Online Toy Shopping Painful in Canada

Yesterday, I set out to buy gifts for my niece and nephew.  I spent almost two painful hours in front of my computer and was appalled by how awful it is to buy toys online in Canada.  With poor selection, high shipping charges, and broken websites, the whole experience was miserable.

My niece and nephew live in Whistler, British Columbia, which is a small city and considered "rural" (meaning "expensive") by many delivery services, including Canada Post.

I was looking for an Activity Toy for my niece and a Toolbox for my nephew.

Toys "R" Us
I started at toysrus.ca, looking for Lite Brite, a Hasbro classic that I had as a child.  They had refills but did not have the basic toy available.  Eventually, I selected another activity toy and a Toolbox, only to learn that shipping on a $14.99 Toolbox was $22.52.

toysrus.ca

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Chapters/Indigo
Frustrated, I went to chapters.ca (aka Indigo).  Using the advanced search tool on their website, I searched for an "Activity Toy" for "6-8 Year Old Kids".  While my years in the toy industry make me more knowledgeable and pickier about product categories than the average consumer, it was disheartening to see items like "Baby's First Blocks", Beyblade, and Nerf Supersoaker are listed as "Activity Toys" for "6-8 Year Old Kids".

chapters.indigo.ca

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I browsed through dozens of pages, eventually finding an Activity Toy suitable for my niece and a Toolbox for my nephew.  Shipping from Chapters/Indigo was free because my order was over $25.00, and I did a Google search for coupons to get an additional $5.00 discount.

While the experience was painful, I was satisfied with my purchase.

Walmart and Amazon
As I started this blog post, I thought to check out walmart.ca.  They do sell toys online and appear to have reasonable shipping charges, though I didn't complete an order to be sure.  It's unfortunate that amazon.ca doesn't carry toys, as amazon.com is a great place for US consumers to buy toys.

Hopefully, Canadian online retailers will get their act together to enhance the toy buying experience for consumers.  For the first time in many years, I even paid retail for toys, but reminisce fondly about having easy access to "the employee store".

And I hope the kids like the toys!

Safe Toys - Easier When You Own the Lab

Beyond my work in marketing, licensing,and product development in toys for kids, I have spent a great deal of time working on toys for dogs during the last few years.  This ad, which I found in a consumer publication for dog owners, raised a perplexing question.

How could it be cost effective for a specialty pet toy company to put all their items through the rigorous testing that's required of children's toys?  Smaller toy companies often struggle to cost effectively test their products for small parts, heavy metals, and phtalates, and the tests are required by many governments as well as large retailers.

After doing a little digging on Google and LinkedIn, I learned that the owners of the pet toy company are in the product testing business.  Unlike Mattel, a toy manufacturing company that tests its own toys, this seems to be the case of a toy testing company that's gone into manufacturing, a great  way to vertically integrate and grow a business.

For Safe Made Pet Products, it's a clever and unique position in a crowded marketplace.  In the pet toy business, just like in kids' toys, product is king, and while I've only seen Safe Made's toys on their website, they do appear to be pretty good products.

Unfortunately, Legal

My new Microsoft brand keyboard comes with a 60 page booklet. The entire booklet has been created to protect Microsoft from lawsuits in the event the keyboard malfunctions.

The keyboard cost $14.99 (+ 40¢ government electronics recycling fee).

The booklet, complete with "Terms and Conditions" doesn't explain the features of the keyboard, but I guess they're self-explanatory.

Working with some of the world's largest and most successful toy companies, we always had to concern ourselves with the ramifications of product malfunctions. Instead of creating a 60 page manual for a simple product, though, we tended to focus on making products that were genuinely safe and worked properly.

Just saying.

