Voting for each of the seven categories is open now, and will close on 30th October.
The Chicago Toy & Game Group has revealed the final nominees for the 12th Annual Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs). The TAGIEs are voted on by industry experts, retailers and consumers to honour the top toy and game innovators from around the world. Fans can visit CHITAG.com to vote for nominees in each of the seven categories.
“The Toy & Game Innovation Awards celebrate the people behind the most successful toys and games,” said Mary Couzin, founder and president, Chicago Toy & Game Group. “Our mission is to honour and celebrate the inventors and industry experts who stand out in the toy and game industry for their spirit of fun, philanthropy and humanitarianism.”
The finalists were selected from hundreds of nominations submitted from around the world. One winner from each category will be honoured at a Gala event, The Power of Magic, taking place in Chicago on 22nd November during Chicago Toy & Game Week. Gala tickets can be purchased here.
The 2019 TAGIE nominees include:
Toy Innovator of the Year
• Kid Group for Demolition Duke (Spin Master)
• G2 Inventions for Juno the Elephant (Spin Master)
• JMP Creative for Crayola Glitter Dots (Crayola) and for Foodie Roos (Maya)
• Peggy Brown for Lunch Pets (Wicked Cool Toys) and My Buddy Wheels (Y-Volution)
• Daryl Tearne for Owleez and Monster Jam Mega Grave Digger RC Truck (Spin Master)
• Bang Zoom for Pulp Heroes (Far Out Toys) and Mr Potato Head Lips Are Moving and Yellies (Hasbro)
• Ryan Kratz and Gil Zalayet for Imaginext DC Super Friends Transforming Batmobile RC Vehicle (Mattel)
Game Innovator of the Year
• Adam Borton for Oops Scoops (Yulu)
• Dominic Yard & Gil Zalayet for Freeze Fall (Goliath)
• Rob Daviau, Bob Driscoll, Don Ullman for Heist (Megableu USA)
• Brendan Boyle & Adam Skaates (Ideo) for Plumber Pants (Hasbro) and Pictionary Air (Mattel)
• Kim Vandenbroucke (The Brainy Chick) and Andrea Sambati (Memento) for Peeing Pup (Hasbro)
• Kane Klenko for Pandemic: Rapid Response (Z-Man Games), Cosmic Factory (Gigamic), Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Kraken (Minion Games), Proving Grounds (Renegade Game Studios), Slap It! (Renegade Game Studios)
• Pat Marino for Die Hard: The Nakatomi Heist Board Game; Court of the Dead: Mourners Call Board Game; Talisman: Batman – Super Villains Edition; Harry Potter: Death Eaters Rising; Star Wars: Dark Side Rising with USAopoly/The Op
Innovative PR and Marketing Team of the Year
• Microduino for Itty Bitty Buggy and IdeaLab for kids – Everyone is an Inventor
• Lego Disney Girls Team for Lego Aladdin Explore the World Together Campaign
• The OP Marketing Team a rebrand (from USAopoly) and over 20+ product launches.
• Lego Marvel Team for Lego Marvel Avengers End Game Construction Sets by Lego Campaign
• Freeman PR for Playmobil’s Mars Space Station, Yulu’s Snapstar’s and Zing’s HyperStrike campaigns
• Egils Grasmanis, Anna Peipina, Liga Lugovija (Brain Games Marketing Team) for Win a Trip to Antarctica (Brain Games)
• Keeley Tobin, Nikki Kennamer, Kristina Timmins, Crystal Flynn, Allison MacIntire and Sarah Madey (Hasbro) for Yellies (Hasbro)
The full list of categories and nominees is available to view here.
Mattel is the presenting sponsor for this year’s TAGIEs Gala. Other sponsors include Hasbro, The Michael Kohner Corporation, Oxford Games, Cartamundi, ASTRA, The Toy Association, Longshore, ThinkFun and Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, among others.
