The Toy Business Forum will offer presentations and speakers from a diverse range of fields including kidults – a major focus for the 2024 show.
Spielwarenmesse takes place from 30th January to 3rd February 2024, with a presentation area in Hall 3A of the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre. In the Toy Business Forum, speakers from a diverse range of fields will discuss trends in toys and retail. Key topics include digitalisation, influencer marketing and artificial intelligence, and the audience can also expect to hear presentations on the highlight topic: Life’s a Playground – Toys for Kidsters, Kidults & Co.
Under the new schedule for the Spielwarenmesse, the programme will run from Tuesday to Saturday between 1pm and 4pm. Following this, a series of Live on Stage sessions will see exhibitors presenting their product portfolios and new introductions in 20-minute slots.
Adults who play games are a target group with real purchasing power. The new highlight Special: Life’s a Playground – Toys for Kidsters, Kidults & Co. in Hall 3A, right next to the Toy Business Forum, covers this world and will be displaying examples of relevant products. Six of the presentations in the Toy Business Forum tackle this theme; in the keynote speech on Wednesday, Toan Nguyen, founder of Jung von Matt Nerd in Hamburg, will speak about the Kidults target group and offer an introduction to the pop culture of a new generation. On Friday, Axel Dammler, MD of iconkids & youth in Munich, highlights the target group in the German toy market and Christian Braun, from Superior (USA), deals with collecting.
On Tuesday, Stefan Nilsson from Stockholm will give a presentation ‘Happy is the new black – trends for 2024/2025’, and internationally renowned American toy expert Reyne Rice will be inspiring audiences on Tuesday and Friday with the latest trends and technologies for the forthcoming season. On Wednesday, Nick Sohnemann, founder of innovation agency Future Candy, ventures a glimpse into the future of the toy trade.
The topics of digitalisation and online marketing provide further focal points with a quick tour of Google Business Profile on Wednesday by Beatrice Köhler, MD of Kampagnenreiter GmbH. On Thursday, meanwhile, Benjamin Brüser explores multi-channel opportunities and the benefits of digital tools. Influencer marketing in the toy sector is on the programme, too, in a presentation by Philipp Hagl, MD of InfluenceME GmbH.
On Thursday, Marilyn Repp of Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Handel (Digital SME Retail Centre) in Berlin presents various examples of AI applications from the retail SME sector, while Christian Krömer, CEO of Toysino GmbH and MD of Spielwaren Krömer GmbH & Co. KG, offers insights into how AI relates to his daily business. On Friday, trade visitors can dive into the world of AI marketing with Hamburg-based digital architect Patrick Klingberg.
As well as the Internationale Spieleerfindermesse – Game Inventors Convention, which takes place on Friday, qualified games designer and AI enthusiast Markus Utomo demonstrates practice-based revolutionary opportunities for developing toys and products using AI.
The complete Toy Business Forum programme and comprehensive information on the speakers is available here.