Hot Wheels Stunt Impresses

Kudos to Mattel for pulling off an amazing stunt as part of a successfully repositioned Hot Wheels brand. On Sunday, May 29, as part of "IZOD Presents Hot Wheels Fearless at the 500™," Team Hot Wheels™ Yellow Driver Tanner Foust successfully landed a ramp-to-ramp distance jump of 332 feet. Foust, a three-time X Games gold medalist and professional stunt driver smashed the previous world record by an impressive 31 feet at the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

"Fans witnessed not only a record-breaking jump today, but also an incredible childhood fantasy come to life which engaged multiple generations," said Simon Waldron, vice president of marketing for Hot Wheels®. "Hot Wheels has a deep and rich history in racing that spans over 40 years and there was no better global stage than the Indy 500 to create this once-in-a-lifetime experience."

AdWeek talks here about the marketing behind the move and shows the very cool commercial:

I remember a time when Hot Wheels was struggling as the #2 mini vehicle brand in the US and the #3 brand in Canada. I was proud to play a small part in the repositioning of the brand that led to its eventual return to the top spot.

Somebody Lives in My Office

I recently stumbled upon a website called Toronto Standard that did a nice feature on the toy industry in Toronto. I'm fortunate to have worked with all the Toronto companies mentioned in the article, including Irwin Toy, whose old building is now called The Toy Factory Lofts. I wonder who lives in my third floor office.

If you'd like to know more about Toronto's thriving toy industry, read the pleasant and informative article here.

Sophie the Giraffe - Slow but Steady Penetration of Retail Channels

When I wrote about Sophie the Giraffe (or Sophie la Girafe) in June, I knew that the toy was popular in North America, but this Slate article elaborates with even more information. If there's anything you want to know about Sophie, it's covered in the Slate article.

The giraffe's online popularity ensures it won't go extinct any time soon. Just as an article's presence on the New York Times' most-read list ensures that still more people will read it, Sophie's Amazon ranking is self-perpetuating—since everyone's drawn to the No. 1 product, items at the top of online lists tend to stay at the top. The giraffe is also easier to find than ever in the offline world. Along with the boutiques that made her famous, you can now get Sophie at megastores like Babies R Us and Pottery Barn Kids.

The article provides an interesting look at the growth of Sophie's popularity and its expansion in traditional and non-traditional toy channels.

Toy Tuesday: Thunderbirds are Go!

This intro to the 1960s TV series Thunderbirds brings back fond memories from my childhood as well as my career in the toy industry.

I stumbled upon this article from io9.com, and it looks like Thunderbirds are coming back.

A fansite for Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson (titled Fanderson) is reporting that on the BBC Radio 5Live show creator Anderson confirmed that he has finalized a deal to make new Thunderbirds series.

All Anderson could say about the project is this, "I don't want to sound conceited, but because I'm going to make it... I'm confident that it will be a smash hit!" Which is understandable, since he has signed a confidentiality agreement with the BBC. BUT - the big question still hasn't been answered. Will there be puppets? And will the world embrace puppet theater once again? The people making the Muppet movie are certainly banking on the world's nostalgia for puppets, but Thunderbirds had a very different look. Our guess is the whole thing will be CG, which would be sad, hopefully it won't go that route.

Thunderbirds follows an International Rescue team who traveled the world in their various boats, submaries, spaceships, and planes righting the wrongs and saving the day. They were like team James Bond for kids.

In the mid 1990s at Tyco Toys, we had great success with Thunderbirds toys under the Matchbox brand in the UK and Canada, though we didn't get much traction in the US. Ten years later, Thunderbirds toys were back in Canada when I was working as Marketing Director at Irwin Toy. With (desperately needed) new entertainment coming, let's hope those working on the new Thunderbirds capitalize on all the cool technology that will bring the brand amazing special effects and lots of media formats.

Could whatever new bells and whistles are brought by today's technology be cooler than the original "Supermarionation"?

To a new generation of kids, "Thunderbirds are Go!"

Toy Tuesday: Do we need a "movement" to get kids to play?

A recent headline in the New York Times reading "The Movement to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum" piqued my curiosity and raises some interesting questions. Having spent two decades creating entertainment and "low tech" toys for kids, I was a little taken aback by the article, which states:

For several years, studies and statistics have been mounting that suggest the culture of play in the United States is vanishing. Children spend far too much time in front of a screen, educators and parents lament — 7 hours 38 minutes a day on average, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation last year. And only one in five children live within walking distance (a half-mile) of a park or playground, according to a 2010 report by the federal Centers for Disease Control, making them even less inclined to frolic outdoors.

