The Toy & Game Innovation Awards are open for industry professionals to enter now.
Nominations are now open for the 2019 Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs), and will close on 15th August. The winners will be honoured at an elegant annual Gala event during Chicago Toy & Game Week, 21st-24th November.
The 2019 categories, open for nomination by all members of the toy and gaming industry, include:
• Toy Inventor of the Year
• Game Inventor of the Year
• Rising Star Inventor of the Year
• Young Inventor of the Year (under 18 years of age)
• Innovative PR and Marketing Team of the Year
• Art and Design Visuals of the Year
• Innovative Retailer of the Year
There is no cost to nominate and people are encouraged to nominate themselves and others. To nominate, click here.
Five finalists for each of the seven categories will be announced on September 16th, at which time voting will open to the general public, media and industry.
The Lifetime Achievement Honouree is always a highlight at the gala event. Richard Dickson, president & COO of Mattel, will introduce this year’s honouree, Ivan Moscovich, a five time concentration camp survivor and one of the most prolific inventors in the industry. Ivan has licensed 111 puzzles, toys and games and written 69 books, many best-sellers, with three new books being released this year.
The TAGIEs welcomes a new host this year – Karri Bean, senior licensing manager, Disney Parks Experiences & Products. The keynote will be given by toy industry leader JoAnn McLaughlin, SVP-hardlines product development at Disney Parks Experiences & Products.
A separate committee of industry experts is meeting to determine honourees for the TAGIE In Memoriam Presentation and Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award.
The presenting sponsor for this year’s event is Mattel. Other sponsors include Hasbro, The Michael Kohner Corporation, Oxford Games, Cartamundi, ASTRA, The Toy Association, Longshore, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives and more.
“The TAGIE nominations recognise the most innovative individuals and teams from around the world who spend countless hours inventing, designing, creating, marketing to bring ideas for toys and games to life that bring joy and connect us to one another,” said Mary Couzin, founder and president, Chicago Toy & Game Group. “The awards gala brings together everyone for an elegant evening celebrating these industry innovators for their vision, spirit of fun, philanthropy and humanitarianism.”
