Tag Archives: marketing

POP announces free educational webinar programme for toy marketers and PR pros

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The first in the quarterly series, taking place 21st April, will cover topics including influencer collaborations, SEO, social media and email marketing. 

People of Play has announced its first quarterly educational webinar targeting industry marketing and PR pros.

The first session will be on April 21st from 1pm-4pm ET. The session will kick-off with a keynote speaker (TBA) followed by break-out sessions on popular topics requested by attendees. To ensure the webinar is both relevant and engaging, the topics have been vetted from both an agency and brand viewpoint. The session will end with networking in the virtual POP Pub.

The group explained that after its success within the inventors community, POP founder Mary Couzin wanted to find a way to bring the same level of insight and education to the industry’s marketing executives. Along with Michele Litzky (LPR), Mary asked other agency and brand representatives to form a committee that could identify speakers of interest to the group, along with topics that could be important conversation starters.

A survey asking marketing and PR pros about the need for a regular events where they could learn, share and network provided unanimous feedback in favour of the idea, and April 21st marks the first iteration in what is sure to be a popular and successful initiative by POP.

Some of the session topics for the first event will include:

  • Influencer engagement and collaborations
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Digital marketing / SEO / SEM
  • Email marketing
  • Social media trends and best practices
  • Earned media and influencer pitching / press releases

The event is free to all marketing and PR professionals: simply register here first. POP states that it would be beneficial for attendees to have a POP profile, but that it is not required.

Exclusive: Making an impact – Toy World spoke to Diaframma’s Alice Morrison

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Toy World spoke to Alice Morrison to get a sense of what the marketing landscape will look like for toy companies going forward. 

Alice Morrison Diaframma

With Christmas looming and three months of challenging trading conditions behind us, Alice Morrison, international sales director at the kids and family marketing agency Diaframma, tells us how toy companies are approaching the second half of 2020.

“Now more than ever, companies are really thinking about where best to place their marketing budget, and which types of platforms will provide the maximum ROI,” comments Alice. “We have seen a variety of responses; some budgets have been tightened or reassigned and some launches have been delayed, while some of our partners haven’t altered their plans at all. The situation is stabilising daily, and the levels of certainty and positivity are growing. Diaframma always strives to produce campaigns that are strong and impactful, and I believe our track record demonstrates that this is always achieved. Given the times we are in, this definitely contributes to selling products even more than before.”

During lockdown, television viewership inevitably increased, as well as children’s exposure to a variety of devices. As such, Alice touches upon the lessons learned about kids and family advertising during this unprecedented period.

“The production of a variety of content that caters for this change has been a turning point for us. That said, lockdown has also shown that many families have been looking for more activity-based projects to keep kids active not only physically, but also mentally.”

Evidently demand for accessible content has not halted over recent months. As such, Diaframma re-opened its studios in the thick of lockdown on 4th May, adapting the shoots to suit government regulations.

“We are very happy with the way things have been going.” adds Alice, “Currently, we’re working with family members only on set, but as regulations loosen, we are adapting and widening the casting possibilities. Each week we hit new levels, which leads us to believe we’ll be back to normal sooner rather than later.”

As uncertainty regarding toy fairs and trade events cointinues, advertising may have to cover more ground this year as a result. Alice tells us more: “Regardless of what happens with future trade shows, there will always be a need for advertising. Products are sold through consumer awareness, for which advertising is key. As we’ve seen throughout this lockdown period, it is more important than ever to be able to convey a product’s story and uniqueness as budgets throughout households worldwide are tightened, and parents are more conscious of spend.”

Read the full interview with Alice in the July issue of Toy World, here.

The July issue of Toy World is out now

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The special July ‘2020 reboot’ issue of Toy World is available to read online now. 

July Toy World front coverThe July issue of Toy World magazine has a strong ‘reboot’ theme, timed to coincide with major lockdown easing and the reopening of non-essential retailers following a long, challenging three months of temporary closures and strict stay-at-home orders. Reflecting the optimism and positivity of the toy industry, the July issue features upbeat, forward-thinking views and opinion from contributors including Toy Barnhaus, Gen Media’s Jonathan Chambers, the NPD Group, Etopia’s Asha Bhalsod, Consumer Fluent’s Ruth Clement, Threepipe’s Jim Hawker and Toy World’s Rachael Simpson-Jones. In addition, we spoke to Toymaster’s Ian Edmunds about how the group is supporting its indies as they re-open their doors to customers, and caught up with a number of them in person to find out how they plan to keep consumers both safe and happy during the shopping experience.

Our substantial 2020 Reboot Feature highlights the product lines suppliers will be focusing on in the second half of the year, while our Touching Base section asked how toy companies are planning to re-energise their plans in the run-up to Christmas.

Other features include an in-depth look at Construction Toys, a category which is continuing to ride the lockdown sales wave, plus an overview of what’s new in Imaginative Play and Stationery. Lego’s Marius Lang offers readers a look at Lego’s plans for Q3 and 4, and Diaframma’s Alice Morrison provides insight into changing consumer marketing trends, and how the marketing agency can highlight brands this autumn.

To read this special 116-page issue, click here.