Behind the numbers is adult behavior as well as children’s: Parents furiously tapping on their BlackBerrys in the living room, too stressed by work demands to tolerate noisy games in the background.

I was particularly surprised to learn that some elementary schools don't have recess because of safety concerns.

The article outlines many initiatives in both the US and Canada to promote imaginative play and to "teach children to play". While I applaud these programs, it's a little disconcerting that they're necessary at all. My experience in the toy industry says that kids will happily partake in "imaginative play" as long as the industry continues to do a good job of providing imaginatiave toys. I've always believed that parents are responsible for deciding how/when/with whom their children should play, and I suppose that these initiatives support parents who are otherwise unable to make it happen.

Toy Tuesday: GENERATIONS

It's been almost a year since I started this "Playful Disposition" blog, and on average, have posted about one item every week. I've focused on things that I think are interesting, or areas where I have a strong point of view. I hope you have enjoyed it.

Looking back, I'm struck by how our experiences give perspective to everything we do. These days, I'm often coming across people working in the industry (toys and kids' entertainment) who played with the toys that I developed, and realize that I have spent a whole generation in the industry.

The industry has changed dramatically since I first started, with most of the changes in the industry (and society) driven by technological advances. I'm looking forward to whatever the next generation is working on for 2011 and beyond.

Happy New Year!

Toy Tuesday: Which brand is most valuable?

I'm posting this entry from Los Angeles, home of the recent LA Auto Show, where this photo was taken featuring the Hot Wheels logo behind a Chevrolet Camaro. When I was responsible for marketing toy vehicle brands (Hot Wheels at Mattel, Matchbox at Tyco), we relied on the cachet of the Chevrolet Camaro brand to sell our mini vehicles. It looks like the tables have turned, with General Motors now relying on the Hot Wheels toy brand to sell their real cars.

Toy Tuesday: Taxpayer subsidized toy testing?

A little background

Shortly after started my first job with a big toy company at a big toy company (over 20 years ago), we received requests for samples from The Canadian Toy Testing Council. The Council had already been around for many years, and had a history of issuing toy reviews that were often highly critical of mass market and TV promoted toys. My boss was unequivocal in rejecting their request, and told me that they were just a bunch of Ottawa-based moms who lacked the qualifications to effectively evaluate and report on toys.

A year later at the same toy company, the Council called one of our dolls the worst toy of year. I remember the president of the company jumping for joy and accurately predicting that the doll would become the year’s hottest item in Canada. The doll had truly innovative features, a compelling play pattern, and aggressive TV advertising. On top of that, it was featured as the lead toy story on every news program in the country, and typified the expression “all publicity is good publicity”.

As a couple more years passed and management changed at the toy company. It was decided that we should cooperate with the Canadian Toy Testing Council rather than view them as the enemy. We spent a lot of time escorting them through Toy Fairs in Toronto and New York, but there really wasn’t any impact on the reviews our toys received.

It’s different today

20 years ago, there were few sources of product reviews available to consumers beyond the Toy Report issued by the Council. There was no internet, so there was no amazon.com, no toysrus.com, and no mommy bloggers. Today, obviously, things are much different, yet The Canadian Toy Testing Council persists.

And now...supported by our taxes

The Ottawa Citizen reports that the Council has received a grant this year from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, a taxpayer-funded organization whose mission is to build “healthy and vibrant communities throughout Ontario by strengthening the capacity of the voluntary sector, through investments in community-based initiatives.”

The Council issued its annual Toy Report last week, with a list of “Best Bets” that includes a variety of mass market and specialty toys. While I respect the motivation of The Canadian Toy Testing Council, I do question whether it’s necessary or meaningful, and firmly believe that our tax dollars are better spent elsewhere.

