OPINION Perennial goldmines?
This month, industry consultant Steve Reece looks at those timeless toy themes, from space to dinosaurs, which just seem to keep on coming back
RECENTLY I’VE been reading books with an historical flavour, looking back in time in the toy business, from the 1990s back to the 1890s. I’ve also been very busy
so far this year conducting focus groups with children for toy companies. One very noticeable point amidst all this ‘research’ is the perennial and timeless nature of themes and characters in this industry. For sure, there are some completely new developments, but so much of what works today worked historically as well. In fact this struck me to such a degree that it makes you wonder just how we ever manage to launch products that fail.
Some themes just seem
to recur over and over again. Space, aliens and starships have been prevalent in our industry for
TV series, movies and virtual worlds. No wonder that Star Warshas been a top selling toy property for decades.
We should not be launching toys that fail due to having the wrong ‘theme’. The success or failure is all in the execution.
decades, starting from when mankind first launched space craft. Clearly kids are
fascinated by space, and as a largely unexplored environment which requires amazingly high tech craft to traverse, it’s an amazing opportunity for imaginative toy design, and of course entertainment by way of
Girls and horses/ponies
is a recurrent theme. I’ve interviewed hundreds of kids, but never quite got a definitive explanation of the affinity for our equine friends, but as a certain toy pony brand can testify, horses and ponies are a winning combination. Dinosaurs seem to come and go in the toy business,
but they always seem to reappear in some different way shape or form. As soon as you see little
boys pretending to use a T- rex to attack and eat something else in an aggressive way, it becomes clear why dino toys keep on coming back. Heroes and villains (or
goodies and baddies) is another prevalent theme. Children like the stark contrast between ‘good’ and ‘bad’, because it reflects their simplistic view of the world, and gives them heroic characters to aspire to, although beware the kids who like to aspire to be the baddies.
This theme is particularly
strong in archetypal boys action properties.
Monsters or mutants is
another favourite theme, often joined with goodies and baddies.
None of this should be
news for those who’ve been in the industry for a while, although if you have a multi category product range and don’t have any of these themes reflected in your current offering, perhaps you should. There are, of course, other themes as well which just keep coming back. The major point here though is that we shouldn’t be launching toys that fail due to having the wrong ‘theme’, because what works has been proven. The success or failure is all in the execution, and that’s a whole other story…
Steve Reece is a leading Consultant in the Toy & Games industry. Contact him via
steve.reece@
vicientertainment.co.uk, or see his blog at
www.stevenreece.com Toy packaging isn’t waste
What is sustainable packaging and does it even exist in today’s market? Dr. Liz Wilks, European Stakeholder and Sustainability Manager for Asia Pulp & Paper, explains
PACKAGING IS a vital part of the toy industry. It protects products, communicates their value to prospective customers and plays its part in enabling the entire modern toy industry to function. Yet packaging has an image problem. It is seen by some as an unsustainable waste, a burden on the consumer who has to first fight their way through the stuff, before finally working out how to dispose of it efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. It’s often said that sustainable packaging is the solution. The problem of course, is that sustainable packaging doesn't exist.
18 May
That’s not to say that it’s impossible to source renewable packaging, or packaging that biodegrades – but rather that the phrase ‘sustainable packaging’ can mean so many different things that it really means nothing at all. PwC in its 2012 report Sustainable Packaging – Myth or Reality?concluded that the phrase sustainable packaging is now “too broad a term to be useful at a practical level”. Instead, the industry now needs to be looking at the full circle of “efficient packaging”. Efficiency in packaging is
a five-pronged approach, incorporating sourcing, the packaging’s role in
protection, transport, display and, finally, what happens to it at the end of life. Paper and board is returning to prominence due to the efficiencies in sourcing a renewable
the use of other materials such as plastic or bioplastic windows in a cardboard box. Yet the drive for efficiency in packaging is also taking other forms.
By focusing on efficiency, from
sourcing through design and end of use, we can better communicate the value of packaging.
resource and its unrivalled performance from a disposal and recycling perspective. Where packaging display remains a pivotal concern, then smart design can create packaging that can be easily separated – enabling
We’ve already seen smart design in packaging, where it becomes an integral part of the product. Mega Bloks recently combined the toy’s packaging and storage into one through a PVC-free ‘Building Bag’. This is an excellent example of
a design that combines efficient sourcing, product protection, display efficiency and effective after-use and disposal. Complaints from consumers that packaging in toys is wasteful or that it is too difficult to access should not be met with a shrug, but rather taken as a sign that as an industry, we must produce efficient packaging that is more consumer friendly. By focusing on efficiency, from sourcing all the way through design and end of use, the industry can better communicate its value to consumers. Modern toy packaging is not waste and it is time we turn this perception around.
Dr. Liz Wilks is currently developing a Masters in International Packaging at Cardiff Metropolitan University in partnership with Helen Taylor, Head of the Packaging Innovation Group at the Zero2five Food Industry Centre. Visit
www.asiapulppaper.com.
www.toynews-online.biz
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