We’re fresh back from Toy Fair 2013 in New York City!
What a blur of multi-colored, flying, soaring, bending, fashionable, friendly, scary, mind-bending, plush, plastic, wooden, what-will-they-think-of-next, old-fashioned fun! For some people we spoke to, traffic through the carpeted aisles was slower than last year, but the conversations were more meaningful. For others, they couldn’t keep up with the conversations and wished for more time as they bustled around to multiple meetings with buyers, licensees and strategic partners. No matter what, it’s always amazing to see the congregation of toy industry professionals gather and fill every inch of the 675,000 square feet of the massive Javitz Convention Center.
We saw old friends and met new ones and we look forward to supporting them all in the year ahead. A few introductions that were memorable…
New Zealand’s Wishbone Design is looking forward to an eventful year of even more presence in the U.S. for their fantastic children’s line of bicycles, wagons and playthings. Owners Jenny and Richard are a fantastic couple that were originally driven to create for their children, and now everyone gets to enjoy their unique creations.
Berg Toys has a line called MOOV that is so much fun! It’s bicycle construction for young and old! It’s fail proof and safe, and inspires team work, and let’s be honest… it’s just plain cool. The Netherlands-based story of inventor Henk van der Berg building his first go-kart to get out of his parents’ hair is something we can all relate to.
The crew behind the Tonner Doll Company is a fun one! Led by Robert Tonner, an oft-featured fashion designer in his first career, they produce licensed dolls —sure — but it’s the exclusive designs that are inspiring and refreshingly simple, and clearly the result of an upbringing amidst the dolls of long ago.
For the two of us walking the aisles of this year’s Toy Fair, we of course had our eyes peeled for those companies who might be interested in a conversation about engaging their consumer (kids and the buyer with the wallet!) with any number of effective tactics in our arsenal. We weren’t disappointed. But while competition remains fierce for children’s attention and the methods for winning their hearts continue to diversify, we boil back down to basics. Promotions in the children’s space require a keen eye for creativity but compliance with strict and necessary marketing regulations like those by COPPA and CARU is a responsibility we will always take very seriously.
