Global Toy News

"What's in a name?" 8 Points to Help You Succeed in Product Naming

 

 

One of my favorite naming stories starts with a physicist’s discovery of a “gravitationally completely collapsed object” and, frankly, no one cared.  It doesn’t sound interesting, it doesn’t sound fun, actually it sounds like something only the scientists in his field are going to geek out about.  However, months later he change the name to “black hole” and public interest exploded and the term has made it’s way into mainstream vocabulary.  Naming is important.  A product’s name should generate excitement, deliver a message and seduce the consumer into buying. 

Unfortunately, naming is not easy.  There are far too many pitfalls and obstacles in the naming process waiting to take down a good product.  Yet, there are some key components that will assist you in picking a good name once you’ve generated lots of ideas to choose from.

 1. The name should sound fun.  (duh!)  Presumably, you are trying to sell a fun toy or game – and if you aren’t well, even a great name won’t save you.  Some good examples are: Hide and Eeek, Elefun, and Stomple.

 2. The name should be easy to say.  Some of my favorite fun-to-say game names include: Chicken Cha Cha Cha, Sumo Ham Slam, Duck Duck Bruce, Rat-a-Tat Cat, and Gnip Gnop.  Every one of these rolls off the tongue easily and produces a smile as it exits. 

Electricity rationing in China; what it could mean for toy manufacturers this summer

 
 
There is a power struggle over electrical power taking place in China and it could have an impact on the production of toys.  Who is going to control electrical generation; the power companies or the Chinese government?  It seems that the delicate balance of government control and private sector business freedom are coming into conflict as China struggles with hikes in coal prices. 

How bad is it?  According to a New York Times article, “China’s Utilities Cut Energy Production; Defying Beijing”:   “Since March… government officials in six provinces have begun rationing electricity, including … Hunan province. At least five more provinces are preparing to do so, according to official reports.

Electrical power for a country on the far side of the world may seem to be an arcane subject.  Well, it may be for some people but certainly not for those of us in the toy industry.  Our dependency on China is so great that that country’s struggles with these issues can mean the difference between products being manufactured on time or at all. 

As I read the article, my eye was caught by this sentence: “…in a notable act of passive defiance, the power companies have scheduled an unusually large number of plants to close for maintenance this summer — right when air-conditioning season will reach its peak.”

The Incredible Shrinking Wal-Mart

 
 
In my last posting, I wrote about Wal-Mart’s struggles as it just completed its eighth consecutive decline in same-store sales.  Wal-Mart is fighting to come back but some of what they are doing seems more like a reaction to the decline in same-store sales than in an attempt to grow same-store sales.

The change in senior executive compensation away from same-store sales; the move to smaller store footprints and the growing emphasis on food items tells me that Wal-Mart is not reacting to a temporary shift in the marketplace due to the lingering effects of the recession but facing up to a major paradigm shift in shopping patterns. 

Simply put, shoppers are simply not going to the store as frequently as they used to.  A rising generation of shoppers likes to do their shopping from home (see my blog posting:  "Fewer teens getting drivers licenses; what it might mean for Wal-Mart").  That means that those large store formats are going to come under consistant pressure as fewer shoppers walk through the door.  What can Wal-Mart do; they can downsize. 

Keep that in mind as you read the following quote from the New York Times article, “Wal-Mart Frets as U.S. Shoppers Buy Food and Little Else:”

Victoria Cushey joins Global Toy Experts as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development

 
 
I am very pleased to announce that Victoria Cushey is joining our team at Global Toy Experts as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.  In addition, Victoria is assisting in generating mass exposure for Richard's Global Toy News as well as helps facilitate our series of Building Our Future conferences. Victoria has over 20 years of experience in marketing, product management and business development.

Victoria earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Economics and Psychology from the University of California Irvine. She also studied abroad at Cambridge University in England and successfully completed the International Business Management Program at Mattel. 

Victoria is also highly involved with various academic, professional and charitable organizations. She mentors for the MBA program at Pepperdine University, is an active member of Women In Film, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, a Founder of the Music Center Los Angeles and on the    Executive Board of Women In Toys. 

