Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category
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Dark Horse Deluxe Offers a Unique Take on the Good Luck Trolls
Thursday, February 9th, 2012
The Good Luck Troll was originally created in 1959 by Danish fisherman and woodcutter Thomas Dam. At various times since the early 1960s, Trolls have been a top-selling toy, building a seldom-achieved brand equity. Dam Things, which holds all rights to the works of Thomas Dam, is in the process of launching a complete slate of merchandise activities and products for the Good Luck Trolls. Dark Horse Comics has been granted the license for a collectibles program. The line will consist of 15 different trolls, some of which are rare, sold in mystery box assortments.
Dark Horse felt the Good Luck Troll would be a natural fit in the designer vinyl and specialty retail arena, and has created Trolls with unique variations of color and surface treatments. The product development was closely supervised by Dam Things and its brand manager Dannie Festa of Festa Entertainment, including a trip from Denmark to the West Coast prototyping facility to assess and approve the works in progress.
Tags: American International Toy Fair, blind-box, dark horse comics, Domo, Festa Entertainment, figures, Good Luck Troll, Thomas Dam, Toy Fair 2012, Toy Industry Association, trolls, What's New
Posted in Articles, Exclusive, New Products, News | No Comments »
This post was written by Guest Blogger
What Should Be in Your Toy Fair Media Tool Kit?
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
Second in a series of posts on preparing for the annual trade event
by Julie Livingston, director, business development and accounts, Child’s Play Communications, New York City
As the adage goes, “information is power,” and that is exactly why the nuggets of facts, photos, video and other details contained in your Toy Fair media kit can directly impact the depth and breadth of coverage you get during the show. Start planning out your content by thinking through the writer’s “5 W’s”—the Who, What, Where, When, and Why—as it relates to your product. Ask for input from colleagues in the product development, sales, and marketing areas, as their perspective can provide tremendous insight, and descriptive language to tell the story. In my experience, this process can be time consuming; be prepared for multiple rounds of edits so that the end product is one that will draw attention and interest.
From seeing literally hundreds of press materials in my years in the children’s entertainment business and PR, the following elements when executed well contribute to a successful press kit:
Tags: Child's Play PR, Julie Livingston, Media Kit, Reyne Rice, TIA, Toy Fair
Posted in Articles, Guest blog, New Products | 1 Comment »
This post was written by Guest Blogger
Countdown to Toy Fair: Identifying Your Communications Objectives
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
First in a series of posts on preparing for the annual trade event
By Julie Livingston, director, business development and accounts, Child’s Play Communications, New York City
Toy Fair is a month away, and for many toy and youth entertainment companies, the annual event is an important media platform that can help drive brand awareness and buzz for hot items throughout the year. With approximately one thousand media representatives from around the world in attendance, how will your company or brand garner the attention it deserves? Following are tips and information collected during the six years I served overseeing public relations for the Toy Industry Association and Toy Fair, as well as serving toy and youth entertainment industry clients as a PR professional.
1. Prioritize your communications goals and objectives. For example, is it a new product line review you want the media to see? Or, do you have a hot item you want to hype to help drive holiday orders? Do you have an announcement about a licensing agreement or strategic partnership? Identifying your primary goals and objectives will provide a framework for all related activities, including any responsibilities that you want other communications personnel or a public relations agency to handle.
Tags: Julie Livingston, Reyne Rice, Toy Fair
Posted in Articles, Exclusive, Guest blog, New Products | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
Top Toy Trends This Holiday Season, According to Target
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
This holiday season there will be nearly 7,000 toys featured in Target stores and on Target.com. Stephanie Lucy, vice president of merchandising at Target, shares what she thinks will be the five key toy trends this season and the hot toys that match them.
Interactivity
“One of the key items we selected is Fijit Friends. You look at Fijit and the ability to put it in dance mode, and the voice-recognition and built-in responses. Also, Let’s Rock Elmo is interactive for a much younger child, but we believe interactivity is important.”
Tags: Barbie Designable Hair Extensions, Cars 2, Cars 2 Charge Ups Charge ‘N’ Race Speedway, Disney-Pixar, educational, Fijit Friends, games, Hasbro, holiday season, interactivity, LeapFrog, LeapPad, Let's Rock Elmo, Mattel, merchandising, movies, personalization, Scrabble Flash, Simon Flash, Stephanie Lucy, Target, Toys, trends, Yahtzee Flash
Posted in Articles, Licenses, New Products, News, holiday season | No Comments »
This post was written by Elizabeth A. Reid
From Factory to Shelf: An Inside Look at Target’s Holiday Toy Merchandising Strategies
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Walking into the toy section of a store like Target during the holiday season can be overwhelming for shoppers, who are faced with toy aisle upon toy aisle of great products to choose from. Thousands of additional products can be found online. Those that make it onto store shelves during the season are often thought of as the crème de la crème, and being chosen for Target’s shelves can bring tremendous success to a toy manufacturer.
Stephanie Lucy, Target’s vice president of merchandising, chats with Elizabeth A. Reid of The Toy Book to talk about holiday merchandising strategies, how it makes its toy selections, and what Target is doing to become a top destination for holiday shopping.
The Toy Book: Let’s paint a picture of how great toys get to Target. How far in advance do you plan for each holiday season?
Stephanie Lucy: We actually start looking for content for the holiday season in September or October the year before. For example, we are going to market right now to look for products for next holiday season.
