SPLiCE Licensors Workshop 2024

SPLiCE Licensors Workshop 2024 | IMAGINE ANYTHING

Member Host McDonald's Corporation ONSITE in Chicago, IL 

Monday, September 9, Tuesday, September 10 & Wednesday, September 11

Monday, September 9    The Chicago Omni Hotel 676 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

Welcome to Chicago!

Join us as you are able ~ we’ve a day of activities to network and prepare for our time together!

• 9:00 am Welcome Gift Bag Pack-out in Van Gogh, second level of the OMNI Hotel
• 3:00 pm  SPLiCE Board of Directors Meeting Directors will meet for this annual onsite meeting per our bylaws.
• 4:00 pm  Registration is open! in Picasso, third floor of the OMNI, same level as 676 Restaurant & Lounge Register, pick up your Welcome Gift Bag, and get ready for an evening of networking!
• 5:00 pm 1stTimers & Mentors in Picasso (contact @ Bianca if you are not registered) Meet new friends & build your networking portfolio in this fun environment! POPCORN SHOP Open! Individual Bags of Garrett Gourmet Popcorn, Snickers, Twix, Kit-Kat, Heath Bars, M&M’s and Reese’s with Coca-Cola soft drinks served! Sponsored by Honeywell International
• 6:00 pm  SPLiCE Welcome Cocktail Reception AND Networking Dinner to celebrate SPLiCE20! In Picasso, Sponsored by HP Inc.

LITTLE ITALY Dinner served!

STARTERS

* Caprese salad | Roof top basil pesto, heirloom tomatoes and house made mozzarella

* Romaine salad | Grana Padano cheese and roasted tomatoes with house made Caesar dressing

* Italian soup | White beans, roasted pepper purée and basil

* Antipasto salad | Marinated vegetables, fresh mozzarella, olives and cured meats

ENTRÉES

* Roasted chicken | Grilled lemon - GLUTEN-FREE

* Penne pasta | vodka sauce, sausage, spinach and fresh mozzarella

* Vegetable white lasagna – VEGETARIAN

SIDES

* Vegetable risotto with spinach and mushrooms - GLUTEN-FREE/ VEGETARIAN

* Grilled rustic garlic bread | Provolone and garlic butter

SWEETS

* Cannoli & Tiramisu

7:30 pm SPLiCE T-Shirt Swap in Picasso Sponsored by Mack Trucks All attendees bring a new, store bought, or company branded t-shirt for TONIGHT. It’s a White Elephant Swap, SPLiCE rocket-fuel style, so bring a shirt sure to be stolen!

9:00 pm  Adjourn The OMNI Lounge 676 Restaurant & Bar is open for continued collaboration! 

Tuesday, September 10     McDonald’s Corporation | 110 N. Carpenter Street | Fulton Market | Chicago

Wear YOUR Brand Day! Be as creative and innovative as you like MHQ Ray Kroc Room | Conference Center

8:00 am Registration in the MHQ Randolph Lobby on the W. Randolph Street entrance

8:30 am  McDonald’s Corporation Keynote Welcome! Amy S. Kovalan | Corporate Vice President & Chief Compliance Officer

Product Regulatory Compliance for Licensors 

Cathy Choffin | Global Safety Governance & Compliance | Global Compliance @ McDonald’s Corporation

SPLiCE Leadership State of The Union 2025 Strategic Plans and Brand Protection Threats to Licensing

Karen Tiongson | Chair  Linne Kimball | Chair Elect  Scott Goodfellow | Treasurer  Lesley Godby | Secretary  Kimberly Kociencki | CEO  Laura Colca | SPLiCE Counsel

Annual Benchmark Findings Licensing Model Organizational Structure Rory Wehrlie | Managing Director, Head of Global Licensing, Alliances, Strategic Partnerships @ The Clorox Company

10:15 am Break

10:30 am McDonalds x Crocs Collaboration Take a bite out of this tasty McDonald's x Crocs collab!