Toy Tuesday: Is Nukotoys the next wave in gaming?

Players in the colliding worlds of kids’ products and entertainment seem to be constantly finding new ways to enhance kids’ interaction with brands, leading to the emergence of completely new play patterns. An interesting example is that of Nukotoys, a startup company that’s trying to apply “Silicon Valley models” to its business with rapid prototyping, interactive technology, nimbleness, financial efficiency, and scalability.

The company is planning to make game cards with embedded chips, containing skills or tools that help players with their game. It’s an excellent integration of the play patterns that we see in both computer games and in trading card games. The social media like integration adds another dimension to the play pattern.

In games from Nukotoys, special trading cards will give kids additional powers or skills that they will be able to utilize in-world, as well as trade those cards with real-world friends, who will automatically become part of their in-world social networks.

Richard Garfield, who developed Magic: The Gathering for Wizards of the Coast, is credited with being the creator of the hugely successful genre of trading cards. He is designing the overarching card system for Nukotoys.

During the time I spent at Wizards of the Coast, we often speculated about what would be the next “wave” in gaming, with role playing games (Dungeons & Dragons), miniatures (Warhammer), and trading card games (Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon) being the first waves. With an intriguing concept and extensive cross platform integration, perhaps Nukotoys’ game system will be the next wave.

Read more about Nukotoys here.

Toy Tuesday: Fill in the Spot with Lego

This cute video from Lego uses clever visual devices to show how you can build anything from Lego.

Build Anything from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

Toy Tuesday: Lifesize Mousetrap

This is very cool! According to the designers,

The Life Size Mousetrap is the classic board game miniature turned into a life-size spectacle! "A colorful assemblage of kinetic sculptures fantastically handcrafted into a giant 25 TON Rube-Gold-berg machine!"

It's traveling to Detroit, Austin, New York, and Austin this year.

I don't suspect that Hasbro, as owner of the real Mousetrap game, has any involvement in this, but it's sure to generate memories of a great classic game and elicit incremental sales.

More photos and info here.

Toy Tuesday: Happy Meals = Happy Kids

I've come across a lot of comments on The Center for Science in the Public Interest proposed lawsuit against McDonald's over their inclusion of toys in Happy Meals, that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Whoever they are, they sure know how to get media coverage, but it tends to refute their point of view.


From Bruce Lund on Facebook:

Take toys out of Happy Meals? Whatever is the benefit of that? Toys entertain, inspire, educate and invite thinking and doing. Toys change the world. Frank Lloyd Wrights toy blocks inspired him to become an architect. What if those blocks had been a Happy Meal toy? or not?

Also on Facebook, Jennifer Strauss Richmond adds:

Sadly, McDonald's is able to quote a very high percentage of kids in the US and probably higher internationally that the only toys they have ever had are happy meal toys....

Meanwhile, The Consumerist quotes McDonald's CEO:

CSPI is wrong in its assertions and frivolous in its legal threats... CSPI's twisted characterization of McDonald's as 'the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children' is an insult to every one of our franchisees and employees around the world.

Time Magazine concurs with my view that the whole issue will probably boil down to parental responsibility.

After all, 5-year-old kids aren't driving themselves to the McDonald's pick-up window. Little Stevie and the "unpaid drone army of word-of-mouth marketers" are a powerful force, but should McDonald's be liable for their pestering ways? "The solution is not a lawsuit," says Wilson. "The solution is a two-letter word: no."

Toys make kids happy. It's perfectly appropriate that McDonald's calls them Happy Meals.

The last word should go to Bob Cutler of Creative Consumer Concepts, which makes toys for fast food restaurants, who correctly says "you can't teach a child about making good choices, if you just take away the choices."

Toy Tuesday: Unhappy about Happy Meals

Today's Globe and Mail reports that a Washington-based "consumer advocacy" group is threatening to file a lawsuit against McDonald's, charging that the fast food chain ‘unfairly and deceptively' markets toys to children through its Happy Meals.

As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing unfair or deceptive about McDonald's approach to marketing to kids.

