What We All Can Learn From Toys
By:
Dave Siegel, President of WonderGroup
As a faculty member of the
Toy/Game/Inventor Foundation® I had the opportunity to address the
TGIF annual conference last month regarding things one can learn from
past failures and successes. Interestingly, it was the toy
industry that first lead me, some 25 years ago, to realize what
consumer package goods marketers could gain by properly marketing to
the youth in America. After all, it was the toy industry that
first learned about the influence that children had on moms purchasing
decisions, and the power of licensing, of doing research with children,
and of actually marketing and advertising to children.
Now I find that by re-looking at some of the many toy failures and
successes I've been associated with over the years, there is again a
lot to be learned.
The cases I presented at the TGIF conference included:
• Roboforce - One of the biggest action figure failures in the
industry. Rather than launch a few action figures to start with,
Ideal Toy decided to launch an entire line of action figures, vehicles
and playsets backed by a huge pool of commercials including a a :60
spot plus a music video and a 30 minute network special. It
bombed and basically took the company with it!
• Rosie, the ring around the Rosie doll - A simple, beautiful baby
doll launched by a smaller toy company (DSI®) that did just one
basic thing (sung "ring around the rosie".) Up against the higher
priced loaded dolls of Mattel® and even Tickle me Elmo®, Rosie
became the #1 selling doll.
• Adverteasing - A trivia board game, given a creative highly
attractive name versus its going-in name of "Ad-diction", backed by a
very small advertising budget. With just a relatively few dollars
given to on-air DJ's to play the game on radio and create buzz, this
game became #2 ( behind only Trivial Pursuit®), selling well over 1
million units its first year and spawned follow ups like Adverteasing
II and Adverteasing Junior.
• SuperSoaker® - A very small toy manufacturer (Larami) with a
very small ad budget renamed its original gun called "Drencher", to
"SuperSoaker". Placing very tight media budgets in a short ad
burst plus event marketing at places including Spring Break, helped
create the world's best selling toy that year. Larami eventually
sold to Hasbro® for millions and millions of dollars and this
author won a trophy (Effie®).
Learnings for everyone:
1. It’s the product stupid! No matter how much money you
spend in marketing and advertising, the product itself must be
considered a huge winner by the kids. Roboforce never had the
appeal. Play testing showed weakness, especially versus
Transformers. Rosie, and SuperSoaker had superior kid appeal and
were huge successes despite small marketing support.
2. A name can help big time. Both Adverteasing and SuperSoaker
saw huge increases in consumer interest and retailer interest under
their new names versus going-in working names of Ad-dicton and Drencher.
3. Buzz marketing, like the efforts behind SuperSoaker (through spring
break and PR) and Adverteasing is worth more than all the money in the
world spent traditionally.
4. When it comes to kid products aimed at younger children,
simplicity and attractiveness is what sells. Rosie had the looks
and its single singing function was highly attractive and playable by
kids, as demonstrated in our upfront play tests. We knew we had a
winner!
Think of these simple learnings the next time you address your
marketing plans for any product going to today's children. The
product, the name, the buzz the simplicity. Sounds easy doesn't
it???
5. Trophy's don't buy houses! Sorry...just had to put this one in there!
Need some tips on product development, marketing or advertising to the
tough tween segment? Give us a shout. You can
reach me,
Dave Siegel, at 513.357.2950 or dsiegel@wondergroup.com.
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What’s So Funny?
By: Adam Siegel, WonderGroup Account Executive and Editor of Youth University
“It is very important for
marketers to keep their finger on the pulse of what’s funny with
tweens because humor is one of the most powerful tools when wanting to
engage them in advertising – and not only for its
attention-grabbing properties. As mentioned in
WonderGroup’s book, The Great Tween Buying Machine, tweens see
advertising as a test to their tentative identities so it is very
important that they understand the messages that are given to
them. If they do not get it, they will blame the commercial, not
themselves.
One of the best ways in which to affirm to tweens that they understand
the message is through humor. A good, easy-to-understand joke or
situation lets them feel that they are on the inside – a sign
that they are growing up.
However, a new trend emerging in tween humor presents a challenge for
marketers who want to follow this logic. So, what’s funny
now? The answer if you’re a tween is anything that’s
so wacky it doesn’t make sense or “is so stupid it’s
funny.”
We’ve established that humor is an excellent way to relate to
tweens in advertising and that tweens need to understand the joke or
else they will blame the advertising. So, how can marketers
possibly make this work if what tweens like to laugh at are things that
are not understandable? The key here is that these tweens know
that they’re not supposed to understand this type of humor.
They are “safe” from embarrassment because they know that
no one gets it.