Chris Rago | Global Alliances and Partnerships, Market Manager @ McDonald’s

Tiia Chandler | Senior Director of Global Licensing @ Crocs

Caterpillar Influencer & Workwear Influencer Event

Lesley Godby | Retail Program Manager, Trademark Merchandise Licensing, Cat Digital – Marketing & Brand @ Caterpillar Inc.

11:30 am  Lunch

12:15 pm Who’s Who in Licensing Build bridges with every attendee!

2:00 pm The United States Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Mini-Workshop on IP Enforcement

Colin Colt | Attorney Advisor IP Enforcement Branch, Office of Trade @USCBP

Morgan McPherson | Attorney Advisor IP Enforcement Branch, Office of Trade @USCBP

Did you know that your trademark or copyright registration does not protect you from infringing imports? The simple step of ‘recording’ your trademark and copyright registrations with CBP will earn you many important benefits to protect your brand. During this Workshop the CBP IP Enforcement Team will share information on all of the tools and resources available to brand owners to protect their IP rights at the border.

3:00 pm Meet McDonald’s Archivist Michael Bullington Certified Archivist |Senior Manager for McDonald’s Golden Archives

Tours of McDonald’s Headquarters!

9th Floor City View & Terrace with SPLiCE Benchmarking Initiative Breakouts 30-minute sessions

* 4:30 pm Brand Enhancement ~ collabs, influencers & style guidelines

* 4:50 pm Cocktail & Culinary ~ licensing agencies & category selection

* 5:10 pm Brand Protection ~ trademark law, anti-counterfeiting, sustainability

* 5:30 pm SPLiCE Strategic Planning ~ growing the base, engagement & leadership

6:00 to 6:30 pm Depart for Open Gate Brewery 7-minute walk!

6:30 pm  Guinness Open Gate Brewery Evening of Wetworking & Dinner Reception!

Welcome Keynote Ray Sheehan |Global Senior Licensing Manager| DIAGEO

An Evening of SPLiCE20 Networking Celebration Sponsored by SPLiCE Member Diageo

Appetizers 

• Artisanal Cheeses & Charcuterie with House made Pickled Vegetables
• Crudité & Hummus
• Cheese Curds with Calabrian Chili Aioli
• Caribbean Vegan Risotto Cake with dipping sauce (v)

Dinner is Served! The Irish Dinner Table

• Garden Greens, Carrots, Cucumber, Peppers, Tomato, Ranch & Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Brown Bread and Cultured Butter
• Corned Beef and Cabbage
• Beer Brined Chicken
• Herb Seared Airline Chicken Breast with Beer Brined with Mushroom and Pearl Onion Demi
• Seared Salmon
• Creamy Dill Sauce
• Confit Baby Potatoes & Shallots
• Roasted Turnip, Radish, and Carrot Medley

Sweet Delights! 

• Assorted Mini Desserts

8:30 pm Adjourn

Wednesday, September 11   MHQ Ray Kroc Room | Conference Center inclusive with breaks, lunch, and networking reception

8:30 am Registration in the MHQ Randolph Lobby

9:00 am McDonald’s Keynote Memories in Culture! Chris Rago | Global Alliances and Partnerships, Market Manager

The Value of A Collab Case Study

Rob Johnson | Head of Licensing @ McCormick & Company

Linne Kimball |Vice President Strategic Partnerships @ Life is Good

A New Era of Vodka Cran Ocean Spray and Absolut Case Study

Grace Coriell | Senior Brand Manager Licensing & Innovation @ Ocean Spray

10:30 am Break

Michelin Licensing: A Better Way Forward

Rohena Dua | Director, Brand Licensing, Americas @ Michelin Lifestyles Business

Kraft Heinz: A Road Map to Delight More Consumers Globally Through Licensing

Charter Foster |Senior Manager, Licensing @ The Kraft Heinz Company

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm Dole Sweet Licensing Success

Elisabeth Morris | Director, Brand and Licensing @ Dole Food Company

Arthritis Foundation Ease of Use Licensing

Deb Gokie | V.P. Consumer Health and Ease of Use @ Arthritis Foundation

P&G Brand Extensions Through Licensing

Scott Goodfellow | Director of Trademark Licensing, Global Business Development @ The Procter & Gamble Company

How Healthy is Your Licensing Program? The assessment of successful licensee relationship management.

