Toy Fair 2008: From High Tech to Traditional

By Karen Raugust, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 2/28/2008

Last year was a rough one for the toy industry, with economic worries compounded by massive toy recalls. Sales were down 2% from 2006, according to the NPD Group. But that didn’t put a damper on attendance at the 105th annual Toy Fair, held February 17–20. More than 9,000 buyers registered on the first day, an increase of 30% over the previous year; all told, the Toy Industry Association expected 35,000 toy industry and media members to attend.

During this year’s fair, visitors to the Javits Center saw technology around every corner. One key theme was the creation of online communities to support toy play; toys from Beanie Babies to Littlest Pet Shop figures now come with a code that gives the child access to bonus content within a virtual world connected to the brand. Researcher eMarketer estimates 24% of U.S. children and teen Internet users visited virtual worlds in 2007.

Play Visions’ Zibbies toy line is one example, and it has a publishing connection. Author Stephen Cosgrove, best known for his Serendipity series with Penguin, previously saw success in the toy industry with his Treasure Trolls and wanted to find a new toy concept that would lend itself to storytelling. “This was cute and compelling,” he said. He joined with Play Visions and started developing a mythology about a world within the Internet called the ZibbieZone, and ended up spearheading the launch of the brand’s online community.

“I’m an uber-geek anyway,” he explained, noting that he has launched other online ventures over the last 10 years and has a long-held philosophy that all media—books, online, mobile, television—feed each other and bring a story to life. The ZibbieZone builds on what he learned with his past efforts. Character Response Technology allows children to exchange e-mails and instant messages with Zibbies characters, which helps drive story and character development. Cosgrove and Play Visions are about to launch Zibbies mobile phone content with MobiTV and plan to premiere an animated TV series and a line of picture storybooks and juvenile novels in 2009.

The strategy for building Simon & Schuster’s Trucktown brand will follow a similar pattern. Executives from licensing agency Chorion were walking the aisles talking to toy companies about Trucktown, which Chorion represents for merchandising and entertainment. The first step will be to create an online experience for kids, which will most likely be linked with the toy line and books. “Trucktown is a good example of how publishers are creating these publishing-based franchises that are really tied to what kids are interested in,” said Amory Millard, Chorion’s executive v-p, corporate communications.

The Disney Fairies brand, based on a Disney publishing franchise, introduced a virtual online community called Pixie Hollow and a line of jewelry and LCD Handhelds from Techno Source that interact with the site. Girls have created 4.5 million unique fairy avatars at the Disney Fairies online site; the new world allows them to extend their play with chat, crafting, customization, games and other activities. The franchise generated global sales of $800 million in 2007, according to Disney.

Linking Text and Tech

Books and technology were connected in many other ways on the show floor. LeapFrog introduced its next-generation electronic learn-to-read technology, the Tag Reading System, which features an interactive pen that unlocks the educational elements in a Tag-formatted book. The first roster of Tag books includes Fancy Nancy, Olivia, The Little Engine That Could, Walter the Farting Dog, I Spy and Miss Spider. Meanwhile, Wiley has licensed the For Dummies name and content for a line of branded MP3 players, digital cameras, handheld games, and portable photo lighting kits (for eBay users) from Sakar Electronics, which introduced its newest product in the line, camcorders. Each box contains a custom 16-page excerpt from a For Dummies book.

iToys will launch a Spiderwick Chronicles-licensed digital camera in conjunction with the DVD release of the book-based movie this spring; when the user prints out a picture taken with the camera, a surprise character from the series appears in the photo with the subject. And Twin Sisters, a CD and book-and-CD publisher that teaches educational curriculum through music, showed its first line of preloaded MP3 players.

Several of the 40-plus publishers who exhibited at Toy Fair highlighted books that take advantage of eye-catching publishing technologies. Workman promoted Gallop! A Scanimation Picture Book, which features patented technology that makes all of the illustrations seem animated, while Silver Dolphin showed science activity books with lenticular covers. School Zone featured updated, higher price-point versions of some of its core product lines, including lenticular flash cards. “Kids are bombarded with all kinds of media,” sales v-p Sharon Winningham said. “The question is, how do you make flash cards cool?” Winningham reported that nearly every order written by School Zone at Toy Fair included this item.

Toy Companies Eye Books

While book publishers and toy companies are going high-tech, many toy makers were participating in a sort of countertrend by getting into book publishing. Content such as DVDs, booklets or mini comic books have been packaged with toys for some time now, but this year several toy companies offered hardcover or paperback books that were not only co-packaged with the toy but sold separately as well.

SpiralingHearts, a yoga-themed game company, showed three coloring and activity books that teach yoga poses and philosophy to children ages 4-13. Jambo Kids, Karito Kids and Eco Dolls are three multicultural doll lines (Eco’s has a save-the-environment theme as well), all of which offer a tie-in storybook for each doll.

