/NOVELTIES 0-8

WowWee | Pinkfong Baby Shark Song Puppets with Tempo Control

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: TOYS/GAMES/NOVELTIES 8 AND UP

The LEGO Group | Stranger Things The Upside Down LEGO Set

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: APPS/SOFTWARE/VIDEO GAMES

Story Toys/Touch Press | LEGO DUPLO World App

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: PUBLISHING/BACK-TO-SCHOOL

Party City | Pantone’s 2019 Color of the Year Partygoods & Tableware

BEST BRAND – DIGITAL/APPS/VIDEO GAME

Brown & Friends | LINE Friends

BEST BRAND: ENTERTAINMENT/CHARACTER (ANIMATED)

Peppa Pig | eOne/Hasbro

BEST BRAND: ENTERTAINMENT/CHARACTER (LIVE ACTION)

Sesame Street | Sesame Workshop

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: APPAREL/FOOTWEAR/ACCESSORIES

Vans | David Bowie Line

BEST LICENSED PRODUCT: APPLIANCES/AUTOMOTIVE/HOUSEWARES

Pro-Ject Audio Systems | The Beatles Turntable

BEST BRAND: ART/DESIGN/CELEBRITY/FASHION

V&A | Victoria and Albert Museum

Additionally, this year’s virtual event includes a showcase of six international Rising Stars: Krystyna Braxton (NFL Players Inc.); Allison Cimino (RockLove); Carolina Garcia Souza (Cinecolor Colombia, representative of The Walt Disney Company); Gao Qiang (Tencent); Hannah Stevens (The Point.1888); and Louis Yenik (Crunchyroll).

Finally, the Licensing International Small Business Global Grants Fund has raised more than $110,000 to aid small businesses in the licensing community that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies interested in donating to the fund or applying for a grant can find information on the Licensing International website.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.