Archive for the ‘Exclusive’ Category
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How to Pitch the Media Covering Toy Fair
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Third 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
With Toy Fair less than a month away, how will you engage the media to ensure coverage for your toys or youth entertainment products? Here at Child’s Play, we’ve been working overtime to fine-tune our media lists and pitches on behalf of clients. This week’s post will include some of our tried and true strategies and tactics for pitching the press.
Think Like a Journalist
With less space for toy coverage and so many exhibitors to see—more than 1,000 at the Javits Center alone, as well as those in private showrooms across New York City—reporters are pressed for time. So, when choosing media channels to pitch, focus on the “why”/reason an outlet would be interested, to determine the “where”/ specific outlets to concentrate on.
Prior to Toy Fair, many journalists will do an online search, hunting for toys that are a match for the following themes, so post your press release on all company social media platforms incorporating the following key themes and key words.
Tags: Child's Play PR, How to Pitch the Media, Julie Livingston, Reyne Rice, TIA, Toy Fair
Posted in Exclusive, Guest blog | 4 Comments »
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 Ericka Johnson
Electronic Arts’ Holiday Sneak Peek
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Electronic Arts held its “Naughty or Nice” holiday video game preview in mid-October at a lounge in New York City. At the event, I had a chance to browse all the games and sample a few as well.
The first game I tried my hand at, literally, was Family Game Night 4 The Game Show on the Kinect for Xbox 360. Family Game Night 4 brings the excitement of The Hub network’s TV show right into your living room.
There are a variety of games to choose from, such as Connect 4 Basketball, Yahtzee! Bowling, Scrabble Flash, Sorry! Sliders, Bop-It Boptagon, and Monopoly Crazy Cash. I played Yahtzee! Bowling and Sorry! Sliders, and, in my opinion, both games were awesome and the graphics were great, too.
Tags: Electronic Arts, Family Game Night 4, Pop Cap, Popcorn Dragon
Posted in 6-8, 9 and up, Exclusive, New Products, News, holiday season | No Comments »
This post was written by Jackie Breyer
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 Elizabeth A. Reid
TOY BOOK EXCLUSIVE: MGA Launches Specialty Toy Division
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
MGA Entertainment has announced plans to enter the world of specialty toy products with the launch of its own specialty division, MGA Entertainment Specialty. The company is currently hiring sales representation groups across the U.S. that will service specialty retailers at store level. MGA Entertainment Specialty will offer a vast assortment of unique toys and gifts derived from its portfolio of brands, including Little Tikes, Moxie Girlz, Zapf, Rescue Pets, and more.
Tags: Exclusive, MGA Entertainment, specialty
Posted in Exclusive, New Products, News, People | No Comments »
