One of the most-watched programmes of the year on Irish television, being featured on the Late Late Toy Show can lead to a major boost in sales, as KAP Toys discovered.
The Late Late Toy Show is an annual, special edition of the Irish chat show The Late Late Show. Airing annually on RTÉ One to coincide with the holiday shopping season, the Toy Show showcases the popular toys of the year, presented by the host and demonstrated by various children on-stage, along with appearances by celebrity guests.
This year, the show took place on Friday 24th November, when Patrick Kielty made his debut as host. Since its first presentation in 1975, the Toy Show has become a cultural institution in Ireland, and being featured on the Toy Show can have a major boost to sales heading into the Christmas season.
As usual, children were invited into the studio to test the year’s hottest toys, and an impressive amount of toys received exposure, including everything from Little Tikes Cosy Coupe, Eolo’s Biggies and Wow! Stuff’s Jurassic World Real FX T-Rex, to Moose Toys’ Beast Lab: Shark Beast Creation, HoloToyz’ Tattoos – Pet Party & Creative Sea Creatures and Huffy’s Disney Princess 16″ Girls Bike.
According to data from RTÉ, 1.7m tuned in to watch. On social media, #LateLateToyShow generated 26.2m video views and 2.2m interactions
One company which has been in touch with Toy World to share its delight at a sudden increase in sales – prompted by the show – was KAP Toys, which was pleased to see its Hello Kitty Cappuccino Cup sparking excitement.
In a segment dedicated to manga/Japanese “cool toys”, the Hello Kitty Cappuccino toys were demonstrated with the pouring of water into the cups, revealing the magic of the squishy collectible. Host Patrick Kielty couldn’t believe his eyes before holding up the toy and saying “Hello Kitty!” The unprompted audience reaction as the magic of the toy was demonstrated added to the experience – a reaction which KAP Toys’ MD, Nat Southworth, says reinforces the product’s strength.
“Whenever our team achieves these PR moments, it is absolute testament to the hard work, dedication and commitment we put in to finding great toys that sell every day,” explained Nat. “For our products to secure this amount of air time and focus, versus all of the fantastic toys in the market this year, is terrific.”
He added: “We’ve got more Hello Kitty products coming for 2024, and we’re currently allocating the remaining Hello Kitty Cappuccino items in stock. For more on our Hello Kitty products, readers can contact orders@kaptoys.com, visit www.kaptoys.com or come and see us at London Toy Fair (Stand UN66). We’re booking appointments now.”
The Late Late Toy Show receives regular copies of Toy World, in order to keep up to date with all the latest trends and hottest toys. Money is raised for multiple children’s charities during the broadcast, and this year, the event achieved donations in excess of €3m before the show had even ended.
A complete list of the toys featured can be found here.
