"Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2018 cum Asian Licensing Awards 2018 Awards Presentation Ceremony" held on Jan 8 in Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre

HONG KONG, Jan. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian Licensing Association organises a joint Awards Presentation Ceremony for its Hong Kong Licensing Awards (HKLA) 2018 (please refer to Annex 1 for an introduction) and Asian Licensing Awards (ALA) 2018 in Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre on January 8 to recognise the outstanding practitioners in the creative industries and the licensing industry and to promote the development of local creative industries.

A strong growth has been witnessed in Hong Kong's licensing industry in recent years that helps establish Hong Kong's position as an important intellectual property (IP) trading hub in Asia for international licensors, licensees, agents and manufacturers.

Such development is attributed to various competitive advantages of Hong Kong, including a comprehensive legal system on protection of IP rights, a strong respect for contract spirit amongst the industry, advanced distribution networks, clustering of quality licensing talent with market sensitivity and close business connections with the Mainland, etc. These advantages facilitate the trade to share the latest information and open up new business opportunities.

According to the Global Licensing Market Survey 2018 by the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA), the market size of licensed goods in the Mainland China and Hong Kong added up to more than US$8.9 billion, surpassing Canada, France and other countries to become one of the world's top five markets. It is also the only region that recorded a double-digit growth rate under the Survey. It is likely that the rapid growth of the Mainland licensing market would accelerate the further growth of the Hong Kong's licensing industry.

The HKLA, which is sponsored by Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) since 2015 and widely recognized among the industry, aims to provide a communication platform for the practitioners. Its Awards Presentation Ceremony held on January 8 was honoured to have Mr. Victor Tsang, Head of CreateHK as the Guest of Honour.

Mr. Tsang thanked the Asian Licensing Association for organising the HKLA again and anticipated that Hong Kong's creative industries could reap more business opportunities through licensing.

The Ceremony was further highlighted with the participation and support from Ms. Ada Leung, SBS, JP, Director of Intellectual Property and Mr. Raymond Yip, Acting Executive Director of Hong Kong Trade Development Council as two of the Award Presenters.

The HKLA 2018 received more than 85 applications for its 5 awards categories. Mr. Danny Cheung, Chairman of the Asian Licensing Association was content with the application figures.  He said that, "The number of applications increases every year, together with an improvement in their quality. It indicates a bright development of Hong Kong creative industries. In addition to presenting awards in five award categories, we also made some new initiatives to the HKLA this year. These include the successful organization of the first-ever trainings on style guide and sales pitching  tailored for the licensing industry in Hong Kong. Close to 100 attendees participated in the trainings to strengthen their understandings towards licensing. Through the new initiatives, the HKLA provides more support to local designers and enterprises, with a view to fostering the development of local creative industries." 

Among the winners of the HKLA 2018, a number of famous enterprises were found. They include Walt Disney Company (Hong Kong) Limited, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited and MTR Corporation Limited, etc. Up-and-coming licensors such as Postgal Workshop and SHIBAinc Limited, and original character designs that have never been commercially launched are also awarded. This reflects the diversity of Hong Kong's licensing industry. 

Five Award Categories of the HKLA

There are five award categories in the HKLA 2018, namely the Best Property, the Best Licensee, the Best Promotion Campaign, the Best Young Property, as well as the Best New Character Design for Licensing.

Gold Award winners of each award category and their awarded properties are listed as below:

Please refer to Annex 2 for the full winner list of the five award categories of the HKLA 2018.

Five Award Categories of the ALA 2018

At the Ceremony, the ALA 2018 also presented the awards of its five award categories, namely the Best Property in Asia, the Best Licensee, the Best Promotion Campaign, the Best Young Property in Asia and the Best Asian Property.

The ALA 2018 is also organised by the Asian Licensing Association to recognise the outstanding achievements of licensing practitioners throughout Asia. Please refer to Annex 3 for the full winner list of the five award categories of the ALA 2018.

More details of the HKLA 2018 and the ALA 2018 are available at http://www.hklicensingawards.hk and http://www.ala.org.hk respectively.

