Coyne Toy Book

We’re not just marketing toys. We're fostering creativity.

ABOUT COYNE PR

Founded in 1991, Coyne PR has grown to become one of the top independent public relations firms in the United States. Recognized throughout the industry as “The Best Place to Work,” more than 175 talented minds now call Coyne PR – HOME. We have wildly creative offices in New York and New Jersey as well as colleagues in 115 cities, 49 countries and six continents through our partnership in The Worldcom Public Relations Group. Our clients include many of the world’s most respected companies… and those that want to be. Our reputation is built upon three decades of creativity, strategy and service. It is validated by more than 1,000 industry awards.

Industry Experience

TOY & JUVENILE PRACTICE

Here at Coyne PR, the members of our Toy & Juvenile team are kids at heart. Professionally, we specialize in reaching families and generating brand awareness for products and services that resonate with everyone from mom (and dad) to baby. We see the communications landscape as our gameboard, and we know all the right moves to rack up points for our clients with media and social influencers through our compelling storytelling and integrated strategy. We haven’t read the rulebook because we wrote it – and regularly update it with new chapters as we continue to push boundaries.

Whether we’re working with our clients to tell meaningful stories that can help families succeed in this complex world or creating innovative integrated campaigns, our high score is unmatched. Our dedicated team has the best players in the game with unparalleled industry experience. From a largerthan-life board game to the first-ever glow-in-the-dark basketball game, our creativity allows us to think outside the toy box. Tag us in as an extension of your team to deliver results through a fully integrated plan designed to meet your needs and business goals.

Integrated Communications

Coyne PR provides clients with best-in-class, channel-agnostic communications strategies that drive visibility, engagement and growth across all paid, earned and owned channels reaching our desired targets precisely where they find information and discover inspiration. We don’t measure impressions; we measure impact.

Specialties

Brand Building

Product Launches

Corporate Communications

Business-to-Business

Internal Communications

Crisis/Issue Management

Corporate Social Responsibility

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Thought Leadership

Events & Promotions

Sponsorship Activation

Measurement & Analytics

Services

Public Relations

Earned Media Strategy

Media Relations

Press Materials

Message Development

Media Training

Competitive Media Audits

Bylined Articles & Op-Eds

Spokesperson Coordination

Editorial Calendars & News Bureau

Paid Program Integrations

Digital & Content

Branded & Digital Content

Video Production

PSAs

Website Design & Development

Advertising

Animation

CRM Integration & Email Marketing

SEO & SEM

Creative Mailers

Digital Display Ads

Social & Influencer

Brand & Content Strategy

Social Listening

Monitoring & Analysis

Community Management & Engagement

Social Media Advertising

Crisis Communications

Influencer Identification & Outreach

Influencer Negotiations & Contracting

Influencer Payment Fulfillment

Brand Immersions & Creative Briefs

Measurement & Reporting

You’ll flip for our case studies

Crayola

Throughout our multi-year relationship with Crayola, Coyne PR has developed numerous ground-breaking campaigns to support new product launches, company initiatives, anniversaries, and more.

Coyne PR helped Crayola unveil a solar farm generating the electricity needed to make one billion crayons annually. The “Crayola Green Team” which consisted of ten children from around the county helped to introduce the solar farm. To launch Crayola’s new Glow Explosion product, Coyne PR created a slam dunk event by teaming up with the worldfamous Harlem Globetrotters for the first-ever glow-in-the-dark basketball game. The Globetrotters transformed into the “Crayola Glowtrotters” and were cheered on by more than 300 students waving glowing signs they created with Crayola Glow Explosion. To generate awareness for Crayola’s new line of outdoor products, Coyne PR helped create the Crayola Outdoor Fitness Challenge, a nationwide initiative aimed at inspiring families to spend more time exercising their bodies and minds. The team successfully enlisted Olympic gold medalist Dan O’Brien to break a

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Fastest Game of Hopscotch to draw attention to the campaign. Coyne PR also orchestrated a celebration for the 50th birthday of the iconic Crayola 64 Box, featuring a kids’ fashion show to reveal eight new limited-edition colors. After the fashion show, a limited-edition 50th birthday 64 Box was unveiled along with a giant replica birthday cake created by celebrity chef Duff Goldman. Coyne PR has made a lasting impact for Crayola, generating billions of media impressions throughout the partnership.

