From G.I. Joe to General Grievous

You want to sell a Mr. Potato Head or a Star Wars toy to a kid? Buy an ad on Cartoon Network, or an ad in any mainstream magazine targeting the little nippers.

But if you want to sell a Star Wars action figure to a serious (and likely adult) toy collector, that’s a different—and more complicated—story, says Ed Kriete, senior vice president of marketing services, Hasbro.

The biggest challenge in targeting collectors is reaching them cost effectively, he says.

“They’ve got to identify themselves to you. With kids we know, ‘okay, kids age 6 to 11 or 12-plus are going to be watching TV or going to a certain Web site or listening to a radio station’. You can target those,” notes Kriete. “But because collectors are such a specific target, you can’t reach them by traditional means. It’s more of a relationship marketing effort that we have to engage in.”

Of course, there are aspects of targeting collectors that are easier than kids.

“With collectors you don’t have to so much sell them on the concept of the brand. They’re obviously very knowledgeable about that,” he says. “What’s more important is telling them what’s new and upcoming, giving them special information on the product or back stories on the ideas. Whereas kids might be first time users of the product, so you have to give them more information on the overall concept.”

Much of Pawtucket, RI-based Hasbro’s collector-focused efforts center on things like working with fan clubs, maintaining Web sites and keeping a presence conventions, where the company has the chance to get a depth of information to fans

“Collectors are special folks,” says Kriete. “They’re more focused on the detail and accuracy (of a toy), whether it’s a Star Wars character or a G.I. Joe figure or whatever. The mass marketing types of approaches for kids or first time purchasers or light users can not address the specific detail information the collectors want.”

At one point, the company did operate a site called HasbroCollectors.com, but ultimately it found that brand specific sites were the way to go.

“What we found was that we really didn’t have a ‘Hasbro’ collector but rather Star Wars collectors or G.I. Joe collectors,” he says. (It should be noted though that there must be a bit of collector crossover, since “Darth Tater,” a special edition “dark side” Mr. Potato Head has been quite popular.)

To reach fans, Hasbro maintains specific sites for many of its brands, including Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Monopoly and Scrabble. And don’t be surprised if a Marvel Comics Hasbro toy site pops up in time for the release of “Spider-Man 3,” since Hasbro has that license starting next year.

Hasbro occasionally creates exclusive figures for collectors that are sold at fan conventions, and the toy maker also does surveys at cons to gauge how they’re doing with these very demanding audiences.

“Collectors don’t hesitate to give us feedback,” he says, “and that’s great.”

Does Kriete himself have a an obsession? Up until he went to college, he collected baseball cards and now has an interest in sports memorabilia. We asked if he had a favorite team.

“Well, now that I live in New England, I’m a Boston Red Sox Fan,” he laughs. “But I grew up on Long Island, so I was a rabid Yankees fan. I’m very careful about admitting that in my current environment.”