Victoria can be reached at Victoria@globaltoyexperts.com.

Is Wal-Mart in the 2010’s sounding more and more like K-mart in the 1980’s?

 
 
I was in Hong Kong back in January when a seasoned sales rep said to me:  “You know Wal-Mart is starting to sound like the old Kmart when it started its decline.  Looking back I find it to have been astonishingly prescient.  If you want to see what I mean, read the New York Times article, “Wal-Mart Frets as U.S. Shoppers Buy food and Little Else.” 

For starters, Wal-Mart just endured its eighth consecutive quarterly drop in same-store sales.  As the article puts it:  “Same-store sales were all in negative territory in categories like entertainment, including electronics; hard lines, which are items like hardware and crafts; apparel; and home.”

Sales that did occur were largely driven by the sale of foods.  Wal-Mart draws a large share of lower income shoppers who have been hammered by recent increases in gasoline prices.  Here is how the Times article puts it”

The poorer customers who shop at the nation’s biggest retailers are still on tight budgets. They wait inside the store at the end of each month with full shopping carts until the clock strikes midnight. Then, their electronic-benefit transfers from the government go through, and they pay for their groceries and other staples. They buy items in small packages, which cost less than big ones. And while they are spending more on food at Wal-Mart than they did a year ago, they are buying less in most other categories.

“The Other Toy Story;” art from forgotten toys

 
 
 
Joyce Dallal, artist in residence at the Marlborough School in Los Angles, is someone we have come to know through her participation in last month’s Building Our Future; Girls Toys & Media conference in Los Angeles.”  Joyce became fascinated with toys while cleaning out her son’s old playthings and began the Marlborough School project to make use of them and other discarded playthings.  Called “The Other Toy Story,” here is how the website describes her journey:

The concept grew out of the consternation felt by the artist upon cleaning out several years’ worth of toys from her son’s room, and wondering what to do with it all. So many of the toys were missing pieces or broken, that donating them was not a good ... The thought of throwing them in the trash was hard to stomach … So, the artist carted them off to her studio until a time when she could think of something to do with them….[I]t seemed like a good opportunity to have young people, who are the consumers of toys, participate in an investigation of this issue through the medium of art.

Kellogg’s and NBC want consumers over 55; a lesson for the toy industry

 
 
It has long been common wisdom, actually since the 1960’s, that the bulls eye for marketing must be “young people.”  At that time, marketers figured out that the new generation of Baby Boomers had numbers, big numbers, and were the proper focus of any campaign.   Anyone over, say 55, was just off the radar. 

If you think about it, it made sense but at the same time didn’t.  Yes, there were lots of Baby Boomers but seniors, then as now, controlled 80% of the nation’s wealth.  It seems that marketers are finally changing their glasses and beginning to see that those Baby Boomers are now the seniors they long ignored.  The difference is that they still have the numbers.  They simply can’t be ignored.

According to a very interesting New York Times article, “In Shift, Ads Try to Target Over-55 Set,” “…all advertising sales have been [up until now] based on two main groups, those people aged 18 to 49, and those 25 to 54. Once viewers reached 55, they were considered all but valueless.”

That’s outlook is changing rapidly and it’s not just demographics.  According to the article it’s also economics:

As a result of the recent recession, unemployment rates for younger age groups have been far higher than those for older Americans. The most recent unemployment rate for those 20 to 24 years old is 14.2 percent; for those 25 to 34, it is 9.4 percent. The rate for people aged 55 to 64 is only 6.2 percent.

Financially, the disparity is similar. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, those people aged 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings of any age segment in the United States: $844 and $860, respectively. Meanwhile, those 20 to 24 had weekly earnings of only $454. Those who are 25 to 34 earned $682.

Gerrick Johnson interviews LeapFrog's John Barbour

 
 
 
Toy industry analyst, Gerrick Johnson, is one of the sharpest guys I know.  So when I saw that he had interviewed John Barbour, CEO of Leapfrog, for his BMO Capital Toy Scout Report, I called him to see if I could share it with all of the Global Toy News readers.  Gerrick graciously complied.

