OPINION Paying the price


Steve Reece shines a spotlight at the cost of the everyday decisions which have the power to shape a company, including taking on licences, testing products or taking a risk


THE LONGER you spend in this industry, the more you hear the same old grumbles. Our industry has a fixed


cycle, with many features of doing business that are challenging on an ongoing, timeless basis.


Sometimes it appears that the casual moan about the day-to-day grind (magnified during toy fair season) can become a failure to appreciate what the building blocks of success are. In short, there is usually a price to pay for any initiative, product launch, licence, acquisition, etc that a company undertakes. There is also a price


to pay from an individual perspective also.


If you want to work in a fun industry with great people, and products which make your friends and family jealous on an


The reality is there is a price to pay for every decision we make – whether it’s a decision to accept the status quo


If you want the quick sales boost which successful licences can give your business, part of the price you have to pay is upfront guaranteed payments and less profit.


ongoing basis, the rough comes with the smooth. Sometimes the boss is an idiot (no names mentioned), sometimes the company you work for goes through hard times, cutbacks or fails, to promote your needs above its own.


and stay where you are despite its imperfections, or a decision to take a risk and move on somewhere new. A couple of practical


examples of paying the price: if you want the quick sales boost which


successful licences can give your business, part of the price you have to pay is upfront guaranteed payments and less profit, plus draining guarantee shortfalls. You will also have to spend time, resources and often money satisfying the third party brand owner you licence from.


On the flip side, if you choose not to pay the price of being a licence-driven business in order to build a business based on your own brand IP or on a generic offering, then you avoid jumping through hoops for licensors, but the price you pay is a harder sell to retail. If you don’t test your


products before shipping Steve Reece runs a leading consultancy delivering consumer research and manufacturing sourcing services to toy & game companies. Contact him via: www .KidsBrandInsight.com In defence of Christmas in July


miPR’s Kirsty Barr responds to Peter Jenkinson’s assessment of the festive event from the last issue, and answers David Smith’s piece opposite, with her very own festive top ten


1. WE HAD a record turnout this year to our miChristmas Open House event, including national media, lifestyle media, broadcast and bloggers. We didn’t have one complaint from any journalists who attended. That speaks for itself.


2. We have already secured coverage in the November issue of Good Housekeeping for one client from their in-house writer who attended our event. We also got exposure on MSN. com for The Entertainer, which was seen by three million people. That’s not to be sniffed at either.


3. Yes we tied in a retailer, our client The Entertainer,


but that wasn’t the be-all- and-end-all for the media who came to our house. They saw a variety of products across multiple categories (not just toys) and left with a multitude of media angles that could span the editorial calendar between now and December 25th. Our job is to help them create their stories and we believe we achieved that.


4. If we didn’t get the results for our clients (and non-clients) we wouldn’t flog a dead horse. The formula works for us and the media at large wouldn’t turn up if it didn’t serve a purpose for them.


Kirsty Barr is managing director of miPR. She can be contacted on: Kirsty 14 September


5. Doing something different each year is key. In 2013 we held a second day of the event specifically targeting families with children. This year we secured a large venue in the middle of Central London which was one minute walk away from a mainline station and three tube lines. We’re already planning 2015 which will be different once again.


6. Quality and variety counts for everything. A quality event with a variety of brands. A half-hearted attempt with little on show doesn’t make for media satisfaction.


7. And if you link it back to the client, not charging


.Barr@mi-pr .co.uk www.toynews-online.biz


them the earth but delivering an event which is affordable and slick is paramount.


8. Based on this year’s event, we already have two confirmed attendees for 2015, one of whom came to ‘vet’ this year’s house. They obviously liked what they saw. And, since you mentioned it in your piece Peter, we did away with mince pies and posh nosh two years ago. In came fresh nibbles to munch on for those in a hurry, and this year specifically when the sun came out and gave us the hottest day of the year to date, we upped our quantities of thirst- quenching drinks.


9. We believe there is a place for independent media Christmas events. The media who came to our event planned their day amongst others also being held. I didn’t hear of any grumbles from them, or you, when you dropped in late that afternoon, especially considering the heat.


10. We will be back in 2015 and have every expectation that the good reputation our event has garnered since we first introduced it in 2012 means it will yet again achieve a strong line- up of (happy) exhibitors and an even larger line-up of (happy) media attendees. Merry Christmas!


– either QA testing or consumer research, you take a big chance. Over the course of time


are likely to end up paying a heavier price by way of failed certification, missed shipments, product recalls, product launch failures and obsolete inventory costs. So beware – for every decision you take, you need to be aware of the price that needs to be paid for the direction you head in.


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