My tween niece and her friends recently pointed me to an excellent
example of this kind of tween-appreciated humor. Check out
“The Llama Song” on albinoblacksheep.com and you’ll
see that as long as something is over-the-top “stupid” or
“wacky”, these tweens get it. They are in on the joke
and know that the message isn’t supposed to make sense. AND
THAT’S FUNNY!
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Is it a Sport, or is it a Game?
By: Greg Livingston, Executive VP, WonderGroup
Years ago, one would read or hear
tales of people who played chess by writing a letter to a friend
indicating their next move. Both players would have identical
boards at their homes, and a game could take months or even
years. Today, take that same concept of remote competition, and
change the timing to light-speed.
Today, when sports and action enthusiasts get together and play a tough
game, then celebrate their victory or wallow in defeat, it’s just
like the chess players of old, they may do so without ever having seen
their competition.
A recent article in USA Today (8/16/06) stated that “During the
National Football League® regular season, nearly 37 million people
spend an average of 50 minutes a week at work managing their fantasy
teams comprised of real-life players tallying points based on
statistical performance, according to outplacement consultants
Challenger, Gray & Christmas®.” The cost to
corporate America in lost work time alone is estimated at over $1
billion dollars. People talk about their fantasy teams as if they
are the owners/managers/coaches and have a vested stake in every
player.
Does this new bevy of on-line and video game sports activities affect
kids, tweens and teens? The answer is of course a resounding
“yes!”
For example: Sports Illustrated for Kids offers free fantasy sports
leagues. My tween and teen sons know more about the players and
offense and defense formations than I could dream of, from drafting and
playing on-line and video sports. While at a professional
football game this past weekend (yes our beloved Bengals were blown
away by the perennially strong Patriots) my son was telling me what
play was going to run based on the formation, and two adults next to us
were talking about how well their fantasy football teams were doing,
based on the action of the real game in front of us and the success of
individual players in the game.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines Sport as 1: a source of
diversion and 2: physical activity engaged in for pleasure. Based
on this description, playing an on-line combat or fantasy game in which
you are competing with other individuals, using commands and movements
based on the dexterity of your hand movements (with the new Nintendo
Wii® product out this fall, controllers are based on full arm
waving movements), then one could confidently state you are involved in
a sport activity. The play action is incredible in sports video
games, from the popular Back Yard Sports®* franchise for younger
kids, to the games targeted to older kids and adults like NCAA®,
Madden®, and FIFA World Cup® Soccer. Kids are calling the
shots with regard to play action decisions and strategy. One
would have to agree that the day of casual, non-involved sports
observers has given way to engaged and involved, interactive sports and
sporting enthusiasts.
The concept of participating, even if virtually, in sport is becoming
commonplace. Brands should look for ways to tap into this new
lifestyle trend. For some, that may include incorporation of your
brand in virtual sports programs, just like companies do today with
live-action sports events (sponsorships, product placement, etc).
An example of this would be the “Gatorade” moment at the
end of real-life sports victories when the coach is dowsed by the
players could easily be replicated in winning on-line moments.
Brands can tie-in with Fantasy Sports leagues targeted to the younger
audience, and provide information and special features. This is
not a fad or trend, but a component of lifestyle that is already
in-place and will continue to grow.
* WonderGroup provides advertising, interactive, packaging and
promotional services for Humongous®’s Back Yard Sports brand.
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A New Approach For Tween Reading
By: Erica Minton, Copywriter at WonderGroup
 On a recent trip to Borders®, I ran across a new book for kids (target age 9-12), called Travels of Thelonius: The Fog Mound.
This is the first in a series of books in which the chapters alternate
between straight text and a graphic novel treatment.
There has been a definite increase in the popularity of graphic novels
since movies like Sin City (based on a graphic novel) have come out,
but this is the first effort I have seen to introduce the format into
children's literature. This takes illustration to a new
level. Since every other chapter is almost like a comic book, the
book could make reading more fun, more engaging and suited for more
reading levels.
The graphic novel portion of this book is used well, always in places
where there is heavy action that is better visually seen than
read. Hopefully this kind of book becomes a tool for reluctant
readers, who need more visual appeal to really get into their
reading. If books are going to remain a competitive vehicle
for entertainment, and even instruction, better use of artwork and
visuals can certainly help. Who knows? Maybe authors of
educational text books could even learn a thing or two from Travels of Thelonius.
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Drop Us a Line
Thanks for reading! If
you
have any questions or comments or would like to submit a possible idea
for an article in an upcoming issue of Youth UniversityTM,
please e-mail the editor, Adam Siegel at asiegel@wondergroup.com.
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UniversityTM valuable and helpful.
WonderGroup, a full-service youth marketing agency provides services
including: Advertising, New Product Development, Research and
Promotions. You can learn more about WonderGroup by visiting WonderGroup.com,
or by calling Dave Siegel, dsiegel@wondergroup.com
at 513.357.2950.
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