John Barbour is the new CEO at LeapFrog and what he has to say is important.  Leapfrog is one of the toy industry's most important companies and John Barbour is one of our most dynamic leaders.  Its a must read for anyone who cares about the toy industry...so, please enjoy yourself.

Mr. Barbour opened our meeting with a question to us. He asked, simply, “What are we? What is LeapFrog?”

Mr. Barbour, known to all in the toy industry as “JB,” is an avid boater and believes it is important to chart a course before setting sail, and the course for LF begins by defining what the company is about. His answer: “We are an educational entertainment company.

“Most children’s entertainment out there is like soda,” he says, “it’s just sugary water with some chemicals. Yeah, it’s refreshing, but it’s not really that good for you. We want to not only be refreshing, but packed with vitamins. We want to provide sustainable entertainment, not just empty entertainment calories.”

But before going deeper into the long-term strategy, JB discussed tactical issues that needed to be addressed to set a framework for improvement. After all, execution lapses have bedeviled the company going back to the heady days of the original LeapPad when the stock was over $40 per share. “We have a great brand, we just need to fix the business,” said Mr. Barbour, who plans to be very detail oriented, “but in a collaborative sense.” This sounds like a prudent course of action.

“Why do 69% of our in-store displays not work?” Mr. Barbour asked, referring to a March 30, 2011, BMO Capital Markets study of non-working in-store displays. “There is good potential for growth, just by fixing the little things,” said Mr. Barbour.

We asked how one goes about changing a culture, how does one facilitate a company-wide attention to detail. “If the employees know the CEO is focused on the details, they will be too.” As an outsider, we think Mr. Barbour has an advantage in seeing the obvious that people inside the organization may have missed. “We can’t be afraid to ask the stupid questions. I’m going to be asking a lot of them.”

The first issue Barbour sees as being an area of improvement is greater clarity in communication. For example, he feels LF needs to do a better job communicating what its products do. “We don’t do that very well right now, particularly in the packaging.”

Mr. Barbour grabbed a Tag Reading System box and pointed out that the box says that it is new, that there is an activity book included, and that it requires two double-A batteries. “But does it convey what the product really does?” he asks. “How come we aren’t communicating the magic inside each package? I look at the front of the box, and I don’t see that message anywhere.”

Mr. Barbour pointed out that LF products get great user scores on Amazon and toysrus.com. “The comments posted online are great, the viral marketing we get is excellent; we do well with it. But why are we not communicating the great things parents say about our products better? Why aren’t there testimonials on our packages? Why isn’t Tina from Arkansas talking about how our product has impacted her child’s life on the back of our box?” he asks.

Direct Response Television

 
Direct Response Television is one of those phenomenon that are an unavoidable part of modern life for anyone who watches television.  Yet, few of us know much about the nuts and bolts of actually preparing and running one not to mention whether it is something that makes sense for our products.  That is why I asked Robert Yusim, a 22 year veteran of the DRTV industry, to write a blog about it.

Rob began his career working directly with Raymond Kives one of the founders of K-Tel and Quality Dino Entertainment. In 2006 Rob crossed over into the toy category and started Spin Direct, Spin Master Ltd's DRTV division, with the launches of Rocket Fishing Rod, Moon Sand, Storm Launcher and Reflex Heli. Over the past 5 years Rob has launched or licensed over 100 toy product campaigns in the US, Canada and UK. In 2010 Rob launched Product Counsel to provide complete turnkey DRTV services to clients in the toy industry.  

 
Direct Response Television (DRTV) and infomercials have become a significant if not ubiquitous part of the media and consumer landscape in North America over the past 25 years. In the past, DRTV was often associated with cheap, problem solving products in the home, health and beauty, fitness and hardware categories. There had been practically no DRTV activity in the toy category.

That all change in 2006 with the launch of 5 toy DRTV campaigns -  Floam, Rocket Fishing Rod, Moon Sand, Storm Launcher and Reflex Heli. All were fantastic successes. But these products were not classic DR problem solving products... how could they be successful?

