Licensing Expo 2025 will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 20-22. The event is a global tradeshow dedicated to licensing, IP extension, and brand collaborations. It's known as the world's largest licensing trade show.
Key Details & News:
Dates: May 20-22, 2025.
Location: Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Focus: Licensing, IP extension, and brand collaborations.
Event Planner: The event planner is now open, offering enhanced digital tools and networking opportunities.
Keynote Session: Hasbro has announced their highly-anticipated keynote session, moderated by Marianne James.
Keynote Speakers: Walmart, Primark, and MINISO will be keynoting the event.
International Pavilion: This year's event introduces the International Pavilion, showcasing brands from Asia, including China, South Korea, and India.
Specialty Areas: The show floor also includes the Retail Lounge, the Cool Brands Café, and the Football and Soccer Pavilion.
Key Details & News:
Dates: May 20-22, 2025.
Location: Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Focus: Licensing, IP extension, and brand collaborations.
Event Planner: The event planner is now open, offering enhanced digital tools and networking opportunities.
Keynote Session: Hasbro has announced their highly-anticipated keynote session, moderated by Marianne James.
Keynote Speakers: Walmart, Primark, and MINISO will be keynoting the event.
International Pavilion: This year's event introduces the International Pavilion, showcasing brands from Asia, including China, South Korea, and India.
Specialty Areas: The show floor also includes the Retail Lounge, the Cool Brands Café, and the Football and Soccer Pavilion.
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FunTranscript
00:00All right, if you are a handler, you need to be out of the photo.
00:12If somebody keeps hitting my ladder, stop.
00:17Walking around the ladder.
00:23All right, look right here, everybody.
00:27Hi, my name is Dale Mathis.
00:37We are at Las Vegas Licensing Expo 2017.
00:42And right here we have, oh, I'm sorry.
00:45What's your company name?
00:46The company is called Hopey's World.
00:48My daughter, Hope, who's seven years old, has created her own brand.
00:53And this is it.
00:55This is great.
00:57How did that just walk us through?
00:58Okay.
00:59So about three years ago, say hi.
01:03So about three years ago, my daughter, well, we started noticing my daughter, her artwork
01:12and how unique it was.
01:14You mean different from like...
01:16Let me rephrase that.
01:17Okay.
01:18I got messed up a couple of ways.
01:19It's one art.
01:20By definition, art's unique.
01:21Yeah.
01:22But you noticed a different feel.
01:23Right, right, right, right.
01:24So we started noticing how unique her art was.
01:27And I'm an artist myself.
01:30So I took some of her drawings and actually 3D rendered them and made them into sculptures.
01:35Okay.
01:36And so we made little sculptures, put them around the house.
01:39And we thought they were cool.
01:41But then as we started speaking to Hope about her drawings, about her characters, it had a
01:46little story, little back stories about each character.
01:49So we thought, well, why don't we start making books?
01:51Why don't we make a book about it?
01:53And give each character a life.
01:56A story.
01:57A story.
01:58A story, yeah.
01:59And that's how it all manifested.
02:02So what is your goal when you're at the Lifesley Explore?
02:05Are you saying that people, when they want licensing opportunities, are they basically
02:08trying to say, look, this is a brand that's going to grow up?
02:11Or do you see this for toys or accessories?
02:14How do you see this?
02:15We're looking at everything.
02:17We're looking to possibly get animation deals, toy deals, book publishing deals, you name
02:27it.
02:28Whatever we can bring to it and make it into something is what we're looking for here at
02:33Lifesley Explore.
02:34Can Hope say what's your name?
02:35Was it Spider?
02:36What character do you like best or did you draw about her?
02:39Super Hope.
02:40What's that about her?
02:42She's the superhero that protects the island.
02:45The Island of Hope or is that right there?
02:48The Island of Esperer.
02:49The Island of Esperer.
02:50Okay.
02:51So this is, show up the character.
02:52This is Super Hope.
02:54She looks nice.
02:55She looks really great and stuff like that.
02:57Is it fun now seeing, able to hold and touch, touch, touch, touch your drawings?
03:02Yeah.
03:03You know.
03:04What was the question?
03:06I said is it fun now to actually hold and touch her physical drawings?
03:10Oh, what he's saying to you is how does it feel to actually have the Super Hope in your
03:16hand rather than just having her on paper.
03:19Does it feel better?
03:20Is it cooler?
03:21It's cooler.
03:22Yeah.
03:23Okay.
03:24So it's cooler to have a three dimensional.
03:25Yeah.
03:26So from your part of it, how are you perceiving the expo for you?
03:29Is this your first time doing the expo?
03:30It's my first time doing expo.
03:31I came here last year, 2016, me and my wife just to walk the floor to get a feel of what
03:37it was because we didn't really know what it was or anything about licensing.
03:41It's huge.
03:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:43We've learned that over the last year.
03:45So a couple of months ago, we took the plunge and got a booth, which was pretty pricey.
03:54Had you had all of your background artwork?