VTech Toys

VTech, a world leader in age-appropriate and developmental stage-based electronic learning products for children, has been turning to Coyne PR to deliver unprecedented consumer brand-building campaigns for more than 10 years. With a strong focus on strategic product launches, building engaging relationships with influencers, strengthening brand reputation and delivering measurable results, our team has helped elevate VTech to a premier brand in the industry. As their portfolio grew with the acquisition of LeapFrog, the team was tasked with developing a comprehensive program to keep VTech in the media spotlight while also ensuring LeapFrog shined just as bright. As AOR, Coyne PR continues to build on past success, drive awareness and surpass KPIs year after year.

While elevating VTech and LeapFrog as premier toy brands in the U.S., Coyne PR was also tasked with providing additional support for VTech in Canada. Coyne PR executed several initiatives, including spring and holiday influencer campaigns to drive social engagement, a virtual media preview to showcase the latest product offerings and holiday media outreach to generate earned coverage for key drivers. In addition, Coyne PR managed a partner agency to coordinate a PR campaign specifically for the FrenchCanadian audience, including an in-person media preview in Montreal and media outreach specifically targeting French-speaking press and influencers.

VTech Baby Monitors

VTech turned to Coyne PR to generate widespread awareness for its VTech and LeapFrog baby monitors and soothers. Through a multi-faceted campaign encompassing a wide range of media and influencer tactics and a mix of earned and paid initiatives, including influencer campaigns, award submissions and media outreach, Coyne PR delivered a steady drumbeat of news for key products. Additionally, Coyne PR was tasked with reaching a targeted audience of pregnant women while they were in the process of creating their baby registries. We partnered with nano-influencers across the U.S. and Canada and popular registry platforms, including Babylist and BabyCenter/ What to Expect, on branded media sponsorships. Combined, these initiatives drove purchase intent among expectant parents.

Spin Master

As a leading global children’s entertainment company, Spin Master consistently looks to Coyne PR to help elevate awareness for key brands in the company’s portfolio, including Hatchimals, Kinetic Sand, PAW Patrol, Swimways and more. The Coyne PR team has provided support on various initiatives, including seasonal media relations campaigns, influencer campaigns, anniversaries and trade show support. The Coyne PR studio team was also instrumental in working with Spin Master for the creation and development of comprehensive Look Books tied to the holiday season.

Etch A Sketch

Spin Master challenged Coyne PR with driving awareness for the 60th anniversary of Etch A Sketch®, the iconic red-framed drawing toy. To mark the milestone anniversary, the Etch A Sketch brand teamed up with other iconic names including MONOPOLY, space exploration leader NASA, heritage toy Rubik’s and comic book marvel Stan Lee for a series of limited-edition launches. To leverage the partnerships and celebrate the anniversary, Coyne PR developed a comprehensive campaign that included a multitude of touchpoints beginning with an exclusive story on Yahoo! Entertainment ahead of Toy Fair in February and ending with a national segment on the TODAY show in July for National Etch A Sketch Day.

Kinetic Sand

To support the first-ever Global Kinetic Sand Day which was founded to share the magic of Kinetic Sand, Coyne PR coordinated a partnership with Hilaria Baldwin, mother of six, to encourage families to share on social media how they play with Kinetic Sand. And, as part of the partnership, Baldwin took over the @KineticSand Instagram. Coyne PR also coordinated a survey that was released in advance of Global Kinetic Sand Day focusing on how parents made the most of the summer despite the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting that many parents chose to purchase toys that had additional benefits like creative expression or sensory play.

Sonic Fin

Spin Master had reimagined the look of its Aerobie® Sonic Fin™ Football, which is officially endorsed by Russell Wilson, to coincide with the NFL quarterback’s new team colors. After working with Spin Master and Wilson to officially launch the football in 2021, the Coyne PR team knew they would need a strategic media plan to help usher in the new Denver Broncos/Russell Wilson-era. With that, Coyne PR focused on niche and local Denver media that they knew would have a genuine interest in Wilson and his new team. As a result, Pat McAfee, former All-Pro NFL punter and host of the sports talk show, The Pat McAfee Show, featured the Sonic Fin on his podcast, which is simulcast on its YouTube channel with over 1.98 MM subscribers. This placement alone drove sales of the Sonic Fin football up 150% on Amazon.

