As the Christmas countdown gets underway, Toy World spoke to experts to look at how companies can maximise their marketing spend in Q4.

The aim of any toy company is to get its products in front of kids, wherever they may be, though all our contributors agreed that the marketing sector is still very fragmented.

With many kids moving away from the traditional advertising avenues such as TV into gaming and video content on demand, many manufacturers are now having to reassess where best to place their spend.

Jon Chambers, director of Investment at Generation Media, says SVOD services now account for the largest share of content viewing (33%) among 2-9 year olds, while a report from regulator Ofcom in August revealed that one in five UK homes had access to all three of the biggest SVOD services – Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime.

“Whilst SVODs remain non-commercial for now, they should not be discounted from immediate marketing plans as they act as a fantastic distribution platform for content if you are able to negotiate placement,” he tells Toy World.

Tristan Brooks, managing partner, Havas Entertainment Toy Team adds that while we are still understanding the different advertising opportunities now available, the potential is there, with many platforms offering access to already established and engaged audiences.

However, KidsKnowBest’s chief brand officer and co-founder, Rob Lough, urged caution saying that while using platforms would become more widespread, its recent Netfiles report showed that nearly a quarter of Disney+ and Netflix subscribers stated they would consider leaving these streaming platforms if ads were introduced.

In other potential marketing areas, he says in-game advertising has been growing for years and it’s set to grow even more with ad networks such as Bidstack and Bloxbiz leading the way.

To read the full article in the October issue, click here.