Sydney Wiseman, vice president of brand development and creative strategy at WowWee, talks about a new licensing program, marketing with Roblox, and its Nickelodeon partnership in the Toy Book’s annual State of the Industry Q&A.
The Toy Book: WowWee is building a licensing program for Got2Glow Fairies in just a few months since the brand’s launch. What makes for a successful consumer products program based on a hit toy?
Sydney Wiseman: When it comes to creating a successful consumer products program based on a hit toy, it is very important to stay true to the brand and its core values when applying the license to various categories. For our Got2Glow Fairy Finder, it’s all about catching the magic; the lights, the sounds, and the adventure of finding fairies and magic is in every kids’ hands. When we sit down with our licensing agent Striker Entertainment and our licensing partners, we always discuss ways we can bring that feeling to their categories. Every item produced will have some special element to make sure that the Got2Glow magic is in there.
TB: How important is integrating toy brands with digital experiences, such as what WowWee is doing with Roblox?
SW: The world is changing so quickly! Every season, it seems there’s a new platform or a new trend — it’s always something and it’s quite exciting! Our WowWee DNA has always been to be one step ahead of “Where will kids be next?” So, for us, it’s super important to be thinking digital. It’s no longer a question of “Should there be a digital experience?” Now, it’s more like “What is the most effective and innovative digital experience for each brand?”
Twilight Daycare on Roblox is a great example of this. Millions of kids are online playing this game every single day, and so we thought for My Squishy Little Dumplings, it was the perfect fit to use this popular game as a marketing tool to introduce the brand to all its players. During this incredibly successful activation, we realized the brand affinity kids have toward the Twilight Daycare franchise, and thus we decided to partner with Twilight Daycare game developer Gamefam by bringing a line of physical and collectible baby dolls that will also be redeemable in the game (coming this fall).
Marketing this phygital (physical meets digital) experience will rely heavily on new and existing platforms: Roblox, TikTok, and even elements of web 3.0. It’s such a fun time to be marketing toys!
TB: Does WowWee have plans to continue its partnership with Nickelodeon for My Squishy Little Dumplings digital-first content?
SW: Yes, we do! It’s been a wonderful partnership and the response we are getting for both the toys and the animated content has been phenomenal. With the help of Nickelodeon and their amazing team, we’ve managed to bring these Squishy Little characters to life. They’ve become friends that kids want to play with, sing along with, and enjoy watching on YouTube. We can’t wait to share the additional music and content we have coming out this spring!
This article was originally published in the February 2022 edition of the Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue!