While Successful DRTV products are often problem solvers they are also innovations. Moon Sand, Rocket Fishing Rod, Storm Launcher and Reflex Heli all fell into the innovation category.  DRTV's longer format allowed for all the features and benefits of each product to be promoted. Floam had been around previously but its features and benefits had never been demonstrated and promoted.

While some have looked down at DRTV production values, we all now know that DRTV has been a tremendous success and a catalyst for growth at retail. So, why is it so successful? Let's consider 4 ideas:

1) Imagine media that allows one to buy a :120 format or :60 format, to tell a more complete story.

2) And... that longer format media is at rates significantly lower than traditional media rates?

Solution: Make it Easier to Buy Toys!

I used to go to Subway, but now that Jimmy John's is in the area, we just let them bring us our sandwiches, even if it is just one sandwich. They will deliver one sandwich? That’s nuts! But we order from them regularly, so maybe it is not so much nuts as it is genius.

Trillions of people, more or less, order apps for iPhones, iPads, and iDon’t know what elses. Here, with the touch of a finger, you get the product instantly delivered to you, and the charge shows up later on your bill. How easy is that? No typing in your credit card number, address, etc and laboriously et cetera. You just touch the screen, and you're done. The product is delivered instantaneously, and you never even have to pay for it, seemingly, as it shows up as part of another bill. How seductive! How does the toy industry compete with that?

Give Me A Reason Why: Game company social media folks listen up!

 

Recently I read an article called “Why I Don’t Like Your Brand on Facebook” by Brian Solis.  (If you want, you can read it HERE)  He started off the article with a rant from his boss who said; “This morning my yoghurt told me to find it on Facebook. It didn’t tell me why, it just told me to find it. Why on Earth would I want to find yoghurt on Facebook? It’s a yoghurt!”  How many times has that happened to you?  All sorts of products and companies I interact with in my daily life tell me to follow them on Twitter or like them on Facebook – laundry detergent, toothpaste, lip balm, clothing stores, restaurants, etc.  The point of Brian’s article was that no one tells you WHY to follow or like them.  He found this out by doing a weeklong experiment where he liked everything on Facebook that told him to, and out of the 46 brands he liked only 10 gave him a reason WHY. 

 

As a social media junkie of sorts, I was astounded. Less than 25% of the brands even tried to tell Brian why he should check out their page.  We’re far beyond the point of people needing to be informed that almost every brand, product and company has it’s own Facebook page and Twitter account – so why was their message lacking such an essential bit of information?  It’s a good question, and now I hope every reader out there is asking themselves, why should a random consumer, such as Brian, go to our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter?   

Create a Sound Basis for the Sale

 

Toy shoppers often are surrounded by sound. The happy laughter of children exploring the newest playthings and possibilities. The sound effects from toys and games that stimulate memories in the adult of childhood joys.

But sometimes the surround sound feels to the consumer more like an assault. Children crying and screaming when they can’t get what they want. Adults arguing with the kids. Repetitive sounds from the toys that would please only the type of shopper who’s a diehard fan of ice cream trucks.

And the toys can be alarmingly loud. A Hannah Montana in Concert doll was said to generate up to 103 decibels, while Tickle Me Elmo reached 100 decibels. That’s what you’d hear from the engine of a motorcycle or snowmobile.

All this auditory stimulation can aggravate emotions. Excessive noise leads us to tighten our muscles, and as research from National University of Singapore and University of Chicago confirms, tense muscles keep people from being sold what they’re not fully convinced they want. To facilitate the sale and soothe the savage shopper, introduce some silence. A little peace and quiet also soothes the harried salesperson.

Listening to Girls

 
 
 
One of the highlights of the recent Los Angeles Girls Toys & Media Conference was the presence of the girls from the prestigious Marlborough School.  The school, under the direction of artist in residence Joyce Dallal, engaged the students in an art project entitled, "The Other Toy Story."  The undertaking is “…a multi-faceted art project to investigate the impact and influence of toys on our social, psychological, and physical environment….”

