Publisher John Baulch visited the Diaframma studio in Florence to witness how a toy commercial is brought to life.
As everyone in the toy community is aware, the kids and family media landscape continues to evolve at a frightening pace. Life was so much easier for toy companies twenty years ago, when terrestrial broadcasters ruled the roost, and a single ad placed on a leading channel during peak viewing hours for kids could reach a substantial portion of your target market in one hit. Those days are long gone, with digital channels overtaking TV as the preferred route to reach kids.
As the media world shifts and becomes increasingly complex and fragmented, so do the marketing requirements for toy companies. However, some things don’t change: a strong ad campaign can make a huge difference to sales numbers, and getting the creative approach right is the fundamental building block on which great ad campaigns are built.
Over the years, a number of specialist creative production studios have established themselves as experts in making ads for toy companies, including leading Italian studio Diaframma. Talking to CEO Duccio Abolaffio in Hong Kong in January, I admitted that I had never witnessed a TV ad being filmed – so he invited me to the company’s studio in Florence to see the process first-hand. And a truly fascinating process it is…
Like the media world, Diaframma has evolved considerably since the business was launched in 1976 by Duccio’s father. The company chose to base itself in the beautiful Italian city of Florence, near to major Italian toy company Giochi Preziosi, whose business was instrumental in helping the fledgling studio to establish itself within toy circles.
When the company started, there was only one commercial TV channel in many countries, and the opportunities for advertising were relatively limited. Fast forward to 2024 and there are more platforms fighting for kids’ attention than ever before, giving toy companies far more opportunities to showcase their new launches.
To read the full article from Toy World’s July issue, click here.
