TECH VS TRADITIONAL SPECIAL
LEAPFROG Sally Plumridge, international marketing director
“With our in-house team of Learning Experts and our in-house play lab we ensure that every toy within our extensive range off ers the very best play value in today’s world. This is a unique blend of traditional play values, the power of innovative technology, real understanding of a proprietary curriculum of 2,600 skills and a passion for enriching the lives of children in today’s dynamic world.
“We have a mix of traditional cards and hybrid products for consumers to choose from. A major new addition to
our hybrid range is Shuffl e. You can deal and play the Shuffl e games straight out of the box, but you can also download free apps that let you hear, watch and even inhabit your chosen game. The children of today are a connected generation and technology is their norm. But they still love
SPIN MASTER Phil Hooper, marketing director
“Golden Bear off ers a diverse and varied range of both plush and plastic toys that encompass not only traditional elements but also many electronic features. Whilst our plush
provides both comfort and soft play for younger children it also includes items such as Henry Hugglemonster Roar Back which brings a new dimension
www.toynews-online.biz
“Tech products have captured kids imaginations for many years, so when something groundbreaking is launched, with the backing of creative and substantial marketing investment, then retailers should be confi dent that demand will be strong. Toy stores should back items that combine genuine innovation with a commitment to deliver heavyweight marketing support from the supplier. Spin Master’s Tech
off ering is focused around
many toys and games familiar to their parents and even grandparents. So in order to compete and appeal to the very wide-ranging tastes of modern young consumers, any toy shop needs to be willing to embrace at least some of the new toys coming through. Cartamundi has done just that: in fact we’ve taken this one step further with our move into hybrid products. You could say we’re giving traditional
an expanded range of Zoomer pets.
In 2014, the classic
Zoomer has been further improved with double the amount of tricks plus new breeds and colours. For boys, we have Boomer the Zoomer Dino, which as well as being incredibly speedy racing around on two feet, will chomp, roar and whip his tail when he gets angry.
through its electronic chip technology. Most toy shops have a balanced off ering and tech toys certainly bring in the crowds at certain times of the year. The type of mainstream licensed toys Golden Bear produces are highly sought after and a must have for any toy store. They refl ect a good balance of traditional values but also have elements
A great example is
LeapBand, the fi rst activity tracker for children. It gets kids moving and having fun with 50 diff erent activities and challenges. We recognised how a new technology can encourage children to be more active – one of the most traditional of all play patterns. We know from our
conversations with parents that there are a number of concerns about exposure of technology to children.
toy shops the best of both worlds. It’s really not diffi cult to see the value of technology in very traditional terms: kids are learning, interacting and using it for role play, imaginative play and social play in much the same way we did with our toys when we were kids.
What is important is
that retailers and parents understand and even embrace new technology.” 01243 792600
Today’s kids live in a world of rapidly advancing technology and they are
extremely tech savvy as a result. So it
should come as a
CARTAMUNDI
Trudi Bishop, head of marketing and licensing
surprise to no one that some of the best and most innovative tech items are in high demand. But parents will always be looking for a balance from the best of traditional and tech toys. I would like to think that
toy shops can also fi nd a balance between the best of traditional and the best tech toys, as this is likely to mirror consumer demand and drive traffi c to those toy shops.” 01628 535000
of technology to varying degrees bringing products to life and endless fun to pre-school children. Technology has opened up a whole new world of ideas and way of play and even learning, however, it’s important not to forget about traditional toys as they off er imaginative play and children can interact together. Both tech and traditional should be embraced rather than put against each other.
01952 608308
The amount of screen time is an important issue and each family will have their own plan, related to the age of their children, their lifestyles, and their views about technology. However we do know that it’s the type of content matters most. Whatever way you look at it, tech toys are becoming increasingly popular and that is why our products combine world class education with a 100 per cent kid-safe experience.” 01895 202840
GOLDEN BEAR Barry Hughes,
commercial director July 19
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