In particular, the project wanted the students to consider their relationship with their dolls and toys after they had finished playing with them.  We were deeply intrigued by this project because it so clearly reflected our interest in how girls relate to toys and through them to those of us who make and market them.  Who else to help us better understand 21^st century girls and how they play then girls in their late teens that still have clear memories of their youth but now have the mature thought processes and clear articulation of a near adult.

One aspect of the project called upon the students to create artwork and videos reflecting their relationships with their toys.  It is fascinating, it is informative and it is a little haunting.   Take a couple of minutes to watch this short video, "Sophia: Kayla."  If you enjoy it, go the "Girls, Toys and Media: Video Pieces" website where you will find an additional 12 short videos.  Watch them all to get the full impact.

 

Fit for a Queen or a Doll

 
One thing about the Royal Wedding caught my attention—the dress. When I read the Telegraph’s description of the gown, “individual flowers…hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design,” I pictured Cinderella’s mice and bird friends merrily sewing the extravagant gown. I also visited exhibit cases in The Strong’s National Museum of Play to say cheerio to the royal bride dolls.

Designer Norman Hartnell fashioned Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress with a sweetheart neckline and a skirt embroidered with 10,000 seed-pearls and thousands of white beads. Following the wedding, Queen Elizabeth kept Hartnell as her main designer and soon younger generations sought his fashions. These youngsters weren’t the only ones with a flair for royal fashion. Doll maker Dorothy Heizer stitched a stunning replica of the bride’s gown for her Princess Elizabeth doll. Heizer hand-stitched the dress of white satin and adorned it with 45,000 tiny seed pearls, rhinestones, and pearl-colored beads. When Heizer completed the doll she sold it to Mary E. Lewis, the first president of the United Federation of Doll Club. Lewis wanted one more accessory to complete the doll’s outfit—she commissioned W. Waters Schwab of the E.J. Scheer Inc. jewelers to replicate the Queen’s engagement ring. Any fashionista will tell you that when it comes to wedding attire no expenses spared.

More than 30 years later, Queen Elizabeth’s son wed one of the most stunning brides in history, Lady Diana Spencer. Her wedding dress designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel recalled the momentous occasion in a 2006 CBS story. The Emanuels code-named their new client “Deborah” and employed two guards to keep the design private from the paparazzi and fans waiting outside their studio’s windows. The pair found inspiration in Diana’s presence and in St. Paul’s Cathedral (the scale influenced the 25-foot long train). Shortly after the public gawked at the bride as she walked the red carpet (I mean, aisle), Danbury Mint issued The Princess Diana Bride Doll. The order form says the doll captures Diana’s “captivating smile, her special poise, and endearing grace.” Seamstresses’ hand-stitched sequins and pearl-like beads on the doll’s dress of taffeta and embroidered lace. Like the Princess Elizabeth doll, the Princess Diana Bride Doll also sparkles with real diamonds on her tiara and earrings.  

Springing Into Summer Fun

  

 

 

 

      Seeing seas of laughing children blowing bubbles, tossing around a ball, jumping rope, playing games, riding bikes and generally enjoying all the wonderful spoils of summer always makes me smile.

      Toymakers can take credit for much of this fun and excitement as they continue to develop cool new toys to help kids survive and truly enjoy the dog days of summer.

      In fact, 15% of toy sales are typically rung up between now and back-to-school and account for $3B in sales, according to Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of TimetoPlayMag.com who sponsored the recently held Time to Play Spring Showcase.

      Trends were everywhere with outdoor, indoor, movie and fun in the sun toys the themes sprinkled throughout the event.

      Companies such as Growums (with a cool online component) and Peachtree Playthings (via a Miracle-Gro Kids license) created gardening kits that inspire kids' to become one with the soil. Interestingly, 98% of kids who grow their own vegetables eat them, according to the American Gardening Association.

