playgroundcrazes
sales for football magazines such as Kick and Match of the Day, they are likely to see similarly high sales of Match Attax trading cards.” Michelle Goodisson suggested: “Retailers need to make it easy for the consumer to shop by utilising POS at the front of stores and at till points. The more noise the better.” In Martin Grossman’s opinion: “Retailers can maximise their sales by their ability to move quickly. A craze is a fashion fad – smaller retailers will always beat the majors in this respect. They have the ability to shift in the product quickly and get it into the hands of the consumers. Sell it while you can.” Ben Harper believes: “The key is to become
a recognised destination for collectable products. Kids and parents quickly learn which stores are going to have the products that they want and they will visit regularly to build up their collections. Stocking and restocking a good range of products and positioning them in a highly visible and safe position is key. We often include POS in our CDUs and utilising these items can help to raise awareness, particularly during the launch phase when TV and awareness campaigns are on.” In an article dealing with this category, I thought it imperative to include the view of an independent retailer. I spoke to Stuart Grant, buying director at The Entertainer, who said: “You can’t make a craze overnight, they just happen. The important qualities of a product that can become a playground craze are as follows: they have to be collectable, affordable and have mass appeal. They are about driving footfall into the shops, and using them to build incremental sales up to Christmas when playsets for the collectables are released. We also benefit from the grocers not stocking these products. “As a retailer you also have to know how to
market them. At The Entertainer we display these products at the till; this makes them visible and also protects them from theft. We hold events such as Swap Days where kids can come in and swap their Moshlings with us, or with other children. Schools often ban playground crazes, so we create a safe environment where kids can enjoy themselves. We spotted Moshi Monsters pretty early, and they’ve worked extremely well for us. “In essence, the key is to plan ahead and
try to anticipate what will become the next hit. We try to be the best shop possible for a new range to be stocked in, and we try to build up as much interest as possible early on.”
38 Toyworld
“Retailers need to make it easy for the consumer to shop by utilising POS at the front of stores and at till points. The more noise the better.”
But how do we identify a craze? How can
a retailer position themselves to make the most of them? As stated above, anticipation and listening to feedback is the way to go. Although, as Louise Ramplin warns, you can’t simply ‘create’ a craze; it will create itself: “At Topps, we are consistently working with the licensees and monitoring trends to identify the next ‘big thing’. As soon as a craze starts, we jump on it in order to maximise sales. An example of this is the launch of our new Skylanders trading card collection on 20th September, which capitalises on Skylanders being the hottest licence around at the moment. Ultimately, though, it’s important to remember that it’s kids that drive a Playground Craze.” Ben Harper agrees: “Playgrounds have always been dominated by crazes. Children love to collect, they love to compare and compete with their friends, and of course they love to swap and trade. Our products allow children to really immerse themselves into a world and build it up at their own pace, very often using their own pocket- money, and a little pester power perhaps!
The best crazes become playground currency and a topic that everyone in the playground is talking about. We always strive to make our products more than just collections; ‘play and collect’ is key philosophy for us and we believe this also helps to give children a better overall experience and reasons to continue collecting. A successful craze needs to be first and foremost a very attractive and intrinsically collectable item. Bright colours, presentation and playability also play very key roles. Unfortunately, the secret ingredient that makes a really great playground craze is not something that is precisely quantifiable.” Martin Grossman sums up the dilemma of
the craze supplier perfectly: “Kids determine the popularity of the product. You can advertise ‘til doomsday and not make them buy more; you might make them try it once. It needs to have lots of collectability to make it work and lots of different options. We have moved away from the ‘craze’ items and focus our attention on longevity, although I still can’t resist something that my gut feeling tells me will work.”
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