Sedentary isn’t a word toy manufacturers today find synonymous with most children, no matter what their age. In fact, getting kids off the couch and in motion and keeping little minds active are among this year’s hottest trends for toy manufacturers on display at Toy Fair in February. Following close behind are role-play, learning, technological gizmos, and, of course, down right fun.
Take Playskool’s ION Educational Gaming System, which puts children live on TV using patented technology to capture their image on screen and place them “in” the game. Players move their arms and legs to navigate through the game. ION targets three- to seven-year-olds and enhances kids’ spelling, math, science and reading skills.
In ION’s Willie Whale Tales game children “pop” bubbles containing letters to correctly spell a word. Playskool plans to release the ION system in October for $119.99.
“The ION Educational Gaming System gets kids off their seats and thinking on their feet,” says Jeff Jackson, VP-marketing for Playskool’s Big Kids division. “That’s significant for two reasons. For one, moms tell us that it’s becoming increasingly more important for their kids to get up and get active. And two, kids learn more effectively when they can use multiple senses and engage their entire bodies. With ION, kids see, hear and move, making for more playful and effective learning.”
Likewise, Thinkway Toys lets kids become a part of crime fighting action with its Motion Activated Gear, or MAG, a wireless role-play game. Based on DC Comics’ properties Teen Titans and Warner Bros. Animation’s TV series, The Batman, kids can kick, jump, punch, block and move around as Batman on screen.
The plug-and-play system lets kids ages five to eight act out scenes using the Batman cowl, chest plate and gloves. The MAG Batman game will retail for $39.99 and appear on store shelves this fall.
“It’s all about the kids being able to hop off the couch and play physical games on the TV,” says Kelly Gilmore, senior VP-Global Toys and Themed Entertainment, Warner Bros. Consumer Products. “While its okay to play video games, we need to mix it up a bit.”
MGA Entertainment is keeping kids’ bodies active with its Bratz Sportz Tennis Play TV Game, a plug and play video game that ties in to the Bratz line (see related story on p. 7). The game keeps kids swinging, and the harder the swing, the greater the score. The video game, which comes complete with a tennis racket, will retail for $24.99 and hit stores this fall.
“Toy manufacturers have really risen to the challenge by placing a renewed focus on properties that really gets kids up and moving,” says Reyne Rice, a toy trends specialist for the Toy Industry Association. Studies show “if a child learns early in life to do exercise and incorporate it as part of their lifestyle, they will more likely continue that throughout their life,” she adds.
Keeping minds busy
Manufacturers are also responding to parents’ requests for toys that keep kids’ brains buzzing. Klutz plans to launch a new line of play-based learning books, Chicken Socks, next month targeting four- to six-year-olds.
Klutz’s Amazing Lacing book lets kids practice their shoe lacing skills using colorful laces and fun characters. The Chicken Socks line, which will debut with eight titles, also includes the Totally Tape Book, a book filled with pages asking to be taped. Kids can wrap a mummy, frame a picture or build train tracks with paper tape included in the package. Both books retail for $9.95.
“Parent recognize that hands-on activity teaches kids great skills,” says Kathleen Watson, VP-marketing, Klutz. “We try to balance the educational aspects with…pure fun. Through the hands-on experience, the kids are learning something.”
Role-play has a greater presence in the toy industry for kids who want to be like Mom and Dad. Oregon Scientific, Inc. is launching the Batman laptop, which includes 26 activities that engage kids in math, grammar, memory, logic, spelling and music. The laptop, which hits retail markets this summer, will sell for $49.99.
Also this year, manufacturers are tapping into some nostalgia, integrating technology into some old favorites.
“Innovation and technology provides manufacturers with new and exciting ways to bring their products to life,” Warner Bros. Gilmore says. “Continuous improvements in technology mean that even the smallest toy can have compelling lights and sounds at a low price point.”
Ohio Art is touting an interactive angle to its staple Etch A Sketch. This fall, the company plans to release a battery-operated version of the toy — Etch A Sketch Wired — that can be plugged into a television and viewed on screen. The toy, which will include drawing tools and traceable components, will sell for $19.99.
Even the beloved Furby has a technological twist. Hasbro, Inc. rejuvenated the talking creature which debuted in the late 1990s. The latest version, which combines puppetry and robotics to offer a more lifelike feel, gives the toy advanced voice recognition, greater game playing capabilities, and technology to “listen” and respond to its owner based on its own “mood.” The updated Furby will sell for $39.99 and hits retail shelves this fall.
