This week, the top licensed properties and products of the past year were honored with the International Licensing Excellence Awards at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. Skylanders by Activision Publishing was named Overall Best Licensed Program of the Year and Hot Topic received the Best Retailer of the Year Award for The Hunger Games.
This year’s 15 awards recipients were chosen from a ballot of nominees via an industry-wide search and determined by a vote of LIMA’s membership.
LIMA’s International Licensing Excellence Awards honor the best, most successful licensed properties, products and campaigns in five distinct categories: Art or Design; Character or Toy Brand; Corporate Brand; Film, Television, Celebrity or Entertainment; and Sports. In addition, awards are presented for the Best Licensed Promotion of the Year, Best Retailer of the Year and Overall Best Licensed Program of the Year.
Here are some of the animation-related winners:
ART OR DESIGN
Best Art or Design Program of the Year
The Very Hungry Caterpillar/The World of Eric Carle (by Eric Carle Studio/The Joester Loria Group)
Best Art or Design Licensee of the Year
Kids Preferred for The Very Hungry Caterpillar/The World of Eric Carle)
CHARACTER OR TOY BRAND
Best Character or Toy Brand Program of the Year
Skylanders (by Activision Publishing, Inc.)
Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Hard Goods
LEGO (for Marvel Super Heroes)
Best Character or Toy Brand Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods
Alfred Angelo (for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings)
FILM, TELEVISION, CELEBRITY, OR ENTERTAINMENT
Best Film, Television, Celebrity, or Entertainment Program of the Year
Marvel’s The Avengers (by The Walt Disney Company/Marvel Entertainment)
Best Film, Television, Celebrity, or Entertainment Licensee of the Year – Soft Goods
Vans (for Yo Gabba Gabba!)
RETAILER
Best Retailer of the Year
Hot Topic (for The Hunger Games)
OVERALL BEST LICENSED PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
Skylanders (by Activision Publishing, Inc.)
For a full list of this year’s nominees and more information about the annual Awards program, visit the LIMA website, www.licensing.org.