03:56Did that, I mean, because obviously if you had the booth artwork, you had to go like,
03:59you know, print it up and scale it up.
04:01Had you already had that or did that help you in the process too?
04:03Actually, to be honest with you, like the drawing that you see in the background,
04:06Hope actually drew that.
04:07Oh, that's cool.
04:08Yeah.
04:09So what we did was we just rendered it, just digitally rendered it to make it look a little
04:13more clean for the show.
04:14Okay.
04:15But yeah, everything you see in the booth is from her, you know, from the book.
04:18She has her own book.
04:21So this is the book.
04:22Now in the book, if you look at that drawing here, this is the actual original drawing.
04:32Okay.
04:33So basically all we did was 3D render it and make it, not 3D render it, but rendered it
04:37and digitally enhanced it and made it look a little more cleaner.
04:40But after doing that, we decided when we made the book to just actually use a Crayola drawing
04:45because it was more authentic.
04:47Actually, I saw the episode of Your Business by a JJ Ramberg show on MSNBC and there was
04:52a company that was doing an elevated pitch about taking people's children's drawings
04:55and turning them into physical books.
04:56Right.
04:57And I thought that's exactly what reminded me of what you guys are doing here with this
05:00process and stuff.
05:01But we took it to another level.
05:02Not only did we make the book, but we actually made characters, 3D characters.
05:07And hopefully we can get a toy line.
05:10Actually, this looks a lot like some Latin American type styling dolls.
05:15Sometimes I've seen some dolls, God of the Dead type or just some of that Latino art like this.
05:19I mean, I've seen some.
05:20That's interesting that you say that, you know, because Hope is actually Filipina.
05:22Okay.
05:23And there's a huge influence, a Spaniard influence on the island.
05:28So, I mean, in the culture, I'm sorry.
05:30Yeah.
05:31So that's probably where she kind of picked up on that.
05:32I can see it very much in the work then.
05:34It's a cultural thing.
05:35How can they get more information about you and Hope and what you guys are doing?
05:37You can visit us at Hopeysworld.com.
05:41That's our website.
05:43The parent company is called Ainako.
05:45Ainako.com.
05:46Okay.
05:47Yeah.
05:48Do you want to introduce anybody?
05:49Sorry, this is my wife.
05:50Sometimes I see people walking behind.
05:53I don't want to be rude.
05:55But you know, you should ask first.
05:58You know what I mean?
05:59But this is my wife, Rhea.
06:00Yeah.
06:01Because this is Hope's mom.
06:02Oh, have you taken this back to the Philippines yet?
06:05Have they seen this yet?
06:06You know what I'm saying?
06:07Not yet.
06:08So that's the plan.
06:09We are going to take it at Hope.
06:12But I can see a Filipino animator buying the right drive just because that market, you know,
06:18I can see you guys doing a deal for them.
06:20And then also, once you have them doing it as an animation project in South East Asia,
06:25expanding out and stuff, you know what I mean?
06:27Right.
06:28Exactly.
06:29That is the goal.
06:30That is the goal.
06:31In the story that Hopey's written, there's a lot of Filipino culture in the story.
06:36So yeah, definitely the roots are back home.
06:39Yes.
06:40I'm from the States.
06:41He's from the Philippines.
06:42So back home to her is really, not to me, it's really the house.
06:45You need to send this to Bruno Mars to have him do the soundtrack?
06:47Most definitely.
06:48Bruno, you hear us?
06:49Can you hear us?
06:50We need you, my brother.
06:51I will tag this.
06:56Definitely send a care package to Bruno Mars' people.
07:01You know what I mean?
07:02Definitely.
07:03Because he has family, you know, even in Hawaii.
07:05A lot of people too and stuff.
07:06You know, a lot of people behind.
07:07But yeah, but if you got somebody like that on board.
07:09Because sometimes stars, they don't always have a kid vehicle and they haven't had a chance
07:13to do something like this.
07:14So if they could get on board and put their, as a producer and say, look, could you bring
07:19this?
07:20Sometimes people on Netflix will ask, Bruno, do you have anything?
07:22Amazon will ask something like that.
07:23Right.
07:24But if you had this, they could actually say, look, look, we can do a TV deal with Bruno Mars.
07:27You do all the music or do a voice.
07:28Right.
07:29The characters and stuff like that, you know.
07:30Right.
07:31Right.
07:32And then, and then promote Filipino bride and then, you know, promote the cross for
07:35the bride.
07:36So reach out to Bruno.
07:37Don't be shy.
07:38Send him a package.
07:39Bruno.
07:40Don't forget it's my brother.
07:41You got to send him a package.
07:42You know what I mean?
07:43Like that.
07:44Play date with hope.
07:45You know what I mean?
07:46For Bruno.
07:47Yes, this is her play date.
07:48Yeah, play date.
07:49Okay.
07:50Appreciate it, my man.
07:51All right.
07:52Thank you very much.
07:53All right.
07:54Take care.