Kids are bombarded with all types of messages from an early age, and with technological advances, the frequency and sophistication of these message is growing enormously and quickly. Early in my career, I learned to trust the judgment of parents in making decisions about the media their kids consume and the products they use. While there are no doubt some parents who don't always make the best decisions for themselves or their kids, we're fortunate to live in a society where governments, courts, and lawyers aren't usually making decisions for us.

Toy Tuesday: Monster High - A New Approach for Mattel?

An interesting story in LA Business Journal talks about Mattel's upcoming launch of Monster High, a new toy line and intellectual property that features characters based on teen children of werewolves, zombies and other creatures "which the company has described as 'Grease' meets 'Addams Family,' because it’s a combination of the gothic-inspired 'Twilight' movies and Disney’s tween-friendly 'High School Musical' franchise."

Mattel seems to have done a good job putting the program together, but I agree with industry analyst Sean McGowan that the line could be either a huge hit or a huge failure.

Interestingly, the article makes several references to the fact that Monster High is "the first in-house toy brand the company has launched since Hot Wheels in 1968." I don't know where LA Business Journal got their information, but I can remember several brands from my time at Mattel in the late 1980s and early 1990s that were developed in-house, though none of them exist today. Just to check, I contacted toy consultant Lynn Rosenblum, who is quoted in the article and worked at Mattel when I did. She verified that many brands from Cherry Merry Muffin (a small doll line) to Masters of the Universe (a hugely successful boys' action line) were Mattel in-house initiatives. Looks like somebody is rewriting toy industry history.

Cherry Merry Muffin

Masters of the Universe

Regardless of whether it was created in-house at Mattel or came from elsewhere, Monster High's success will depend on how it resonates with kids. By the end of the year, we'll all know if it's a hit or a miss.

Toy Tuesday: This is What's Up, Doc!

Of all the brands I have encountered in the world of toys and licensing, Looney Tunes was one of the most rewarding, successful, and fun projects to work on. The New York Times reported last week that "Warner Bros. is embarking on a five-alarm rescue effort for Looney Tunes", the franchise often called one of the studio's crown jewels.

When I was a Senior Product Manager at Tyco Toys, we held the master toy license for Looney Tunes, and I was responsible for coordinating all the efforts across the program for all the different brand teams at Tyco who were developing and marketing Looney Tunes toys. It was both interesting and challenging to align boys, girls, games, activities, and mini vehicles in an organization where brand teams were accustomed to working independently.

click to enlarge

The Looney Tunes brand itself was challenging to market as toys. It doesn't have a clear focus toward either boys and girls, and while the characters have always been well known and well loved, they're not necessarily kids' favorites. Competing against other brands with humor components like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Spongebob Squarepants is a big challenge.

Despite these challenges, Tyco was able to achieve some success due to a well integrated retail and marketing program as well as a great working relationship with the people at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, from whom I learned what it is to be a demanding yet fair licensor.

The New York Times article implies that Looney Tunes is in trouble today, with worldwide sales of licensed products at "only" $1 billion. With new TV programming on the way, I sincerely hope that the entertaining and irreverent Looney Tunes brand regains the notoriety it deserves.

Looney Tunes toys by Tyco

Toy Tuesday: Sophie la Girafe

Seems that everyone I know with an infant has a "Sophie la Girafe" toy. While I never learned about the toy from all my work in the toy business, I did learn something new today -- Sophie has been around for almost 50 years and was born in France.

Toysrus.ca sells Sophie for $21.99, and despite the toy's notoriety, it receives mixed reviews from parents.

Learn more about Sophie here.

Toy Tuesday: Chief Amusement Officers

MediaPost New's Marketing Daily website has an article today about Mattel's and Hasbro's Q1 performance. While the article isn't particularly interesting, the opening line is outstanding: "It looks like parents all over the world are relaxing back into their role as chief amusement officers".

With the proliferation of positions with titles like Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Technology Officer, etc., I love the "Chief Amusement Officer" title that accurately reflects the role of parents in their kids' lives.