TB: So, how do you pick the toys? When you are at market, what do you look for?
SL: First of all, it starts with us evaluating what is currently working at Target—what’s selling and what’s not—and ensuring that we understand what the guest is interested in. Beyond that, it really is strong partnerships with our vendors. We do business with the largest toy manufacturers around the world. So, it’s sitting down with them and understanding what they believe the hottest toys are going to be, and what they believe content should look like for the year to come.
Tags: Christmas, holiday season, merchandising, Target, Toys
Posted in Articles, Exclusive, New Products, News, holiday season | No Comments »
This post was written by Ericka Johnson
Top Trumps Championship Announces Winner
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Shawal Malik poses with contest goodies.
On September 1 at 10 a.m., 40 VIP guests and onlookers gathered to watch the six semi-finalists compete for the grand prize in the Top Trumps Championship. The championship was held on the 67th floor of The Top of The Rock Observation Deck in New York City.
This year’s winner, 11-year-old Shawal Malik, took home the prize package (valued at over $750), which included admission to the Top of The Rock Observation Deck for his entire class, 10 passes to The Bronx Zoo, Moshi Monster plush and collectibles, various Top Trumps games, and the Top Trumps Championship Trophy.
The Top Trumps competition was part of a six-week program in conjunction with the Queens and Brooklyn Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, held from July 12 to August 21. To qualify, children had to visit a participating branch of a Queens or Brooklyn Public Library to play rounds of Top Trumps. Participants were given scorecards and each time they won a round, the librarian would reward the player with a sticker on his or her scorecard. For every five games won, the child earned a prize, and if the child won 15 games by August 21 he or she won the right to enter the online tournament. The children then competed online to earn a spot as semi-finalists on the leader board.
Tags: Brooklyn Public Library, New York City, Queens Public Library, Shawal Malik, Top Trumps
Posted in 9 and up, Articles, News, Photo | No Comments »
This post was written by Erika Graham
New Study Says Elmo Helps Toddlers’ Early Learning Skills
Monday, July 25th, 2011
New research shows that children’s character Elmo is more effective in helping toddlers learn basic skills than if the toddlers were taught by unrecognizable faces.
Researchers from the Children’s Digital Media Center at Georgetown University conducted an experiment using three groups of 21-month-old toddlers. The first group watched a video of an Elmo puppet placing nesting cups inside one another, the second group saw the same task being performed by an unknown character puppet with the same Elmo-like voice, and the third group did not watch a video.
When applying what they had learned to their own nesting cups, the first group was able to complete the task significantly better than both the second and third groups. The first group was also more likely to smile and say the character’s name.
Tags: Children's Digital Media Center, Elmo, Georgetown University
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This post was written by Erika Graham
Vote for Your Favorite Plush Team Artist Entry
Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
The Etsy Plush Street Team, a group of plush toy artists, is hosting a friendly competition to create a popular plush design fitting the theme: “Under The Big Top: A Circus Of Misfits!” Each Plush Street artist was invited to submit circus-themed entries under two categories, Circus Animal Tricks and Circus People. All of the designs have been posted, and the polls are open until Monday, June 27. The grand-prize winner will receive a signed copy of Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimert.
View the entries and cast your own vote here.
Tags: "Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art Craft and Design, Cortney Heimert, Etsy Plush Street Team, Faythe Levine
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This post was written by Erika Graham
Greenlight Teams Up With Ford Explorer and the New York Yankees for Yankee Ford Explorer Night
Monday, June 13th, 2011
On Wednesday, June 29, the New York Yankees are hosting the Yankee Ford Explorer Night, a family-friendly event that includes giveaways and prizes. Greenlight Toys has teamed up with the New York Yankees and Ford Explorer to create a 1:64 2011 Ford Explorer replica in full Yankees regalia for the game. The first 18,000 fans who attend and are 14 years old or younger will receive a complimentary die-cast 1:64 2011 Explorer as they walk in. One lucky fan will receive a full size Ford Explorer, courtesy of Northeast Ford Dealers, with the same Yankees theme as the version from Greenlight.
Greenlight also plans to incorporate the 1:64 Ford Explorer model into its regular offerings, including a police-themed vehicle for its series, Hot Pursuit.
Tags: Ford Explorer, Greenlight, Hot Pursuit, New York Yankees, Northeast Ford Dealers
Posted in 9 and up, Articles, New Products, News | No Comments »
This post was written by Erika Graham
Big Idea Entertainment Adds New Partners to Veggie Tales Licensing Program
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Veggie Tales will expand its presence in consumer products by forming new licensing partnerships with companies, including Box Creations, Primary Leisure Global, and Brewster Home Fashions.
Build Your Imagination with Bob and Larry is a tabletop cardboard play set from Box Creations that is scheduled to hit stores this fall. Primary Leisure Global is bringing a new toy to the States—GigglePOD, which allows children to interact in a small video booth while parents are engaged through an external monitor. The Veggie Tales GigglePOD will launch this summer.
Brewster Home Fashions also partnered with the successful series to create Veggie Tales Lessons Really Stick, a Veggie Tales-themed assortment of wall stickers and appliques.
Tags: Big Idea Entertainment, Box Creations, Brewster Home Fashions, GigglePOD, Primary Leisure Global, Veggie Tales
Posted in Articles, New Products, News | No Comments »