John Bogucki | Procurement Licensing Lead @ Whirlpool Corporation

Spencer Ramsey | Head of Brand Licensing @ Philips Intellectual Property and Standards

The Impact of Extended Producer Responsibility Laws on Licensors and Brand Owners

Manny Grace | Former Associate General Counsel @ The Walt Disney Company

Autumn Moore | Product Integrity Policy Manager @ The Walt Disney Company

2:30 pm Break

3:00 pm AMAZON Brand Registry Mini-Workshop 90-minute session to conduct a deep dive into new tools & resources!

Jayne Durden | Trademark and Brand Protection Counsel @ AMAZON

Nate McMurdie | Senior Program Manager | Brand Protection Strategic Partnerships @ AMAZON

Jasmine Tinnermeier | Program Process Manager @ AMAZON

• Brand Protection Report to cover pillars of brand protection, and dive into the data for 2023 and YoY changes
• Brand Registry training & demonstration, what’s new, and the member experience with a conversation of what works, what has been challenging, along with an open idea session!
• Help Me Help You Q&A from all participants and presenters to share best practices to create streamlined efficiencies!

5:00 to 5:30 pm walk to John Deere 5-minute walk!

5:30 pm Keynote at John Deere Technology & Innovation Center, 800 West Fulton Market

Welcome Keynote Lauren Willis |Global Director of Brand Licensing @ John Deere

An Evening of SPLiCE20 Celebration & Networking sponsored by Deere & Company!

7:00 pm Adjourn

Thursday, September 12 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Navy Pier Retail Excursion Walking from The OMNI to tour on-site shops, stores, and kiosks.

The OMNI Chicago Hotel Sophisticated downtown Chicago hotel on Magnificent Mile

The all-suite Omni Chicago Hotel is located on Chicago's exclusive Magnificent Mile, steps from luxury boutiques and Chicago’s unrivaled restaurants on Michigan Avenue. Our 347 hotel suites offer a unique residential oasis with a main bedroom and living area. The suite design embraces historical elements from the work of Louis Sullivan, synonymous with Chicago architecture. 676 Restaurant & Bar showcases local ingredients from Chicago’s Green City Market and is a perfect place for pre-dinner cocktails or a nightcap. After a meeting or day exploring The Windy City, enjoy a Peloton workout in the state-of-the-art 24-hour fitness center. Stay near the city’s top attractions of Skydeck Chicago, Millennium Park and the Field Museum of Natural History and create unforgettable memories and experiences at our luxury hotel in downtown Chicago.

SPLiCE Licensors Workshop 2024 is hosted with SPLiCE Member, McDonald's Corporation in Fulton Market, Chicago, IL. It facilitates our State of the Union and annual Board of Directors onsite meeting. This is a licensors peer-to-peer unique event featuring an academic platform. Benchmark Teams and Committees voice current tools and best practices so our entire membership can benefit. 

Within this registration, you will find SPLiCE Sponsorship opportunities to fund our event and fuel our gratitude! All sponsorships assist SPLiCE in continuously improving brand & technology licensing. Your receipt will document all sponsorship contributions. For all sponsorships, we will include your corporate logo on the Licensors Workshop event printed and digital collateral and within our SPLiCENETWORK. 

Cancellation and Substitution: All registrations are transferable to a colleague from your company. If you must cancel for any reason you must notify SPLiCE in writing by August 1st, 2024 for a refund less a $200 processing fee. Cancellations received after August 1st, 2024 are non-refundable. All refunds will be issued via check.  Substitutions: Substitutions are only accepted as long as the person is from the same company. Kindly contact Publisher@SPLiCElicensing.com for additional information. SPLiCE does not sell alcohol: ANY venues SPLiCE conducts business in are required to post age verification processes per state and federal requirements accordingly per our strict insurance requirements.