      Outdoor toys were abundant with Maui Toys showing off its new Sky Ball products, while Little Kids spread the word about the Blastos! Mini Bubble Blaster, motorized bubble blowers filled with premium solution that makes bigger, stronger bubbles. Zing had an exciting selection of action toys including its Zing-Shot Launcher, a soft foam ball slingshot that launches over 45 feet and Zip-Bak Bow, a soft foam arrow which can be shot over 95 feet; and PrimeTime Toys made a splash with great water/pool toys including a Splash Disc, Splash Golf and Super Splash Bombs Launcher.

      Kids on the go will certainly enjoy Razor's new Graffiti Scooter (equipped with chalk) and E Spark (what kid wouldn't love sparks as they ride?).

      Raining outside? If families can't make it to the theatre to watch a movie, kids can certainly hang out with their favorite characters from this summer's hot movies.

      Hasbro touted a range of role play and action figures for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon;" "Captain America" and "Thor," while Disney Consumer Products drove interest for "Cars 2" with a broad range of toys, including its first wood line developed in-house by Toys "R" Us. Spin Master, too, had a selection of vehicles, figures and playsets since acquiring the rights to create all toys for ages 4+.

Blah! trumps “WOW!”; why the court of public opinion is now more powerful than advertising

 
 At the just completed PlayCon, I was privileged to hear Michael Cohen speak.  Michael’s company, the aptly named Michael Cohen Group, is a research organization where, as their website puts it “…expertise in research, evaluation, learning, child development, media, marketing and strategic communications all converge.”

Michael made a profound impact on me and I believe many in the room when he shared with us his proprietary survey that fully 25% of all toys purchased are either never taken out of the package and if taken out are only played with once.  Michael stated that this was the highest rate of non-use he had seen in any product category. 

That figure may or may not startle you.  After all, a great deal of our industry’s marketing efforts goes into creating the “WOW!” factor on the shelf but not necessarily on the aftermarket experience. 

Any of us who have fallen for a great TV campaign knows what it is like to get the product home and instead find it to be more BLAH!  than “WOW!”  That is something the consumer has always lived with…until now.  

BBC Radio: "Fighting the Power of Pink"

 
 
I had the privilege of being quoted in a BBC radio show called "Fighting the Power of Pink."  Here is how the BBC describes the piece:

Any parents of a little girl will tell you that they are strangely drawn to the color pink. But is it in their genes or is it all down to culture? Kat Arney investigates, talking to parents, scientists, and the toy industry. She discovers that while women are more drawn than men to reddish shades of blue, boys and girls don't seem to develop different preferences until they are over the age of two. But long before then, they have very different preferences for toys. So maybe we all just like different colours because we like the things that come in those colours. Or maybe women really do prefer pink because in the distant past they needed to be able to see red berries against green leaves, while men needed to see brown bison against a blue sky?

It will only be available for 6 days so give it a listen.  It's worth your time.  Click here to hear it.

Wal-Mart in Decline; changes in the rules of executive compensation

 
 
Wal-Mart is a company in decline.  What I find particularly ominous, and a clear sign of what in a civilization would be called decadence, is a New York Times report that Wal-Mart will no longer base senior executive compensation on same store sales (how a store that has been in existence for at one year did compared to the previous year).  Rather they will be basing it on total chain sales. 

That means that as long as Wal-Mart keeps adding new stores top management will make bonuses.  Good for Wal-Mart senior executives; not so good for shareholders and lower level employees. 

Obviously, the best measure of competence is the same store sales measure.  It shows how the company is doing in creating an ever improving sales environment, creating product mixes that draw shoppers and in general maintaining its brand image with the consumer.

To my mind, Wal-Mart’s board is now rigging the game so its top management will get big payouts.  They are, in essence, accepting that they can no longer, at least in the near term, drive higher same store sales.

When an organization becomes unmoored from its most foundational principals (and principals of good business for that matter) that company is in decline.  No, Wal-Mart is not going to turn belly up any time soon.  I do believe, however, that this decision will mark an historic turning point as Wal-Mart goes from being a super merchant to just another retailer. 

