The Licensing Show

I just spent two days at this year’s Licensing Show in New York. Others will write about what they saw so I will focus on how it felt:

First of all it felt hot. I mean, HOT!!!! A high of 97 degrees plus bad air in New York due to an ozone alert made the first day of the show unbearable.  Exhibitors and attendees complained of headaches and general discomfort due to the heat. This environment sapped some of the customary excitement out of the show.

The weather wasn’t the only thing sapping the excitement out of the show. There just wasn’t that sense of electricity you feel when there are hot concepts to be seen and there is lots of buzz. I stopped a number of people on the convention floor and asked them their opinion and they all concurred. There just didn’t seem to be anything to talk about. 

At least to my eyes, overall attendance seemed a bit lighter than in past years.  It also seemed like I saw far fewer people from the toy industry. H-m-m-m-m, if that was the case, where were they? 

LIMA, the show’s sponsor, was touting next year’s move to Las Vegas. In fact, they even brought in a few show girls wearing what appeared to be potted plants on their heads.  Call me crazy but I don’t find that particularly seductive. Nor did I find the thought of making the long flight out to Vegas particularly attractive.  

And while we are on the subject to shows in Las Vegas, I am beginning to think that there are so many shows moving to Las Vegas that some exhibition goers may find themselves making the trip two or three times a year. That’s a lot of Las Vegas. I wonder if it’s going to be too much Las Vegas.

Finally, LIMA may want to take a look at the recently concluded Book Expo in Los Angeles. This heavily attended show has historically moved between New York, Chicago and Washington DC. This year they moved it to LA and it was poorly attended. Common wisdom was that was due to it taking place so far from the book industry’s center in the northeast. Granted, the Las Vegas site puts the Licensing show closer to LA and that wing of the entertainment industry but I wonder if some east coast attendees may opt out rather than make the long flight.