The toy industry has changed drastically in the past 10 years. Faced with an ever more insatiable appetite for digital entertainment, toy brands have been forced to introduce increasingly creative digital content, marketing and PR campaigns in order to capture the imagination of children and become the seasons next must-have toy.
Traditional media such as print editorial and TV advertising have become gradually less effective in engaging children. TV viewing figures continue to fall in favour of on-demand platforms such as YouTube and Netflix – who last week announced they had hit an extraordinary 104 million subscribers worldwide. According to TGI data released earlier this year, 90% of children aged 7 – 12 years old now watch videos online, with 85% of boys and 82% of girls using YouTube.
So, what does this mean for Toy PR?
In the world of PR content is unmistakably king, and never more so than in the age of the YouTube Generation. Ensuring a wealth of digital content by working with popular, and relevant, bloggers and YouTubers is essential to drive brand engagement and ultimately generate the next big toy craze.
Our client portfolio includes some of the most exciting and innovative toy brands in the world – including best-selling collectable brands L.O.L Surprise and Num Noms, and the number one S.T.E.A.M franchise for girls – Project Mc2, all from MGA Entertainment, and the UK’s number one and two selling doll brands Baby Annabell and BABY born from Zapf Creation.
This Autumn will see us launching new digital influencer campaigns across our toy portfolio, working with an exciting mix of some of the biggest names in YouTube unboxing and industry leading parenting channels. With a winning array of products to choose from we cannot wait to create digital content guaranteed to capture the imagination of the children and parents throughout the UK.
For more information on our toy clients and this Autumn’s new products, please email rebecca.newman@carouselpr.com
