TOY FAIR 2013 25 Show stories
Who’s the best person to ask if you’re looking for advice on exhibiting at Toy Fair? Someone who’s already been there, and done that successfully, that’s who. Samantha Loveday listens in as a first timer at the show, two firms looking to grow their presence and a Toy Fair veteran quiz each other
Frances Cain, founder of A Girl For All Time (inset), asks Anna Gibson and Philippa Gogarty from Micro Scooters UK for advice on being a first timer at Toy Fair
What was your inspiration behind creating your product/company? We started the business nearly eight years ago when, by chance, Anna spotted a Mini Micro while walking on Clapham Common with her son Edward. Like nearly every other mum she sometimes found it difficult to get out and about with the children with all the buggy paraphernalia, grumpy child, etc. So she bought one for Edward, then some for her friend’s children and very quickly started selling them locally. You could say we were inspired for selfish reasons, we just wanted to get out of the house with the children without World War III erupting every time. Eight years on, and with nearly a million children scooting to school every day, we feel slightly redeemed for that selfishness.
Was there a moment when you knew that you were going to be a success? Without sounding feeble, I am not sure what we knew success would/does look like. We just truly believed in the product. I don’t think there is really one point in time that we thought ‘ahhh yes this is going to work’ – maybe we are still waiting for it…
What has been your greatest success so far? That nearly a million children and their parents are scooting to school on a regular basis. That to us is just fantastic.
What advice would you give yourself, if you could go back in time to when you first started out? Not to panic, never to give up, believe in yourself and fight for what you think is right.
Now it’s the turn of Anna Gibson and Philippa Gogarty to pick the brains of Bigjig’s operations manager, Sam Ireland, on how to take the next step up
What are the pros and cons of exhibiting at the Toy Fair or any fair in general? The pros include the opportunity to meet new customers and show them our extensive range of toys, speak to current customers and find out how they are getting on, etc. And, of course, showing our wonderful new lines to old and new customers. We cannot think of any cons for exhibiting at the Toy Fair – apart from the fact we need new feet.
What are your top three tips for ensuring your stand goes off without a hitch? Our top three tips are plan, plan and plan. You cannot plan enough for the Toy Fair, always think worst-case scenario and plan for it. If the worst-case scenario doesn’t happen,
everything else is a bonus. (Oh, and turn up three days early – for set up).
What do you think of the ROI of a stand compared to other marketing channels and/routes to market? ROI is a bit of a nightmare to work out. For new customers it is relatively straightforward, but to show increase on existing business because of the fair is much harder. We do not like to compare our ROI from the Toy Fair against other marketing channels because it is about meeting our marketing objectives as much as it is for our ROI.
What company/brand have you seen at exhibitions who you think is doing something good/bad? Playmobil always has an impressive stand – we think Playmobil is a great product anyway, but they always go the extra mile at Toy Fair.
Bigjigs’ Sam Ireland quizzes Vicki Elmer, product manager at Bandai and experienced exhibitor, on how to make the most of a larger stand at Toy Fair
What is your favourite part about Toy Fair? I love walking onto the stand on the first morning and feeling proud that, after months of planning and the stresses of set up day, everything looks pristine and perfect. That sense of achievement gets the adrenaline flowing.
To what do you attribute your success at Toy Fair? Knowing that we have strong heritage brands that people always want to see makes our job of planning Toy Fair much easier. We do, however, put a great deal of hard work into building an eye- catching stand with stunning graphics, product displays and show reels so that we can make visiting Bandai a memorable experience for everyone who takes the tour.
The best way to attract delegates to your stand? I think people make an effort to visit Bandai's stand at Toy Fair because they know there will be plenty for them to see and that they will get a warm welcome at the same time. We are well known for our hospitality so that certainly helps boost visitor numbers. Our PR team also work incredibly hard and come up with superb ideas each year to create a buzz on the stand and to provide a story for the media.
If you could change anything about Toy Fair what would it be?
I would like an extra day so we can spend more time with customers as we always seem to be rushed off our feet. We put so much effort into making our stand look so impressive that I would like more people to enjoy their visit for longer.
Toy Fair runs from January 22nd to 24th 2013 at London Olympia. Registration is open and to register for a free pass, head to
www.toyfair.co.uk. A Girl for All Time (GH11), Micro Scooters (B45), Bigjigs (H39) and Bandai (D35) are among over 200 firms which will showcase thousands of new toy launches.
NOVEMBER 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84