There are more ways to connect with people today than there has been at any point in our history, an idea that is as true for companies as it is for individuals. But as little as seven years ago, Facebook "Pages" didn't exist and retail stores and major media outlets were still the only way toy manufacturers could get news about their new products to potential customers. It was in this ancient online desert that we started attending Toy Fair, and many companies were very much still using the "old school" thinking.
Then we started to see a shift.
For one thing, Kickstarter launched. This allowed enthusiastic teams with great ideas but limited capital to get in the game, including several now-recognizable names like
GoldieBlox,
Marbleocity,
Roominate,
CandyLab Toys, and
I Am Elemental. These companies recognize the value of lots of people pooling their resources to make a difference.
Crowdsourcing has also showed its strength challenging old ideas from the "big guys." It was a combined effort that made
Target see the benefits of eliminating gender labeling in the toy aisle.
Hasbro went from "[we] have released plenty of female characters in the line" a year ago to introducing several new female
Star Wars action figures in the at this year's Toy Fair thanks to sustained efforts including the #WheresNatasha and #WheresRey campaigns.
All this led to companies recognizing the value of listening as well as talking. In the last five years, the toy industry started moving because of the market rather than trying to move it themselves.
LEGO saw the benefit of building a media presence to interact with fans and has become the largest toy manufacturer in the world;
Disney heard the rumblings to eschew the traditional "beautiful princess meets handsome prince" fairy tale setup with
Frozen and couldn't keep up with demand for Elsa-themed merchandise.
Now in our eighth year attending Toy Fair, we're also seeing this shift on a smaller scale. The people working the floor are more friendly, engaging, and knowledgeable than ever. Whether it's the reps from
McFarlane Toys and
K'NEX recognizing us from last year and personalizing the booth tours, the guy at
Revell shooting the breeze about G-Bodies, continuing a conversation from Facebook with the guy from
Jada Toys, or the crew at
Quantum Mechanix creating fun fan-friendly labels for their toys, nearly everyone we spoke to was awesome. Even those we didn't talk to directly were great, such as LEGO being quick to reply to all my e-mail inquiries or Laurie from
Build & Imagine saying hello on her way to lunch.
Sadly, there was one exception to all this:
Mattel. Just like
last year, none of the e-mail addresses I had for reps at Mattel worked. A check of LinkedIn found that even the folks I knew from
MEGA were no longer employed by the company. So once again, on the first day of the show I went to Mattel's booth. The people there told me I had to go upstairs to their press area, so up I went...where I was told that I needed to go to their booth. So with a hearty "oh, forget it" and an eye towards good times with other vendors, I decided to forego Mattel entirely this year.
"Listen to your customers" is a lesson Mattel still has yet to learn, and as their slide continues the rumors about
a merger with Hasbro sounds more and more probable. It doesn't seem all that difficult: on both global and local scales, toy manufacturers from around the world are seeing the benefits of the new smaller playing field. Market research, customer feedback, and the all-important sales are just a quick conversation away.
It's a great time to be a fan of toys, and even better for those enthusiastic about making them.