Hasbro

Hasbro brought Coyne PR on board to generate nationwide awareness for Candy Land’s 60th birthday. The curves of Lombard Street in San Francisco turned out to be the perfect match for a transformation into the magical Candy Land path. Area children were divided into four teams to represent the game pieces and oversized cards dictated the moves along the colored path, which was nearly 30,000 times the size of the actual board. Candy Land’s 60th Birthday became a national hit with nearly 800 broadcast placements, the eighth most searched term on Yahoo!’s homepage and Yahoo!’s most e-mailed photo of the month. Additionally, sales increased on average double digits the weekend immediately following the event.

Playmates Toys

Playmates Toys, the company behind the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line, enlisted Coyne PR to help bring back the heroes in a half shell for a new generation of fans. Coyne PR jumped into action and developed a comprehensive support plan that not only leaned into the deep-rooted nostalgia of the brand, but also brought awareness to the all-new iteration of the toys. The toy line made its debut at New York Toy Fair, where media, including the loyal collector community, were first given an in-depth look at the new action figures, vehicles and more. To continue the momentum, Coyne PR then executed an aggressive media relations campaign, timed to the key holiday shopping season, earning millions of impressions for the brand. Cowabunga!

Horizon

Coyne PR worked with Horizon Group USA to strengthen the company’s profile as a dynamic leader in the creative D.I.Y. marketplace, generate excitement for the new, ontrend products from its portfolio of brands and introduce media and consumers to the Horizon Group master brand. Coyne PR regularly pitched the brand’s products based on timely calendar triggers and trending news, securing an ongoing stream of top-tier media coverage. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Coyne PR recognized the need to find ways for families to spend meaningful and engaging time together. The team reassessed its pitching efforts in support of Horizon Group products and shifted its focus to the company’s Craft Project Ideas website, a free online resource offering unique how-tos for parents and kids. The initiative generated numerous placements, including Parents.com, Reader’s Digest, GoodHousekeeping.com, Yahoo!, The Toy Insider and more.

BabyCenter

What’s in a name? To generate widespread media attention for BabyCenter’s annual Baby Names campaign, the Coyne PR team executed a multi-phased media strategy that consistently delivered top-tier results and shattered impression numbers year-over-year. Kicking things off with an exclusive reveal on a national morning show and a simultaneous feature story with an online partner, followed by aggressive outreach to key national and local print, online and broadcast outlets, created a snowball effect that consistently surpassed KPIs and drove over a 50 percent increase in site traffic on launch day.

BabyCenter.com turned to Coyne PR to help position itself as a resource for media for all things related to pregnancy and parenting, thus further solidifying its status as THE go-to website for moms and moms-to-be. Coyne PR developed a strategic campaign to help increase visibility and awareness with key media that included a panel of experts who could be leveraged across a myriad of topics associated with pregnancy and parenting as well as the BabyCenter PressCenter, a monthly e-letter designed to share the latest news and trends and offer spokespeople for commentary. In the first year of the campaign alone, BabyCenter experts appeared on the TODAY show more than 10 times and were quoted by numerous print and online media, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and more.

Ollie’s

Ollie’s, a discount retail chain, challenged Coyne PR to highlight its large assortment of brand-name toys offered at deeply discounted prices during the holiday shopping season. Coyne PR engaged with influencers to help showcase the retailer’s diverse offering of toys and the savings it provided to shoppers. Influencers were provided with an Ollie’s gift card to shop for the best deals, showing off the toys they found and their savings on their social channels. As part of the campaign, Coyne PR also helped Ollies set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ for the Largest Bobblehead. As a result, Ollie’s reported a nearly 10% rise in fourth-quarter sales.

littleBits

Coyne PR was enlisted by littleBits to generate buzz for its new Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit and make it the hottest toy of the year, while also helping prime the company for sale. Following a successful launch on Force Friday and sustaining the momentum through the all-important holiday season, Coyne PR generated over three billion media impressions for the Droid Inventor Kit with coverage on major national broadcast shows, print magazines and top-tier websites. Simultaneously, Coyne PR secured business stories and interviews for the company’s founder, Ayah Bdeir, with outlets such as TIME, TechCrunch, HuffPost and more. The awareness the Coyne PR team generated helped the littleBits Star Wars Droid Inventor Kit win a coveted Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award from The Toy Association, deeming it one of the hottest toys of the year. The business coverage also helped littleBits fulfill its goal of being acquired.

