Today at a press conference, Nickelodeon announced that General Mills, Target, and Reckitt Benckiser have signed on as charter sponsors for NickMom, Nickelodeon’s new multiplatform content destination that targets moms. The just-announced deals will include brand integration, content development, and sponsorships across the new NickMom TV block, launching this fall on Nick Jr. The deal also includes NickMom.com, which launched last year.

“With the creation of NickMom, we are offering a unique comedy and entertainment destination created just for today’s moms,” said Jim Perry, head of sales of Viacom’s Nickelodeon Group, in a press release. “Our partners clearly understand the value of moms and recognize our ability to serve moms with relevant entertainment across all platforms.”

The NickMom nightly television block will feature a mix of original long- and short-form humor-based programming, including talk shows, stand-up and sketch comedy, hidden camera television shows, and more. NickMom.com, a blog that debuted last November, currently features editorial franchises, photos, and video. Throughout this year, Nickelodeon expects the site to grow, complete with more editorial, photos, videos, gaming, and a community, becoming a fully integrated website timed to the TV launch.

At the press event, Nickelodeon announced a new series pick-up and its development slate for NickMom. The network has picked up 26 episodes of the stand-up comedy series NickMom Night Out for the television block. The series features comedians such as Judy Gold, Corey Kahaney, B Phlat, and Deena Blizzard. Also announced were more than 50 projects in development. The programs span TV and digital, and include work from stand-up comedian and actress Caroline Rhea, actor/author Annabelle Gurwitch, and Madeleine Smithberg of Mad Cow Productions.

Click here for NickMom’s development slate.

Nickelodeon has also announced that Bronwen O’Keefe has been named senior vice president of NickMom. In this newly created position, O’Keefe will spearhead the creation and development of all television and online content for NickMom.

O’Keefe will be responsible for managing the content creation, editorial, and programming development, in addition to overseeing the planning and execution of all linear and digital content for NickMom. She will also work with senior management to set and champion the creative strategy for NickMom.

A 15-year Nickelodeon veteran, O’Keefe was most recently senior vice president of event and original programming, where she was responsible for overseeing the production of network television events, specials, and shows such as Nickelodeon’s Kids Choice Awards, TeenNick HALO Awards, Worldwide Day of Play, Speed Racer, Kappa Mikey, The Secret World of Alex Mack, and Degrassi, among others.

The presentation also included exclusive research findings from Nickelodeon’s latest research study, “UnMommed,” conducted in partnership with Reckitt Benckiser. The results offered an in-depth look at the modern family dynamic and the role moms play within it. The NickMom presentation also included performances from several mom comics, including Sherry Davey, Caroline Rhea, and Wanda Sykes (headliner).

This post was originally written by Elizabeth A. Reid and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

• Disney My First Princess Doll and Toddler Dress Gift Set
• Disney Cars Charge n Race Speedway
• LeapFrog LeapPad
• Barbie Hairtastic Printables
• Paper Jamz Pro Series Microphone
• Scrabble Flash

Perhaps I should have removed my heels and rocked some slipper socks myself. It was a pleasure to meet you Soleil!

Target and The Walt Disney Company is partnering with Julie Andrews (actress, singer, and children’s author) for the inaugural launch of National Princess Week, beginning April 22 and running through April 28. National Princess Week will celebrate the sparkle and imagination of every princess—real, aspiring, or imagined.

The event coincides with the 10-year anniversary of The Princess Diaries, starring Andrews and Anne Hathaway. Target and Target.com will feature an array of Disney Princess merchandise, from apparel, toys, and books, to CDs, movies, personal care items, and stationery. The week will also highlight the newest release in the “The Very Fairy Princess” children’s book franchise, The Very Fairy Princess Here Comes the Flower Girl!, co-authored by Andrew’s daughter and writing partner, Emma Walton Hamilton, and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

This post was originally written by Elizabeth A. Reid and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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.”

Personalization

“We also believe personalization is important, like Barbie Designable Hair Extensions. It gives the girl the ability to not only create hair extensions for her doll, but to create her own personalized hair extensions. In essence, she’s role-playing, creating, and personalizing.”

Movie Releases

“As in years past, theatrical releases, and the great toyetic content associated with that, will naturally be important. One in particular that we believe will continue to be strong is Disney•Pixar’s Cars. One of the items we have selected is Cars 2 Charge Ups Charge ‘N’ Race Speedway, which is actually a Target exclusive.”

Classic Games

“We are also seeing a trend around modernized versions of classic games. So we believe Scrabble Flash, Simon Flash, and Yahtzee Flash will continue to be strong this fall season.”

