TRADE
OPINION
Trade talk
Calling all suppliers and distributors! We’d love to hear your views. Get in touch with Clare@lemapublishing.co.uk to have your say!
This month we ask suppliers what challenges they are facing, how they will continue to ensure demand for their products, and what marketing activity they are planning for Q4 MAYUR PATTNI
KATY FLETCHER
Marketing Manager Simba Smoby Toys UK What’s been your proudest achievement over the past few months?
On a personal note getting married at the end of spring is definitely my proudest achievement of the year, especially after a few lockdown postponements! But on the business side, growing the overall profile of the Simba and Smoby brands is definitely a highlight. The “It’s our customer awareness and loyalty for Smoby, for example, is at an all-time high and has greatest once again grown year-on-year. This has marketing also been reflected at the tills and at retail investment overall, with many new retail customers yet for a Q4 being added this year for the brand. What currently poses the biggest challenge?
season”
As we all know, everyone in the industry has a huge challenge with shipping at the moment. With us, there are some challenges with a few of our brands but we have been able to overcome many. With Smoby for instance, much of the inventory comes from Europe. There are some increases in transport costs but not nearly as much as some companies are experiencing. This has been reflected in onward cost for our retailers who can also be confident of supply due to the closer origins of the products. How will you continue to ensure demand for your products?
The key for us will be to continue with our investment, not just in TV but in social and digital media too. Smoby has its own platforms, but all of the other brands have a robust strategy behind them too. We are reaping the rewards of this, which in turn allows us to invest more. What marketing activity can we expect for Q4?
Smoby, and Masha and the Bear all have robust TV and pre-roll activity, while our new construction raceway brand FleXtreme is also high on the agenda,ensuring these brands are top of mind with the consumer especially in the run-up to Christmas. The Toy Story and Cars diecast ranges will have their own campaigns targeting core Disney fans though digital, TV and VoD. I would say it’s our greatest marketing investment yet for a Q4 season, and when you add to this the strength of the PR and social activity we have going on, there’s certainly a lot to look forward to. 24
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Head of Marketing & Product Development Ravensburger What’s been your proudest achievement over the past few months? In January, we were recognised as a standout performer in the games and puzzle category by the Toy Retailers Association (TRA) as part of the annual Toy of the Year awards, and we were absolutely thrilled. This was made possible by our passionate and dedicated team who have worked exceptionally hard over the past 18 months, our valued trade partners, and loyal endusers. We also moved office during lockdown and are excited to welcome our team back to a brand-new refurbished office; we can’t wait to invite our retail partners into our “Our new state-of-the art showroom to see our new ranges. ‘consumer What currently poses the biggest challenge?
first’
Over the past 18 months we’ve really missed approach previews and the opportunity to get products is at the into the hands of our retailer customers. We heart of are so excited to be showcasing again faceto-face at the AIS show and the Toymaster everything regional meetings. The same goes with our we do” consumers, where events and in-store demos play a key part within our marketing activities. We’ve been working on a host of online assets but there is nothing quite like hands-on play. How will you continue to ensure demand for your products? Our ‘consumer first’ approach is at the heart of everything we do. We continue to invest heavily in consumer research to create games, puzzles, playsets, arts & crafts, and construction products which will be played with time and time again, offering longevity and sustainability. We are working hard to ensure our retail partners have support in planning their inventory, backed with the breadth of range to support demand. Many will be supported with marketing programmes focusing on digital, coupled with in-store displays and events where possible. What marketing activity can we expect for Q4? We have content-rich marketing plans supporting many of our categories with 360 marketing. We are investing significantly in the games category, highlighting launches such as #UpsideDownChallenge game and Cat and Mouse and classic favourites like Labyrinth and Funny Bunny. We will be working hard to keep puzzling top of mind, with both 2D and our 3D puzzles receiving extensive support through TV, digital, influencer, PR, and print campaigns. BRIO’s always on-trend marketing approach, led by the BRIO World Railway, will ramp up through Q4, and also focus on the technology-led Smart Tech Sound and a beautiful new Disney Princess Castle. CreArt, a high-quality paint-by-numbers range, is a brandnew addition to our portfolio, and we’ll back this with digital, PR and influencer activity. Our GraviTrax construction brand will also be supported with a host of high-profile marketing activities, targeted with advertising through TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat. To summarise, we’ve got a very busy Q4 of marketing activity ahead of us!
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02/09/2021 17:47
