Fisher-Price is 75 years strong and is celebrating its milestone with a 12-city tour and mobile playpen. The tour, which kicked off in March, commemorates the company’s diamond anniversary with traveling play areas for children and parents.
“It’s all about having parents remember when they relished that magic of childhood and bringing that essence to a hands-on experience,” said Brenda Andolina, senior brand development manager for Fisher-Price. “It helps parents remember how special the Fisher-Price experience was for them and how meaningful it still is for their children.”
The Fisher-Price 75th Celebration Tour will feature two 60′ x 60′ traveling play areas, called Play Pen and Sports Town. The Play Pen includes a creativity area filled with Doodle Pro and Pixter toys and a playroom that resembles a real-life kitchen for role-playing. Sports Town will feature battery-powered Power Wheels vehicles on test tracks for toddlers and preschoolers. In addition, the play area will include basketball units set at varying heights for older children to practice free throws.
“It’s a really nice cross representation of our brand,” Andolina said. “We start with the infant experience and go to the bigger kid experience. Even children up to 8-years-old can have a great experience in our [play] area.”
As part of the fun, photographers will roam the area to take pictures of children with life-size Little People and Rescue Heroes characters. In addition, children will receive a free Polaroid picture in a souvenir photo sleeve. Polaroid is co-sponsoring the photographing event.
To further commemorate the company’s milestone, the tour will include a Fisher-Price 75th Birthday Exhibit, which will feature a timeline with stories and images of popular toys spanning seven decades. Fisher-Price is a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.
As part of the tour, Fisher-Price is offering a sweepstakes for parents to win a $200 gift certificate to shop for Fisher Price toys. Visitors can fill out an entry form at each tour site. Winners will be selected in a random drawing and will be notified by phone. Fisher-Price will select 12 winners—one from each tour city—in all.
The celebration tour is an extension of a previous experiential marketing campaign the company initiated in 2004 targeting Hispanic festivals, Andolina said. The tour will stop at major festivals including Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles on May 1, the Puerto Rican Festival in New York City on June 11, the Taste of Chicago June 24-July 4, The Ohio State Fair Aug. 6-14 and The Big E Sept. 21-30 in Springfield, MA.
The tour runs through October and concludes at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas. Print ads, Internet materials, p.r. and TV spots support. San Antonio-based Market Vision handles.
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