The Play Date

The Toy Association and Adventure Media & Events joined forces to host The Play Date event in New York City, during which top toy companies provided a first look at the year’s hottest playthings. Coyne PR was tapped to secure media and influencer attendees for the first-time event and blew the lid off the toy box with over 100 attendees from top-tier outlets including CNBC, Good Housekeeping, Best Products, Consumer Reports, INSIDER, Popular Science and Yahoo! Entertainment. The Coyne PR team generated over 80 million media impressions, with coverage highlights from The New York Post, Gizmodo, Reader’s Digest and more!

nanobébé

Nanobébé enlisted the help of Coyne PR to introduce the nanobébé brand and its line of infant feeding essentials to consumers in the United States, with a spotlight on the company’s Breastmilk Bottle, the first baby bottle designed to preserve breast milk nutrients. Coyne PR developed and executed a comprehensive launch program, including a wire release and a nationwide earned media relations campaign targeting print, broadcast and online media outlets. In addition, Coyne PR conducted deskside meetings with key parenting media including Parents and Good Housekeeping to showcase the new Breastmilk Bottle and other items in the line. Coyne PR also coordinated a paid celebrity seeding program to help generate brand awareness.

NUK

NUK, a leading global baby care brand, enlisted Coyne PR to help establish its “better for baby” position with consumers. Our team created a strategic communications plan which featured numerous initiatives, including a robust news bureau program and an aggressive celebrity seeding campaign.

Graco

Graco, one of the world’s most recognized and trusted baby product companies, looked to Coyne PR to keep the brand top of mind among new and expectant parents in a marketplace with increasing competition. The team executed a year-round media relations campaign to generate widespread awareness for the brand and its new products, as well as providing crisis communications support as needed. In addition, Coyne PR provided trade show support at the ABC Kids Expo, booking media and influencer booth appointments. The team also developed and executed events, such as the “Fashioning the Future” event, to launch a new limited-edition Cynthia Rowley stroller. High-profile influencers and key media spanning both parenting and fashion outlets were in attendance.

BabyBjörn

BabyBjörn called upon Coyne PR to raise current awareness levels among new and expectant parents across all its product categories. Media coverage of the BabyBjörn brand in the U.S., despite the company having more than 20 products in its portfolio, had predominately been carrier-driven, led by sweeping coverage of celebrity baby-wearing fans. As a first step, Coyne PR set out to re-introduce the brand to key juvenile product industry influencers, opinion leaders and members of the media by taking the show on the road through a series of cross-country media one-one-ones. The results were two-fold:  important connections were re-established and the full breadth of the BabyBjörn line was introduced, resulting in ongoing, multiple placements each month across leading parenting media outlets.

Kent

Kent, a leading manufacturer of bikes for the whole family, looked to Coyne PR to build greater awareness for the brand. The Coyne PR team developed and executed a diverse communications program that included an aggressive media relations campaign targeting national and local broadcast and print outlets, as well as key online outlets. Coyne PR also coordinated a successful influencer campaign to secure content on Instagram and implemented a strategic, always-on social media campaign and programmatic advertising targeted to key demographics.

Yvolution

Yvolution took a ride with Coyne PR as the team generated more than 645 million impressions for the brand’s new and existing lines of wheeled goods, including the launch of the company’s new NEON line featuring heel wheels, sneakers and ride-ons. Coyne PR rolled out nationwide spring and holiday media relations campaigns and, in less than a year, secured national media coverage with outlets such as the TODAY show (2 segments), The View, FOX & Friends, PopSugar, Best Products and more. The team also secured local broadcast segments in top markets nationwide, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, among others.

WHY COYNE?

Creativity: As Creative Agency of the Year, we think of ideas others don’t.

Service: Clients come to us for our results, but they stay for our client service.

Strategy: Our plans are built on strategic insights that deliver real business results.

Experience: Our experienced teams have an unmatched depth of industry knowledge.

Integration: A true full-service agency, we take an integrated channel-agnostic approach.

Leadership: Senior involvement provides day-to-day access to strategic counsel.

Teamwork: With one profit center, you hire a team, but you get the whole agency.

Continuity: With the industry’s highest retention rate – you keep the team you love.