Educational

“We know when mom is making the choice to spend her money on gifts for her children she has a desire that there will be an educational component. So, another item we have selected is LeapFrog’s LeapPad.”

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.

TB: So after you pick the toys, what comes next?

SL: A lot of it has to do with making sure we have a focused assortment. Before we even go to market and before we look at new content, [we ensure] that we have all of the items that mom would expect. So that means the great brands—from Barbie to Nerf to Hot Wheels—and great licenses. This year, as an example, there were a lot of movie releases—Thor, Transformers, Captain America, Cars 2.

It’s also about ensuring that we have relevant exclusives. We want to make sure that we are able to offer guests something different in the brands and licenses that are important to them. Lastly, it’s having a balance with our own brands, our private label brands, like Circo and Play Wonder.

We carry at any given time about 1,800 [toy] items in our stores and about 5,000 [additional toys] online. Our dot com serves as a way to have an expanded selection on the great brands, licenses, and private label content that we offer.

TB: How do you pick which toys will be in stores and which toys will be online only?

SL: The majority of our toys that are in stores are also online, and the additional 5,000 are really above and beyond. It’s really about expanding the brands that resonate with the Target guest, and I’m calling the Target guest “mom” because that is who our average guest is—a woman who has several children and is in her 40s. It’s offering more kids’ content; for example, more assortment within Barbie, larger pack sizes, but it’s also about testing and trying out new brands that might be in the marketplace. Dot com gives us a great opportunity to see whether or not the guest is really responding to those items.

TB: Say you are a smaller manufacturer and want to get into Target. Do you think online is a great way to start a new partnership?

SL: I think it depends on the content. We are always looking for new, innovative items to differentiate ourselves from the competition. And if it’s relevant, I think it depends on how that product’s story can be told, and whether it’s more viable in our stores or online.

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Hasbro, Inc. has premiered an exclusive My Little Pony retail program at Target. The program includes an out-of-aisle premium space in the toy department devoted to My Little Pony merchandise, inspired by the magical world of Canterlot from the television series My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, which airs on The Hub. The new program debuted this week.

My Little Pony-branded products featured in the Canterlot section at Target include bedding, costumes, books, T-shirts, arts and crafts, activity sets, and exclusive toys, primarily focused on the ponies Princess Celestia, her sister Princess Luna, and Twilight Sparkle.

Stone America Licensing has announced the launch of Discovery Bay Games’ Oxford Game Collection at Barnes & Noble for spring 2011. The line will showcase the history of the University of Oxford in traditional games, including chess and checkers sets with gargoyle components, traditional cribbage, liar’s dice, dominoes, card sets, an authentic trivia game, and both jigsaw and pop-out puzzles.

Following the launch at Barnes & Noble, the products will be available at other retailers, including Borders, K-Mart, Nordstrom, Toys “R” Us, and specialty toy retailers. Additionally, they will be available online at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Target.com, and Toysrus.com.

My Secret Circle, the social diary product from Senario, will invade Target stores this August. My Secret Circle is a plug-and-play USB device allowing girls ages 8 to 12 to interact with their friends through photo sharing, scrapbooking, and journal writing. Access to the online journals are only granted through the exchange of friend codes, which the company hopes will make the service a safe social network alternative for girls.

The product originally debuted in 2009 at Justice stores. Target will also carry the B.F.F. Pack, which includes two access keys (USB flash drives) so friends can journal together.

Stores Magazine‘s annual Top 100 Retailers list crowned Walmart as the No. 1 retailer again, which was determined based on overall retail sales (not revenue) and did not include gas stations. IKEA North America made its debut on the list at No. 92, while Kroger came in at No. 2 and Target at No. 3.

Discount stores Dollar General (No. 28), Family Dollar (No. 45), and Dollar Tree (No. 61) climbed the list seven, 11, and 15 spots, respectively. Stores Magazines‘ editors attribute the climb to the poor economy last year, which forced people to find lower-cost solutions for the products they buy. The list was compiled and analyzed by Kantar Retail.

Target is introducing a new open layout for its consumer electronics and video game departments, aiming to give visitors a convenient, enjoyable shopping experience with easy access to information and products. The new layout includes a video game section that will be expanded by 30 percent; a large, open format that will include new product-accessible fixtures organized by platform and game genres; and a majority of stores will include video game Learning Centers and Trial Stations.

The new Learning Centers will feature a 40-inch high-definition touch screen where guests can read reviews, learn about game features, sort by ESRB ratings, view in-store price and inventory, receive recommendations on best sellers, or page a team member for assistance. Trial Stations will allow guests to try out the latest titles before they buy.