FEATURE
Q4 CAMPAIGNS
The future looks golden As the days start to shorten, the toy industry turns its thoughts to the golden quarter - the most important time of the year. But after the most unusual 18 months ever, how will this year’s Q4 perform? TnP talks to suppliers and retailers
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t’s the most wonderful time of the year! The We can Golden Quarter as we already see head towards Christmas consumer is both busy and exciting. So with interest high, how confidence important is marketing and growing as we advertising for suppliers at this head towards the time of year? festive season For Gemma Lewington, and we are sure marketing director for individuals will be University Games and The Lagoon Group, Q4 is looking to make “traditionally renowned for up for that quality being the core time of the family time they year for games and puzzles. However, it was also one of the missed out on main product sectors to thrive last year during 2020, with families Gemma Lewington, spending huge amounts University Games and of time at home. So, with The Lagoon Group this in mind, it is even more important that we continue to drive the visibility of our games and puzzles to the consumer with strategic marketing campaigns.’’ Katy Fletcher, head of marketing & product development at Ravensburger, adds: “Any savvy business will know it’s crucial for generating brand awareness for new product launches, but also for highlighting best sellers and creating a buzz
around lines that consumers might not instinctively consider sometimes we need to highlight certain play factors, in a game for example. Marketing enables us to do this, and using a variety of tools across the marketing mix and being creative about our planning and thinking out of the box is increasingly important. “For example, promoting our new GraviTrax extensions such as Turntable and Helix is key in demonstrating the endless play opportunities with the product; marketing helps us educate consumers on these types of opportunities. Similarly, CreArt, our new painting by numbers brand, which includes winter launches such as Pawesome Polar Bear and Festive Friends, needs marketing exposure to differentiate us from other products in the market and promote the USPs, which aren’t always visible when you see a product on shelf at retail.’’ Winning Moves UK retail manager Jack Probyn notes: “It’s the time when children are starting to put together their Christmas lists and the time when parents and loved ones are looking to buy gifts for family and friends, so it’s very important. And to keep Top Trumps and our other brands
at the forefront of customers’ and retailers’ minds, we have partnered with McDonald’s for a massive autumn promotion. Mini editions of our existing and much-loved games will be made available in Happy Meals up and down the country. The games include Top Trumps, Top Trumps Quiz, Top Trumps Pairs, Pass the Pets, LexGO!, and WHOT! As a result of the campaign, we can expect customers to come shopping for the real thing.’’ With marketing and promotion plans locked in, how do suppliers think consumer behaviour will be different this year? “There was so much uncertainty in 2020, especially as we headed towards Christmas. No one knew if they were going to get to spend Christmas with their families, and there was financial uncertainty for so many too. However, we can already see consumer confidence growing as we head towards the festive season and we are sure individuals will be looking to make up for that quality family time they missed out on last year, hopefully reflected in strong purchasing for those occasions,’’ says Gemma Lewington at University Games. Ravensburger is also confident about this Christmas, says Katy Fetcher: “We are hopeful that consumers will want to shop in store this Christmas, not only to embrace the season they didn’t get to enjoy in 2020. There’s nothing like being able to see, touch and experience physical products in a store environment and customer loyalty will be front of mind this Christmas post-pandemic. We
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toysnplaythings.media 03/09/2021 07:23