About Asian Licensing Association

The mission of Asian Licensing Association is to foster the growth and expansion of the licensing, creative and innovative industries by drawing together the experience and expertise of the industry practitioners. The Association aims to co-operate with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other statutory bodies to strengthen the licensing, creative and innovative companies, thus enhancing the overall business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong. The Association also aims to provide guidance to the industry practitioners for making win-win decisions which are favourable to both their members and the general public.

About Hong Kong Licensing Awards

The Hong Kong Licensing Awards (HKLA) were launched in 2015, and came to the fourth edition in 2018. There are five award categories in the HKLA 2018, namely the Best Property, the Best Licensee, the Best Promotion Campaign, the Best Young Property, as well as the Best New Character Design for Licensing, which is open to all Hong Kong designers with less than 9 years of work experience in the design sector and original characters that have never been commercially licensed, with a view to promoting local original designs.

About Create Hong Kong

Create Hong Kong (CreateHK) is a dedicated agency set up by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in June 2009. It is under the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and dedicated to spearheading the development of creative industries in Hong Kong. Its strategic foci are nurturing talent and facilitating start-ups, exploring markets, and promoting Hong Kong as Asia's creative capital and fostering a creative atmosphere in the community. CreateHK sponsors the HKLA since 2015. CreateHK's website: www.createhk.gov.hk

For further information, please visit: www.hklicensingawards.hk

Disclaimer: Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organizers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

Annex 1

"Hong Kong Licensing Awards" Introduction

Hong Kong Licensing Awards

• Dedicated Licensing Award Scheme for Creative Industries in Hong Kong.

Objectives :

• To recognise the outstanding achievements of licensing professionals and creative talent in making use of licensing schemes to develop and market their creative works to the commercial world;
• To develop a platform for local and overseas licensing professionals and creative talent to meet together and share industry insights for further facilitating the growth of various local creative sectors; and
• To facilitate local outstanding licensing professionals and creative talent to expand business connection and enhance market exposure.

Awards Categories:

1.      Best Licensee Award

• To recognise the Best Local Licensee

2.      Best Property Award

• To recognise the Best Local Property

3.      Best Promotion Campaign Award

• To recognise the Best Promotion Campaign of a creative property conducted in Hong Kong.

4.      Best Young Property Award

• To recognise the Best Local Young Property which has been launched in the market for less than 6 years.

5.      Best New Character Design for Licensing Award

• To recognise the Best ORIGINAL Character Design with market potential for licensing.
• Application is open to all Hong Kong designers with less than 9 years of work experience in design sector
• The applying new character design must never been commercially licensed before the last date of application period.

Timeline:

Winners' Benefits:

• Gold and Merit awards will be granted to winners of the five awards categories at the Hong Kong Licensing Awards Presentation Ceremony;
• Winners will have opportunities to explore and establish business collaboration with local and overseas licensees and marketing agents at the presentation ceremony;
• The winning entry of the Gold Award in each award category, except the one of the Best New Character Design for Licensing Award, will be nominated to compete for the "Asian Licensing Awards";
• All the winning entry of the Gold and Merit Awards will be entitled to showcase their achievements at "Hong Kong International Licensing Show 2019" and HKTDC Design Gallery in Wan Chai.
• The Top Five Finalists of Best New Character Design for Licensing will also be entitled to the following benefits:
  
• They will have networking opportunities with local and overseas creative talent; 
• They will receive mentoring advices from the judging panel on how to refine their characters;
• Free product samples and figurines will be produced for the selected characters of the top five finalists. Mascot will also be produced for the awarded character of the Gold winner to take part in the Mascot Parade to promote his/her character during the "Hong Kong International Licensing Show 2019";    
• They can display and promote their selected characters at the booth of "Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2018" at the "Hong Kong International Licensing Show 2019".

Annex 2

"Hong Kong Licensing Awards 2018" Awardees

Best Licensee Award

Best Property Award

Best Promotion Campaign Award

Best Young Property Award

Best New Character Design for Licensing Award

Annex3

"Asian Licensing Awards2018" Awardees

Best Licensee Award

Best Asian Property Award

Best Promotion Campaign Award

Best Young Property in Asia Award

Best Property in Asia Award