At least 10 other toy companies, ranging from makers of preschool toys to plush characters to craft kits, were selling children’s books related to their toy lines.

First-Time Exhibitors

A number of publishers joined the roster of 1,200 Toy Fair exhibitors for the first time this year. Walter Foster, an 85-year-old company, was one of them, showing its arts and crafts activity kits—a business it has been expanding over the last six months—and several of its licensed how-to-draw books. New Harbinger Press highlighted its children’s imprint of self-help books on topics ranging from divorce to Asperger’s syndrome. “So many different stores have come through,” said Julie Kahn, assistant sales manager, who was visited by educational toy stores, kids’ clothing stores and children’s booksellers, among others. “It’s nice to see toy stores really open to carrying books about ADHD.”

Laughing Elephant was at Toy Fair after a 10-year hiatus; it launched shaped children’s books two years ago after focusing on the gift market. Educational Publishing LLC was a newcomer showing flap-and-wheel learn-to-read board books with parental prompts and discussion starters, while Winning Kids Incorporated spotlighted its 14 value-based, character-building Traveling Bear storybooks, as well as coloring books, plush and DVDs. Fanny Fun Facts offered multicultural books, CDs, puzzles and journals.

Book-Based Licenses

NPD, a market research group, has estimated that 27% of the $22 billion worth of toys sold last year were licensed. Literary licenses were widespread on the show floor, including both book-based entertainment properties and standalone books.

Among the latter were Fancy Nancy, with Briarpatch Games and Madame Alexander among those launching products, and The Dangerous Book for Boys from Hasbro and Universal Games. Bill Nye the Science Guy, a TV personality and author of several children’s books, had a line of science kits at Elmer’s/Scientific Explorer.

Several plush and sidelines companies were at the show. MerryMakers introduced plush figures of Dog and Bear, Princess Baby and Bad Kitty. Yottoy added Knuffle Bunny and other Mo Willems characters to its existing Pigeon product line, as well as plush tied to Kim Parker’s children’s books. Kids Preferred had plush based on Emily Goes Wild, Eric Carle, Peter Rabbit, Elmer’s Day and Amazing Baby, as well as Charlie and Lola, which has been made into a TV series. And Crocodile Creek showed Goodnight Moon, along with Where the Wild Things Are, which is expected to be released as a film in 2009. 

Several other children books are being made into films, which raised their profile. The second Narnia feature, Prince Caspian, is due out this spring, and Jakks Pacific and Sababa Toys were among those touting products tied to that movie; Sababa also had Where the Wild Things Are products. A number of licensees, ranging from McFarlane Toys to Manhattan Toy to I Can Do That! Games, showed Dr. Seuss products including How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, The Cat in the Hat and Horton Hears A Who; Universal Studios will release its animated Horton movie this year.

iToys announced a new license with Universal for The Tale of Despereaux, set for a holiday 2008 film release. The company also is expanding its license for The Spiderwick Chronicles, basing a fall line of toys on the second five books in the franchise. (The film, released in February, covered the first five books.)

Going Green

Along with toy-themed virtual worlds, pro-environmental initiatives were another pervasive trend at Toy Fair. The focal point of Penton Overseas’ booth was its green-themed book, My Bag & Me!. Peter Pauper Press offered Braniac’s Go Green! Activity Books, while Modern Publishing, which exhibited in a meeting room at the Javits, showed its licensed Planet Earth titles. Learning Horizons showed a new line of activity kits in carrying cases—including a dozen components for a retail price of $19.99—one of which, Explore the Great Outdoors, includes a Go Green storybook.

School Zone’s books use all soy-based inks, which do not contain lead, and are made of recycled or recyclable paper. The company plans to promote that fact on its book covers and currently uses a flag logo to highlight that its books are made in America.

Meanwhile, toy companies took a variety of approaches to going green, noting that they did not need batteries, showing toys made from bamboo or other plastic alternatives or teaching children about the environment through science activities or other games. Mattel debuted a line of girls’ purses and wallets made from fabrics left over from the manufacture of Barbie outfits.

Publishers expressed satisfaction with the show, with many reporting that they had written several orders and seen a wide variety of store types. Byron Parnell, sales manager at Kane/Miller, which showed titles such as No That’s Wrong! and Unique Monique, reported that he had 10 meetings with big buyers by the middle of the second day, and had been writing orders with smaller retailers as well.

Mark-My-Time was exhibiting its digital bookmark, launched in 2004, which keeps track of how long children read and is typically merchandised along with books. This was the company’s first time at Toy Fair, according to founder Maureen Farinella, who observed, “I didn’t realize how passionate toy stores were about their book sections.”