KidStuff Public Relations, an agency that focuses solely on children’s products and toys, is celebrating 30 years of promoting playthings this year.
KidStuff PR has been working with companies ranging from small startup toy companies and retailers to medium- and larger-size manufacturers over the last three decades, and has successfully weathered a lot of change in the toy industry, advancements in technology, the parenting world, and even the media.
The company got its start in Wisconsin when Founder Lisa Orman needed a team to service her new client: Zany Brainy. The large specialty retailer was expanding west with new locations in addition to its East Coast establishment.
Orman, a Women in Toys Wonder Woman Award Winner, holds a Journalism degree and had prior experience working at publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Crain’s Chicago Business, and as a retail management consultant. At the time, she had a new baby daughter, and since her career and motherhood helped win the Zany Brainy account, she decided to hire other publicists who are moms around the country as contractors, in areas where the retailer was opening stores.
KidStuff PR offered a unique and targeted approach to public relations, with Orman citing her and her team’s “momsense” as a factor in successfully promoting their local, national, and global clients. Orman’s team of publicists often involved their kids in their work — testing toys and attending grand openings and daily store events.
After seven years of working with KidStuff PR, Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy. However, KidStuff PR continued to grow and even helped its clients maximize opportunities to help families in need of educational and developmental toys and connected clients with stores looking for new products amid manufacturing and shipping delays during the recent pandemic.
Lisa Orman at her client Storypod's Toy Fair booth | Source: KidStuff PR
Lisa Orman presenting her clients' new toys at Toy Fair | Source: KidStuff PR
Today, Orman’s company is based out of California and through it all, the team has maintained a playful attitude. KidStuff PR has helped hundreds of small businesses get started and grow, and has achieved thousands of awards for clients. Orman served a three-year term on ASTRA’s Board of Directors through the pandemic and volunteered on numerous committees at various networking groups and associations. The KidStuff team members are officially ASTRA Certified Play Experts.
“Thirty years in the PR business and focusing on this niche is an accomplishment I’m proud of,” Orman says. “We won’t even get into how many years that is in dog years, ha! Throughout my company’s history I’ve had office dogs, so I say that only partly joking.”
