Mojang to give Keynote Address at BLE 2014

LONDON, Oct. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Brand Licensing Europe, the Advanstar organised exhibition, has announced that Vu Bui, COO at Mojang, the company behind Minecraft, will give the Keynote Address at BLE 2014 on Wednesday 8th October at 13:00.

Minecraft is a sandbox game, distinguished by its building blocks and created by Swedish programmer Markus 'Notch' Persson. In its five years since launch it has sold nearly 54m copies across all platforms and has become third biggest game of all time. Its deceptively simple mechanic of creating your own spaces, buildings and worlds belies the unlimited creativity and imagination it unleashes in its millions of players. Every Minecraft book has shot to the top of the charts; it counts LEGO as a partner, and Warner Bros is to make a feature film. At BLE this year you can hear more about the strategy and plans for this, the hottest of brands.

Vu Bui, COO at Mojang, said: "I'm pleased to have this opportunity to tell the story of the unique way Minecraft came up and to share some of the magic and the humour we have experienced along the way. Minecraft is a new brand with a new way of thinking and working. As you can imagine we are inundated with license requests, from the biggest brands to moms and dads and kids wanting to sell small handmade products. I'm looking forward very much to sharing some of our experiences, trials, mishaps and vision for the way we work with our brand."

BLE 2014 Event Director Darren Brechin said: "Minecraft is breaking the mould. We hear nothing but acclaim and praise for the game itself and for Mojang's determination to keep that at the centre of everything it does. We're absolutely thrilled that Vu will be giving this keynote and unlocking some of the Minecraft magic for us. I'm looking forward to hearing how Mojang intends to guide and strengthen its brand as consumer demand for it increases."

The Keynote forms part of the Licensing Academy programme of talks and seminars which are held during BLE 2014. They are free to attend and the full programme can be found at www.brandlicensing.eu

Brand Licensing Europe 2014 takes place next week from 7-9 October 2014 at London's Olympia. To register to attend for free, or for more information, please visit www.brandlicensing.eu or follow us on Twitter using @bleurope for the latest show updates.  

About Brand Licensing Europe
Brand Licensing Europe 2014 (www.brandlicensing.eu) takes place from 7-9 October 2014 at Olympia, London. It is the only pan-European event dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Now in its 16th successful year, Brand Licensing Europe 2013 hosted 288 exhibitors and 7,244 visitors from 69 countries.

About Advanstar Communications Inc (www.advanstar.com)
Advanstar is an event and marketing services business that serves business professionals and consumers in the Fashion, Licensing, Life Sciences and Powersports industries with its portfolio of 134 events, 30 publications, over 200 electronic products and Web sites, as well as educational and direct marketing products and services. Market leading brands and a commitment to delivering innovative, quality products and services enable Advanstar to "Connect Our Customers With Theirs." Advanstar has approximately 600 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America and Europe.

SOURCE Advanstar Communications, Inc.