Power Players

The gender opposites of young misses, they are the young masters. Are they ever!

They're masters of one word answers: "yeah, no, nothing, dunno, maybe." When it comes to the art of the shrug, they have mastered it as well: shoulders up to ears, which are appropriately plugged in to CD players, head cocked slightly to one side, eyes staring straight ahead, hands gripping a joystick.

So much for communicating with tween boys! Well, at least verbally that is, and for a few years anyway; the range of those years being between 8 or 9 and 12 years old.

"Where is my son and what have you done with him?" is the common parental lament as boys turn from sandbox to Xbox.

But communication is not the only challenge. Prying them from video games is the other; particularly for the traditional toy industry. Currently worth upwards of $20 billion annually, there is no end in sight to the increasing impact of video games on both retailers and the youth market—especially the tween male niche. The Rochester Institute of Technology, which recently launched a master's program in computer game design, has forecast that the video game industry will grow to a $100 billion-a-year business over the next 10 years.

This exponential growth poses an exceptional challenge for traditional toy manufacturers as well as retailers. Neither, however, seems ready to throw in the towel where marketing to the group is concerned, even in the face of a Goliath industry. And for good reason: Spending by the entire tween market is expected to reach nearly $41 billion in 2005, according to some pundits.

In their book, The Great Tween Buying Machine (Paramount Market Publishing), authors David Siegel, Timothy Coffey and Gregory Livingston suggest that tweens themselves now "spend approximately $10 billion annually on their own," a demographic wallet worth tapping into.

"Oh it's a tough demographic," says Stacy Pauly, director of marketing for boys action toys at Jakks Pacific. Manufacturer of such boy toy hits like Road Champs and the hot 6-inch WWE line of action figures, the company, she notes, does conduct focus groups for tween boys. "But it's really hard at that age for guys."

"They're growing up so fast," agrees C. Woodrow Browne, principal of Building Q. "As a marketer, it's hard to plan an attack in that battlefield."

At X Concepts, which manufactures miniature action sports products like its Tech Deck Dudes line of finger skateboards, snowboards and surfboards, the attack means actually being part of the market. "The best way to know what kids want is to relate to their culture," says Peter Asher, company president and co-founder. "For example, the executives in our company surf, skate, and ride motorcycles. They literally live and breathe the lifestyle that our toys are geared to."

At the same time, others do not recognize the dynamic of the current tween boy generation. "A lot of people have ignored what this group is about," says Paul Kurnit, a veteran industry consultant who admits we are in a video game dominant era. Kurnit, president of KidShop, says that 20 years ago action figures like G.I. Joe served the 11- to 14-year-old group. "Now action figures are topping out at around 8 years old," he notes, adding that the tween boy demographic is not being fully served.

Once, "It was acceptable for boys in this age range to be playing with action figures," concurs Joy Tashjian, president of Joy Tashjian Marketing Group, agency of record for Mainframe Entertainment. "However, now, between the ages of 6 and 7," she adds, "they seem to jump from playing with toys and action figures to spending all of their time playing interactive games, computer games or sports. There's almost no in-between," Tashjian tells PLAYTHINGS .

"It's like we've got a hanging curve ball here. Toy companies have to figure out where to spin it from here," says Kurnit.

Apparently, they are trying.

The trick is, say retailers and manufacturers who have managed to attract a fair share of the demographic, to draw on the group's other interests—like gadgets, science and technology and mechanics, as well as the mysterious or puzzling. Products with competitive and even combative elements also score high with the group. Of course, sports products—which now even include skateboards, scooters and skates— are boy favorites.

And, suggest authors Siegel, Coffey and Livingston, the demographic needs to be separated into two distinct sub-groups: "emerging younger and older transitioning tweens, with the divide at about age 11." It's a difference that retailers might want to consider when planning merchandising strategies. They might also want to consider that the products boys play with when they are 8, 9 and 10 years old, they collect when they are 11 and 12 years old.

With appropriate product and promotion, tween boys can be pried away from their video games and drawn in to a (shhhh) toy store.

Wild Planet, whose line of spy gear is enormously popular with 8- to 10-year-old boys, taps into the group's enthusiasm for gadgets. Nathan Keker, the company's senior brand manager, says this niche of the demographic likes "the real combined with the fantasy." The company's products, he tells PLAYTHINGS fulfill the "desire for gadgets with real functions ." Keker says Wild Planet's Spy Night Scope Spy Vision Goggles is currently one of the company's hottest selling products. "The spy theme in general is really big right now," he adds. Next month the company will be shipping yet another in its spy series: a spy tracker system that can trace up to 75 feet and signal the 'tracker.'

Meanwhile, Racing Champions is leveraging the male tween's penchant for both video games and collecting and has launched a new company JoyRide Studios to do it. Through licensing agreements with the likes of Sega, Nintendo and Electronic Arts, this month the new company will debut collectibles depicting figures and vehicles from popular games.

Although action figures have been skewing to the younger boy in the recent past, Pauly sees a revival among tweens, noting that the Rock is one of the company's hottest selling figures. And, she adds, "there is definitely a Hulk Hogan revival going on." A lot of the younger tweens don't know who he is and they are the new buyers.

There is, in fact, a whole new generation of younger male tweens getting acquainted with action figures both as players and as collectors.

