NEWS Toy firms spend big for Christmas Retail and supplier seasonal marketing spends are up year-on-year Average campaign spend is £1m
by Dominic Sacco TWO THIRDS of toy firms surveyed by ToyNewssay they’re spending more on marketing their products for Christmas.
Some 66 per cent of firms have a higher autumn/ winter marketing budget this year compared to 2011. 34 per cent are spending
roughly the same as they did last year, but not a single company said their marketing budget had fallen year-on-year. And the average autumn/winter marketing spend is £1 million. This information is based on some 20 leading UK toy companies and retailers. Some of the firms spending more this year include
Mattel, Esdevium Games, Golden Bear, InspirationWorks, Carte Blanche and Debenhams. Carte Blanche’s director of marketing Ruth Leonard said: “2012 has seen our marketing spend up- weighted in Q4 to support Christmas toy sales specifically, investing over £1 million in TV advertising, sponsorship, retailer events, dedicated websites, social media and PR campaigns.” Debenhams was also keen to place emphasis on its multi-million pound Christmas TV ad – its first since 2006.
Media planning and buying company Generation Media says that while awareness for Christmas toys can begin
from July, with a reminder burst in September, late Christmas marketing has its advantages. “With the toys and games
advertising market experiencing a slowdown in the back end of 2012, many advertisers are underestimating the power of a last minute push in the final countdown to December 25th,” Generation Media’s associate director Lisa Shove told ToyNews. “The cost efficient nature of being on air at this time, coupled with the peak in sales value, would suggest a significant opportunity to gain return on your precious advertising budget across December and early January.”
Bumper blind bag sales buoy UK business
As foreign markets decline, the UK stays flat thanks to strong sales of low price-point products by Lewis Tyler
IN THESE tough economic times one popular product category has halted a decline in the UK toy market – the blind bag. These low value lines – such as LEGO Minifigures – are top sellers. The blind bag category is currently worth 2.6 per cent of all toy sales in the UK, according to the latest NPD figures (YTD October). On the continent, in countries where
consumers and retailers have not taken to the blind format, total toy sales are down.
NPD’s
Frederique Tutt told ToyNews: “The UK market is the largest in Europe and currently it’s flat in value. There’s only one major country doing
better than us and that’s Germany. But France, Italy and Spain are all in decline.
“One of the
reasons for that is the blind packs. In the UK, these impulse items have done really
well while on the
continent they have not had the same success.
“The UK consumer is still parting with their money at this new price point; that’s keeping the market going outside of peak season.”
In the past 12 months UK sales of blind bags have more than doubled, according to NPD. In the year-to-date to October, the British blind bag market was worth £36 million, versus £17 million at the same point last year. The analyst currently
tracks more than 200 blind
bag items, compared to 109 last year. Figures exclude blind stickers and cards). Can the success for blind bags continue? Jez Fraser-Hook,
executive director toys, nursery and licence at NPD, said: “It is now quite a competitive market, but that’s only a good thing. “It's a good addition to
any toy range and it's a great, cheap way to incentivise a bigger purchase. I think it will be around for a while.”