Eric Berman, Partner and Creative Director at Canspan BMG, discusses the latest evolution of marketing strategies for toys and games in this extended edition of The Toy Book’s 2023 State of the Industry Q&A roundtable. Want more insight from the all-stars of the toy industry? Click here to explore this year’s lineup!
The Toy Book: What will be some of the top marketing strategies in 2023?
Eric Berman: I think PR initiatives and branding work will be more important in 2023. More focus on brand building, more focus on community building, more focus on creating quality content and utility for customers and getting feedback from them.
Millennial parents are still the most influential segment in the market. They’re savvy and well-researched and will stay loyal to brands they believe to be authentic and aligned with their own values. Toy companies need to be thinking about what they stand for and how to communicate that in a way that resonates with customers — and less about pushing product ads and looking for immediate return on investment (ROI). So I think smart marketers will put brand marketing efforts first, followed by product advertising.
TB: What were some big wins for Canspan in 2022?
EB: Our agency continues to grow and win new accounts as we stay focused on our core services, but our biggest wins came internally with some new additions to our team, our achievements in building a healthy and fun company culture, our investment in productivity software — all that sets us up for 2023 with the best team and offering to service the heck out of our amazing clients.
TB: How has marketing for toys and games evolved in the past year?
EB: Ad platforms like Meta and Apple, through privacy policies, have made it much harder for brands to use audience targeting tools that in the past have been effective at driving sales and ROI. Most brands have seen huge drop-offs in social ad performance as a result. That’s made content creation a much more important piece of the puzzle since the content has to do much of the heavy lifting. Now brands need to be creating differentiated content for their various customer types.
We are also starting to see new distribution trends … with more and more toy products being sold at brick-and-mortar grocery and pharmacy chains like Whole Foods and CVS. It remains to be seen what kind of advertising opportunity that creates for brands, but we’re keeping an eye on it.
TB: How has the influencer marketing space changed in the past year, and what should toymakers be aware of?
EB: Influencer marketing still appears to be the top-performing type of ad content, but the art of user-generated content (UGC) has definitely matured. Now, brands should have higher expectations for the quality of their UGC. It’s not enough anymore to simply secure a video of a customer reviewing your product; the person featured speaking about their experience with a product really matters more than ever — in terms of what they’re saying and how.
I think we’re seeing more professional, polished creators entering the space and being successful. It’s more important than ever for brands and agencies to be selective in choosing creator partners who can best represent the brand and have the best opportunity to drive sales and loyalty.
A version of this Q&A was originally published in the 2023 edition of The BIG Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!
