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The program offered 19 session and six different featured topics topped off by a retail tour of Berlin and two networking events high above the rooftops of Germany’s media metropole Berlin on both evenings. It was the declared aim to provide LIMA-members and non-members with a forum for information about licensing, animated discussions and the exchange of views and ideas. Instead of generating sales the event was rather focused on creative, meaningful dialogue and the exchange of information between all market players.
In an interview with Kelvyn Gardner keynote speaker Keith Chapman shared his experiences in success and failure of his creative ideas and provided valuable insights into “Learning from Flops”. However, he deliberately refrained from seeing economic failures as complete failures. He prefers to think that the audience wasn’t ready for a particular property or product realization at a given time. International moderators from different areas with different expertise inspired attendees to actively engage in roundtable discussion. At the end of the day everyone had been able to discover new and interesting insights and aspects of licensing. The feeling, that you were a bit cleverer in the evening than you had been in the morning, pervaded the audience. Whether they discussed the possibilities of brand protection and action against counterfeit products, the right appeal or presentation in retail, why which properties are successful in which target group or what the country-specific and cultural difference are – there was an interesting topic for everyone. And almost always the foundation was a co-operative and trustful atmosphere that transferred to all attendees. Julia Wurzer, WDR mediagroup: “An overall successful event! That was two days full of information in a highly creative, relaxed atmosphere and we had ample opportunity to exchange views and ideas.” Holger Merk, DFB Wirtschaftsdienste, joins in: “Such a forum under the great label ‘Licensing’ where you can listen, learn and participate, an event that lets you gain true insights is really, really important – especially as so many different aspects of the industry have influence on your own niche, which is football in our case.”
Charles Riotto, President and CEO LIMA, is happy about the successful kick-off event and the overall positive feedback from all participants. He sees the first Mind Mix as a solid foundation for the intended further development of the European market and the association. Due to the success of the well-established German events and in the face of a rapidly evolving European market, additional forums for interactive and creative exchange of views and ideas are already in the pipeline. That’s why LIMA plans to attract new companies beyond traditional entertainment and kids licensing and seeks to win over new members. The stronger the association – the greater the power to make an impact: “Join LIMA”. Following the discussions, LIMA started a "Retail Tour" to the Kaufhof flagship store at Alexanderplatz. Kaufhof CEO Michael Hövelmann, who recently moved from Cologne in the capital, gave some intersting insights into the history and development of Galeria Kaufhof to a multichannel department store. In the ensuing discussion the international participants had many qualified questions, which showed how valuable this trip was for them. Visibly elated the Kaufhof team led the delegation through the 36,000 square meter area. The focus of the visit was paid to toys and the excellent worlds of entertainment and character properties. Due to the daily flow of tourists, it is a big challenge for a multi-channel department store, to collect the international customers over all the channels of retail. So recently the Kaufhof launched galeria.cn and delivers the products directly to China! You will find some impressions of Mind Mix >>> here |