"Tween guys drool in my store," says Mark Pedersen, owner of Portland, Ore.-based Dr. Tongue's 3D House of Toys, a haven for lovers of action figures. He tells PLAYTHINGS that one of the store's favorite attractions for the guys is a bin of "loved" figures that includes original Star Wars and G.I. Joe figures. He sells six figures from the bin for $10. Pedersen adds that with the revival of Hasbro's G.I. Joe and Transformers, Gen Xers and their offspring have something to share.

Ernie Baker, COO of tabletop gamemaker Games Workshop also sees a new cross-generational dynamic going on. "We're starting to see more 8- to 12-year-olds. They usually come through the door with their older brother or father. We like the bonding that's going on," he says.

To further this bonding, the company developed a Games Workshop Club Support Program. "It's designed to get gamers together, he tells PLAYTHINGS, adding that this year Games Workshop is helping trade accounts develop clubs. The clubs "increase sales presence," says Baker, in addition to getting the word out on the hobby and bringing people together.

"It's a great year for tween boys," says Steven Benoff, a boy's product buyer for FAO Schwarz. "I've been waiting for a Spider-Man since I was 6 years old," he quips, noting brisk sales of Star Wars action figures and Transformers, both by Hasbro. He adds that FAO has been bullish on Spidey from the get-go and has not been disappointed. A favorite with tween boys, Spider-Man action figures and products have "met and beat" expectations.

"This is a very license-driven group," he says, noting that FAO's sales of G.I. Joe alone have increased over 10 percent since the beginning of the year, compared with last year's sales. "There is really not a boys brand that's not selling right now," says Benoff.

There doesn't seem to be a construction product that isn't selling either, capturing a vast male audience. Retailers agree that the current diversity of these products may be the one category that crosses the divide between emerging and transitioning tween boys.

Lego building kits, for example, range from simple to complex, including some that involve high-technology, like the popular Bionicle line. Mega Blocks, say retailers, is another popular construction line also running the gamut of difficulty. Even Playmobil sets can bridge the gap. Although the playsets appeal to a younger audience, to tween boys, they become collectibles—especially the figures.

"We have a group of tween boys that we call 'closet Playmobil' boys," jokes Judy Barber, manager of Imagination Toys, Lake Zurich, Ill. "They don't want to let their friends know they are still playing with them. Sometimes they will come in with a younger brother and nudge them toward whatever pieces they actually want," she adds.

Coinstruction by Educational Insights, though, is overtly popular with older tween guys, Barber says. "Boys can actually build a replica of an Eiffel Tower with the 600-piece set," she says, adding that Zome's DNA set is hot with the boys also.

"K'nex is really coming on too," notes Mark Wood, manager of Zany Brainy in Plano, Texas. He adds that customers are asking for Rokenbok products as well, another construction brand with a range of difficulty.

When it comes to tween boy offerings, Wood says there is plenty and he includes Spin Master's line of Air Hogs and E-Chargers among them. "One of the reasons parents come to our store is for the selection. They want to get their kids up off the couch and moving around."

With 14-foot high ceilings, there is plenty of room to move around at Toys For The Fun Of It in Grand Junction, Colo. Karin Allen, who owns the store with her husband, Mike, believes in "engaging" the store's clientele, which includes male tweens. It is not unusual for staff to let go with D&L Stomp Rockets inside the store or to engage in kite flying outdoors. Juggling with Lunastix by Liston Concepts and yo-yo competitions with Spintastics Diabolos are also included in the outside activities.

The guys are competitive, she says, and these types of 'demonstrations' are an effective way to bring them into the store where they are then attracted by other suitable offerings like Aeromax's parachute products, "brain teaser" puzzles and games from Binary Arts and Air Burst Rockets by William Mark. "This puppy will go 1,000 feet up and come right back down," she says, referring to the rocket. The spontaneous competitions also give the guys a chance to "show off" their skills.

But when it comes to the most popular item among tween boys of all ages, Dave Campbell, owner of Amazing Toys in Great Falls, Mont., says it is a rubber-band gun. "They save their money and come in and buy them themselves." Although he is not a proponent of guns per se, Campbell says the rubber band variety is harmless. Boys are boys, he adds, noting that they will 'make-believe' with sticks for lack of anything else. Manufactured by Magnum Enterprises, the old-fashioned rubber-band guns come in several sizes.

Sharon Carlson, owner of Geppetto's in Woodbury, Conn., adds several products by Monkey Business Sports to the list including the Great Sky- rocket, gliders and whip stick planes.

Carlson says the tween boy market is "tough," unless "the boy is into science and models. They're either into sports or video games," Carlson says. She acknowledges, though, that the guys are still into games, gadgets and magic in the early tween years—even arts and crafts.

Among Geppetto's hottest items for tween boys are Design Your Own sports equipment and the Draw the Marvel Comics Super Heroes by Klutz. Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Design Your Own equipment includes basketballs, soccer balls and skate boards, says Carlson, adding that the balls come with their own pump.

"The guys like things that they can do on their own," Carlson tells PLAYTHINGS.

Toys For The Fun Of It's Allen agrees. "We encourage the boys to build something, to do something, engage. Most will go for that; they just need a little push," she says.

Senior Editor Dave Gerardi also contributed to this article.