Out of the Toy Box
Richard Gottlieb, president of Richard Gottlieb & Associates, a New York-based business development firm specializing in the toy business, offers his sometimes funny and always unique take on developments in the industry.
Linking bricks and mortar with the Internet; Nordstrom gets it
Kudos to Retailwire for running a very interesting piece entitled "Nordstrom Links Bricks and Clicks." I have been beating the drum for some time now that bricks and mortar retailers need to do a better job of keeping bricks and mortar consumers happy. It's no fun to go to the store, see what you want and not be able to get it because it is out of stock. Millennial generation shopper... Read More
Comments (0)The NFL goes after women…as women; what the toy industry can learn
The NFL is taking a different tack in going after female shoppers for its lines of football jerseys. According to the New York Times in a nice piece, "Suiting Up in Jerseys Suitable for Women," we learn that the league is launching the "N.F.L. Women's Apparel, Fit For You" campaign. The idea is to actually create jerseys for women that are fashionable. As the article puts it... Read More
Comments (0)Must attend events at the Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg Toy Fair 2011
There are any number of events going on during the Nuremberg Toy Fair. As you would imagine, many are private events but some are open to everyone. Here are three that you must attend: Free Knowledge to Go: Toy Business Forum Hear some of these exceptional seminars (they're free) that offer cutting edge information on industry and product trends. Date: Friday Feb 04 to Tuesday Feb 08, 2011 from 1... Read More
Comments (0)Disney Princesses; cartoon fun with sociology
I found a very interesting website, Sociological Images, that "... is designed to encourage all kinds of people to exercise and develop their sociological imagination by presenting brief sociological discussions of compelling and timely imagery that spans the breadth of sociological inquiry."Its actually more fun that that. Have a look for yourself "Jeff Brunner put together this... Read More
Comments (1)Girls as comic book fans; thank Supergirl, Princess Leia and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A few weeks ago, I posted a piece entitled, "Comic-Con and the toy industry; what's Strawberry Shortcake doing there?" which expressed my surprise that that Hasbro was pushing Strawberry Shortcake at the historically male driven Comic-Con. At the time I said that I wouldn't be surprised to see more companies bringing female gender properties to Comic-Con as well.Well, it appears that t... Read More
Comments (2)A night with the Wiggles; what I learned about today’s kids
I and my entourage, consisting of my girlfriend, two adults in their 30's and two children age 3 and 5 (my first entourage) made our way into the Izod Center at the Meadowlands. We were there to see the Wiggles, both on stage and up close and in person. I wanted to go for five reasons:1. It would make me a hero to my girlfriend2. I wanted to learn more about the Wiggles3. I wanted to get a first... Read More
Comments (0)What does Star Wars have that Oz doesn’t have?
In my last blog posting I made the case for the world of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum, as being the first case of transmedia storytelling. As I stated in that posting, the author and his estate utilized virtually every format available at the time including film, books, comic strips, amusement parks, toys, games theatre and more.Yet today, 110 years since the original Wizard of Oz appeared, the b... Read More
Comments (3)Understanding Transmedia Story Telling; The Wizard of Oz as pioneer
Transmedia storytelling has emerged as the buzz word of the moment. It is, I believe, more than a buzz word and one that more people need to understand.I don't claim to be an expert but thought it would be interesting to consider this 21st century concept from a unique angle, that of an early 20th century property; the Wizard of Oz.But first, what is transmedia storytelling? Expert, Jeff Gomez d... Read More
Comments (7)Tom Arbuckle, former General Manager of the Toy Building has passed away
I received a call from Mike Berke of USA Toy Reps this weekend informing me that Tom Arbuckle, former General Manager of the Toy Building has passed away. It was noteworthy to me that Mike felt compelled to let me know so that I could put the word out. Tom Arbuckle was an important part of Mike's life as well as that of countless other sales reps and manfufacturers. The former Toy Buildings on... Read More
Comments (2)The Boy Scouts and Girls; a changing relationship
The Boy Scouts have been having a hard time of it the last couple of decades. At least that is what an interesting story in the New York Times entitled "Boy Scouts Seek a Way to Regrow Ranks" tells us. Plagued by a dramatically falling membership, the organization's numbers have declined by 42% since 1973. In order to turn things around, the Scouts have been reaching out to Hispanics... Read More
Comments (9)Great Toy Design: Anker Construction Kit
I think it is important to constantly be talking about great toy design. My source for these is Chris van Uffelen's appropriately named book, "Great Toy Design." I liked this Anker Construction Kit from Anker Steinbaukasten. It is a construction set that uses ecologically sound, artificial stone (quartz sand, chalk and linseed oil) as a building material. The original sets were creat... Read More
Comments (0)Harry Potter and children’s literature; getting toy ideas from what children like to read
It's always interesting to see what children say they like when it comes to play and entertainment. That was why I thought we could all benefit from the findings of a study I found in a blog, Writing and Illustrating, by Kathleen Temean. The study, conducted by Denise Davila and Lisa Patrick for the January 2010 issue of Language Arts, is entitled "Asking the Experts: What Children Have to... Read More
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