Nominate Your Favorite Toy and Game Innovators for the ChiTAG TAGIE Awards

The 2019 edition of Chicago Toy & Game Week will take place Nov. 21-24, and as always, the winners of the Toy & Game Innovation Awards (TAGIEs) will be revealed at the event’s annual gala. Nominations for this year’s awards will be accepted through Aug. 15, so the clock is ticking to nominate your picks for the best innovators, designers, retailers, publicists, and marketers in the toy and game industry. Finalists will be announced on Sept. 16, at which time voting will be open to the general public, media, and members of the industry.

“The TAGIE nominations recognize the most innovative individuals and teams from around the world who spend countless hours inventing, designing, creating, marketing to bring ideas for toys and games to life that bring joy and connect us to one another,” says Mary Couzin, founder and president, Chicago Toy & Game Group. “The awards Gala brings together everyone for an elegant evening celebrating these industry innovators for their vision, spirit of fun, philanthropy, and humanitarianism.”

Karri Bean, senior licensing manager, Disney Parks Experiences & Products will serve as the TAGIEs new host this year, with JoAnn McLaughlin, senior vice president, hardlines product development at Disney Parks Experiences & Products serving as the keynote speaker.

2019 TAGIE Categories Include:

Toy Inventor of the Year
Game Inventor of the Year
Rising Star Inventor of the Year
Young Inventor of the Year (under 18 years of age)
Innovative PR and Marketing Team of the Year
Art and Design Visuals of the Year
Innovative Retailer of the Year

Mattel President and COO Richard Dickson will introduce this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Ivan Moscovich — a five-time concentration camp survivor who went on to license 111 puzzles, toys, and games, in addition to writing nearly 70 books, with more set for release this year. Moscovich was the founder and director of the Tel Aviv Science Museum, which served as inspiration for the San Francisco Exploratorium. It was at the Museum, where he met Mattel founders Elliot and Ruth Handler, for whom he would design the Brain Drain series of games.

Presented by Mattel, with sponsor support from Hasbro, The Michael Kohner Corp., Oxford Games, Cartamundi, ASTRA, The Toy Association, Longshore, and Hassenfeld Family Initiatives, the TAGIE Awards gala will take place on Nov. 22.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Co-President of The International Toy Magazines Association (ITMA). He is also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), New York Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.