I read an article recently which put forward the theory that the British have stopped complaining when things go wrong – the gist was that things fall apart (metaphorically and, in the case of schools, literally) so often in ‘Broken Britian’ these days that people have simply not got the energy to keep getting angry about every little thing. That certainly wasn’t the case at Autumn Fair this week, which saw scenes that I have honestly never encountered in over four decades of visiting trade shows. Emotions run high at shows; I have walked thousands of show aisles in my time and have frequently heard people grumbling and threatening never to exhibit again…. only to find them back again the very next year for fear of what they might miss out on if they weren’t there. That’s how the circle of trade show griping usually goes. But not this time…
A disgruntled group of over 200 people gathered to make their feelings crystal clear to the show organisers on the final day of the show, with the newly introduced Connect meeting platform at the heart of their concerns. I had originally been contacted by one of the toy exhibitors earlier in the week, to tell me that not a single one of the eight meetings arranged through the Connect platform over the first two days of the show had bothered to show up. And he hadn’t even felt that a grand total of eight meetings was that good to start with. Given that participation in Connect is mandatory for all exhibitors, with a relatively high cost involved, it’s no great surprise that people weren’t happy – as my source had said to me: “Enough is enough.” I had been trying to work out how I could tactfully raise the subject in a fair and proportionate manner in this week’s Blog, but events rapidly overtook me – suddenly pictures of an angry mob were appearing on LinkedIn, so diplomacy was no longer the issue.
To their credit, senior show management didn’t hide in the back office (airline companies would do well to follow their lead…) or push their sales team forward to bear the brunt of exhibitors’ ire. Instead, they hastily arranged a meeting with a group of exhibitors to allow them the opportunity to air their grievances on a one-to-one basis. Obviously the organisers weren’t going to take any snap decisions on the spot, but they now have a big call to make. Do they try to make tweaks in an attempt to make Connect a platform which genuinely benefits retailers and exhibitors, or do they just let it quietly slip into the long grass. I have my own thoughts as to the system’s advantages and disadvantages, but if any retailers or exhibitors would like to share their views, my metaphorical DMs are open – because in the end, while online meeting systems don’t tend to work for people like me who are reasonably well connected (and they’re definitely not designed for media, as we have found with meetings platforms used by other trade shows), I can appreciate that there are others who might feel differently.
In more positive news, we unveiled details of Mark Kingston and Stuart Grant’s new venture this week: the pair have come together to set up Libertas Brands. The new operation’s first project will be handling the global licensing rights to Spin Master’s Fuggler brand. The toy range has been performing extremely well for The Entertainer in recent months, and speaking to Mark, the plan is very much to turn it into a fully-fledged entertainment brand, with short and longform, gaming and immersive content all planned. I gather Fuggler is just the start – conversations are already underway with other brands. Mark and Stuart will be in LA the week after next, and we’ll keep you posted on further developments as things progress. And just to avoid any confusion, Stuart’s involvement is very much separate to his ongoing role at The Entertainer – with this ‘extra-curricular’ activity fully supported by the TEAL board. I received a few emails that suggested people thought this represented The Entertainer moving into licensing, so I just wanted to set the record straight.
It is also encouraging to see some new toy ranges already making waves: Toikido’s Piñata Smashlings has already had 10m views for its Roblox trailer on YouTube, one of the fastest-ever brands to pass that milestone mark, while MGA’s Miniverse took the coveted number one spot in the Circana UK Top Ten New Properties chart in August. Elsewhere, Zuru has reported that its major autumn winter launches Snackles, Mega Gross Minis and X-Shot Insanity have all got off to a flying start, and the Squishmallows licensing programme continues to grow, with Winning Moves’ new Squishmallows Top Trumps, Match! And Monopoly lines already getting a great reaction. The toy market is going to need excitement from new launches to persuade consumers to part with their cash in the coming months, so hopefully lots more new ranges will make their mark over the festive season.
As the autumn winter season starts in earnest, the toy community is also starting to think about 2024: the spring summer selection process is well underway, and there are several trade shows and buying trips coming up in the next month to start the ball rolling on autumn winter planning. For those who have asked, I will be in New York for the Toy Fair later this month, so if anyone would like to start talking about their marketing plans for next year, it would be great to catch up at the show. Similarly, if you’re heading to BLE straight after New York, I will be dashing back to make sure I am at the show all three days (so apologies in advance if I seem a bit jet-lagged, especially by Friday afternoon). I will be happy to set up appointments with licensors and toy companies there too – just drop me a line.
