Marketers: Here to Play, Here to Stay

A Toy Industry Update

In the midst of the pandemic, children are dealing with their own battles. When each day’s schedule is isolation and online school, parents are identifying new ways to keep their children stimulated and entertained. During this time, the Toy Industry, in particular, has adapted and stretched their abilities in an attempt to meet their consumer’s growing needs. 

We spoke with Brian Harrison, Senior Manager of Brand at Kids2, and Kelly Deen, SVP of Global Marketing at Jazwares, about their experience as marketing leaders during this time. A big takeaway we noticed is that there is a larger focus on experiential marketing and educational toys. 

Q1 | What innovative changes are happening in the toy business? What changes made are going to remain permanent moving forward?

There is no doubt the toy industry is highly innovative. The Toy Industry is all about experiential gamifying, especially as technology continues to play a factor in children’s lives. 

“Like any industry with kids at the center, change is the only thing you can be sure will remain the same! For that reason, those successful in the toy business stay nimble, connected to consumers, and don’t shy away from taking bets or risks based on an idea or trend. Innovation is critical.”

— Kelly Deen | SVP of Global Marketing | Jazwares

Since many kids are stuck at home, leaving parents to work full-time jobs and help educate their children, Harrison shared that parents are looking for solutions that assist in the development of kids’ learning. “This means parents are placing more subjective value on development-based toys, toys with grow-with-me features, multiple ways to play or multiple uses for increased longevity,” he shared. 

Brands must incorporate a certain sensitivity when marketing to this consumer target, providing entertainment value while also acknowledging the dark reality some families are facing. 

“For me, it's about the experience. How can we make our products, our marketing, our partnerships as experiential as possible...while not being tone-deaf to the isolation in most people's lives today?” Deen shared. “That's the challenge and permanent change...we're constantly thinking about how to make what we do more experiential and connected to emotion (happiness, excitement, thrill, surprise, nurturing).” 

“We’re constantly thinking about how to make what we do more experiential and connected to emotion (happiness, excitement, thrill, surprise, nurturing).”

— Kelly Deen | SVP of Global Marketing | Jazwares

Q2 | What unique partnerships have you formed with companies outside of the toy industry?

“Given families are spending more time at home, we’ve focused on partnering with different digital apps that provide development tips or that give extended families ways to connect when they cannot be together,” Harrison stated. 

Digital initiatives have certainly come in clutch when it comes to connecting people during the pandemic. 

Some toy brands like Lego Group have partnered with Universal Music Group to launch Lego Vidiyo, a video-making app in the same vein as TikTok, but targeted towards children. 

Others like Matel have leveraged digital efforts to bring the famous Barbie to life in a vlog series and a gaming app - Barbie’s Dream House Adventures. In the vlog, Barbie tackles issues like mental health and racial injustice, addressing the conversations and realities kids face today.

Q3 | What are the top trends you have noticed going into 2021 within the toy industry?

• Buying new versus second-hand. Harrison shared that “due to concerns about germs, sanitation, etc., parents who previously would have bought in the second-hand market are choosing to buy new.”

• Growth in ecommerce 

• Increase in spending to find the right product

• Leveraging the gaming "metaverse" as a way to connect with fans/consumers, and tap into conversations. Fortnite does a great job with this by bringing in musical artists and famous superheroes as characters to draw fans. 

• Seeding meaningful content at every point of the customer journey - “An omnichannel approach is more important than ever before,” Deen noted.

• Encouraging (and rewarding) genuine user-generated content. Deen referred to this as “fan-fluencer" content creation and sharing. “The ripple effect of even one fan sharing an authentic story can be incredible. Fans can see right through the standard ‘pay for play’ influencer campaigns.”

COVID may have toyed with our reality, but time and time again, marketers are showing how resilient and creative they can be in order to meet and satisfy the needs of their consumers.