Field Report: Top Booth Builds at Licensing Expo 2024

From Sonic the Hedgehog to monster trucks to museum art, the Licensing Expo showcased the best in IP and brought together more than 12,000 international attendees as well as 5,000 brands to Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, May 21-23.

While most of the brand’s footprints are leveraged for meeting space, there’s still plenty of room for creativity in exhibit design. EM was on hand to check out the top booth builds Licensing Expo had to offer.

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More Exhibit Trends:

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Legendary Entertainment

Rich storytelling of the Dune franchise and Godzilla vs. Kong came to life at the exhibit by Legendary Entertainment, where attendees could get up close and personal with the artifacts from the recent blockbusters. Splashy imagery across the LED entrance brought an element of immersion, and true fans appreciated an intimate photo-op moment with the viral AMC sandworm popcorn bucket behind the velvet rope. Inside, the exhibit felt elegant and elevated, with thoughtful sendoffs to the company’s major IPs. Kong, not quite life-sized, also didn’t go unnoticed.  

 

Hasbro

How is it that Dungeons & Dragons is turning 50 and Peppa Pig could be in college at 20? To enter its dazzling exhibit, Hasbro invited attendees to walk between two massive LED screens and through a smile-shaped tunnel, flanked by mannequins sporting branded apparel. Inside, a sprawling meeting was anchored by a coffee bar. While the environment inside the exhibit was designed to be exclusive, everyone was welcome to get their hand on some of the brand’s most popular games, such as Scrabble and Jenga, in a branded space across the aisle. 

 

BBC Studios

Playing off the black in the brand’s logo, this exhibit was all about clean and classy, with black-and-white sketches from popular shows celebrating the creative process. Top properties were showcased in light boxes and LED screens as well as in creative overhead signage, which added color and dimension. Discover stations around the exhibit could be accessed via a QR code or a touchscreen invited attendees to take a deeper dive into the portfolio and collected valuable attendee demographic insights. (Fabricator: Two Eighteen)

 

Tetris x American Red Cross

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, The Tetris Company teamed up with the American Red Cross to deliver an experience with a purpose. The partnership kicked off on the first day of the show with a nationwide “Tetris Blood drive,” and on the showfloor, attendees could donate blood and receive a Tetris t-shirt and a limited edition handheld Tetris game co-branded with the Red Cross. In fact, Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov was on hand and donated blood for the first time. 

“It’s a unique partnership,” said Darren Irby, executive director with the American Red Cross. “The power of Tetris and the gaming community we hope appeals to a new generation of supporters that have never donated blood before.” 

The booth featured a big-screen version of the game, co-branded arcade photo-op and an American Red Cross vehicle as part of facilitating blood donations.

 

Spin Master

Unicorns and magical creatures surrounded attendees in the exhibit by Spin Master, which was promoting its Unicorn Academy animated series, among other properties. LED walls flanked the entrance to what felt like an enchanted forest, complete with flowers and foliage flowing from the ceiling and a private screen room. Purple furniture and unicorn pillows made for cozy meeting spaces. Branded apparel and toys, displayed in showcases along the perimeter wall, also added a dash of magic to business. (Fabricator: HC Connect)

 

Peanuts

Life is full of rude awakenings and other famous quotes added character to a beautiful exhibit by Peanuts Worldwide gearing up to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang. A huge LED screen caught attendees’ attention across the hall and added a dynamic modern element to the space rooted in traditional brand colors and celebrating the iconic brand’s art, wit, and existential anxiety. (Fabricator: Exhibitree) 

 

Jewel

Art licensed by Jewel got a perfect framing in this elegant and airy exhibit, adding plenty of negative space to let the art speak for itself. A creative combination of screen, lightboxes and hanging pendants made for a glowing space that felt like a gallery and provided an intimate and inspiring meeting space. Angular architectural elements and soothing colors of the structure and the flooring added to the overall feel, making the exhibit stand out on the loud showfloor. (Fabricator: Crossroads)

 

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Have a story idea? Want us to cover your booth? Reach out to EM’s editor-at-large Anna Huddleston.