The trade veteran has announced the formation of a specialist consultancy aimed solely at the nursery and kids’ products trade.

With over 35 years’ experience in the industry spanning Pedigree Dolls & Toys, Superjouet, Smoby, Berchet, Vivi Bikes of Italy and most recently Kids@Play, which he sold in 2017, Malcolm will offer his knowledge and experience to companies in this sector worldwide.

“Over the years I’ve been involved with product development and planning, safety testing, logistics and sales, marketing and advertising – the whole lifecycle of products in our industry,” said Malcolm. “Now I feel it’s time to start offering these services to the business on an ad hoc basis. Whatever part of the development and launch process our clients need help with, we’ll get involved, become part of the team and put our years of experience to good use”.

At New League, Malcolm will be joined by long-time collaborator, Ian Sandall, who joins as creative director. Ian has worked with Malcolm for over 20 years, delivering a variety of creative solutions throughout the product development process. “I’m delighted to be part of New League Marketing,” Ian said. “Having worked with Malcolm closely over the years, I know that we have a great deal to offer our clients in this exciting market.”

Ian has most recently been working with a large web-based retailer in the Far East, and FMCG companies in The Philippines as well as many UK-based blue-chip clients. He has considerable knowledge of the toy industry stretching back well over 30 years, starting off producing TV ads for Bluebird in the late 80s.

“Ian’s talents complement my own skills” added Malcolm Evans, “and that’s why together we can offer the industry a comprehensive yet specialised service that will really make an impact on clients’ bottom lines. We’ve already got a lot of interest from our contacts in the trade and over the next few months we’ll be trying to get in front of as many industry people as possible to spread the word. Large and small companies can benefit from what New League offers, and I look forward to working with both new contacts and old friends in the coming years.”

New League Marketing can be contacted on 03333 448 481. The website is www.newleague.co.uk.

Ravensburger enjoyed the bank holiday weekend with activities at two of the UK’s biggest family-friendly festivals.

The Big Feastival, held on Alex James’ farm in Chipping Norton, attracted around 60,000 visitors and welcomed acts such as Jess Glynne and Fun Lovin’ Criminals, while entertainment for kids included Dick and Dom, Justin Fletcher and meet and greets with Peppa and George Pig. The Ravensburger team showcased both Brio and GraviTrax, offering children the chance to get hands on with the products in a country garden themed tent.

GraviTrax was also in the spotlight at CarFest South in Hampshire, making an appearance in Fundamentally Children’s Good Toy Zone tent. Raising funds for children’s charities including BBC Children In Need, the CarFest festival achieved a footfall of over 50,000 and is famously organised by Chris Evans.

Ravensburger’s head of marketing and product development, Katy Fletcher said: “Providing opportunities for families to get hands on with our products is a big focus for us. We have been able to be a positive part of quality family time spent together and in so doing forge meaningful brand relationships with our target audience that will last long beyond the bank holiday weekend. Reactions to both Brio and GraviTrax were incredible and events like these will set us in good stead as we roll out our wider marketing programmes throughout the rest of the year.”

The impressive dinosaur marks the first time the company has created a golden model. 

Kids already familiar with the sight of a giant Schleich T-Rex at store openings across the UK are about to be treated to an even bigger spectacle; a golden version of the prehistoric beast is to be unleashed at a number of Smyths Toys Superstores this autumn.

Schleich’s super-sized golden T-Rex will appear at Smyths Toys superstores locations across the UK, offering not just a golden photo opportunity but the chance to win some great prizes. Kids will also be able to get their hands on one of the limited edition Schleich Golden T-Rex figures, which are exclusive to Smyths.

Paul Dearlove, trade marketing manager at Schleich, said: “Our giant models offer great store theatre, whether it’s for a one off event or for a terrific display in-store. This is first time we have created a golden model, and we expect he will be extremely popular.”

For more information call Schleich on 01279 870000 or email Schleich@Schleich-s.co.uk.

The director is leaving after 11 years with the innovative toy company. 

Following significant growth and a raft of new appointments at Wow! Stuff which began in 2018, Jon Birch, director at Wow! Stuff, leaves after 11 year’s service.

Wow! Stuff’s CEO Richard North said: “It’s all about the people here, so when a hard working, trusted colleague leaves the company it’s a sad day. Jon goes with our deep, heartfelt thanks and best wishes.”

“The time feels right for a change,” said Jon. “It’s been an absolute pleasure, incredible journey and an honour to have worked with the Wow! Stuff team, but now feels the right time to move on. I leave as the business is entering unprecedented growth in 2019 with a raft of new product innovations and brands set for launch in 2020. I am very confident that my small shareholding in the business will continue to grow further in value as the business keeps ‘doing wow’ as only Wow! Stuff knows how.”

Recruitment to the Wow! Stuff business across sales and commercial activities began in November 2018 with Dawn Lavalette joining from Tesco, followed by Ian Goodall from Logitech, Kelly Fletcher from Muller and most recently Sunny Walia from Tesco.

Josh Quirke, associate director of Digital at Generation Media, discusses YouTube’s plans to stop targeted ads on kids’ content.

Josh Quirk.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that YouTube is gearing up to stop ‘targeted’ ads appearing on kids’ videos across their platform, following the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into whether YouTube breached the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA). This has led to a flurry of speculation on the impact that this change will have on our industry.

YouTube has been accused by several consumer groups of regularly collecting data on minors to use in targeted advertising. However, the company has long maintained that its platform is not aimed at children, despite cartoon and nursery rhyme videos racking up billions of views.

There are two broad types of targeting across YouTube; the first being contextual targeting and second using an array of digital signals, including demographic, Google search and browser history. The recently proposed change would only affect the latter by removing the option to use this data when running ads across kids’ content.

At Generation Media, we have long recognised the limitations of Google’s targeting data. Over the past two years, we have worked to design a variety of buying models that focuses purely on the content that we serve our campaigns across. All our buying routes are compliant with the current COPPA and GDPR-K regulations with a focus on contextual targeting which will not be affected.

eOne brands such as Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ricky Zoom will join Hasbro, in an all-cash transaction which has been valued at $4b.

In a move set to further develop Hasbro’s film and TV credentials, which the company has recently developed through franchises such as Transformers, top eOne executives will join the Hasbro team. Meanwhile, eOne’s Canadian TV and film operations will continue as a distinct Canadian-controlled business within the combined entity.

In a conference call with investors, Hasbro CFO Deborah Thomas said the companies have identified about $130m in cost synergies by 2022, achieved by a series of measures including bringing licensing activities in-house. CEO Brian Goldner said the $130m is cost savings only, not revenue opportunities. Under the deal, eOne shareholders will receive $6.86 in cash for each common share of eOne, which is a 31% premium to eOne’s current 30-day volume weighted average price

“The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling, which will now include Hasbro’s IP,” said Brian Goldner. “Hasbro will leverage eOne’s immersive entertainment capabilities to bring our portfolio of brands that have appeal to gamers, fans and families to all screens globally and realize full franchise economics across our blueprint strategy for shareholders. We are excited to welcome eOne’s talented employees from around the world into the Hasbro family.”

Allan Leighton, director at eOne added: “On behalf of the board of eOne, I am very pleased by this exciting development, which is a testament to eOne management’s vision, leadership and solid execution. This transaction creates significant, immediate value for our shareholders as it recognises the strength of our future-facing business model.”

Hasbro said it expects to suspend its current buyback program as part of the purchase, which was approved by both boards and is expected to close during the fourth quarter.