A report from PlayCon 2011

 
 
 
I have not been able to blog as frequently this week because I have been here in Scottsdale Arizona for the 2011 PlayCon.  It has been a great week offering the moonscape beauty of Arizona's red rocks and the warmth of a toy industry crowd that is relaxed and happy.  I have been coming to this event for more years than I can remember and this is, if not the best PlayCon, certainly one of the best.

There are about 130 people in attendance and, though that is a nice crowd, I am always surprised that there are not more of us in attendance.  After all, this is probably the best networking event in the toy industry.  The industry's leaders are here, they are relaxed and they are ready to talk.  In addition, the sessions run from the inspirational to the practical.  I have been particulalry impressed with the breakout sessions that have provided invaluable information.  Yesterday I heard excellent discussions on: The current situation in China as well as on other parts of the world providing OEM manufacturing to the toy industry; how to sell toys in other countries and invaluable data on 2010 industry sales provided by NPD. 

Bikini Beaches and Toy Invention

 

What Marvin Glass was in Chicago, Larry Jones was in California, but with better weather, a Porsche, cutoffs and a t-shirt. His offices were on the beach with girls in bikinis, picnic lunches, turtle races, crazy  inventor presentations and much more. He and his partners formed California R&D Center on April Fool's Day in 1969 and Larry took over running it in 1972. They announced their entry into the toy business with a Playthings ad with them seated on toilets on the edge of the beach with the line “Getting Our Heads Together”.  The company was always unusual and their by-line was “anything is possible”.  I asked Larry if he would share one of his G-rated stories with us.

Larry: “There may be a few of you out there that remember how the toy invention business was a half a century ago … things were really different and I decided to open a toy invention company to sell ideas to toy companies.  Take a minute to focus on what this business was like in the late 60’s.  The Glass group was it … well maybe a handful of others including Eddie Goldfarb, but suffice it to say, the field was wide open and no one had experience selling concepts to toy companies and conversely, toy companies had no experience in buying outside ideas.

While there are a million stories, I do remember one that was as funny as it was entertaining.  California R&D Center, my new company, had just opened its doors and I thought I would try to get Wham-O to see me, but I needed a way to get in to see Spud Melin, their President and not the submission secretary.  I was convinced that a creative idea would set me up to be always welcome in the future.

The Smell of Money

 
The right fragrance associated with your toy store or toy department can cause more people to make purchases and can build the brand identity of your store or department. Of all our ways of sensing the world, smell is the one connected most directly to the brain, and the part of the brain it’s connected to—the amygdala—handles the emotional aspects associated with buying decisions. As a result, smell has a compelling subconscious influence.

Based on their findings, researchers at Concordia University point out how smells affect our product attitudes and purchase intentions. Smell and music can work together to pace the shopper: Grapefruit and fast-tempo music get the consumer to move more quickly through the merchandise, while lavender and slow-tempo music get people to linger longer. Any sort of distinctive odor—including smells the person finds to be unpleasant—will strengthen memories of the visit to store.

Now don't get me wrong. Smell's not enough to close the sale all by itself. Even the best perfume has to be backed up with the goods in order to move a relationship forward. But smell does set the groundwork. And it’s not only with smells we think of as alluring. For instance, researchers find that sales of cleaning products go up significantly when a faint fragrance of Formula 409 wafts through the area.

Problems with China’s trucking industry; what it means for the toy industry

 
 
Due to Chinese government policy, changes in migration within the country and the increase in high value consumer product production along the coast, the toy industry is slowly being forced inland.  The further from the coast the more you need trucks to get toys to the ports of embarkation. 

That is where the trouble starts because, according to a New York Times article:  “China’s Exports Perch on Uncertain Truck System,” “…as vital as trucking is to China’s mighty export machine, the government seems to be ignoring the drawbacks of what analysts say is an increasingly disorganized, inefficient and even costly way to transport factory goods to seaports….There are literally thousands of small independently owned trucking companies that compete with each through low prices that do not allow them to make money unless they overload their trucks.  The rising cost of oil plus the bribes needed to pass inspections are forcing many into bankruptcy.

This was a non-issue for the toy industry as production has historically taken place near ports of embarkation.  Now, however, the problems with the Chinese transportation system are our problems.