Consumers looking for interactive elements in traditional board games don’t have to look further than their DVD players. Barrie, Ontario-based Specialty Board Games is adding DVD playing elements to board games with the likes of NASCAR and World Wrestling Entertainment.
Mark Sutcliffe, founder of Specialty Board Games, says his company wants to bring consumers’ board game experience to a “new level” with DVD technology.
“People these days expect to be entertained,” Sutcliffe says. “People like to see the motion on the screen and interact with their television.”
The two new DVD board games will launch in late summer or early fall and retail for $25 to $30.
Likewise, competitor Hasbro Games is returning to the mix with two new versions of its Shout brand — Shout about Music and Shout about TV. Hasbro games entered the DVD gaming market in 2003 with its trivial pursuit popular culture DVD. The new games, which retail for $19.99, will be in stores this summer.
“DVD allows the experience to become more enhanced,” Matt Collins, VP-marketing, Hasbro Games, says. “You are seeing and connecting. DVD games, if done and developed and marketed correctly… can actually enhance the social process.”
No matter how much technology plays a role in gaming today, experts say toys and games must include key elements — fun and excitement.
“Despite the huge impact that technology has had on the industry, no toy, electronic or not, can succeed without the basic principles that it should be fun and engaging for the child,” Gilmore says.
In February, the American International Toy Fair gave marketers a sneak peak of what’s to come from Toy Land. More than 1,300 companies displayed their goods at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. In addition, 229 companies showed new products in New York City’s Toy District.
NEW OPPS
Presented by
Film
THE SHAGGY DOG
March 2006,Walt Disney Pictures
Tim Allen headlines the return of the Disney comedy classic The Shaggy Dog. He plays a family man who, through a magic spell, changes back and forth between human and sheepdog at the most inopportune times.
Home Entertainment
BEAUTY SHOP DVD
Late summer/early fall 2005, MGM Home Entertainment
Starring Queen Latifah, Beauty Shop proves you can’t keep a good woman down…and you can’t keep a shopful of outrageous women from speaking their minds. Also stars Kevin Bacon, Alicia Silverstone, Mena Suvari and Djimon Hounsou.
TV
TBS COMEDY ARTS FESTIVAL’S “FILM HONORS”
November 2005, TBS
Live from Las Vegas, this event celebrates the best of the year in comedic film, featuring the biggest stars and hottest young talent.
Music
ALY & A.J. — “TITLE TBD”
August 2005, Hollywood Records
This teen sister duo releases their debut album on the heels of Radio Disney’s #1 song (‘Do You Believe in Magic’). Hear their latest single in the new movie Ice Princess.
Content from The L.A. Office; visit laoffice.com for more information.
Executive Q&A
Brad Globe (top) was appointed executive VP and general manager for Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products effective Feb. 7. Globe is formerly of DreamWorks, where he headed the global consumer products business. In his new role, Globe oversees the day-to-day operations of Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ global business. In July 2006, he will take over as president, succeeding Dan Romanelli (bottom), who will step down to take a creative entrepreneurial role within the company. PROMO spoke with both men about their perspectives on licensing entertainment properties.
PROMO: How has the role of licensing evolved during your time with the company?
Romanelli: Twenty-two years ago when I started, it was a very ancillary business. Nobody knew what I was doing, including myself. Now, it has become much more of a core business. It evolved much more into a strategic business profitable business. We’ve come a long way, baby.
PROMO: What are some of the key licensing trends you expect over the next two years?
Romanelli: Superheroes [are] clearly a significant trend for us. We are blessed with an amazing library of characters between Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes. The characters we have are amazing and very rich properties. This year is a huge year for Batman and next year for Superman. We think we are going to have a few great years ahead of us with superheroes.
Globe: There are so many opportunities with our library. It really allows us to do some unique things with retailers, which is hard to do with a traditional movie studio with one property. We are seeing in recent years kids [move away from] their toys and more into electronic video games. You are seeing more integration of technology into toys. [With technological advances] we can do more than we could four or five years ago.
PROMO: What are your goals and new initiatives for Warner Bros.?
Globe: Our world of licensing retailers has been undergoing encouraging changes in the last five, six years. That changes the nature of what we need to do and how we need to respond. The key … will involve innovation being very creative, being able to work as a partner. The closeness with which we work with our licensees will resemble much more of a true partnership.
It’s not about taking a movie and licensing it to make money. It’s about taking a branded character and figuring out…the right niche programs. We’ve been doing it, but we are going to do even more of it.
Network
